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Bikes in the USA?!?! Odd Selection.
Looking on Ebay/CycleTrader in the USA for small bikes like you find at home. I hope to ride the east coast next year by flying from the UK (I will be 19....have full lisense now) and pick up a 125cc bike cheap (cheap insurance fuel etc.) and see some of Cali, Nevada and a few of the East coast states across 5 or 6 months.
Problem is...all i seem to be able to find is cruisers like harleys or converted dirt bikes which are going to be a pain thes)arse in terms of service intervals and comfort. Im riding a big bike atm in the UK (SV650S), but something like a YBF125 or 250cc standard commuter type job would suit me. Surely places like New York have these sort of bikes? What does the average commute biker ride a harley? Secondly what sort of money am i looking at gaining insurance for a couple months in the states and who can you reccomend? |
You might like to consider buying a bmw, tourer. with a fairing, it is no fun dealing with a half killed hornet in your face. anything from an R80rt such as mine, or for USA better get the 100, quicker, and does more mpg. or even an oilhead
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Flying Gringo said --"Crossing the Western US on an old Yamaha XS650 twin was a miserable experience. There isn't a large used stock because there were very few sold new in the past 20 years, "---
Well ,I don't think any have been sold new since 1984 ,and I wouldn't encourage any new rider to get one or indeed any model of older bike unless they knew the individual bike's history .But with 50 hp the XS is not too shabby . Better than an XT350 on the highway I would venture to suggest . I don't think it's a good idea to forge any official documents in the USA and encouraging a 19 year old to do so is plainly irresponsible . |
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In today's environment, it would be plainly stupid and potentialy very costly. Even your Barney, small town cops are aware and sometimes chopping at their bits. |
Trip to the USA
Come on over. Long ago I took the cheapest flight possible to london and bought a smallish bike and toured about. It cost more than I thought it would but it was great and I still remember the rain in march in GB the snow in paris on the first of april and the bliss of southern spain camping in the sun. I would fly into a area in the USA and set up for a while to get my bearings and check out what is available (of course searching exstensively on the internet beforehand) and befriend a mechanic that can give you advice on the model you are looking at. Try bringing some donuts by in the AM or taking a mechanic out to lunch for a bit of free advice.
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There wouldn't be ,by any chance at all, a mechanic in Montana who is partial to donuts and a free lunch would there ?
Ha ha ha .! |
A small (in the US a "girls") bike in the USA is a 600cc. Sure, in most of the world that doesn't make sense, but hey, we're the US. Land of, "Go Fast in a Straight Line".
If you make it to No. California before I go to Australia in April, I can help you out. Ack, now I can't breathe. Dang hippy roommate using nose-clogging incense. --Dave |
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The Lifan LF200GY-5 model is getting popular, can be had for under $1500 new, shipped to wherever you are (you have to perform minor assembly), and this model comes stock with a 17 tooth front sprocket, and 44 tooth rear sprocket, resulting in a cruising speed of 55-60 mph without killing the engine; you can cruise at that speed. There is a woman on ebay who sells Shineray 200 enduros for $1350 shipped, but if you are in the L.A. area, you can pick it up for $1200. However, L.A. is a big place, and the bike is partially disassembled so it comes in a crate/cardboard box. Plus, this bike comes stock with a 15 tooth front/56 tooth rear sprocket, but as you have to assemble it, you can throw the sprocket on while you put it together. The same dealer has Shineray 150 enduros which are $1100 shipped/$900 local pickup (nearly identical to the 200). However, as Flying Gringo pointed out, the US is a huge place, and trying to ride a 150 or 200 for distance will get you frustrated to say the least. If you really want to be different, and have the time, you can try it. Perhaps only doing 100 or less miles per day, on back roads, and don't mind the slow pace, you could consider one. The other issue, as has been discussed on other forums is trying to register the bike here. Perhaps, you could try Flying Gringos advice and fudge it by printing up your own registration and insurance card? http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsmlrace She also has a Yamaha Virago "clone" (cruiser) in 250cc size for about $2100 which might suit your needs better. |
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That just depends on the distance you want to cover in a day. Australia is about the size of the lower 48 US states, and I circled it on an old 250cc. Top speed (and my cruising speed) was 60mph/100kph. I really enjoyed it. Who knows when/if I'll be on those roads again and a slow pace provides plenty of time to gawk. I could have easily chosen a larger bike, but I don't see the point. When riding at 80 or 90mph you need to pay more attention to the ride. At 60, there's not much of a problem with letting your mind wander. Where's the fun of seeing the US when you're on Interstates? A McDonalds & Walmart at every single exit for 3,000 miles? |
He did make it sound as if he had several months to do it, so I guess the slower bike wouldn't be a hindrance to him. He could even consider one of the many 150cc scooters found on Ebay, if he doesn't mind the "slow ride."
