picked up my first bike in january, a 08 nightster. i love it and glad that i staerted with somthing that i wouldnt regret after 6 months or so. a 883 or 1200 can be smooth 2 ride as long asyour son isnt throttle heavy. besides after hes at school you will luv it.. good luck

 

LiteWeight Bike probably good for starter but if you decide on Harley remember 883 and 1200 same bike, same engine, same weight (Almost)but different bore.

 

i'm still learning on a 1200l,he didn't want me to outgrow it! haha the only way i'm growing is outward so i think i'll never outgrow it,it weighs in at 600 lbs,i'm getting closer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!good cookies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I did the same at the same age with a 2000 883 now im 19 on a Night rod special, as of tommorow that is...

 

I would definitely recommend the 1200 over the 883. I started on the 1200 at 20 and it was perfect for me. I had never even ridden a bike before that other than a dirt bike.

 

Bob, the bottom line is that if he gets any bike other than the one he really wants, he'll tire of it very quickly. There is nothing worse than being stuck with something that somone else said was a better choice. I'll be 66 years old in about 3 weeks, my wife bought me a new 1200C last August as I mentioned above, my last bike was a 125 MAICO that I sold in 1977. I've had no problem riding the 1200C, 3,051 miles on it now and it feels like a natural extension of me. Your son will most likely be stronger than I am, have much better reflexes and be a natural in short order. Go for the 1200 I say.

 

+1

But it seems that the larger question is "Cruiser or sport?"

If you go with a sport bike, that Ninja 250 is a very good little bike. But, they haven't updated its early-90s looks yet. (This is usually important to the sport-bike crowd.) And, since it really just whets the appetite, he'll want a 650 real soon. Most people don't mod their 250s; they just get a bigger bike. Maybe buy used? There are usually a ton of Ninja 250s or 500s on craigslist or your local paper or the like.

If you go with cruiser, the XL1200 is not a bad suggestion over an 883. Plenty of room for mods/tweaking. I bet your son will not tire of it as quickly. Still, if you want to start him off on something used, that's smart, too.

 

Just noticed I had a question.....flop over....yes I guess kind of like a chopper, what I notice is that in a slow turn, the bars are trying to force into the turn direction, takes effort to hold them up....turn them a little and they want to turn further, also feels a little unballanced. On a Harley or Yamaha turns seem ballanced, the bars are comfortable in any amount of turn. At high speeds the Honda feels fine. At a given fork angle say 30 degrees, if there is not enough offset the front end wants to fall to either side. If there is too much offset the front end wants to stay straight. A little flop is goodrather than perfect neutral ballance, some bikes have a little more than others. I think more flop makes it easier to dive into turns at high speeds for people who dont use or understand the countersteering principal. Which makes sense, alot of beginers buy Hondas, they also often cant (dont) countersteer, which is why they often go wide in a high speed turn and hit gravel...they cant get the bike to lean into the turn. my guess anyway. Had a girlfriend years ago; she got a Honda 750 cruiser, she dropped it in parking lots several times....sold it, got a Yamaha 1100 Vstar, great bike, never dropped it, still has it...8 years so far
The Rebel has a bad buzz in the grips at 60 or so, 250 that is, don't know about the 450.