I'm gonna have 3-4k to play around with in janurary (thank you student loans), and i'm either considering going turbo with a new tranny or buying a sport bike (it'll be my first). What should i do guys? i'm really unsure. They both mean lots of fun but with the bike i get 2 vehicles. Just let me know whatcha think. (sorry if this is double posted somehow the other one got lost)

both

I got a sport bike- 01 Honda CBR600F4i. I cant ride it now cause theres snow on the ground but its certainly faster then any turbo maxima will be.

i'd personally go with a turbo/5spd conversion....i dont like the idea of falling of a bike....you can never be to good of a driver, because other people =

atleast you wont get totally owned in a turbo max if you crash into something

A motorcycle will give you plenty of speed and thrills. You can get a descent used F3 for that much money. Do save some of that and take a riding school...IT WILL make wonders for how well you deal with situation on every day driver. You will be much more confident and learn to respect the bike a whole lote more.

I drove a 00 Maxima the other day...it was ok but it was big and heavy. I think once you ride a bike, it will pretty much make a whole lot more sense to you. Also, chicks dig bikes

I had the same decision to make in August. I went with a 2000 R6, and I LOVE it...plus instead of only having one mode of transportation, if the maxima breaks, I've always got the bike (except in this damn snow).

If you turbo the max..you better plan on having a lot of down time on it...I wouldn't call a turbo maxima a particularly reliable daily driver (I'm going to get flamed for that, but it's true).

Lots of downtime period with a heavily modded car...

You've obviously never owned a bike

yeah but i can still drive if my turbo blows

i havent just because of the crap ive seen happen on em....im probably not well informed on them, but i dunno, just not for me

just remember....a car hitting a bike is just like a semi hitting a car....

I see your point but which is more likey to cause serious damage? Getting hit while on a bike or while driving a car? I think that was his point.

[playing devils advocate] more cars on the roads than semi's [/playing devils advocate]

id say get the sportbike

but you really have to understand the risks involved when you ride. Yea its like almost the best fun youll ever have, but its dangerous. I had 2 friends die this year on bikes. April 7th i crashed and got run over by a van, luckily by miracle or sumthin, i did not break any bones and had minor road rash. My helmet got crushed but yea it did its job. Its fun man...but risky.

i had 3 friends die last yr on bikes...shun em ever since....

and thx Jeff, that was my point

Thats cool to admit that.

I own a bike and have been riding HEAVILY (40K on my bike) for 4 years now. I rod on and off before that.

A motorcycle is:
1) Cheaper to own (remember to get a quote on insurance once every 2 years your bike gets older. Mine was 1K for 1 year and is down to 425 for the SAME bike and better coverages)
2) Cheaper to operate.
3) Easier to maintain and work on for DIY stuff.
4) Requires much more safety gear (no helmet = DUMB@$$). I personally ride with Full Joe Rocket gear in summer (yes even in 90 - 100 degree weather) and full racing leathers in the winter.
5) Requires you to ride AWAKE and OBSERVANT at all times. The dumb stuff you can get away with in a car will get you killed on a bike.
6) Constantly watch for ******** that drive cars. They NEVER give a bike the needed clearance or respect.
6) HIGHLY recommended if you are not afraid. If you are timid on a bike, you will be in trouble.

If this is your first, take a riding course for SURE. Take a couple if you can from the basics to the more advanced stuff. I have taken a couple and learned new stuff everytime.

DONT get a 1K motor. Dont get the biggest baddest bike you can afford. You WILL be sorry. Get something that feels good to you when you sit on it. Make sure the clips are in the right spot and the pegs feel good. And NEVER settle.

If getting used, make sure the bike has not been laid down, check under the skins for bend hangers, scuffs and what not. Make sure good maint. can be proved. Lots of young guys buy bikes, rag the crap outta them and get rid of em.

Plus nothing like havin a group of college chicks in a convertable 'Stang to take a good look at ya!

