Well I’m finally going to look at my first bike…everyone has told me not to buy new or don’t even really be picky on your first bike…because well you’ll upgrade or drop it etc etc
Found something i like, cheap and reliable. its a '81 CB750f.
Insurance is looking to be cheap, phoned some more brokers today hopefully i can find it even cheaper.
My questions:
1)Should I compression test the engine? Its only a $1500 bike, i feel like i would be wasting his time and he would get mad…i think im over thinking.
2)What else should I look for:
chain
fork seals
rust
gastank rust
any weird noises
cold start
hot start
tires
oil
…?
3)Anything I should be doing in particular on the short test drive?
Join gtamotorcycle.com and ask the people there. Theres going to alot more knowledgeable people on there with more experiance when it comes to this subject.
Buying your first bike is tough because most people wont allow you to test ride the bike unless you show up with cash. If the bike comes certified, then you have no worries but if its as is, check it over. Its really hard to tell if the forks are bent(unless they’re bent to shit). I say if you’re ready to buy the bike and its as is, spend the 80-100 bucks bringing it to a shop to get a safety inspection. That 100 bucks could save you alot of money if the sub frame/frame/rims, etc are bent. My friend bought a bike and everything was bent. Its garbage now. Had he spent that money towing it to the shop and getting it looked it, he woulda saved ALOT of money.
Start out on a smaller bike, then move up the cc scale… I personally had the most fun on my EX500 when I first started riding since I could rip that thing open everywhere and I wouldn’t be going crazy fast. Now I’m on an R1 and I give it a little and I’m breaking all the speed limits in Ontario in first gear.
Make sure that you budget money for gear too. Its not cheap. You’ll need a helmet, leather jacket, gloves minimum. Some people buy riding boots and pants.
Check out GTAmotorcycle, its a GREAT site. I’ve been on it before I’ve been riding and there are TONS of deals on there.
And remember, when you do go out riding, don’t feel the need to try and keep up. Thats how you’ll crash since your riding ability will be nowhere near to the experienced riders.
Goodluck and have fun, riding on two wheels is alot of fun, but very dangerous at the same time.
If they’re slightly tweaked I’m not sure how the bike would react but I’m going to assume with the handle bars level the bike will veer to one side. I know with my friends bike they were really bent and it would fight you turning and in a straight line the handle bars were not level.
I’m with All-Risks. State Farm requires you to have a clean record and have at least 5 years driving or riding experience. So the youngest you can be if you got your G1 right when you turned 16 is 21. State Farm doesn’t go by what kind of bike it is, they go by the cc so thats why its cheaper because the supersport bike (R6, R1, Hayabusa, etc etc) are blacklisted by many companies and thats why you end up paying those insane rates.
Call every company out there. Thats what I did lol. You’ll find a decent price hopefully. GTAM also has an insurance forum with brokers on the site.
why dont you buy a newer but smaller bike, like a 07/08 250 so its cheap on insurance and will have less major problems to fix. Bottom line, make sure it doesnt smoke when you ride it and check fork seals for leaks cause there darn expensive
are clutch and brake handles bent? are the handle bar ends damaged ? are forks pitted? this will chew up the fork seals. wanna check the steering head bearings? if you there is no centerstand have someone tip the bike over on it’s kickstand with the rear wheel down of course and you can firmly pull back and forth on the fork feeling for play. then you you turn left and right feeling for notching which means replacing steering head bearings.
check sprockets for unusual wear or spin the rear wheel listening for loud audible clicking , a sure sign for old sprockets or stiff chain link
check under side of muffler for for damage (obvious)
grab handle bars and push down on the front end letting it come up. what you are checking for is what called stiction .(stickiness and friction) there must be none. a smooth return to ride height is what you must feel .use your first bike to perfect your downshift. this is the key to engine longevity .my bike had 260,000 km on it and it would still throttle wheelie . perfect your technique. that CB 750 is probably 600 or more pounds . I hope your not short that bike ain’t for shrimps, high broad seat .lazy steering by todays standard , but what ever you buy have fun .ride by yourself for a year, be smooth and learn ,learn,learn.
should check if your valve is ticking bad… (could be your chain… but it could be fixed with tensioner from riderschoice) but bent valve is bad. also would be alot louder then a chain.
chain shouldnt have any bent in between links. if they are it needs to be replaced b4 you f up your gears. (130 at riderschoice did)
fork seals could be checkd if you rub your finger on bottom of the forks. will be fluid there if its leaking. also check for a bent by rubbing your finger on it.
rust, gastank rust who cares… its an old bike… as long as your front tripple and swingarms are atteched you aint going down
imo just get somthing thats 02 and up… fuel injection man fuel injection!!!
