This article will walk you through the steps of buying your first motorcycle. Everything you need to know from choosing the “right” bike for you to bringing it home! Also, check out this article, where I explain different types of motorcycles.
Buy Smart
Most of the riders will tell you that your first bike should not be a new bike and that it should not have a lot of horsepower. A blogger from the ‘Old Guy’s Place’ states:
Chances are the bike you really want should not be your first bike. It will be too large and/or too powerful for a beginning rider. Keep in mind that this is your first bike, not your ultimate bike. If you buy an inappropriate bike it may well be your last bike.
While this may be true, I don’t agree with it entirely. If you have self-control and respect the power, you’ll be fine. I bough my first bike back in June 2007, and it was a brand spanking new, $10,000, 123 hp (350 lb) machine, that I was (maybe still am) scared of. This healthy fear is what keeps me sane while riding, meaning that I respect the power and constantly remind myself to keep cool, stay in control, and don’t make any sudden inputs on the controls.Brian Igo from Epinions.com has some good advice ( that I ignored 
What you are looking for is a bike that is pulled back from the extreme qualities that make the big models more suitable for experienced riders. An entry level touring bike will be a lot lighter than the 800 pound Gold Wing, an entry level cruiser won’t have the chopper handling of a Harley Springer Softail, and an entry level sport-bike won’t have the 180mph engine of a Suzuki Hayabusa or the racetrack-bred handling reflexes of the Yamaha YZF-R6.
My friend Matt went a different route than me. He bought a used old-school bike that needed work and fixed it up. This approach is also good if you want to learn about all of the different components of a motorcycle and like working on engines, etc. And it saves you a lot of money!
New or Used?
Definitely used (I ignored this advice too). The reason is simple: with this being your first bike, while you still learning and perfecting the techniques of riding, the chances of you crashing the bike are pretty good (statistically anyways). If you bought used and crashed it while learning – no problem, because you did not spend $10,000 on it. Again, I bought a new bike, because I like to be the first owner, so I just had to take it easy until I got used to the bike. But buying used makes sense and you probably should do it.
Making the Purchase
I went to a dealer, looked at the bike, sat on it, read the stats, and then bought it. The whole process took an hour. Perhaps, I am a compulsive buyer, although I am very happy with the purchase. If you buy from a dealer in the summer, expect the prices to be higher than in the winter. Also, manufacturers run promotions from time to time. Yamaha was offering low interest for 2 years as well as no money down and payments only $90 a month. Sounds like a good deal, although keep in mind that they are able to do this, because the first 2 years you’ll be paying interest and not principal.
I am a little bit sceptical buying online (i.e. eBay), because of a lot of fraudulent activities conducted online. If you do decide to go this route, make sure you check the bike out. Request a test drive if possible. Check out the title as well.
Buying from an add in a paper or online ad (i.e. Craig’s List) is fine, providing you can look at the bike and possibly test drive it. The advantage of this method is that you can get a better deal, and save a lot of money.
If you’re buying from a dealer, prior to picking it up (the bike can be actually delivered to you for an extra charge), make sure you have a vehicle to transport it in. I had to rent a U-Haul for couple of hours and did not think of the fact that I will have to unload the bike by myself. I had to knock on my neighbors’ door and ask them if they can assist me, because I did not want to drop my beautiful machine before I ever got on it So, plan ahead with this one.
I also had to have proof of insurance [http://nubiker.com/2008/01/20/buying-motorcycle-insurance-online/], before I could pick up the bike, even though I was not riding it home. I am not sure if all states have this requirement, but Maryland does for sure.
Well, this about wraps it up. There are more information that you can check out that goes into detail on this topic and can be found HERE.
If you read this article and just bought a motorcycle, congratulations and welcome to the club!
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- Things to Consider While Buying a Motorcycle
- Things To Consider While Buying A Motorcycle
- Types of Motorcycles
- Types of Motorcycles
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