I am a 24 year old teacher in Charlotte NC, looking to buy my first bike. Naturally I don't have a whole lot of money so am looking to spend about $3000 on a bike. I have been shopping around online and have found several possibilities and have a couple questions:

1. Is it better to buy privately or from a dealer? I know dealers are more expensive but are there bikes more realiable etc?
2. Would it be better to wait until I can afford a nicer bike or is $3000 a good place to start for a 1st bike?
3. I found a 1970 sportster for sale for $2000, would that be a bad 1st bike? I know they are harder to work on etc. I would be doing my own work and am fairly mechanically minded. Does that price seem right?
4. What about a 97 sportster 883? Had the best reviews I found of the 90's bikes and I like the look.
5. How is progressive for insurance?

Thanks a lot ahead of time for any help.

 

It wil be your FIRST bike? If so get something small, not an EG or Road King. It doesn't have to be a HD to learn on. The smaller metrics are cheaper to learn on and can usually be sold after you get comfortable on two wheels. Riding a bike is not like driving a car. There is more to it than just getting on it and riding down the street. Alot of new riders in my area say that the MSF begginners coarse was well worth the money. I learned on smaller dirt bikes and rode both on the dirt and highways while learning. I'm sure there will be many opinions on your post. Stay safe and be smart.

 

My first bike was $600 80 Honda CB650, not the best for first bike, pretty high seat(sold for 1000). Buy 85 Honda Rebel for 600-1000, ride it for a month and then sell it for the same money or more(I bought 86 for 650, sold for 1000).
Good luck.

 

1. $3,000 is plenty for a first bike but you won't find much of anything at a dealer for that price go to craigslist or ebay.
2. don't wait sign up for an MSF course and get started, if you wait until you have 13K together then the kids need braces, the roof needs repair etc... it'll never happen.
3. you'll be fixing that 1970 sportster more than riding it, if you aren't mechanically inclined to working on bikes i wouldn't buy a 1970 sporty. this is when AMF owned harley and the quality of the bikes put out has been considered low (there will be varying opinions on this i'm just going off what i've read here).
4. 1997 883 may be a bit underpowered for you, i would try to find a 1200 in the same price range, or even a dyna for a bit more.
5. progressive gave me a great rate best of all the other companies i shopped.

first sign up for an MSF course and see if you enjoy riding or if it scares the crap out of you and you realize it isn't for you before spending money on a bike. we had a guy on our MSF course with a 13K softail in his garage and he dumped the training bike twice and failed the road test, the guy was shaking every time he got on his bike.

i couldn't find any metrics that i wanted to ride in a $3,000 price range, old ugly fluorescent underpowered ninjas, some really dated honda shadows. but i found a simple black 1998 sportster 1200 with vance pipes, risers, bullet headlight some updates to it. i like it and it was fine to learn on, but i'm already looking to upgrade after putting about only 1500 miles on it, i'll ride it through the summer and buy a new bike next year.

 

My first Harley was a 1972 XLCH (1000 CC kick start AMF Sportster). I loved that bike and would like to have it back. Even so, I would not recommend an early 70's Sportster for your first bike. They had no disc brakes, so they didn't stop all that well. They do need a lot of tender loving care. They were great bikes, but the newer models do require far less maintenance. I would suggest trying to find something newer, unless you really do want to devote lots of time and love working on it.

You should be able to find a Sportster with few miles on it and only a few years old for a reasonable price. I have seen 2005 and 2006 Sportsters with less than 2000 miles on them for under $5000. Seems lots of people purchased them, and decided they really did not want to ride much. They are out there. You will be most likely to get the best deal from a private party than from a dealer. I sometimes find notes on bulletin boards in bars advertising these bikes for sale. Regarding Progressive insurance - they have been good for me as far as price goes, but I have never had a claim with them, so I cannot honestly say how good they would be if you had a claim. Maybe somebody else here has had experience filing a claim with Progressive.

 

I would suggest if you have $3000 to spend...spend it on a metric, there are some real nice metrics in that price range and they are going to be more reliable than a 1970s HD imo

As far as a 883...let the ladies ride thoses

 

agree, i wouldnt buy that old of a bike, to much work and money will go into it. try to get something in the 90s range and yes you dont have to buy a harley.

 

Brand new Buells are really cheap now.

 

You have plenty of options on bikes; used and new. That is all up to you, it is your money. As far as progressive.....not even close with my insurance company; Allstate.

 

This is good advice except for the part about the 883.... I know plenty of ladies that handle the bigger bikes as well as the men......