Or better yet, takin it to a track and draggin your pegs in a corner! Pure joy!

not where I drive....that's why the front of my max looks like someone sandblasted it

definetely agree with everything he said....get a bike man!!

why not both

he only has 3-4K to spend

Only the lucky ones get that option

SuDZ

I am hoping once Kev shows up with his Turb' proj' I will be joining the "why not both" club!

i'm surprised that bike insurance will costs less than car insurance since most accidents in a bike are fatal. I mean I really want a bike and all, planning on taking classes in a month or so.. but my old man's saying always goes through my mind: "better metal around meat, than meat around metal."

a co-worker here just died when a lady hit him from the side and he flew off his bike, over the van, landed and skidded.

the reason is....bikes are MUCH less expensive than cars...and when a bike hits a car it typically does less damage than another car would.

Furthermore, if you die....your auto insurance doesn't pay a penny for your bike or you...your LIFE INSURANCE does.

BTW - My bike insurance is less than $300 every 6 months...while my car insurance is $600 every 6 months...I'm a 22 year old single male though.

Also the rationale is that you wont be riding your motorcycle more then your car and that the motorcycle is just an occasional and recreational vehicle. Be forewarned though, particularly if you are young that liability insurance can be very expensive on one of these. Call the agent to make sure it isnt $5000 a year.

i had liability only and it cost me $139 per year...hehe. They also asked me how much i planned to ride and of course i gave them a low number.

I have full coverage....that's why mine is almost $600 a year

That's exactly what i'm picking up this saturday, how u like it, where did u get it and how much?

I thought i was the only one with this kind of question.
But after feeling no power gains after getting a y-pipe, the max mod bug is done. F4i Honda it is.
I can't wait till it gets worm. Any one in NYC area, know what i have to do to get into those riding classes? and where are they?
peace and be careful

Thanx alot guys, i'm impressed i actually got good answers, well mostly... All the ppl who said get both didn't help cause if i could afford it this post wouldn't be here . I'm pretty convinced to get a bike now.

So far the only nay's I've heard are Snow, insurance and safety. Luckily 2 of those don't apply to me. I live in FL so i can ride year round it was 76 today . Also here in Fl is you own the bike (not financed) you don't have to get insurance and i won't be. I hate car insurance (thats why i don't have any right now) shhhhhh . And lastly, at my school they have the motorcycle safety class for ppl who join our motorcycle club on campas for $20 instead of the 200+ it can be elsewhere, so no question i'd be doing that. As far as riding safely. I'm an Excellent and attentive driver, when i'm behind the wheel of any vehicle it has my full attention. I have never been in anything but a fender bender and that was only when someone hit me from behind when i was at a light (absolutely no damage to my maxima either, gotta love those 5 mph bumpers). My only problem is i have a heavy foot and plenty of speeding tickets to show for it. I'm really gonna have to learn some self control before i get a bike. (well i have a month better get started =).

I love mine I have far few complaints with it. I got it brand new in the middle of the spring when they first came out for about $8000. Bad time to buy. The best time to buy is now, in the dead of winter. It doesnt have much torque down low, but I'm a very light rider so it doesnt bother me. You'll have to get used to the 1 headlight thing and everyone is gonna tell you "you got a headlight out". Lets see, the seat gets hot and is hard, but you get used to it, or you can buy a Corbin. You may have a rattly cam chain tensioner. It happens at about 5000-6000 RPM. The clutch cable gets in the way of the speedometer and the fuel guage sux. Other then that, its great, very forgiving especially if you arent too experienced. If this is your first bike, either get some crappy plastics and a alternator cover or save yourself some cash. You'll probbyl wind up dumpin it.

the cam tensioner rattle should be taken care of from the factory now. yea the seat gets hot...really uncomfortable but toleralbe i guess. Id get a corbin if you have extra cash. The footpegs scrape too early but i dont think youll notice or have a prob with it when you first start off tho.

