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Edgar Said:

In CA, is riding a motorcycle expensive overall compared to a normal-sized car?

We Answered:

Well, the gas'll be real cheap. Yeah, it's tougher financially at that age, regarding insurance. Just wait til yer older and married. That's real good stuff man.
Hail Harley.

Kirk Said:

Motorcycle or car for teenager?

We Answered:

Would definitely consider a car. Aside from the safety issue, you have to consider situations where you'll want to haul other people around. One would think you have friends and I'm sure at some point you'll want to date. All reasons to have a car as opposed to a motorcycle.

Rose Said:

Regarding to Motorcycle insurance?

We Answered:

Ok if you can afford it the r6 is awesome and if you can afford new thats better.

My opinion however is never buy a new r6 if you have to finance it...and for that matter, never finance any bike through a dealer.

It would be better to take a down the middle approach and get a new(er) bike that is used. If you pulled up next to an r6 that was new and then another that was used in most cases you can't even tell the difference...except the guy who bought used has a fatter wallet.

New is better don't get me wrong but going through the dealer financing is a total rip off and you won't enjoy the bike. If however you have that kind of money and it wont be hard on you then I would do it...but...,,I have seen guys get into the bike and if you miss one, just one, insurance payment they will repo the bike as they want to protect their investment.

The negatives of getting a new bike and financing and insurance outweigh the positives..but rather than just tell you all the negatives I'll tellyou a good solution but first the negatives...


#1
When going through the dealer you will be literally raped when it comes to financing. It is highway robbery the interest they charge.

#2
Your insurance is a hell of a lot higher buying new as you have found out already. You know what I pay for a Kawasaki zx10? Keep in mind this is a 1000 cc motor also? I pay less than $200 for the entire year...I kid you not. Why is my insurance so low? I have the bare minimum insurance. If someone crashes into me I am still covered too. But when buying you again get screwed as you have to pay bookooo dollars for insurance.

#3
I bet the dealer didn't tell you about this. The required break in period and maintence! OH MY GOD man you're not going to believe how expensive it is and the dealers are highly expensive. It costs less to maintain my mercedes than my motorcycle I kid you not. And if you get a new bike a. you have to ride really slow for a hell of along time while breaking it in. And b. you are required to fork out more money to do required break in maintence.

Very, very conservatively the first few months of ownership you will spend over $3000 on tax, insurance, maintence, fees, registration...not to mention helmet, boots, gloves, jacket..

Ok now onto the positive solution. Buy a newer bike that has
a. Already been broken in and the previous owner will show you the receipts that HE paid and you didn't have to.

b. Also you won't have to do the booooring break in where you drive slow for umpteenth miles.

c. When you buy used you can still finance if you want but finance a bike that has been broken in already and finance a very small amount so its paid off the first 4 months.

d. You can get basic insurance.

A note about insurance rates. Your very first 3 years are very important. Do not screw around and race or get 1 ticket and if you can make it through 3 years with no speeding tickets or wrecks your rate plummets! It gets real low. I have AAA insurance and nobody beat them.

Denise Said:

Is a 1983 Honda Nighthawk cb550 a good beginner motorcycle?

We Answered:

A 550 four is not the ideal beginner bike, but it is cheap, so if it works well, it might serve you. A four is not going to be as easy to work on as a single or a twin, so get it looked over by someone with some experience and mechanical savvy.

Rosa Said:

Is full insurance on financed motorcycle absolutely neccesary?

We Answered:

Like others have said, you'd have to use the credit card if you don't want full coverage.

We have full coverage on some of our bikes, and basic on others (all are paid for).

I decide which bikes to cover fully by determining if I could take the $$ hit of replacing the bike if it were totalled.

Also, I look at the type of bike it is, and what kind of crashes I would normally have on it.

This way, I have full coverage on our expensive new street bikes (with high deductable), and minimal coverage on our dirt bikes.

Another thing to think about. Are you a new rider? If you've ridden less than 5 years, and you are under 35 years old, you have a VERY GOOD chance of crashing this bike in the first year you own it.

Nothing is more frustrating than still paying on a bike that's totalled and will never be worth more than a few hundred bucks parted out.

So, if you're a young rider with not much experience, and you are looking at a relatively expensive and powerful motorcycle, odds are you will end up paying that credit card bill on a pile of parts in a year or less. Or you can take that $300 a month insurance hit and at least come out of the deal with money in your pocket.

Tough call. Hmmmm. What about a different bike? Less cc's, different style?? Check insurance costs on a few different bikes, you might find something that'll be cheap enough at full coverage.