I am new to motorcycles and would like some advice. I was going to go get a Honda CBR600rr but when i called around for insurance they wanted $600 a month!!! Is this normal? I have no accidents or speeding tickets but i am 27, male, single so i imagine they think i have a deathwish and will crash the bike so.... I found a used ( 3000 miles ) 2004 Suzuki GS500 and my insurance for that is only $60 a month. Here is my concern a friend told me that the GS500 may sound like a dirt bike not like a street bike. Can someone who has one tell me if that is true? Also would you recomend this bike for a newbie ( I take the beginner class next month :-) ). Thank you all for your help.
listen to the sound files on this page and tell me if it sounds like a dirt bike to you.http://www.gstwin.com/vanceandhines.htm
mine sounds very nice and street bikey if you will. at stock level it has a throatyness to it. the only way to find out for sure is to test ride the one you are looking at. oh and btw welcome to the forum and if you are new to motorcycles this is the place to start and a gs is a great bike to learn on
I can't think of a better bike for a beginner. I've been riding my whole life [26 now] and I love riding it. It doesn't sound like a dirt bike, it sounds like a twin cylinder bike should. More throaty and deep than a four cylinder. Insurance quote sounds hi though, everyone I know that rides down here in Texas pays about 60 to 100 dollars a year. That's right, a year.
600cc inline twins have silly power, so silly guys buy them and wreck them a lot. Insurace is much higher on them than on other, more standard street bikes. They're race bikes; don't worry about getting one unless you plan on track time. :)
You are well-off with a GS500. Don't worry about how your first bike sounds. Worry about if its maintenance is up-to-date, about learning to wrench on it, about taking the beginner class, about having all of your gear from head to toe on at all times, about getting miles under your belt and developing your skills.
I'm so glad you didn't get the CBR, they look fantastic but they're definately not for a newbie like you or I. A GS500 is a great bike to start on though it doesn't sound the best, I don't even think many of the aftermarket exhausts sound too good, with a few exceptions (my fav Wileyco) but I seem to be the odd one out in that area, although it'll never sound like a CBR or GSX-R. BTW $60 a month sounds a little steep, I pay $30 Canadian and I'm 16 with less than a month of experience and no car experience to speak of, but I did take the MSF course so that could be a larger factor than I thought it would be.
Thanks for all the great info, The vids helped a lot. :) Insurance here tends to run high due to how close we are to the border, very high theft rate. I was just shocked at such a huge difference. Thanks for the advice on priorities, i am definatley going to buy the best equipment i can 2 of my co-workers were killed in motorcycle crashes in the last 6 months, neither had a helmet on :-( Thank you all once again for your help, any more advice please feel free, ill take all i can get. Hopefully in about a month i will be posting about my first time out on my bike :-)
where do you live? and what does being close to the border have to do with insurance?
I have a 2004 and I am married and have a clean record. I only pay $411 a year for full coverage.
If 60 a month for full coverage then $720 a year isn't that bad for a single 27 year old. Cruisers tend to be a lot cheaper on insurance.
As far as the sound with an aftermarket exhaust around idle and low rpms it does sound like a large cc ATV but as soon as the rpms come up all that changes. Besides you don't cruise around at idle rpms anyway.
i bet you looked for insurance at somewhere that specializes in car insurance. try bike-line.com or state farm (SF especially if you also have a car insured with them).
I have complete full coverage on my 04 for ~$150 a month, and I'm only 21.
Quote from: rrittersoni bet you looked for insurance at somewhere that specializes in car insurance. try bike-line.com or state farm (SF especially if you also have a car insured with them).
I have complete full coverage on my 04 for ~$150 a month, and I'm only 21.
$150 a month :o
I'm through Progressive, have them give you a quote.
IMO The GS does sound like a Quad :mrgreen: I used to ride one when I was a kid, and the GS sounds just like it :)
At higher RPMS it screams like a race bike though :thumb:
Quote from: Roadstergal600cc inline twins have silly power, so silly guys buy them and wreck them a lot. Insurace is much higher on them than on other, more standard street bikes. They're race bikes; don't worry about getting one unless you plan on track time. :)
You are well-off with a GS500. Don't worry about how your first bike sounds. Worry about if its maintenance is up-to-date, about learning to wrench on it, about taking the beginner class, about having all of your gear from head to toe on at all times, about getting miles under your belt and developing your skills.
:thumb: +1.
I don't think it sounds like a dirt bike. I think it sound like a small displacement sport bike. Oh wait, it is... :)
Welcome!
I've been riding 19 years and you have a great bike to learn on and keep! What does it matter what it sounds like? I don't know of any dirtbikes that are parallel twins, or sound like them. A bike is what a bike is.
If you're only concerned how the bike "sounds" then you're a poser. Don't be a poser. Don't get your first bike based on ego. Get your first bike to learn how to ride.
Or, based on someone else's ego.
Quote from: dyranwhere do you live? and what does being close to the border have to do with insurance?
He mentioned theft. My guess is bikes get stolen a lot and taken across the border (Mexico, I'm guessing) to be sold.
I still think the GS sounds like a giant sewing machine... :dunno:
Quote from: BlazinjrQuote from: rrittersoni bet you looked for insurance at somewhere that specializes in car insurance. try bike-line.com or state farm (SF especially if you also have a car insured with them).
I have complete full coverage on my 04 for ~$150 a month, and I'm only 21.
$150 a month :o
I'm through Progressive, have them give you a quote.
Progressive was $6500 a year for incomplete coverage. That's more than $500 a month. On a $5000 bike.
$150 a month is $50k/$100k liability, $500 deduct comp/collision, $25/$50k under/uninsured motorist. Just liability was only $750/yr.