I agree with you ronnie ,remember the FZR 1000 and how super stable that chassis was,or 93 to 96 ZX7’s I started riding in the mid eighties and found the post 2000 stuff really head shakey .I really needed the stability, especially when draging your knee at 180kph or more. just found all the new stuff to be too nervous
I too am looking for a bike, I was looking at a Suzuki GS500, what do you guys think of that?
I am also looking into a Kawasaki ZX6R, but people tell me that that the Suzuki GS500 is best suited for someone who’s somewhat new, I rode a 06 CBR600 before, and found it quite powerful.
That was my newer option…but everything is so overpriced here…
I was going to purchase a new gs last fall for like 5200 out the door i think. Somewhere around there.
But why buy new when your going to drop it/ get rid of it next yr
And there you have a 08’ for $5000.
If i were going for the gs I’m going to the states to get one for dirt cheap even if i have to pay the extra taxes and import fee, ill still come out on top and ill make a trip out of it.
You can find that bike in Michigan or somewhere else close for approx 3k
I would stay away from any 600CC SRAD. Those were pretty ass.
96 was the first year for the 750, 97 for the 600. they made teh 750’s till 2000 and the 600 till 01.
The 96 750 was the first mainstream FI sport bike and was an awesome machine. All teh 750’s were, the 600’s were pretty finicky and arse compared to the 750’s.
I started on a 89 FZR 400. I knew I wanted a super sport bike but I also knew that I’d learn more starting on a smaller bike. I didn’t want a GS500 or a EX500 as I did a lot of research. While they are great starter bikes power wise, their geometry and hardware were very sub par to the performance of a true sportbike.
The 400 was perfect for my needs, smaller, nimble, out handles a 600 or a 1000 and looked hella cool. I learned a lot. I then “upgraded” to an FZR600 and realized that I enjoyed riding the 400 more and was way faster round the track on the 400 than the 600. Then I moved up to a Slingshot GSXR750 and loved that bike. Ended up going with an FZR1000 after that and took a break and got back into it with a ZX7.
Next bike was a 01 GSXR600 then, it went downhill from there. hahahha, name it, I’ve thrashed one. (perks of working in a bike shop for 7 years, you get the best deals on insurance write offs. )
Favourite track (and wheelie) bikes to this day in no particular order.
-FZR400
-CBR929RR and CBR954RR (00 to 02)
-CBR600RR (ANY year)
-CBR1000RR (03 and up)
-97-2000 GSXR750 SRAD
-03-04 GSXR1000
-03-04 ZX636R
-99-02 SV650S
Favourite Street bikes in no particular order
-FZR’s all of them. (400, 600, 1000)
-SV650’s All of them
-CB750’s all of them
-FZ1’s all of them
-Bandit’s (GSF’s) all of them
-STR1300
-SV1000
-ANY 2 stroke scooter
-CBR929RR and CBR954RR
For ANYONE wanting to get to super sport bikes (road or track) I recommend starting on any SV650S made by Suzuki.
V Twin 650. Super cheap, easy to ride and handles like a DREAM. I’m still faster on a well setup SV650 around Shannonville than a 1000CC Super Sport. Insurance is CHEAP and doesn’t classify it as a super sport.
You can do ALL the things a 600 can while still having very manageble power that will keep you out of too much trouble. The thing tops out around 200 but who cares? The thing handles like a dream and sounds AMAZING and looks great! Easy to learn on and enough power that you wont be bored in a week.
Seriously, those GS’s and EX’s are garbage. They don’t handle, you cant buy good tires for them, they look like ASS and perform like a bag of ASS!
Look into SV’s if you are thinking about performance AND safety and a GOOD learning curve.
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