Victor Posey

Hi, everybody,

I'm getting back into biking after only a little experience 20 years ago. I have a question about an appropriate re-starter bike.

I'm old enough to be your father, maybe your grandfather. I'm 6'2", about 190 pounds. I drive a stick shift car every day. I want a used bike for my 5-mile commute, in-town riding sometimes 2 up, an occasional weekend ride in the country, and rarely on the interstate. I guess that means I should get a 200-500cc bike, right? A cruiser??? But according to most of the specs, the bikes with this size engines are mostly too small in frame size for me. Can anyone name a bike model or two or three that might fit my height and my needs?

Thanks!

Victor

Bert1

I think a Yamaha Vstar 650 would be a good bike for you, I did the same thing didnt ride for a long time, I got the 650 and was really happy with it for a while but moved up to a cruiser now. Go try one out youll be happy

Jesterrace

There are a lot of variables here. What kind of speeds would you be riding at on a regular basis (and for your occasional country ride)? Are you trying to attain a certain MPG out of the bike? A 250-500cc should do fine for you given the fact that you don't weigh much, although for height you are correct that things might seem a bit cramped for you. If you go with a 250 I would strongly recommend the Honda Nighthawk as it's seat is a bit higher than the rest (between 29-30 inches) and has a relatively large gas tank (over 4 gallons). It's also easy on the throttle so you won't kill yourself while learning how to ride the thing. Cruising speed goes up to about 60MPH but it will do between 75-80MPH if you really need it to. The other big plus is that you can easily find older Nighthawk 250s with low mileage in good shape for $1500 or less. It's MPG will be somewhere between 65-70MPG. I ended up snagging a '95 with less than 4K miles for $900. Above all sit on the bike and make sure you are comfortable with it before buying though.