Looking for a good commuter bike.
 

I'm shopping around for a small(er) displacement motorcycle for my daily commute. My drive is 7.5 miles one way with a top speed of 45. I'm sure I would take longer trips on it, but this would be the main use.

I have a few bikes in mind. What I want is input on what brands are more reliable and any personal experience with a particular bike. I am also open to suggestions on other bikes, as long as it is not a sports bike or larger than 650cc.

These are the bikes that I am considering:

Kawasaki Eliminator 125

Suzuki GZ250

Honda Rebel 250

Yamaha V-Star 250

Suzuki Boulevard S40

I am also looking around at used bikes. If I can find a decently priced used bike that isn't too expensive I would consider it.

Please, do not let this turn into another argument about why used bikes are better then new.

Seems like you know what you want already, just go out there and test ride each on of them..

I have a 9 mile commute, speed up to 55 mph.. my 250cc Chinese scooter has yet to fail me for over 7600 mi. since last year. No shifting, no clutching, twist and go.. best of all, well above 85 mpg and plenty of underseat storage.

I own a Honda XR650L dual sport. The most I can coax out of it is about 55 mpg. So, I've been thinking about a new bike.

A 250 cc bike would get good mileage, but I detest the styling of smaller bikes, with the exception of the 250 Ninja. 250 cc "cruisers" look ridiculous.
The Ninja is OK looking but I'm not a sport bike rider any more. One broken ankle was enough.

The bike that intrigues me lately is the Buell Blast. It has a ~500 cc motor, and gets ~70 mpg EPA out of the box. And it looks and sounds like a real bike. The only thing holding me back is that it's carbureted. If the bike was injected, it would probably get 80 mpg without hypermiling. I'd hate to buy a Blast this year only to find out that next year it gets FI.

Harley Davidson injects all of its bikes now, and Buell is part of Harley. Why isn't the Blast injected?

Come to think of it, why didnt Kawasaki inject the 250 cc Ninja during last year's remodel? Same goes for the Suzuki S40.

Looks aren't real high on my list of what I am looking for. If they were, I would get a Harley Nightster 1200. I'm getting a bike because, not matter how "ridiculous" a 250cc cruiser looks, it is more economical than my cavalier.

I was looking at a 250 sports bike, but I can't ride one. I am looking at a cruiser because I can add "ape hangers". Not for looks, but comfort. I have three vertebra that are fused together, so leaning forward is out...

I test rode a 1996 Honda Shadow 600. It had ape hangers and a one up seat. It was actually more comfortable than my car.

After visiting several dealerships, I have ruled out any Suzuki purly due to the fact that I was treated like crap at the dealership.

The Kawasaki 125 is an extremely comfortable bike, but is underpowered, even for me.

The V-Star 250 has plenty of power, but wasn't as comfortable as the Kawasaki.

The Honda Rebel was the "best" bike that I looked at. It was really comfortable, had plenty of power, looks good and well, its a Honda.

All of the bikes that I considered have the same warranty, so it really comes down to personal preference. As of right now, the Honda is my preference. I will still be looking around for a few months before I buy. If anyone knows of a bike that is worth considering, speak up.

I have a 1982 Honda Nighthawk (CB650SC). It's actually a little less than 650cc though. Its the cruiser/street bike style. I only have one gas mileage test on it, but I drove it very very hard ( I wanted to see what it could do) and I still got 40mpg, so it's pretty good on gas. My parents have owned motorcycles for years and Honda has always been a reliable brand. I bet you could find a Nighthawk pretty cheap since some of them are very old.

you are correct. I found a 92 nighthawk on craigslist for $900. only problem is, its a sports bike. and a 750. the only cruiser style hawks i can find are priced well over the cost of a new rebel.

Since you don't want a sport style.. I'd say it would definately be worth it buying new if you can afford it with an entry level bike. They have little to no depreciation, and you don't have to worry about mechanical issues. Chinese scoots are great, but if you have a problem (which statistically you're more likely to) I hear they're a bear and a half to try to get any warrentee work done to them.

Personally, if I bought a new motorcycle, it would be a Suzuki TU 250. One lunger for good low torque and city manners, and it's an FE bike, plus it looks straight out of the 70's, with very nice classic standard bike styling. Essentially a more upright GZ250, but 250 standards don't look as awkward as 250 cruisers.

I was thinking about the TU250, but like I said, I'm not dealing with the dealership. If I could find one used, but that will bu unlikely since Suzuki hasn't gotten one yet.

Personaly, I would prefer a carbed bike. That the GZ250, for example. It will get similar milage as the TU250 and be easier to work on after the warrenty expires.

Ive been looking on Craigslist and I am really considering a used bike. I have found a few 2004 and 2005 Honda Rebels for about $1500.