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Pick up something like a KLR650, they can be had used for real cheap and will get you anywhere you want to go. The not so great plain states could be a bore on a 200-100cc bike and steep grades out west will give you trouble so you might want something bigger like a KLR, Bandit, Katana, F650 or similar mid displacement bikes. You can easily do it on a smaller bike but with the long open roads in good condition displacement rules.
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if your not planning on doing any offroading and want to just see the states, most people will bite my head off but the honda nighthawk 750 or cb750 might be worth looking into and you can get them fairly cheaply, they are also available in 250cc
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Little bikes really seem to be few and far between in the US for reasons stated previously in this thread...people just don't generally buy them...I've had the same Honda CM250 for over 20 years and never seen another one for sale in my area...your best bet for a small displacement machine is a dualsport but your ass will pay the price after 5000 miles...I'd look for a UJM like a Honda Nighthawk, Suzuki GS, Kawasaki KZ, or something of that ilk. A KLR 650 would make a great choice as it's simple, durable, and cheap to come by...just tie on your baggage and head cross country:thumbup1:
I hate to imagine how a 250cc engine struggles as you cross the Rockies at 10,000+ feet |
Spare parts
On my trip in the South-West US, I liked the BMW R850R I had rented there very much. I would, for example, not like to do my trip from LA to Las Vegas on a 125 or 250cc bike. That would be a nightmare.
If you buy a bike, make sure it is not to excotic. A cheap Chinese bike may be nice but what if you need a spare part, 1000 Miles away from the dealer you bought it from? A KLR650 or another populair model may be a litle more expensive but there are more people who know how to fix it and it's easier to get new or secondhand spare parts. |
Find the latest issue of several US bike mags. One of them (on the cover) reviews the Yamaha 1300. Part of the caption is "the best MIDDLEWEIGHT". I about flipped. :wheelchair:
Back in the day, even in the wide open US 350-550's were middleweights. Anything 750+ was a heavyweight. The original Goldwings were 1000's. Now, a Harley is a "middleweight" and "everyone" considers a 600cc bike a small learner/girls bike. The local BMW dealer told me the F650GS would struggle with me (270lbs) at highway speeds - the bike has nearly the same HP as the 750 I used to own, more than the '70's 350 and I went 2up on both those bikes. Too many people have egos that over ride what little functional brainpower they have. As for your problem, find a 250 Ninja, KLR650, EX500 or some such in the $1500 range and ride the wheels off. As for commuters, I ride an 1100 (until I can find something I like and can get at a reasonable price). It's the smallest bike in the lot on the rare days it has company. Company wide (8-10 parking lots) there might be 20 bikes out of 200 that are smaller than mine. |
Joe, go big or stay home
May be an odd way to start off with a reply but this is from experience... I commuted on a 175 cc machine when I was a kid. Now I waste some serious saddle time in North America, actually Canada and my machine, slightly over 100 HP is a midweight and I use every one of them...by times. How big is London? Let me put it in perspective. You can put the entire United Kingdom in the Great Lakes and still have room to do some serious fishing. Canada itself is just shy of ten million Square miles. Do yourself a favour, get something that will reliably do 600 kilometres a day in comfort. Suggestions...Theres a ton - 0 - Jap bikes that are cheap and would fit the ticket. Personally I would look for an older BMW K bike and go have the time of your life. Don't fudge the paperwork either. That stuff is just way to easy to figure out. If a white knuckle buzz hour after bloody hour is your idea of fun then you'll need a shrink by your third day.
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Stu, he had stated doing the trip over the course of 5-6 months in the first post. I think everyone, including you, has good advice, but with that amount of time, he will be able to see the US on a bicycle, let alone a small displacement bike. Dave Smith mentioned he did a long trip in Australia on a slower bike and loved it. The trick is to stay off the interstates, unless, again as Dave Smith stated, you really want to see a McDonalds and Wal-mart often.
