Best Cruiser motorcycle on a budget?

Matthew K said:
Yeah the VTX 1300 is definitely bigger than a sportster, I sat on one a few days ago and definitely noticed the weight & size difference. I do like the sound of the VTX though, so if I find one I like at the right price I may go for it.

Regarding riding experience- admittedly pretty limited. I'm signed up for the "new rider course" at my local Harley Dealer. Like the MSF it counts as the driving portion of the DMV test and gets me an insurance discount.

I understand the merit behind the "600cc rule" for new riders, so I'm okay with a Sportster 883 or similar in the short term since it gets me the sound I'm looking for without too much power. Definitely not looking for sport bike power at this point.

As for the aviation reference, I'd of much preferred starting with the MU-2 ;)
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I have a 2008 vtx 1300 c I planed on putting on the market in the spring (comes with NEW trailer) Asking $3200.
 
Just got done with my riding course. 2 full days of training. Pretty fun. Learned a lot.

Now to buy a motorcycle
 
Southpaw said:
They are nice tame cruisers. Smooth power , but yeah they can be hard to stand up if you lay them down. ​
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Not if you do it right. Picked up my Wing more than once, and there are girls bigger and stronger than me.
And some of them can pick up a Goldwing:
 
steingar said:
Not if you do it right. Picked up my Wing more than once, and there are girls bigger and stronger than me.
And some of them can pick up a Goldwing:
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Do the newest ones have the bag and engine guards like the old ones? That is the key, if it goes all the way over, stand on the rear wheel, that puts it on the wheels and side guards, THEN lift like a girl!
 
I agree with the MSF comments. It's not expensive (180 in Oklahoma) Use their bikes and helmets. Once you've done that, sit on all of them. Lots' of Suzuki and Kawasaki 800 and 900cc bikes that aren't to expensive. My kid has a 900 Classic Kawasaki, and she loves it. Cheap to ride, fairly cheap maintain. I've owned 2 Suzuki Boulevards, 3 Kawasaki cruisers. Lots of miles on all of them. No issues.
 
alfadog said:
Regarding tips, if you can get ahold of a lighter bike something like a 250 or 350, or even smaller, try riding it on wet grass. That will help you learn the control needed if you ever run into an issue on the road.
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The biggest issue is stupid drivers!
 
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Flavius Renatus said:
Just bought a brand new Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 for $5,900. 3 yr unlimited mileage warranty. A lot of fun and simple.

https://www.royalenfield.com/
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I did a demo ride on one of those last fall. Surprisingly nice bike. Very smooth power, very very light, a real deal for the price. The coolest thing was the vintage English styling. I could see getting some mod-looking gear and joining an RE club.
 
steingar said:
I did a demo ride on one of those last fall. Surprisingly nice bike. Very smooth power, very very light, a real deal for the price. The coolest thing was the vintage English styling. I could see getting some mod-looking gear and joining an RE club.
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Lived in Scotland in early/mid 60’s. Owned a Royal Enfield Custom Police Interceptor 750cc. Totally awesome bike, enormous power, great road bike. Toured most of Western Europe on it. Wow! BTW, no speed limits in those days.


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Honda ST1300 with ABS. Best bike out of the 20 I've owned.
 
steingar said:
I did a demo ride on one of those last fall. Surprisingly nice bike. Very smooth power, very very light, a real deal for the price. The coolest thing was the vintage English styling. I could see getting some mod-looking gear and joining an RE club.
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I wouldn't consider a 400+ pound motorcycle to be "very very light" but perhaps it has a nice, light feel to the handling just like a European bike should have. I still need to test ride one of the new Enfields, just because they interest me even though I'm not in the market for one at this time. My vintage Triumph does a better job at acting like a vintage British bike should than the new Enfield would. :)

That said, I think one of the Enfield twins or a Guzzi V7 would be a great entry level bike that the OP could buy brand new and grow into/with. Bikes like these are great around town yet are big enough to take a trip on if that is a desire.
 
mondtster said:
I wouldn't consider a 400+ pound motorcycle to be "very very light" but perhaps it has a nice, light feel to the handling just like a European bike should have. I still need to test ride one of the new Enfields, just because they interest me even though I'm not in the market for one at this time. My vintage Triumph does a better job at acting like a vintage British bike should than the new Enfield would. :)

That said, I think one of the Enfield twins or a Guzzi V7 would be a great entry level bike that the OP could buy brand new and grow into/with. Bikes like these are great around town yet are big enough to take a trip on if that is a desire.
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Also had a Triumph Bonneville for a while, nice bike but, ‘ride an hour, fix an hour’. Although I have heard they have improved significantly


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Triumphs were real dogs when I cut my motorcycling teeth. They were crap motorcycles that needed wrenching all the time. But that was then, and this is now. These days they have a really sold reputation, and their build quality is on par with the other makers. I still won't buy one though. Sorry, got a long memory.
 
steingar said:
Triumphs were real dogs when I cut my motorcycling teeth. They were crap motorcycles that needed wrenching all the time. But that was then, and this is now. These days they have a really sold reputation, and their build quality is on par with the other makers. I still won't buy one though. Sorry, got a long memory.
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The new Triumphs have absolutely nothing in common with the old, except in the styling department. Which sometimes gets a bit cheesy - plastic covers over the fuel injection hardware to make them look like carbs, for instance.
 
Polarisguy said:
Also had a Triumph Bonneville for a while, nice bike but, ‘ride an hour, fix an hour’. Although I have heard they have improved significantly
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New triumphs have nothing in common with old (real) triumphs other than the name.

A well sorted vintage triumph doesn’t need constant maintenance. I ride 75 miles daily on mine in the summer and like everything else I own it’s not stock and it’s ridden hard during those miles. That said, I wouldn’t recommend owning one unless you can do your own maintenance since it is rare to find a quality shop capable of servicing vintage British bikes like this.
 
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