Cheap (~$1500 or less) bike for college/campus commuting?

[magley64]

t dubs are a little pricier that 1500 iirc...

[jbot]

they are tough to find for cheap unless really old and/or beat.

i should know, i spent like 3 months locating a suitable one.

[ReconRat]

nighthawk 550/650/750, ex500, maybe even a 600 shadow for around town.

Nighthawks don't need squat. Just take care of the battery.

Forget KZ550, too old

Edited December 3, 2012 by ReconRat

[8Rider6]

nighthawk 550/650/750, ex500, kz550, maybe even a 600 shadow for around town.

Nighthawks don't need squat. Just take care of the battery.

Check insurance rates first. KZ550 might have high theft.

I'm curious why the KZ550 would high higher thefts than Nighthawks, honda CBs, etc.

Jbot, your Evil Cookie Monster avatar is pretty kickass.

[CBBaron]

Its been my experience that it is much easier to find a Ninja 250 for less than $1500 than it is any dual sport less than 20 years old.

A DL650 less than $2500 is going to be a rare find indeed. Oldest ones are 2004 and like dual sports seem to maintain price better than average.

I wouldnt want to take a Rebel 250 or GZ250 on the freeway on a regular basis. Both are under 20hp and will struggle to keep up with traffic. Same goes for most 250cc and under dual sports.

EX250 and GS500 are pretty common for cheap as are some standards from the 80s. Buell Blast may be an option also. Otherwise its pretty hard to find a highway capable motorcycle ready to ride for much less than $2k.

Craig

[Gixxus Christ!]

I commuted 40 miles/day on a Yamaha xj600 seca2. Great bike, comfy, easy to ride, decent power, low maintenance, super easy to work on and I averaged 46 mpg on 87 octane. Kinda wish I still had it. You can find em all day for pretty cheap, sold mine back in May for $1400.

[ReconRat]

I'm curious why the KZ550 would high higher thefts than Nighthawks, honda CBs, etc.

It isn't, it is too old now. Forget that one. It used to be at the top of the theft list.

Craigslist local, sort by lowest price first. Buy one.

wth, I just looked. The sort by price is gone. That sucks.

You can put in a range of price though.

edit: just looked, there is a ton. Most will need at least the carbs pulled and cleaned. No big deal.

http://columbus.craigslist.org/search/mcy?query=&srchType=A&minAsk=400&maxAsk=1500

This looks clean:

http://columbus.craigslist.org/mcy/3366935297.html

And this one is interesting:

http://columbus.craigslist.org/mcy/3417946945.html

Edited December 3, 2012 by ReconRat

[speedytriple]

This is my beater bike paid $1200 for it just needed a carb clean and some tlc. Ride the piss out of it. Don't over look duel sports as a cheap option.

A little more then $1500 but this would do well also.

http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/mcy/3295223461.html

Edited December 4, 2012 by speedytriple

[motociclista]

I agree that a dual-sport makes an ideal foul-weather, don't worry about it falling over commuter bike. I had one for just that purpose for years, rode it to work all winter. But, as already mentioned, old dual-sports tend to be pricey compared to old streetbikes.

Also, I wouldn't want to ride a TW200 on the interstate for long. Or at all.

So that said, unless you find a great deal on an old DR350 or the like, then I'd look at something like the GS500s or EX500s already mentioned. Cheap to buy, operate, insure and keep in tires, and more than capable of any highway speeds needed.

[redkow97]

Mike, how are the front tire options for the DR?

I assume you can't get true "street" tires in a 19" rim.

[swingset]

they are tough to find for cheap unless really old and/or beat.

i should know, i spent like 3 months locating a suitable one.

Yeah, Tdubs are iffy for $1500, but it's do-able.

I saw a clean one in Zanesville this summer for $1300, passed it on to a friend who bought it.

[speedytriple]

Mike, how are the front tire options for the DR?

I assume you can't get true "street" tires in a 19" rim.

It has a 21 inch front tire. I know a guy at roush in medina that runs cruiser tires on his. The tires I have are 80/20 street/dirt tires. They stick very well in the corners not so good on loose stuff like gravel and loose dirt.

These are the kendas I have on my dr now.

[8Rider6]

Does Racers Edge have a bad rep here? I know they're pretty much all salvage bikes, but could get things cheaper as long as it's in good working order. If it's already been wrecked/dropped, then I'd care even less about it being dropped.

http://www.racersedge411.com/

They have a 2008 KLR650 for $2200

Also a 2004 cleared EX500 for $1400

[cOoTeR]

Does Racers Edge have a bad rep here? I know they're pretty much all salvage bikes, but could get things cheaper as long as it's in good working order. If it's already been wrecked/dropped, then I'd care even less about it being dropped.

http://www.racersedge411.com/

They have a 2008 KLR650 for $2200

Also a 2004 cleared EX500 for $1400

I had a couple of buddies buy from there. One was a 636 and the other an fz6. They ran fine but needed a little work. Both of them had to pay a little after buying them to make them road worthy. Like the fz6 didn't have foot pegs and needed a windshield and some other minor stuff. He fixed it using a lot of cheap stuff off ebay but even doing that he was pretty much at the cost of retail and the bike still had a dented tank and a lot of scratches. Also the subframe was off of a different bike. He didn't realize that until I pointed it out. Not really an issue to be concerned with as far as riding. but all parts that aren't original on a salvage bike need to be documented as to where they came from. He had no proof that it wasn't a stolen part. But the salvage inspector didn't notice it so it was a non issue. In the end my buddy realized he could have paid pretty much the same and had a clean title bike without any of the headache. My other friend did all kinds of extras like aftermarket exhaust and a custom paint job. He spent well over retail on his when it was said and done but he didn't care that he had a bike with a salvage title so he was happy.