Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: bike, kawasaki eliminator 125, honda rebel 250

Question
im concidering buying a bike for myself
harley davidson is the brand ive been
recommended to
dont know much about how to judge bikes
or which one for me
can u tell me if one is safer than the other
by model or what ever they use
thank u


Answer
Start small. Even the smallest H-D is too much bike for a beginner. As a rule, you want a bike no more than 500cc if it is a 4-cylinder engine, and no more than 700cc if it is a 2-cylinder engine. Here is a list of bikes in the "cruiser" style that are more appropriate for beginners:

Honda Rebel 250, 450; Magna 250, 500, Shadow 500, 600, 700
Kawasaki Eliminator 125; Vulcan LTD 500
Suzuki GZ 250; Savage 650
Yamaha XS 250; Virago 250, 535, V-Star 650

Below is an excerpt from my new book, "How to Ride a Motorcycle; A Rider's Guide to Safety, Strategy, and Skill Development." I recommend you buy the book and read it before you buy a bike, as there is lots of advice for picking out your first bike and learning to ride the right way.

What People Say and What People Mean #2: “Start Small”

If you’re going approach motorcycling with safety in mind, your first real act of intelligence will be what you choose for your first bike.

When experienced riders tell you to start small, they don’t exactly mean that you should start on a little bike, (though as a rule of thumb, it’s not bad advice.) What they mean is that you should start on a bike that you’ll be able to handle physically, financially, and psychologically. The bike you’re lusting after is almost always NOT the right bike to learn on.

This means start on a bike that’s size and power won’t immediately overwhelm you while you’re still learning to keep it balanced and work the controls. It’s hard enough to get basic motorcycle handling mastered without trying to rein in a bike that wants to continually leap from your grasp or crush you in your garage when you forget to put the sidestand down. Buying an older used bike means when you tip it over or crash it (and you will), the repair bills won’t cost you more than your first car did. Most importantly, starting small means your focus is still on you—-your priority is not what bike you own, but learning how to ride. A state-of-the-art machine will whisper to you to do things you’re not ready to do yet. A big, expensive bike will make you look and feel like a better rider than you are, and you absolutely do not need that sort of distraction this early in the ballgame.

Too many riders make the mistake of buying the bike they’re in love with for their first bike. These bikes will typically answer the question, “What is the best bike?” when what a beginner really wants to know is, “What is the best bike for me?” It is only with heroic self-restraint that most new riders can commit to buying a bike they know they’ll outgrow in a year or two. But the riders who do are rewarded with a quicker learning curve and low cost, which leaves lots of room to practice, experiment, and have fun.

Pat