not sure why but over the past couple years i have been very drawn to harleys. Never ridden any type of bike before. any advice on where i should start ?

you payin for it ?

as long as there is an open bar, ill be happy

Given your background on the OB, I'll suggest checking out Fox Motorsports for riding gear...

I started w/ a Kawasaki Vulcan Mean Streak (1600 cc v-twin, straight pipes). I would not recommend that for a first bike. I got rid of that bike and no longer ride. I would suggest starting out w/ a cruiser at 500 cc or less.

Whatever you get, make sure to spend the money on good riding gear and wear it all the time.

youre hilarious, should quit your job and start doing stand up

Aw come on, once I got done being a smart ass I did offer a relevant comment.

+2 pts

Honda grom

Never bought into the "too much bike for a beginner ". Too much bike for how mature you are? Sure. Too heavy of a bike for you? Sure. Too tall of a bike? Sure.

But if a bike fits you and you aren't an idiot with it, a 1200 cruiser isn't any more dangerous than a 850.

Kawasaki H2 is a nice place to start.

Seriously though. I recommend getting a dirt bike and learning to ride off road first. That will really teach you about the handling, stability, and weight control of a motorcycle. You're more likely to hurt yourself on a dirt bike, but much less likely to severely injure or kill yourself like you would on a street bike. With dirt bike experience under your belt, you'll be much more confident when you hit the streets.

If you must get a street bike first, then something like a Ninja 300 or Yamaha R3 would be easy to ride.

Triumph Bonneville

Was in your boat a few months ago. I took the MSF course in December, got my license and researched a ton of bikes. I ended up buying a Kawasaki's Vulcan S. Great Bike. It's a 650 and is easy to handle. I have put 3400 miles on it now and still enjoy riding it. Before I purchased it I test drove a friends 2014 Harley fat boy lo. That test ride showed me I wasn't ready for that bike at all. Very intimidating and felt like I had no control. It's just a big bike with a lot of low end power. Not a beginner bike for sure.

The Vulcan S is no slouch and will out run those Harley's. Not that you should be doing that... In my 4 months experience riding almost every day, I'm still learning. My friends Harely is fun to ride now that I have some seat time. Not intimidated at all by it like I was 4 months ago.

So, my advice is don't get a big bike first as it will most likely scare you. Buy a cheap bike to get started that is easy to handle and helps build confidence. And once you get a bike, ride it every day you can and fine tune your skills.

Bought a Harley Dyna about a month before I ever got on a motorcycle.

Don't listen to the folks who say to start small.

I would suggest an SV650. A big bike is harder to ride in my opinion than a standard. A Harley is going to weigh almost twice as much and be much harder to handle.

Indian Scout

I have a Harley Sportster 883 Iron that I would be willing to part with, if you are interested.

If you're set on a Harley there's a nice older Sportster for sale in Classifieds.

I started on an R6 and later got into dual sports, which are great for beginners. High seat so better visibility, lighter, and not a crazy amount of power to get into trouble with.

https://texags.com/forums/46/topics/3033735

Why get a Harley when you can get a bike with an LS?

Boss

was looking at a harley davidson breakout btw

I never heard of the breakout but after googling the pics it looks pretty sweet...mine looks a lot like that.

The Iron 883 is all blacked out.

Start off on a smaller bike. 650 VStrom, 900 Vulcan, Suzuki Marauder. Buy one used, and buy cheap. Use that bike to learn on and explore different types of motorcycles. Don't lock yourself into one style of bike because you think it is what you might like or because it fits an image. After 7 years of riding cruisers, including 2 Harley's, I sold my Street Glide last year and bought and adventure touring bike. (Yamaha Super Tenere) I've had more fun riding this bike than anything before, and I don't think I'd ever go back to HD or the cruiser world.

I started three years ago with a Yamaha Bolt. It's a 950.
I was advised not to go too small because before long I would want more. And I agree that a bigger bike may not be a good way to start out. It seemed like a good balance between those two ideas.
Even though I lurk on the Automotive board, I'm really not that mechanically inclined so I couldn't see spending a noticeable amount of money on something used with an unknown history. I ran across my Yamaha, which was a model year or two old but still new, that I was comfortable buying.
I still have it, but after only a year of riding, I got to take my dad's 2015 Fat Boy on a road trip. To make a convoluted story short, less than a year later, it became mine.

Additional new rider notes:
ATGATT - All the Gear, All the Time
Ride like you're invisible (pay attention)
I don't want to say to 'ride scared', but don't ever get over confident in your abilities.
Get ready to ignore most of the hyper fearful advice you'll get from some posters on this board. Be smart, live life, have fun.

disclaimer - three and a half years of riding does not make me anything close to being an expert.

azulAg said:

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was looking at a harley davidson breakout btw

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I'm not a bike guy but holy smokes that's beautiful!

yessir, im definitely in love

Test ride them before you buy. For all of Harley's faults, they are at least one of the few makes that allow you to test the machine before committing thousands of dollars.

The breakout is a great looking bike, however it handles like **** with the long rake and large tires.

I am not sure if they do it any more but The triumph demo truck was a great way to spend a while day doing nothing but test riding bikes. Last time i did it I got to ride everything from a rocket 3 to a Dayton 675 and every variant of the modern classics.

liter bike so you can you throttle out of danger.

I think a shaft drive bike is smoother and may be a better starter bike.

But I know nothing about bikes, just my .02.

Seating position makes a huge difference. My dirtbike has been out of commission for the last couple of years, but I recently got it running again and went for a cruise around the neighborhood. I was immediately surprised by how comfortable and top heavy it felt compared to the crotch rocket. Slow as Christmas but fun to ride since you don't have to hit 75mph to enjoy your first red line up shift. Would be much easier to ride for a beginner than the sport bike, but the low power beginner sport bikes do have a more natural seating position.

There are so many good deals on craigslist with folks wanting to sell their bike to get another.

Buy what you want but just please remember ATGATT - all the gear all the time. Too many idiot texters on the road. That means helmet, abrasion resistant jacket with CE armor, same with pants and motorcycle boots. Feet are important. They can replace your knee but they just cut off your ankle.

The best resource is advrider.com - Tons of forums and inmates who can offer info. It's like a foul mouth wikipedia.

Be safe and have fun. Group rides with like minded adventure touring folks are a blast.

I also prefer to ride with those butt/lower back pads. That's an often neglected area in motorcycle gear. I went over backwards riding a wheelie on a dirt bike when I was young and dumb. Landed on asphalt, broke my tailbone and ground my ankle down to the bone. Had to ride 10 hours to Mexico in the back of an Avalanche the next day with a broken tail bone. Not fun, that **** hurts. I do not want to go down on pavement again.