New rider from northern AZ here looking at options for that first bike. I'm signed up for the MSF basic rider course this weekend I've been riding my old pedal bike everyday for the past week or so, been researching what to expect in the MSF course and generally lurking bike forums every night for the past two weeks.
As far as bikes are concerned, the sv650 has caught my eye for a couple of reasons.
-There are a lot of them available to buy used. Makes getting the bike cheaper and probably less painful if *when* I ever put it down.
-The bike can be adapted to fit someone like me who is 6'4 and 270lbs (that second number is on its way down, haven't weighed in since December). Planning on getting buell pegs and a gel seat depending on how cramped the position is. Also planing on upgrading shocks once I get some more experience under my belt.
-The bike has been around long enough and there is enough of a community that if I run into problems/questions I'll be able to get help with them. Especially since I plan on doing a few mods / maintenance on my own.
-It's not an inline 4. I have no desire to die or lose parts of my body I consider important. Couple that with my weight and my elevation of 5'000 feet (yay for lack of oxygen) and I think I should be able to manage learning on a 650 so long as I take it slow and am careful.
I do however have a few questions:
There are quite a few articles online about buying used bikes, what to look for, what to check, things to ask the owner. Is there anything specific to the sv650 that I need to be careful of? any problem areas that I should check to see if they are going to need attention?
Any other advice to avoid getting shafted by buying a used bike? Things that may seem obvious to you guys are things I probably don't know to check.
How hard is it to do maintenance work on one of these things? I would like to consider myself mechanically inclined, but have limited experience with automotive stuff.
Feel free to answer these and throw in any other info you feel necessary.
As far as bikes are concerned, the sv650 has caught my eye for a couple of reasons.
-There are a lot of them available to buy used. Makes getting the bike cheaper and probably less painful if *when* I ever put it down.
-The bike can be adapted to fit someone like me who is 6'4 and 270lbs (that second number is on its way down, haven't weighed in since December). Planning on getting buell pegs and a gel seat depending on how cramped the position is. Also planing on upgrading shocks once I get some more experience under my belt.
-The bike has been around long enough and there is enough of a community that if I run into problems/questions I'll be able to get help with them. Especially since I plan on doing a few mods / maintenance on my own.
-It's not an inline 4. I have no desire to die or lose parts of my body I consider important. Couple that with my weight and my elevation of 5'000 feet (yay for lack of oxygen) and I think I should be able to manage learning on a 650 so long as I take it slow and am careful.
I do however have a few questions:
There are quite a few articles online about buying used bikes, what to look for, what to check, things to ask the owner. Is there anything specific to the sv650 that I need to be careful of? any problem areas that I should check to see if they are going to need attention?
Any other advice to avoid getting shafted by buying a used bike? Things that may seem obvious to you guys are things I probably don't know to check.
How hard is it to do maintenance work on one of these things? I would like to consider myself mechanically inclined, but have limited experience with automotive stuff.
Feel free to answer these and throw in any other info you feel necessary.