The advantage of finding a small displacement bike is that they are fairly abundant. Many people in the US buy Yamaha Virago 250's in order to get seat time while they are learning and striving for the proverbial 1100cc or larger cruiser. When they get their cruiser, the 250 is sold off as scrap (personally, I would keep it as a back-up considering that trade-in or private party sales don't net too many $$'s, but that is just me. Plus it allows someone to get a really good deal on one, again, that is just me). A couple months ago, someone on a Chinese bike forum site I belong to rode his Lifan 200 enduro from Louisiana to Florida in 14 hours, and said that he rode it on the interstates at or very near the speed limits. Yes that is about the extreme of it, but all the talk about it having to be a big bike or nothing, especially considering the time he has and the alternative routes available to keep him off the interstates, shows that a small bike is doable; and doable even in the US! But again, if a newer KLR 650 can be found for $2000, and the budget allows it, that would be a good alternative to any small bike |
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Road conditions have sure changed since then, so a bigger bike would be far preferable, but a small bike wouldn't be so bad. I think something like a 400 through 650 would be just fine. |
i, too, think the klr 650 is a great choice, personally. and cheap+easy to maintain. you might want to improve the seat for your trip...
it will also allow you get around on old fire roads and drive along riverbanks if youre interested in seeing more than the highway - while it handles the highway equally well if you want something smaller... i dont know. suzuki, kawasaki, and yamaha all make smaller enduros... but if youre going to be on the highway, i wouldnt do it hope you have an amazing time. i think you will be pleasantly surprised at the cost of riding and maintaining a bike in the usa if you do the work yourself and buy a reliable model |
Small bike
Considering that you will want to keep up with traffic, even on small roads, I would not want anything smaller than a KLR650. I have owned one for several years and with a good 50/50 dirt/street tire it will work well on dirt roads and up to 80mph you can keep up on the freeways. But past that you want a real street tire.
Buy anything smaller than a 650KLR and you won't see much of the good old USA, you will be too busy looking in your rear view mirror. |
There are actually many side roads that one can take through the US. We "locals" like to want to get to a destination, so the (often brutal) freeways and interstates are taken. There are some people who have literally months to get through here, and while a trip from L.A. to New York can be realistically done in 3 or 4 days time on highways and interstates, those people can take back roads to get to the same destination in a 2 week period. To each his own, and I would personally want a KLR 650; however an old 90's DR250s could do the trick, too.
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If you look around on the forums here, there are some posts from two Europeans who rode from Alaska to Argentina on a couple of Honda Cubs. They wrote that their cruising speed was 70 kph - about 40 mph. I'd have thought that they'd be run off the road going through the USA that slowly, but they said they just stayed off the Interstates and had no problems at all.
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This is all very well
... but you'll still need to register it once you've bought it... in the States that involves 'buying the plate'. Over here of course, the plate stays with the vehicle, but even over here you need a residence to register the thing.
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If I could not run at traffic speed, I'd want an orange flag on the bike and a bright reflective vest on me. |
It depends on the state laws. In California, the plate comes with the vehicle. I've let a couple people use my address for registration. It's not a problem (at least in California). Other states vary and the plates stay with the owner.
--Dave Quote:
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Some States have minimum displacement requirements for getting on a freeway. While such roads are not terribly exiting, they can be handy in some areas.
Califonia, for instance, defines a bike with fewer than 150cc (149cc and smaller) as being a "motor-drive cycle," not a "motorcycle." If they won't let you on the freeway, then there is another road that you can take, but you may be trying to use 30 minutes on a freeway to miss 3 hours of city traffic. For this reason, a 125cc may limit your options. I have done some nice trips on a 250, though if I hit a headwind on a freeway section, I had to stay in the slower lanes. All things considered, I doubt the displacement limits are enforced unless you are being an obvious hazard, but it did seem worth mentioning. Matthew |
I do nearly all of my biking off the motorways, mostly on old abandoned D roads here in France. But.... I would want a bike that gave me the option to cope with the motorways as sometimes that is far the best way to either negotiate a bottleneck or allow you to guarantee an arrival time, such as when you have to catch a ferry.
Years ago I used to ride a Triumph tiger cub 200cc single with 10bhp. I could happily go anywhere in The UK with it. Then they built the motorways... I would not be happy cruising at 45mph on a motorway. Times have changed, and the bikes have largely changed to match the new roads and also changed from cheap transport to recreational vehicle. Also a major change is complexity of bikes and communications that were undreamt of back in teh sixties. Now it makes sense to have a modern bike, know nothing about it, take out breakdown insurance. and carry a mobile phone and just ride and not worry about it. You might have to pay a lot in case of breakdown, but that is it, that is that package. |
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