EDIT:
Thanks for all the advice! I got a lot of long detailed comments back. I’m reading each one and doing some research, but I wanted to make sure I thanked everyone for the replies!
Original Post:
Hello, Fediverse!
Recently, my company moved to remote work, full time. Since I’m not making a long commute each day, I’m really interested in getting a small bike I can ride for errands. I’d love to get some advice from this community about it.
Needs
First, I’m a woman at average or maybe even slightly below average height. I want to make sure it’s something I can actually ride without feeling like a little girl in mommy’s shoes.
Second, I don’t just want to ride. I want to work on it and learn how engines work. I’m a very mechanical person and I love this kind of thing. It’s fun for me. I’m happy to buy a bike that might not be running immediately because it gives me an opportunity to learn and tinker.
Last, I don’t need to go fast and I don’t want to take it in a big highway, but I do live near a state highway with a limit of 55mph. I’d like to be able to safely ride there:
Aesthetics
I’m not a huge fan of the Harley Davidson type low rider style but I wouldn’t rule it out entirely if it made sense against my other needs. I’m also open to scooters/mopeds if I can safely ride at 55mph.
I tend to like 80s style cars and bikes. Especially the bikes that aren’t quite sport but have some nods to it. Example: Kawasaki KZ, Honda CB, Suzuki GS, Yamaha XS (Japanese name followed by two consonants collection) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Looks aren’t as important to me as the other needs to be honest.
Current Motorcycle Knowledge
Next to nothing. I know the basics of how an engine works. I know how to change my own oil. I have done big repairs on my own cars in the past, but with guides.
I plan on taking a riding class. I know I’ll need safety equipment, such as a helmet. I do have a gear-head in my life so I have someone that I can ask questions to, but I’m mostly starting at zero.
Aside from bike suggestions, I’d love to hear something you wish you knew before you got your first bike!
TLDR:
What would you recommend for someone who wants to learn about engines but isn’t particularly tall? Anything you wish you knew before getting your first bike?
What I wish I’d known: electrical is the worst part of an old bike. The mechanical stuff is mostly straightforward on the old UJM bikes, but electrical gremlins (when they happen) can be very frustrating.
Advice for a bike: get what you want to ride. If they made a lot of them, you’ll be in a good position for support online. Try to find one that hasn’t been cut up too badly (“cafe”, “bob”, etc). The closer to stock, the better. If electrical modifications have been done, get every detail or find another bike; troubleshooting any of that will become your nightmare.
An old 750cc is probably about as powerful as a new 400cc and will be perfectly comfortable on the highway.
There are several modifications that can be done if seat height is a touch too high, the easiest is usually a modified seat cushion.
This is the way.
I’ve lost count of how many times my idiot friends have gotten themselves ripped off by buying a bike with half of the frame cut off just so some asshole could make a bobber, or whatever the fuck, to the point that it now won’t pass state inspection anymore. So they’ve just dumped it on Craigslist in the hopes that they can get out of it and make it some other sucker’s problem.
Of course said other sucker inevitably winds up bringing it to me, Captain Wrenches On Stuff, to bail them out.
You ought to need a license before you’re allowed to buy an angle grinder…
I can agree with that. My 1975 CB750 feels about the same to my butt dyno as my wife’s 2018 Rebel 500, which is actually a 471 cc machine. The CB spins about as fast as the Rebel when highway cruising because it only has 5 gears vs the Rebel’s 6. They made a bazillion CBs too so I haven’t had problems finding parts either.