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I am toying with getting a motorcycle, something I thought about years ago and didn't due to cost. Soon I will be in a position where cost is not so much an issue (Kids finishing college). I have no idea what I want. I have ridden on the back of one once, it was a big new Indian touring model, very comfortable very heavy. It was part of a motorcycle club that came to our Kiwanis club and gave everyone a ride. The other club members called it an "old man's bike" I liked it ok, but I would prefer something kind of classic less plasticy. they all had Harleys - mostly smaller and more primitive. I am not sure the Harleys they had wold be pleasant for anything more than a short ride, but I do not know anything.
I will use it to go to work in the summer, ride around just for fun and for some long trips once in a while (assuming I can manage a long trip. I will likely have passengers from time to time. I suppose I could get a sidecar someday, but it seems like a sidecar starts getting away from the point of riding a motorcycle. With a sidecar, it is not much different from my Jensen-Healey roadster (except that the sidecar might be rreadily removable - not sure).
I have always been fond of Norton, just because I have been in various British car clubs, so Nortons have been around and I liked the look of them. Looking online it appears they are mostly described as "Sport Bikes" so maybe that would not be ideal for me.
I would love to get something historic or unique, or both.
While I will eventually want to go fast, I want to find something reasonably comfortable for long rides, and safe-ish. I have a back problem, so a bike that is easy to stand back up if you fall over would be a plus. The guy who had the Indian said that even though it is a very heavy bike, it is easy to stand up because of how it is balanced. I can do anything on a car repair wise, so I expect a motorcycle that needs maintenance or repairs from time to time will to be a problem. They do not seem to be as complex as a car.
I looked online and found a listing of the top ten touring bikes and they liked (that I remember) Honda Goldwing, Harley Electraglide and A Ducati Multisomethingorother. While I liked the look of the Harley the best, the Ducati sounded good because they said it was a good mix of touring and sportbike.
I am not overly concerned about cost. If it costs more than $15,000 or so, I will get a loan. I cannot see paying more than $25,000 - $30,000 at the very top, but I see bikes (Norton) for less than $5,000 that look like they might be decent. Obviously, that is much preferable to taking out loan. I do not want some uber classic museum piece knowing that I will undoubtedly fall down at some point while learning. Plus I do not want to worry about it all the time (is it getting rained on? stolen? dirty? scratched?). I prefer used to new. I do not see the sense in buying much of anything new, especially vehicles.
So, anyway I am looking for suggestions. I am in no particular hurry. It could well be a year or years, but I want to start by figuring out what I want (then learn to ride one). Thank you.
Standard advice: First take the MSF course. Then buy a used, small displacement bike. Find a friend who's an experienced rider to ride with and learn from. If after your first drop or two you still want to ride, move up from there.
I had a Norton Atlas, circa '66. Helluva good looking scoot, when it started/ran...I wouldn't consider any Norton to be a 'sport bike', but everyone has their own definitions. Wouldn't be my pick for a 'first bike', either.
Dunno the OP's age, but few of us can get good at something very quickly, in our middle ages, and riding on the street is not like playing slow pitch softball or doing a few rounds of golf.
Strongly rec'd doing the MSF course, (some/most sites provide a two wheeler of some kind to 'learn on'), and then cop a cheapazz very used sled from the want ads. Find an empty parking lot or field and go give it a whirl.
Street riding is not for the faint of heart, and esp not for the inexperienced, imo.
No xpert, but I learned in 'the fields and woods' at ~15, and 54 years later I am still learning, and have fully realized the not so subtle inherent risks in the hobby.
GL, mD
Good call Cruz A New Triumph would give the classic look with modern reliability and address all riding op is looking for,any of the old classics would be as low use hobby as they arent that reliable.
There's a lot of the classic retro bikes out now. The major, major advantage is unlike an old Triumph or Norton, they're actually reliable. They aren't stellar values as far as new bikes go. Eg the most basic is a Yamaha SR400. At $6,000 and inferior in every way to a non-retro beginner bike, it's really poor value. That said, motorcycles are really not something where practicality and value are key criterias or you'd just be in an old Corolla.
Triumph Bonneville and it's variants is much the same. They're inferior bikes that cost more than, say, a Street Triple, but for a lot of people that's just fine. They're reasonable. The new Nortons are not. I mean, cool bike but it's just not worth $20k. They're very limited production. There's also Moto Guzi, V7 is somewhat similar to the Bonneville. For something more cruiser-esque, I really like the Moto Guzi 1400 and MGX-21. MGX-21 is more modern though. There's also the Honda CB1100. It never sold well. It's not retro enough to really hit people's emotional buttons so it was short lived. It actually was a pretty good bike though.
There's also the Honda CB1100. It never sold well. It's not retro enough to really hit people's emotional buttons so it was short lived. It actually was a pretty good bike though.
It seemed retro enough to me. Not powerful enough, though. I think Honda is bringing it back except with better suspension. Maybe other upgrades but I don't recall.
Indians are some beautiful bikes! Enjoy and be careful.
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