Belkin623

Also, what does everyone think about the Hyosung GT250? I've seen a couple 2010 model years for sale for a nice price. I haven't read very many reviews on these yet.

Belkin623

I found a bike for a great deal. If everything this guy says is true, it is a perfectly sound bike.. except for a dent the size of the palm of your hand on the side of the gas tank. Is this a major issue? I'm fine with it as long as it doesn't drastically affect the bike somehow.

chubbys2k

Example: you and a friend are looking at a $2000 bike. Your friend gives you $1000 to help you out. You put it under your name and insurance. You and him both ride it and learn together. When both u and him are done and comfortable and want a better bike, sell it and split the money 50/50. That's just a thought and hope he's a good friend not to screw with u.

Whatever bike is up to u. Personally I'm in the sport bike look, so if doesn't look sporty or has a banana seat, I'm not bothering to look at it. Good luck

vader1

If the bike had a tank slapper it can also screw up the fork. Make sure the bike does not wobble, pull, or have odd wear patterns in the tires.


Belkin, you have posted a lot of info about yourself in this thread. You want to be a professional drifter, you want a motorcycle and you also love nothing more than snowboarding, speed, chicks and you are 18.

It sounds a lot like you have some dreams and want them to play out. There is not a huge market for drift car drivers, and fewer opportunities for guys who are already 18 and don't have any experience at it. You also don't like your crappy paying job.

This is some unsolicited advice but I have just about everything a guy could want (within reason), a bike, decent cars, moving in to a nice house on a lake, and my wife and I have nicely sized retirement accounts, and working toward retiring at 55. We travel, and do pretty much whatever we want.

There is one thing that made all of this happen (outside of hard work) and that is school. It aint always fun but a total necessity and you are at a pivotal age. You can be a guy who tries different routes only to find at age 30 you go back to school to better your situation. The best advice for being able to do what you want to do in life is not to spend every penny you have on a new bike and setting up a drift car, but to investing that money in yourself and your future. It does not sound glamorous or fun, but it pays huge dividends in the end.

Someone will post on here, "life is short, let him do what he wants and have fun." That is usually said by the 70% of people in this country who retire with nothing or never retire. The dying "car talk" section of this board is visited by guys who have been on here forever, but drive Vipers, Porsches, Vettes, Lotuses, and all kinds of neat expensive stuff. And outside of a person who inherited it or a guy who started a decent business, the one thing they all have in common is an education. Unless you are the one in a jillion with uncommon drifting talent, $25k on a degree will pay off way more than an old 240 drift car.

At your age I did a lot of what you want to do and spent money on stuff I thought was cool and might impress other people. What I ended up with was a lot of money spent and some used worthless crap. Fortunately my parents paid for my education or I would be working some dead end job most likely.

I stay in touch with some people I went to high school with and have lunch with a group of them every so often. I can't tell you, 25 years after we graduated, how different our lives are, and how hard theirs are compared to mine. They did not continue with school. The dreams you have as an 18 year old will look pretty lame to you in 10 years, but the difference will be how far you chased ones that were not realistic, and how much you chased securing your future. I know a guy who wanted to be a professional skateboarder. He is 45 and lives with his parents now. He cleans pools.

Good luck to you in whatever you decide to do. Yeah that was preachy. I get it.

Belkin623

Example: you and a friend are looking at a $2000 bike. Your friend gives you $1000 to help you out. You put it under your name and insurance. You and him both ride it and learn together. When both u and him are done and comfortable and want a better bike, sell it and split the money 50/50. That's just a thought and hope he's a good friend not to screw with u.

Whatever bike is up to u. Personally I'm in the sport bike look, so if doesn't look sporty or has a banana seat, I'm not bothering to look at it. Good luck
[/quote]

I get what you mean.. But I still can't put my friend and myself on insurance under one bike.

Belkin623

Vader1, I really appreciate your advice. I know the chances of me ever becoming a professional in any sport are very low, but it would still be a very fun hobby, just like snowboarding. I'm about to start my third year of college, after this year, I'll have two associates degrees, in art and science. So I'm definitely staying with the school; however, I have no idea what I wanna do, so after this year i don't know what to study, so I'm not sure if I'll keep doing school, since I don't want to be throwing money that I don't have into a degree I'll never use. I was thinking about mechanical engineering, but I have no idea if I'll like that for the rest of my life. What do you do for a living?