Nice. I'd say grab a rebel then. They've got the Honda bike reliability, and they're incredibly well reviewed bikes, even if they're some of the weaker 250's out there (they're actually a 234 cc bike), but for commuting and around town, they do grand from what I hear.

And at $1500 for good, nicely running ones... You could probably keep it for 5 years and still sell it for about the same. A 1 or 2 year old 250 bike has absolutely NO depreciation throughout it's life, so long as it is in good, clean running condition. (I was seeing 20 year old rebels in clean running condition going for 1500 or more, with 15+k on the odo).

If you find a deal there... Grab it. Just make sure you know how to wrench.

How old do you wish to go? The Honda Rebel was based on the Honda CM which was more of a traditional bike than the cruiser style influenced Rebel. I had an 82 CM400 with the six speed (also available with an automatic transmission as the CM400A), top speed of well over 85 mph (the speedo ended there), and better than 70 mpg driven more sanely. It was a little close when riding two up, but solo was not all that bad at all. No storage at all, but a medium sized gym bag lashed to the passenger's seat covered most needs.

Someone above mentioned the Ninja EX250.
70mpg
far faster than anything else in its class or smaller
(top speed of 110, 0-60 in under 6 seconds)
If you actually spend a tank accelerating like that, riding hills with passengers, the worst you will get is 55mpg.
And used ones on craigslist in excellent condition can be found for $1-2000 (especially now that the 08 redesign is out)
6 speed transmission, 14,000 red line, comfortable upright position (even though the fenders make it look like a sport bike), very customizable.
They say it is a good "beginner" bike, but 7 years and 30,000 miles later I haven't outgrown it.
www.ninja250.com

OK, I found a bike that I am really considering getting. It is a 1969 Honda CD175. Has a little over 15K and just had a top end rebuild. The guy that is selling it is the original owner and has all of the maintenance receipts. It does need new tires. All of the tins are in perfect shape except for one small ding on the tank. It has a fair bit of power for its age and size... It is also really fun to ride...

The downside is, it will be next to impossible to find new parts for. I can find used parts on ebay.

The price is $2000. That's about normal for one of these. I saw some on Ebay for as much a $5000 that were in worse condition.

Whatcha think?

Too much money for a 30+ years old machine.. not likely to be a dependable commuter if you require it be capable of highway speed..

My Chinese scooter was $1699 shipped to my driveway.. I put over 7600 miles on it in one year without machanical issues nor need for replacement parts.

They are nice bikes and VERY dependable. If it's in excellent shape than you can't just look at the fact that it's 30 years old. don't try to run it 70+ all the time and it will run fine.
You can get new parts for them, you just have to search for them.

Jim T.

See, I don't care about highway speeds. The highest the speed limit gets on my way to work is 45. People usually go 35 though. The only highway riding I would be doing, is if I went to St. Augustine. Even then, the speed limit only goes up to 55.

I'm going to keep looking around. I may find something that I just can't say no to. Right now, I am just saving up the money to take a safety course to get my motorcycle endorsement.

Have you thought about an Aprillia 50 cc scooter? It has direct fuel injection and it should be great on gas.

If I do go with a scooter, it will be a Honda Ruckus. It's a name I know and it is a few hundred dollars cheaper. I go in for my safety class to get my endorsement on the 4th and 5th...

That's a good idea, if you have not been exposed to stupidity of drivers on a two-wheeled vehicle, operting a 50cc scoot without proper endorcement or rider training is rather dangerous.

Near me, when posted speed limit is at 35 mph, people travel 45 mph, highways with 55 mph speed limit, people driver up to 65-70 mph easily. I get flashed and honked at when I travel the speed limit on my area roads. One day soon, I can see myself getting rear ended by some wreckless driver.

Hi,

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Hate to burst your bubble, but EFI (at least in Harleys) is no panacea for mileage. EFI'd Harleys are actually reputed to get worse mileage than their carb'd predecessors while requiring premium fuel instead of regular. The Blast would no doubt follow suit if they EFI'd it.

Then again I'm biased and love carbs. When my warrantee is up, I'm ripping the EFI off of my Nightster for some carb action. Even if I didn't mind EFI so much, I've always wondered why you have to come to a complete stop for it to idle down and (presumably) go to closed loop...had this problem on my Focus, my Harley, and my Mom's Mazda...and when I added some mods to my Harley, why the hell did I have have to add a tuner if EFI's so smart?! I could re-jet a carb for a fraction of the price in my own driveway, thank you.

modern day motorcycle carburetors are much better than they used to be. the only advantage to fuel injection is if you are riding where changes in elevation might effect carbs, or if you leave fuel in the carbs too long and plug the jets. on the down side, fuel injection often causes drivability problems. I prefer carbs.