I'm not advocating more power for vanity's sake. It is important with motorcycles to have enough power to avoid trouble. When you see trouble coming, you want to be able to get out of the way so you don't end up hurt. When some knucklehead decides he wants in your lane and doesn't bother looking, you want to be able to move quickly.

I just want to chime in real quick and tell you I think either bike you choose is a great choice for your first bike. I also want to thank you for being smart and deciding to make your first choice for a bike a good one. A lot of guys bite off more than they can chew and hurt themselves or others. Will you grow out of it? Sure. Get a new one after you have got all the noob out of your riding, and are a master of that bike. Which will take longer than you think.
As far as the bike, the goldwing is a little bit heavier. If your strong then you cant go wrong either choice. Personally I lean towards the vulcan. Ride safe sir.

Ah, that makes sense. :thumb:

i'm telling you man..you say you aren't going to ride on the highway..never underestimate the power of the two wheels...

I'd love to find a gold wing, drop the ass end down, up sweep pipes and low rise handlebars...that motor is bulletproof.

Both of those bikes are more than capable of avoiding this trouble.

I have rode both, The 500 Vulcan is peppy for a small bike but way too light and gets pushed badly in a side wind. My buddy owns it and likes it but is a small guy and does not ride much. Another buddy of mine rides his dads Goldwing and I road it one time. It looks much like the one in your photo I do not know if it is the same year. It has decent acceleration and rides nice however the width of the pegs was uncomfortable. Given the choice I would buy the Goldwing.

I'm not small - 5'10 and about 230 right now (though trying to lose weight). Wind is an issue around here as the breeze coming off the ocean can be fairly strong at times.

GW

Motorcycles are funny.......you ride them awhile and they ride you awhile.

definitely..you always have to be on your toes..

FMB, whatever you get..practicng doing figure 8's on both left and right hand turns..it will do wonders for your sense of balance and manueverability.

I do not think you will enjoy the 500 for long. It is a very limited bike. If you are a beginer it is a good starter bike. I also read you do not plan on riding on highways well that is the biggest strike against the 500. I will tell you this you are much safer on the big slab than you will be in town. If stop light to stop light is the only type of riding you are going to do that 500 is all you need. Just be careful and ride like those around you can not see you because often they can not.

The Vulcan is too small IMO. If I were looking, I wouldn't consider a v-twin unless it was at least a 1500. I've ridden 1100-1200 v-twins and just wasn't that impressed with them.

I have a '76 wing. It is a bit bulky for a new rider, but I was able to pass the kansas motorcycle license test on mine the first time after a bit of practice. Though its a 1000cc, it is a 4 cylinder with plenty of go. It's also a lot smoother running than the v-twins. The big drawback to the wing is at it's age is dependability. It seems like there is usually something on my bike I can find to work on if I'm in the mood to tinker.

Friend of mine has a 1600 vulcan. We've swapped bikes a bit for rides. He rode my bike like his vulcan and never really was impressed. Being used to his 1600 twin, he doesn't get too deep into the throttle. One day I told him to quit babying it, wind up and let it go. He was surprised at how it came to life and had quite a bit of fun on it.

I don't agree that you're going to outgrow the 500. Even if you did, it would be a year or two away, and you can flip a bike like that for no less than you paid and upgrade.

Find the MSF course in your area and take it, you'll get an insurance discount, you won't have to take the driving part of the test for your license, and it's a great investment in yourself.

I completely disagree here. I've had a Honda VTR1000 Superhawk, my buddy has a Honda RC51, and my dad just got a ducatti 1198.

Those are 996, 999, and 1198cc v-twins respectively. And they all have plenty of power.

Know your local potholes like the back of your hand.