From: ryang@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu (Robert H. Yang)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
Subject: Re: REQUEST: short fella has a question or two...
Date: 11 Nov 92 17:23:56 -0500
Reply-To: ryang@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu
Organization:  

In article <1992Nov11.064952.19751@wam.umd.edu>, andyboyl@wam.umd.edu (Andrew 'OPIE' Boyle) writes:
> Here are my questions:
> 1- I am pretty short, 5'4", with a 29" inseam (which I guess is important
>   if I want to keep my you-know-whats). I weigh about 135. This may 
>    sound like a stupid question, but am I to short to handle a bike
>    safely?  What brand bikes, less than 600cc and without crazy insurance
>    costs, would fit best?

	Have you ever considered a GSXR-50 ?  (imagine a fully-faired
sportbike, lean, mean GSXR - about the size of a tricycle with a 50cc
2-stroke motor).

	I know, very unfunny :-)

	Seriously, you're not that short - I'm 5'10", 145#, have a 30" inseam
and I do just fine on most bikes.

	As for a beginner's bike, you may wish to try out a Kawaski EX500,
a Suzuki GS500E,  Bandit (400 cc), Yamaha Seca II (600 cc), or a
Honda CB-1 (400 cc).  All of these bikes have sporty looks and 4-valve-per-
cylinder heads, although the Bandit and Seca II may be a bit pricey still.

	I would recommend the GS500E or EX500, as they have good power
spread, are easy to get parts, and seem to be real common.

	You can try these bikes out for fit in dealer showrooms, too.
Just chat up the salesman, act like you are going to buy, then when you've
found out what you want to know, suddenly "remember" that you've got to run
that errand or your wife will kill you, thanks, see you later.  Later you can
say that your wife says you had to buy used.

	Both your feet should definitely touch the ground securely. 
Otherwise, coming to a stop will be a problem.  The reach to the bars should
likewise allow you a firm grip on controls.

> 2- I will definitely buy used (can't afford new).  What should I look for 
>    in a used bike that would show excessive wear?  Buy from a dealer or
>    from For Sale ads?  Which is cheapest?

	As for values, dealers always try to screw you.  Private owners
will, too, of course, but sometimes you can get a good deal if you find
someone who's eager to sell, for whatever reason.  If you buy from a dealer,
you may want to go during the winter, when their eager for business.

	Just keep your eyes open and ask around what people think the
bike's worth before you buy so that you can negotiate to the price you want.

	As for faults, note uneven wear on tires, fluid leaks, hard starting,
excessive smoke, strange noises, you know, like the stuff on a car.

> 3- I go to school in Maryland, but am a resident of New Jersey.  If I take
>    an MSF course, does it transfer from one state to another?  Where is 
>    insurance cheapest?  How much does the MSF course cost?

	I believe completion of the MSF is recognized nationwide.  They
give you a card or certificate indicating successful completion.  But license
transfer regulations vary from state-to-state.  As does funding for the MSF
course.  In PA, it's free, funded by various licensing and registration
fees.  But I heard in MD they changed some laws recently, so you'll want
to check with the DMV there.

	Generally, states allow you to just come to a police station or DMV
with your bike and ride around a closed course and may even have you take
a written test to give you a license.  This is not a training course, but a
test.  You'll want to check with the DMV in NJ, I guess.

	You could probably stay a resident of NJ and take the MSF course
in MD, and then go back to NJ and take the test.  MSF course completion could
get you an insurance discount, too.

> 4- How far does the average, well cared for bike, go before it dies? It sounds
>    stupid, but all of the bikes I have seen in the paper for sale all have
>    5,000 or less miles on them.

	Well-cared-for bikes hopefully go 50k to 100k miles before requiring
an engine rebuild.  Less-cared-for bikes will probably require major
engine work at somewhere less than that.  Hard to say, really.  You'll
probably want to buy at the "less than 5000" mark, though.  Used sportbikes
typically get hammered by their owners.

	When an average Jap bike goes over 10k miles, that's pretty much
"high-mileage", and it's value decreases significantly.  But it may have
a lot of miles and good riding left in it.  You may be able to offer
less money, but the chances go up that something big will go wrong.

> 5- Is there a blacklist that is available to the public, that lists all
>    of the motorcycles that are high-risk, and therefore have high insurance
>    costs?

	The "blacklist" varies from insurance agent to agent.  In PA, if you've
had a car policy with State Farm for a year and you add a bike to it, they
honestly don't care and will happily charge solely by the cc.  Other companies
will say, "EX500 huh ? That's the same engine that was in that damn Ninja
bike!" and will then proceed to rip you off.

	Probably the best way to proceed is to call up a shitload of
insurance companies and comparison shop for estimates, based on your
driving record and the kind of bike you want.  There's a lot of variance.

> 6- What is the difference between a 250cc and a 500cc bike? Does the 500cc
>    have twice as much power?

	"cc" is the amount of displacement that a bike's engine has.
Typically, the more displacement, the more horsepower, but not necessarily.
But for a 4-stroke machine, you'll probably want about 400-750 cc.

	I don't suggest the Ninja 250 because it's a fully-faired machine.
That full-fairing might cost you a bundle when you drop the bike, and I
suspect you will drop at least once, if you're like any of the rest of us.
Also, it's not as forgiving or as easy to ride as some of the other bikes
mentioned.

	As an aside, 2-stroke bikes generate much more horsepower per cc.
However, they can be somewhat more difficult for a beginner to deal with in
terms of maintenance.  Also, they smoke a lot more, since they burn oil
premixed with gas, and so they have been banned from US highways for
environmental reasons.  You can only ride a 2-stroke on the street if it's
an old one, I forget what the cutoff date was.  You may see Yamaha RZ's,
Kawasaki H2's, Suzuki RG's, and others on the street as examples of sporty
2-strokes.

> 7- I would like the bike to have the space and power for a passenger.  What
>     special features should I look for?

	The bike should have passenger pegs, basically.  You may not want
to carry anybody for the first season or so, as the dynamics of the bike
change drastically when someone else is holding on.

> 8- Where can one obtain a reference book for used bike prices?  

	Generally there isn't one.  However I have heard rumors of the
existence of such as reference.  Let me know if you find anything.
It's pretty much word-of-mouth and word-of-network from what I know.

> 9- Would it be wise to join a motorcycle club in the mean time, to learn
>     what I want and to understand the lingo?  What are some good ones
>     around DC?

	Yes, by all means.  Just don't join any that have names like
"Pagans" or "Hell's Angels".  You might get your rice-ridin' butt kicked :-)

> 10- Should I buy the bike in New Jersey, or in Maryland?

	Which state has lower sales tax ?  I'm sure that title transfer fees
will be inconsequential for the price ange you're looking at.

> 11- Can you get a good bike for less than $2000 to $2500?

	I think this is an ideal price range for an EX500, a CB-1, or a GS500E.

Good luck dude.

Rob
--
Rob Yang (Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A) RYANG@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU
'92 CBR600F2 (Hon) "It hisses on snakes."   AMA 642916   DoD 0593
'79 XT500 (The Bitch)        '90 Plymouth Laser RS (Sweetie)