this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2025
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Spend it on a motorcycle before she notices
Absolutely based.
Speaking from experience too
This is now an impromptu motorcycle advice thread, lol.
But uh, if you would...
Do you have any recommendation for something like a $5k ish (or possibly under) bike that ... more or less could function as basically the motorcycle equivalent of... more like a donkey, than a thoroughbred?
Something that could handle itself at least 'ok' in a kind of... shitty trail / access roads type environment, but also does decently well on roads.. and is ammenable to either saddle bags or hardshell panniers for some cargo?
So far the closest thing to that that I have found at or near that price point is basically the Royal Enfield 500ish bikes... it seems like the more affordable but less powerful ones may just not be able to deliver enough power to handle say, safely performing an overtake at US highway speeds.
I dunno, hopefully that makes sense, and hopefully I am not asking for the impossible.
Also, if any of my preconceptions here seem widly offbase, please let me know, one can only get so far from watching reviews lol.
....
As best I can tell, it... seems Yamaha is doing an XSR500, but I cannot find any confirmation that it is coming to the US nor what the price would be ... ???
If you're on a budget, look at the used market, you don't have to pay those ridiculous dealer fees.
Oh, yes, at this point I would be looking to only buy a bike totally outright, in cash, and yeah, ideally something lightly used, I'd rather ask current owner of the bike about its history...
Probably gonna be the case that the average person selling their own bike is gonna be either much more truthful and transparent, or at least worse at lying, than any kind of a dealer.
It seems pretty common that people will buy a bike, ride it a bit, and then just realize they aren't actually using it that much, after a year or two.
So I would be looking to rehome that kind of a bike.
Of course of course, familiarize myself with a bit of how to repair that make/model prior to going and looking at it, so I would be better able to spot some kind of trouble indicator, that the seller may either be trying to hide or just genuienly not have noticed.
Was basically going to say RE. I've heard in reviews they have improved their quality problems. Mopeds are basically the donkey here too and often the more practical as they have storage at the cost of the style points. The Honda Rebel has several different cc engine types. Japanese bikes are pretty high quality. Yamaha has an MT 03 that is a good entry level and Kawasaki the Versys 300. Even small engines will be okay on the highway. Many can get to 80mph without to much struggle. Still I'd rather not if its long distance or something. Might stress the engine too much. Don't be shy about used but watch a few maintenance videos to pick up on what isn't normal/neglect
I appreciate the feedback!
I had been also looking at the Rebel and Versys...
I'll look at the MT 03 though, had not given that too much research time yet.
I'm not hard pressed to pick something right now, so... maybe I should just wait a bit and go for something in just a bit higher price tier...
But yeah, good to know that 'basically RE' is also roughly your answer to what my described 'requirements' ... means I am not totally delusional about all this, haha!
Be sure to post in the Lemmy community for more discussion too
Roger roger!
=P
That's the bike I want. Well, actually the xsr700. But I'm cool with the 900 too if it fits the budget.
Why do you like about it and what do you wish it did better?
I really like the retro-modern fusion of the style. Its also got a nice assortment of rider aids and riding modes, so its no always on rocket mode. It is kind of on the edge of how big a bike can be (in terms of performance) for the street, so really it could be smaller and you won't notice much as far as regular riding; few people (myself not included) will be able to push the 900 to the limits. Its still fairly new to me so I cannot comment on how much of a pain any given maintenance will be.
For sure, the looks are #1 for me too. The thing I run into is needing space to carry things, primarily my workout gear and duffle bag, and sports bikes suck for cargo.
My Harley has two large saddle bags and even those aren't really enough space.
On the xsr900 sub reddit I once saw someone with a good setup for soft luggage. Personally I have some bungie cords that i use to strap my backpack onto the back seat. MCs as a whole just aren't as practical that way. Ironically/underrated mopeds have build in storage and sacrificed all the cool points to just being pure practicality for urban mobility lol
An NC700/750 has about as much storage as a moped. But the real storage capacity comes when you start stacking stuff on the back, with the right bags/frame, you can transport basically anything you'd fit in the back of a minivan without lowering seats or shorted pickup without leaving the gate down.
True!
I'll figure something out. I just love riding without a backpack, but that'll be difficult for a daily commuter retro sport bike.
I'd get a driver's license for motorcycles and the motorcycle later. The licenses have become so insanely expensive here.
Why? Shouldn't cities encourage motorbikes over cars? In SEA its way easier to get a liscense for a bike than a car.
North American infrastructure is designed for cars first, and motorcycles are somewhat rare to see compared to the number of cars and trucks on the road. I think it's maybe more dangerous to ride a motorcycle in NA than in SEA just because everyone around you is in a giant metal box that can kill you, and I think that's why many people here choose not to ride motorcycles. That, and winter, of course.
As for the licensing, at least in the US, a motorcycle license is actually just an endorsement on a standard driver's license, so you need to have the standard car license first.
The person I was responding to isn't american, because motorcycle licenses are like 10 USD in both the states I've lived in.
Also my question was why is it expensive.