Oh, and I also had one violation and one at-fault on my record at the time. (both are now more than 36 months, so my new quote for full everything is only $75/month)
Quote from: RVertigoI still think the GS sounds like a giant sewing machine... :dunno:
That's what I think, too.
But that doesn't stop me from having them. :roll:
Quote from: RoadstergalBut that doesn't stop me from having them. :roll:
Yeah... Them... Now, only if you could commit to one. :lol:
Honest, I'm only that way with bikes!
"I'm loyal as a dog
But I'm a hog
For that sexual attraction
It starts up in my mind
Then it makes a beeline
Below the belt - no consequences, just satisfaction.."
:?
I'm a loyal dog with everything except apartments... I can't even throw old shoes away unless they hurt my feet. For a while I had three pairs of the same shoe, of varying ages. I've had the same car for 4 years... I have t-shirts that are over 10 years old. And I've been with the same woman for nearly 10 years.
Apartments though... I hate staying in the same place too long. :x
I just wanted to say thank you for the comments. I went to the dealership to purchase the 500 and when i saw it i realized someone had laid it down. One while side was scratched up really bad. They still wanted almost 4000 for it!!!! I offered them 1000 and they wouldnt accept. So i went to the MSF class and passed the skill test with a 98%!! I had told my brother how excited i was to get my license but bummed out that i didnt have a bike to ride. He came to pick me up from my last day if class at the honda dealership, he said we should look at the bikes they had for sale for fun so we went in. He had me sit on a 2003 superhawk while i was drooling a sales man came over and handed me the keys, my brother had bought the bike for me!!!! I was too afraid to drive it home that night, since the bike was huge compared to the training bike and i would have to take some major roads home. so they delivered it to my house an hour later. I took it out an hour later and i am in love! The next day i was scared to see how much insurance was but to my surprise i got full coverage with under and non insured driver protection for only $120 a month through ridenow.com So thats my story, i know i may get booted off of here since i dont have a GS500 but i wanted to say thanks. out of all the message boards i have posted on regarding motorcycles you all have been the friendliest and most help. Oh and to respond to the person who asked what being so close to the boarder has to do with insurance, i was told by an agent that we have one of the highest vehicle theft rates in the country since it is easy to bring them to mexico and sell them. Not sure if it is true, but its one of the reasons i was given for the monthly rate being so high.
super hawk? the 1000cc V-twin.
Be careful!!!! That thing is probably very easily wheelie-able or maybe even loopable.It's not exactly my idea of a great first bike. Cool bro to buy it for you though.
Thats the one, it is a huge jump from the 250cc training bike i learned on. I think i will be ok, I have a very healthy amount of fear/respect for the bike. Its been almost a week and i havent brought it over 5k rpm. I am not a racer by any means, at lights people rev their cars and seem like they are trying to get me to race but i have no interest. Its almost amusing that i have it because you will always see me in the slow lane doing the speed limit, i do have to admit it made me alot more comfortable haveing that power there my first time getting on the highway but the rest of the time it is slow and safe.
Quote from: Charmsen26I am new to motorcycles and would like some advice. I was going to go get a Honda CBR600rr but when i called around for insurance they wanted $600 a month!!! Is this normal? I have no accidents or speeding tickets but i am 27, male, single so i imagine they think i have a deathwish and will crash the bike so.....
I have a 2005 GS500F and it had about 100 miles on it when I got it down to the insurance place. With full coverage and a 250$ deductable, it will cost me $55/mo. I'm 22 with 1 accident roughly 5 years ago and a speeding ticket about 6 years ago. State Farm is my insurance agency.
Quote from: Charmsen26I am new to motorcycles and would like some advice. I was going to go get a Honda CBR600rr but when i called around for insurance they wanted $600 a month!!! Is this normal? I have no accidents or speeding tickets but i am 27, male, single so i imagine they think i have a deathwish and will crash the bike so.... I found a used ( 3000 miles ) 2004 Suzuki GS500 and my insurance for that is only $60 a month. Here is my concern a friend told me that the GS500 may sound like a dirt bike not like a street bike. Can someone who has one tell me if that is true? Also would you recomend this bike for a newbie
No way I could recommend a Honda CBR600rr as a bike for a newbie. Buddy of mine has an '03 that he let me ride. Bike was so smooth and so fast, it could easily fool a newbie into thinking they knew what they were doing. It's an amazing bike built for a rider with at least some experience. I could never recommend it to a newbie and sleep at night. Ride something smaller for a year or two. Then you'll be able to enjoy the experience of a bike like that.
I think I've got you all beat. I just got my full-coverage insurance today on my new '05 GS500f. ~178 dollars a month. A little over 2100 dollars a year. I'm 20 years old, good record... EXCEPT for a DWI back in Sept. '03. Believe me everybody, NEVER drink and drive, it's definitely not worth it.
Also, be EXTRA careful on that Superhawk man. That's a scary fast bike bro'. It sounds like you have a level head though, so just be careful. ;)
Quote from: streetsweeperI think I've got you all beat. I just got my full-coverage insurance today on my new '05 GS500f. ~178 dollars a month. A little over 2100 dollars a year. I'm 20 years old, good record... EXCEPT for a DWI back in Sept. '03. Believe me everybody, NEVER drink and drive, it's definitely not worth it.
Ya, insurance forgets about anything more than 3 years back and all my crap against me was 3+ years before I got my bike which is probably why it's only 58$/mo.
BTW, how'd you get cought drinking and driving? I mean, what was the charge they pulled you over for?
Quote from: phireBTW, how'd you get cought drinking and driving? I mean, what was the charge they pulled you over for?
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