i got a sort of important quetion-

i guess it needs to start with an intro,
i'm eighteen
i just got my license, for a car and a motorcycle
but i'm way more into bikes than cars, so i want to get a bike of coarse
i am kinda curious if there is a site or some people that can tell me a bit about  different bikes and what they are good for.
i am loking for a bike just to ride around town, i like the sport bikes the most so far, but i don't plan to be too speedy or crazy, but maybe a ***

in about a year, i plan to take a cross country trip on said motorcycle, so i was also looking for a site/ some people, to point me towards some places/events of interest.

so, anyone got some advice, or know a place i can go to read about it?  

Hi there, it's not an easy decision by any means. From what I have read I'd say 600cc or less would be a smart move. Secondly if you are planning on long road trips you may have your work cut out for you. A sport bike can be brutal on your mind and body. Trust me on this, when i was your age I was making long trips through mexico on my sport bike. Anything past 4-6 hours is an endurance test to say the least. It's up to you in the end. Sit on every bike you are contemplating, that is where I would start if I were 18 and knew what I know now. Best of luck.  

I started out with a 1100 Honda Shadow.  It was a great bike and very reliable and the price is right.  The great thing about this bike is you can load it up for trips and take riders along with you.  A lot of people are more comfortable with the cruiser bikes then sport bikes.  But it all comes down to what you want to do with it.  I even converted my shadow to a bobber with hand shift and clutch.  Worked great and was different!

Happy Riding!  

Today at your age I would recommend reading and researching several bikes that interest you and then pricing the insurance before buying. You may find the insurance costs to be shocking if you pick a "high performance" labled bike. My nephew bought a bike without doing this and his annual cost was $3500/yr! When starting out, he didn't make enough money to ride a bike in this category. Me, I can't ride a cruiser style bike for any length of time due to back surgery and I'm too old to ride a hyper-sport bike, so I picked a standard bike. Sitting on bikes doesn't tell you how well it will feel an hour or six down the road. BMW has some comfortable seats and I have no recent experience with others.  

well thanks guys, it seems the more i read into this, the more i need to learn about this trip and what not.

i heard about a book: zen; and the art of motorcycle maintanence. i heard that would be a good book for me to read and i'll learn a lot from it, i was wondering how imformative it is, and is there any other books out there that would help me for ths trip?

so far, the plan is to go from nor cal, to so cal, then over to texas, up the central u.s. to indiana, over to tennessee, then to virginia, and down to florida.

most of the stops will be for visiting friends and family, but some will be for some big things, or cool places to see.  

Hi

My Idea would be get a  nice town bike around 600 to 1000 CC. It will most likley cost less insurance if you buy a street bike over a sports bike. For the road trip i would look for a good Crusier. BMW, Goldwing but there are others. But the Goldwing and BMW are made for these trips. There is a reason see them on long trips. comfort and durability. Most city bike will not make it running for 6 to 8 hours on a hot day. for several days. in my opinon. (When i was your age i did try it BTW... Ducati, Triamph, Norton.. then a Harley... Today i ride a 700 Suzuki in town and a Goldwing on the open road. 60 years young
;-}  

My personal choice would be a BMW f650gs, it is a great all around bike, great for starting out on as well as it is nicely balanced. Both my friend and I have one and we love them, they are also a nice to look at bike which will help in your decision as well. If you decide to go on a bike trip down to Mexico come and visit us, our company name is Mazatlan Motorcycle Adventures  

There are 160,000 miles of paved roads in this country and 3,000,000 miles of unpaved roads. Go dual-sport and see that 99% of the country that the street riders never see. Dual-sports are much more rugged and are far more versatile than street only bikes. They are agile handlers. City traffic is no obstacle to them. Many of them can dice with the sportbikes in the corners. You sit tall in the saddle and can look down on the cruisers. They are also versatile platforms for customizing. They are not locked in to being just a dual-sport.

  Best 1st bike engine size (if you intend to keep it for a while) is a 650 single, they are more than fast enough to hang with freeway traffic. The power is very contollable also. They are oh so inexpensive and easy to maintain. Check out the Suzuki DR 650 and Kawasaki KLR 650 (the Kaw is the bike of choice for the US Marines for scout and courier duty). Both bikes are very affordable. Both have outstanding reputations for reliability.  Both can get a real world 55+ mpg. Insurance for a Kaw KLR 650 from Dairyland was $260 a year for full coverage, $60 A YEAR FOR LIABILITY!(in West Texas). Great bikes, great prices. (approx. $5,000-$5400)


There is a web site with forums for just about every bike made, just type the bike name into the search field and hang on. Don't break the bank on your first bike, and don't let blowhards bully you into a bike you can't handle or afford.

I don't work for any bike company. I'm just a 52 year old electrician FROM TEXAS, BY GOD!  

Somthing to consider is the 650 GS, BMW , they make a great product, have an excellent warranty program, are belt driven for longevity and no maintanence, are affordable, great gas mileage, and can be toured for hours on end, if your budget is far less and you want something used, try to find a 88 or 89 Honda Transalp, had one and would ride from Chicago to the east coast in a day, depending on when you go, depends on your options, if you want a bike to ride year round think of those options as well, heated grips/ seats/ plug ins for heated clothing, cruise control- digital cc that is, most companies do not offer those, but BMW does on virtuallt all their bikes, I do not work for BMW either, but after owning one, i dont know why i waited so long to buy one, i have owned many different model bikes, once i started buying from the European types, you realize how much better touring can be.
Best of luck on whatever you choose, dont buy a sport bike for touring.