Well i'm buying it used, after my cousin's advice to buy in winter, who has a 1300 hayebusa. The f4i has only 1350 miles on it, but already has the frame sliders, d&D pipe, euro tails, rear hugger, and more. This is my first real bike, so of course i'll get used to all these minor things u mentioned, and i got nothing to compare it to.
thanx, peace

Well i'm buying it used, after my cousin's advice to buy in winter, who has a 1300 hayebusa. The f4i has only 1350 miles on it, but already has the frame sliders, d&D pipe, euro tails, rear hugger, and more. This is my first real bike, so of course i'll get used to all these minor things u mentioned, and i got nothing to compare it to.
thanx, peace

Man, I wish I could get a bike, but my mom/dad would kill my a$$. I really love the gixxers--I'd gladly take the GSXR750, the 1K is just too damn powerful/fast. I've riden bikes before, it's a lot of fun. Just make sure you're an EXTREMELY defensive driver and stay focused 110% percent of the time. It's not you that you should be worried about, it's all the other trolls that can't drive their cars.

Good luck.

personally i would get the swap and turbo for sure. u can only ride the bike like 130 days of the year. u cant ride it in snow, or rain, and it rains every so often and snows a 4 months of the year. u can drive a turbo max all the time, plus sport bikes are f*cken dangrous. i dont trust them. u hit a dead raccon on the road and your just as dead as him.

i was wondering what would be a good bike to start with for a beginner that just finished lessons at a school. Maybe under 8k in price, decent performance wise, and wouldn't have trouble seating a girl in the back.

looking for something to do after the max, tired of my tricycle in the backyard.

The advice about not getting big bikes to start is very good advice. I've been riding longer than some of you guys have been alive, and it's very easy to go too far on motorcycles. I have dirt bikes and street bikes. I didn't move up to liter bikes until after I had ridden for many, many years. They are definetly not for the inexperienced. That's what gives motorcyclists a bad name, young yahoos that don't know how to ride but get Hayabusa's to say they have the fastest street bike on the road.

Know your limits. Ride responsibly. Wear proper attire. Ride defensively. Doesn't mean have no fun, just that's its more fun to ride this way.

I make my annual pilgrimage to Daytona/Myrtle beach. Those road trips are a ton of fun. I do see every year a bunch of accidents caused by either inexperience/foolishness or other drivers.

All that to really say: Those who are scared to ride....don't get one cause you WILL get hurt on one if you come out of the gate scared. If you do get one, don't be stupid about it or on it, and everything will be just fine.

Trust me when I tell you that the acceleration of a bike CAN'T be topped by any car you could own.

That's why I got an R6....much more comfortable seat, you can't scrape pegs if you TRY....and it comes in blue

D&D exhausts are SO loud and obnoxious....other than that....sounds like a really nice bike

But you have to be wary of a bike that has all that aftermarket stuff on it and selling at 1350 miles? Makes me a tad suspicious. Could only mean that the dude want an upgrade in power...but when buying used have it spec'd by a cycle shop before purchase.

These are also two GREAT pieces of advice. You have to be able to "read" minds of the other drivers by looking at them in their mirrors, reading body language and basically ALWAYS assume they cant see you. Defense it ultmost (sp?) key.

Scared to ride? Please dont even get a bike. Make sure you are confident, not cocky. Do you know what you would do when....? If you can really answer that, you should be set.

Dont go crackin' the throttle right off the bat and resist the urge to wail through traffic. You can have TONS of fun and still be smart about it. Plus get advanced rider classes...you would be surprized what you can even do with overwieght bike like mine!

Best o luck to ya!

Er....Just out of curiosity, have you ever owned a motorcycle for over 1 year...ever? Oh, ok.

Since he obviously already has a Maxima, he CAN drive that in the winter and "snowy" days too. If you are missing out on the turbo and it is snowing....WTF do you need to be getting on the car for? Just drive the Maxima like a normal person would...when it gets warmer, NOTHING, I mean NOTHING will make up for the lack of motocycle

To whomever said that you are "not" getting insurance,
.....here in KS you HAVE to have insurance regardless if the bike is financed or not. You were sounding VERY smart until you mentioned this. Come on man!...if you insure your car and go through State Farm, you can get insurance, full coverage for less than $ 20/month....depending on your driving record, etc. PLEASE, don't be the dumbass that drives around w/o insurance....from a biker perspective, it is only a matter of time until you regret it.


Angel