Rheology

I'm going to give some "unpopular" advice.

I would *not* get anything 250 or smaller even for a first bike. Part of safely riding a motorcycle is being able to escape dangerous situations and the 250s just dont have the grunt to do it. You're going to be relying on the handling (which you wont develop skill with for a long time) and the brakes, which makes your avenues for escape from dangerous situation much more limited (think car merging into your lane while theres someone on the other side).

I've ridden the ninja 300, its a nice little bike. Much more pick up than the 250.

***IF*** you are a responsible guy, and you sound like it, the 600s arent horrible bikes to start out on, especially bikes like the F4i. The power comes on verryyyy late in the rev range. I doubt an F4i makes more than 45hp below 9k rpm. If you stay out of the high revs its pretty easy to not be intimidated by the power while youre learning. The people who shouldnt get 600s are the ones who aren't responsible enough to stay out of the power while theyre learning.

You might also want to consider *not* getting a sport-bike. This sounds counter-intuitive but theyre often more difficult to make turn because the handlebars are so narrow, giving you less leverage. A nice upright standard like a Honda 599 or SV650 would make a great first bike in my extremely humble opinion.

Lastly, carburettors are the spawn of the devil. This isn't like your dads Chevy truck, bikes have four of them and theyre not sitting ontop of the engine exposed for you to work on them.

Lastly nbr 2, dont cheap out on the gear. That really needs to be a part of your budget, at least 500 bucks for a helmet, jacket, and gloves.

Good Luck!

Belkin623

I was actually thinking of getting an sv650. I found a good deal on one, even though it's still almost double what I wanted to pay for my first bike, although I'm sure I would have it for quite awhile.

I already had the intentions to stay away from carburettors and I definitely care about my safety and have been reading a lot on gear, so at the very least, I'll blow a lot on proper gear, at most least helmet, jacket, and decent gloves.

Does anyone know of any shops around here that will perform a pre-buy inspection for me? (I live around Lake Pleasant Pkwy and Deer Valley) Or is that not necessary for a bike?

Saki GT

Nothing wrong with carbs per se, but a carbed 4 cyl with 4 separate carbs can be a huge headache to tune. If they are in good working order, they can be less fussy than fuel injection, but they aren't that big a deal imo. I would find a good bike first, and if it is carbed, ensure the carb is in good tune.

And a good helmet isn't about price, its about DOT, and then comfort and wind noise. If you use ear plugs, wind noise won't really be an issue. Always go full-face; 70% of face impacts are along the jaw line.

If you buy from a reputable dealer, the bike will have been inspected, and it is always good to have someone who knows bikes take a look, especially if you are a novice. There's not much that can go wrong on a bike, but there are some big things you'll want to be aware of, like the condition of the frame, engine, signs of crashes, etc. Tires can give good evidence of how the bike was used, provided they aren't brand new, and you'll want to be able to identify replaced parts. If it has a sticker on it, good chance there's damage under there!

And I'll add this; I've had 40-100 hp bikes, and I think the sweet spot is ~60 hp - enough to have fun without quickly getting dangerous. Remember, these things weigh 400-600 pounds wet, so they don't need much power. That said, I only ride on public roads, I don't track, nor do I drag knee, so ymmv.

Gotpepsi

Seems like your in a state of securing your identity. If you don't know what degree to pursue, you should invest some time in auditing or taking introduction classes at your local university. This will help you find you understand yourself and find a career that you will enjoy. You can also ask your university advisor to assist you into take a career interest assessment. The test will list many careers that you much be interested in based on how you answered the questions.

I don't know what is considered a lot of money to blow on gear, but I started off with a 100 dollar helmet (Shoei RF-1000) that I purchased on eBay, a 80 dollar leather jacket for winter, an 80 dollar textile summer jacket from RevZilla, and a pair of 24 dollar gloves at my local dealer. eBay and Craiglist is a great resource to find used gear.

Lots of good information here. I would not buy a used bike from a dealership though. You are going to end up paying dealer fees that you can get away with by buying private party. Just inspect the bike for damages and condition. I agree with the sticker comment. It is a funny surprise when you take that sticker off and see a huge scrape... I been there... lol