looking for my first

[Guest cafe mikey]

hey guys i am new here and dont even own a motorcycle or even have a motorcycle license yet. i have owned a couple of scooters but i need to move up to something more practical, sporting, and powerful. the bike that i would like to be my first is a guzzi cafe sport. i like the size of the bike and the look of a cafe racer. the cafe sport is a good fit for me. i will be on here looking around a lot and will give updates when i find the bike i want. thanks.

[Guest Nogbad]

Please don't take this the wrong way.

 

The Guzzi V11 is not a good first big bike for new riders, or even returning riders. They can be finicky to set up and keep running, and the handling is unforgiving in many ways.

 

It is a very heavy bike, even for an 1100, and if you intend to ride in the rain, particularly in an urban setting, it can be a real handful.

 

If you want a cafe racer style bike with a reasonable displacement and good performance, whilst being fairly light and forgiving to ride, you can't do much better than the Triumph Bonneville Thruxton 900.

 

Thruxton

[Guest cafe mikey]

thanks for the input. i have sat on one and the bike feels like it fits me pretty well. it weighs only 30 lbs. more than the triumph. i dont think i will ever take it out in the rain unless i were to get caught by suprise which can happen especially around northern illinois. i grew up riding and racing motorcycles and bmx but it has been a few years so i will have to take it slow and i know that. again, thanks for the input and i will take the triumph into account.

[Guzzirider]

I think whether its the right bike for you is down to your own approach to riding.

 

When I was 19 shortly after I passed my test I bought a tuned CB900 which was a rorty heavy beast but I had no problems.

 

If you are sensible then go for it.

 

Guy

[guzziownr]

My first bike was a '72 Eldorado, after five years of careful riding I put it into a guardrail chasing some fellows on modern Ducatis -- wisdom does not necessarily come with age.

 

I had a little v50 as well. A little bit of pep, great handling and brakes.

 

That's how I feel about my '04 Naked. I feel very safe because it handles so well and the brakes are excellent. It is stock and has enough power for me and is not scary in the wet. I use it to commute to work in NYC.

 

When the fast guys take off I throttle back and let them have their fun. The V11 is a "gentlemen's express" not a hairy-chested racer. At 500 lbs and 70-75 hp you won't be painting darkies coming out of corners or pulling towering power-wheelies.

 

Typically new riders are steered toward 600s. Check the specs on those puppys nowadays.

 

I have had two modern Guzzis a '00 Jackal and my current '04. Both have run perfectly from the showroom with a minimum of care*

 

DW

 

*Minimum of care for the Jackal included:

Airbox mod

Lafranconi Muffs

Airbox mod

Rearset Footpegs

Clubman bars

Mike Rich Heads

Lemans II Tank

V7 Sport seat

1000S fender

and oil and stuff, you know, regular maintenence

 

DW

[Alex-Corsa]

thanks for the input. i have sat on one and the bike feels like it fits me pretty well. it weighs only 30 lbs. more than the triumph.

 

The Cafe sport is perhaps also more agile. But for a starter I would not recomend 1100 cubics machine.

The 750 Breva is an easy to handle motorcycle even for beginers and can do touring and commuting IMO a "easy" choice for a beginner that wants to go on with Guzzis.

But then again , don't know , but not even having a big motorcycle licence for some time even this can be a lot for just a first bike.

[jrt]

Consistently, my advice on a first 'big' bike is....get a beater. Get a dual sport beater that you won't feel bad about dropping on the ground or running into a fence or all the other possibilities. Dual sports come in a wide range of sizes, and are almost always easy to drive and fairly indestructible.

Don't get me wrong- I like Guzzi and they are great bikes if you are willing to invest some time into them, but as mentioned above, they are heavy. Heck, get a Sport AND a dual sport beater- best of both worlds.

But please take it slow at first- it's too easy to outrun brakes and reflex speed.

[orangeokie]

Consistently, my advice on a first 'big' bike is....get a beater.  Get a dual sport beater that you won't feel bad about dropping on the ground or running into a fence or all the other possibilities.  . . . But please take it slow at first- it's too easy to outrun brakes and reflex speed.

59999[/snapback]

 

 

I second that. I know from experience.

[Ouiji Veck]

An 1100 anything for a first bike is just rediculous. Typical macho thinking with

the little head. Motorcycling is the passion of my life and I hate to see it reduced

to the whole "bigger is better" or "if you have the money you can get into the club"

mentallity. One of my best ridding buddies has an EX 500 he bought new and rides the wheeles off it. None of us look down our nose at him or his venerable EX.

Infact ...a very macho HD ridder barely escaped with his ego intact just last

week when a parking lot disscusion came down to "put up or shut up" with the afore mentioned EX owner. It ain't what you got...it's how you use it is no truer anywhere

than it is in motorcycling. Those that know it...know it. Those that don't arent

worth trying to explain it to.

Spend a season making all the dumb mistakes on something easy to handle and maintain. An EX ..a CBR 600 (my personal fav.) or the like. You'll turn it over

for what you have into it...you'll have a blast...save a ton of money and be wiser and

happier for it.

Now get me down off this soap box and gimme a beer...

Cheers and good luck...

[Frenchbob]

The advice to buy a Breva 750 is sound. It'll do everything you expected of a motorcycle and more, but you might survive!

 

But I would actually suggest beginning on a trail bike: you can find satisfying 500-ish trail bikes at reasonable prices [at least you can in Europe] and you are less likely to accelerate or brake yourself into trouble, and when you do fall off [you will], it'll probably not bend much and repair cheaply.

 

Come back in two or three years and buy a V11.

 

Take care.