SO looking to buy my first bike… Really not looking into getting a sport bike. I want somewhat of a cruiser.
Something of the sorts like a Harley Nightrod, that kind of look more or less. Bike is so fucking exspensive
I was looking at the Yamaha Bolt thats comming out.
I do want something thats got some power behind it, not so much for speed but just something thats not gonna struggle making its way up steep hills etc
Just looking to see if anyone has any recommendations.
Honda Shadow Spirit. Fuel injected 750 cc.
I personally just got the Shadow Phantom. Same bike but with a fat front tire. Look into them. Not a huge chunk of change and perfect to start on but you won’t get bored of it
If you wanna buy used. Check craigslist for used Shadow Aeros or Shadow Ace. They are cheaper. Carburated but still good bikes.
Depends what your price range is, Kawi, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha have their own cruiser line-up for cheap to expensive it just depends what you can afford and if you are looking for…
A good choice could be the Kawi Vulcan 900 Custom or Classic. It’s a 903cc twin with just under 60-ft-lbs of TQ which will have no issues getting up hills even with a passenger. And the MSRP is just over $9k for a 2013.
buy used.
I agree. First bike I would not buy new. Spend half the price and get a used one.
Just checked out the Bolt. Cool looking bike. It’s like a mix of old style and new technology. I hate the factory exhaust on it and don’t care too much for the digital speedometer. Front and rear disc brake is cool, suspension is cool. Gas tank looks from the 80s but that’s the style and I like it
I guess when I say cruiser I dont mean like a larger touring bike. Something a bit smaller and more… aggresive looking like the bolt picture nick posted.
You can get a phantom like me. But then we would have the same bike. And that’s not cool
The Bolt is impressive. It’s a 950 Too. Plenty of power
What if I put hello kitty stickers on mine? Woudl that be alright then?
get a used sportster.
100% dont buy new. If you need to finance it (why most people buy new), go to Sefcu or a credit union. Ask for a personal loan or line of credit to cover the bike’s cost. The % might be slightly higher than an auto loan through them, BUT its lien free and alot easier to deal with when you want to trade it in or sell it.
You are on the right idea for a first bike. Something that doesnt have a powerband only above 7500RPM and doesnt require ultra precise loading of the suspension and such correctly to stay planted to the ground like a typical sport bike. A nice 500-1000 twin cruiser is good. They dont handle like a go cart, dont wheelie every moment you wack on it over a rise, wont do 160 like its nothing… all the things to keep your newbie ass in check. 
My suggestions for what to look for, to me all bikes and cars are awesome and suck all at the same time so i dont prefer one over the next. Just look for features and being well maintained.
-EFI. Consistancy when starting cold or hot. Instant throttle response. Adapts itself fine for air temp changes, altitude, etc much better than some static jets in a carb.
-tires. Cheap shitty ass tires scare me. Something soft compound, doesnt take forever to get to a safe sticky temp. Just something that gives you confidance in the bike supporting your ass in a turn and in panic situations.
-comfertable while seated on it. Being uncomfertable is dangerous.
-clutch and brake lever feel. While alot of starter bikes (ninja250’s especially) have mile long friction zones on the clutch lever as not to stall or be choppy and have soft weak brakes as not to do an endo or tuck a tire… they are a hinderance in my opinion. The brakes more so than the clutch. I would rather see someone go into a parking lot and find out how hard they can romp on the brakes, find out what points they will lock up and get sketchy, or start to endo (not going to happen on a cruiser bike so much) than find themselves in a panic situation on the road and “run out of braking power” and hit something. The 250R stock, I could literly JUMP on the rear brake and not lock it up, fronts I could squeeze as hard and as fast as I could and it was suprisingly insufficent. If I did that on my other bikes I would tuck the front tire in a split second with 1/3 the harshness of that example, but without a doubt I could stop a faster heavier bike miles shorter than that 250R. Clutch i like being able to feel it and having a good engaugment. downshifts I dont want to have to pull the lever a mile to disengauge it, and they are usually cable type and need atleast 2-3 fingers to pull, thats taking grip away and requires alot of effort, especially if you are having to make quick moves to stay shiny side up. A good clutch should have a as short a pull for engaugment and disengaugment as managable for the rider. I like the lever positioned about an inch from my kunckles on the grips fully engauged. then a pull from there to about 1/4" from my knuckles is 90% disengaugment. If I need full-enough disengaugment its more or less resting on my last 2-3 fingers holding the grip. A hyrdo clutch is the best, 1-2 finger pull and still very good feel. Lastly, the most important reason reason I set the clutch up like this… sitting at lights, if your not the last in line watch your mirror like a hawk until a few cars are stopped behind you. and NEVER put it in nutral and sit there with your hands off the controlls. Leave it in 1st and be ready to launch at any time and always have an escape route planed for EVERY stop. I was coming at a yellow, then red and 3 cars ahead were stoping. I stopped (always angled at my escape direction), and watched the guy about 100 feet behind me coming, and coming, and not slowing down… I let the clutch out and went into the center turning lane and scretch BAM the guy coming behind me didnt see everyone stopped until the last sec and he drilled the car that was stopped ahead of me at about 15-20mph. I would have been fucked. and YES I flipped out on the dumb bitch and let the cops know it too. If I was in nutral, even if I saw it like I did, it would have been questionable if I could avoide getting hit.
thats a good start for my kkadvice
IDK I dont liek the look of the sportsters for some reason… the new 883 looks nice… suprised see a few used ones I craigslist under 7k…
Thanks for the suggestions guys 
Ima keep a lookout on CL, really want to get something in the next month or two… well see what happens…
I have a CB750 for sale. Great bike to learn on and has some power, it is a really fast bike. I would not recommend buying a new or even a newer nice bike for your first bike, it’ll more than likely take a little bit of damage as you learn, probably get dropped at one point or another. I’m not saying it will happen, i’m just saying it’s very likely.
Buy a cheap bike to save for expensive gear. You will go down, every rider has. I would rather replace a $50 tank off ebay and a $300 leather jacket than a $500 tank and a skin graft.
That Yamaha Bolt looks pretty sweet!
Definitely buy used.
The nice thing about the Sportsters is that they make a ton of aftermarket parts for them, so you can almost completely change the look of the bike.
+1
Only if he wants to fill the gas tank every other day, tiny ass tanks and OK fuel mileage for the weight/size of those bikes. Plus older sportsters tend to have oil leaking issues, shitty gaskets.
Could probably find a newer iron 883 or Nightster 1200 for a good price
Yeah they are reasonably priced, and newer ones had the option of a bigger fuel tank.
This!