:spock:

I am also in the market for a starter bike. My rides would be mostly to work to save gas, about 9 miles each way. Mostly two lane @ 45MPH, a little bit of city traffic the last two miles. I'm 5'7" and 150lbs. I was also considering a Honda Rebel 250 ... you can find them pretty cheap and they haven't changed much in decades. Think that would keep me happy for a year or two?

Sure, that sounds like what a Rebel would be good for.

You see... a car is held off the ground by 4 wheels which makes braking a MUCH easier thing to do than it is on 2 wheels.

The 4 wheels won't come out from under you unlike 2 wheels tend to do when you jam on the brakes.

Yea, Mr. Pr_Capone did kind of butcher that one.
What he means is that the average car can brake, not break, down to a stop from any given speed in a shorter distance than the average motorcycle. And he is correct, because they have more contact patches, tires, to transmit the braking forces to the ground.

it would have to be a very cheap bike for it to be a money saver in the end. do all the math.

if saving money is your goal then instead of spending $4000 on a honda rebel you should look for an older japanese bike. you could find a clean honda bike from the late 80s/early 90s that runs fine (those motors will outlive you) for 2 grand or so. pay cash, liability insurance only, etc. if you're gonna save money, save money.

Very low price... how "used" is that?

lol.... sorry. working and typed it quickly and failed to proof read. :D

ah... 25 years old. :)

in this area m/c do not drop much below $2,000 unless they are quite old or have some issues. that seems to be the basement price for basic transportation.

i was thinking a 250cc 5 or 10 years old which would command about 3 grand here. it will have had more riders than space mountain but will hold value through them unless it gets wrecked.

that a CB500?

very nice

I love the classic vintage bikes. Japanese bikes = blah.

http://www.roncobb.com/Graphics/BSA-30-4-5-LOGO.JPG

not really relevant to that situation, though... the other car isn't braking. and it's not as if you'd drop anchor and completely stop, you just drop behind their rear bumper. that was what i was saying.

If the car sees you all of a sudden and is pulling into that lane they might hit the brakes. Why wouldn't they just get back in their lane? There are a lot of female drivers out there.

never seen that reaction. it seems the 99.999 reaction is to jerk the wheel away, back into the lane theycame from.