First bike to grow into?

I have no experience with bikes but have been reading about them here and there. I am really drawn to lightweight, nimble, and cheap. I am happy to stay off the highway, but really don't want a scooter or moped. I see riding on some curvy 55mph metro park roads. Not sure if it's on par for a beginner bike but hopefully something that runs at least 13s in the quarter mile. I am happy with making my own exhaust, motor mounts, cutting and welding of steel here and there (oxy/ace).

I like the groms concept but I dont want to drop $3k for a ride that needs upgraded (front suspension and motor?) from the beginning. Is there another small lightweight old grom like bike out there? Or maybe start with a grom clone do parts interchange?

SV650. Done. That's like the Miata of the bike world.

I've been on a modified Grom. At 6' and 220 (At the time) 52mph was the top speed. The guy that owned it was 6' 170 and he could squeeze 57mph out of it. Getting there was painfully slow. Get a real bike... you wont regret that.

Suzuki DRZ 400 is also a great bike for around town, dirt trails, sidewalks, malls... short commuting.

I'll second the comment that a Grom is not a real bike, and is dangerously slow for some situations- the one I rode was fun in an absurd sort of way, but I wouldn't want to get anywhere near a car on one.

I'm not sure we have enough information to go off of, but it sounds like literally anything Japanese and 400-750cc built in the last 30 years would work just fine for you (based on the 1/4 mile requirement).

Wait, how the hell did Grom and 13 second 1/4 mile end up in the same post?

I started with a Suzuki GS450. The 450 was plenty of bike for a noob and could get up and going without getting me into (too) much trouble

Older Ninja 250? Maybe Ninja 500 (aka EX500)? Naked GS500?

Sorry but anything cheap and/or and small is going to need suspension upgraded to some degree. I had an SV650 that I got brand new in 2006 and its suspension sucked out of the box. Unfortunately in the U.S. market to get good suspension you pretty much have to step up to at least a 600 supersport that no one could or should responsibly suggest to a new rider.

What is your budget?

I'll vote Yamaha FZ6. Second vote Suzuki SV650.

Where are you located Jere? A former co worker is trying to sell an 09 ninja 500 in pa for $3k or under.

I really like the hew Honda 500 twins. Cbr500, cb500f, cb500x. All are on my list if the nt650 bites it for one reason or another.

Ninja 250, they're just capable enough to use everyday and they're cheap/plentiful with spare parts everywhere.

Honda CB-1.

Has anyone said turbo Hayabusa yet?

No older sportster recommendation?

Harley parts can be had kicking around the dirt in YOUR yard.....

Huckleberry wrote: Has anyone said turbo Hayabusa yet?

As long as you stay off boost this would be super docile and provide good margin for rider growth.

Ninja250 / 300

ninja 300 se

ninja 250r

ninja 250r

ninja 250r

nocones wrote:

Huckleberry wrote: Has anyone said turbo Hayabusa yet?

As long as you stay off boost this would be super docile and provide good margin for rider growth.

And like my turbo 10......enough to scare the E36 M3 out of you and put you back in your place.

Appleseed, good choices there. I'm probably going to be getting a 250r in a few months to play with. I want the standing mile record for the 250 class

I'd suggest a Suzuki GS500 as a good starter bike (it's what I'm starting out with), but it is a mid/high 14 second bike in the quarter mile. It sounds like the SV650 would be more ideal for the power you are looking for.

What you want is a Yamaha Vmax. They made them for a long time so parts are plentiful. It's pretty peppy in a straight line, but still docile enough for a beginner to learn on.

I'm kidding. Seriously, DO NOT learn to ride on a V-Max!

pinchvalve wrote: What you want is a Yamaha Vmax. They made them for a long time so parts are plentiful. It's pretty peppy in a straight line, but still docile enough for a beginner to learn on.

Can I change my answer? Has anyone said "Turbo VMax" yet?

In reply to Bobzilla:

I will put the sv650 at the top of the list as a benchmark. Is there a big difference between newer or older or different variations that I should look out for?

In reply to Huckleberry Suzuki DRZ 400 added too it looks good on paper too. I am in the middle of the city not lots of sidewalks and parking lots but not much off roading around.

In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯: I get that the grom is way underpowered, but I always get hung up on motor/trans swaps. I have read/heard about older yamahas that were 6 speed 2 strokes... Someone tell me why this wouldn't work or it's a bad idea, so I can get the "what ifs" out of my head... I cant find quarter mile times for these bikes just that they were "quick between stop lights".

I came up with the quarter mile times just as a general peppyness. I don't want to worry about doing wheelies while learning how to shift

In reply to bastomatic: Thanks Suzuki GS450 also on my list

In reply to SEADave

I see what you mean about just about everything needing upgraded. I guess the "I could just buy a real bike" comes into play factoring grom prices and upgrades to what is in the used market. Thanks for the suggestions too I am going to take some time and read into all of these and compare with whats on the local market.

In reply to foxtrapper

Don't have one in mind yet, waiting on what some divorce lawyers have to say for the most part and I am not sure what I am looking for just yet. The sv650s don't look out of reach... at least for the time being

In reply to clutchsmoke

Thanks I will make sure to do some reading on both

In reply to 92dxman

I am in Akron OH, thanks for the tip but I am taking some time to read up and wait on lawyers and get a feel for general opinion. I have a tendency to jump in too quick on some good deals, so working on practicing restraint

In reply to singleslammer + johnnie

Thanks guys I check into those too!

In reply to Ranger50 + WOW Really Paul?

I really like cheap parts and availability those are both getting bumped up the list

In reply to Appleseed

Thanks for hunting those down. All look like good candidates but I dont' know what I am talking about either

In reply to eastsidemav

Thanks I will check into them too. Maybe just jumping on something cheap and available will make the power goals irrelevant. That said I feel like a bike should be quicker than a car, or at least most cars. Being quicker than traffic in a small car has saved me countless wrecks in traffic. It just seems like it would go 10 fold on a bike.

If you do see something you like, bring a motorcycle friend who has nothing invested in your purchase. They will quickly tell you if its a turd or not.

As someone who owns a Grom and commutes on it I would say get a bigger bike for the first one. The Grom is easy to ride and fun in some circumstances but having power in reserve to accelerate away from traffic is a good thing.

Something old, cheap, used and with some road rash already.

That way you won't cry when you throw it down the road for the first time.

Think CX500, CM400, any of the cheap, disposable UJMs.