Royal Enfield

[DareDiver]

Hey everyone need some advice. I saw my first Royal Enfield today on the road. And had a dicussion about with my buddy i was driving back to work with. I have zero experience riding a bike. But he was saying it would be a great starter bike due to its size and 500cc single cylender motor. So im jus curious what you guys think. Any advice any yes's or no's. Thanks....

[iluvny081]

shees, alot of motorcycle rider's here huh? haha. well I'm an avide rider and depending on how tall you are and how much you weigh, a royal enfield would be a great starter bike for you. if you are taller and larger I wouldn't suggest a more powerful bike I would just suggest something with a bigger frame. they are very unique and you will get alot of compliments on it. if price is an issue. rather than the 5-6 thousand a new royal enfield would cost you, you can usually pick up a kawasaki ninja 250 for around $1000, a ninja is a fraction of the price and will outperform the royal enfield by far, and all while still being user friendly for a beginner. I hope this helps point you in a direction. I'm not going to say "right" direction. because everyone is different. just want to point you in a direction that you feel comforatble with. motorcycles are really great and a ton of fun, but can also be very dangerous for a beginner( or anyone for that matter), so if you've never ridden, i highly recomend a riding coarse before you take it to the streets.

[Dragon51]

I don't know much about the Enfield, bike I it's a hell of a gun! It has one of the strongest actions ever made!

[blue10]

Originally Posted by iluvny081

shees, alot of motorcycle rider's here huh? haha. well I'm an avide rider and depending on how tall you are and how much you weigh, a royal enfield would be a great starter bike for you. if you are taller and larger I wouldn't suggest a more powerful bike I would just suggest something with a bigger frame. they are very unique and you will get alot of compliments on it. if price is an issue. rather than the 5-6 thousand a new royal enfield would cost you, you can usually pick up a kawasaki ninja 250 for around $1000, a ninja is a fraction of the price and will outperform the royal enfield by far, and all while still being user friendly for a beginner. I hope this helps point you in a direction. I'm not going to say "right" direction. because everyone is different. just want to point you in a direction that you feel comforatble with. motorcycles are really great and a ton of fun, but can also be very dangerous for a beginner( or anyone for that matter), so if you've never ridden, i highly recomend a riding coarse before you take it to the streets.

With 40 years of riding, 30 of them on the streets, I could not have given better advise. Very well stated.

Another factor to consider is "ease of ownership" with the Royal Enfield, or any European bike for that matter. In other, what is the availability and cost of parts and service compared to the Japanese bike? The smaller the factory, the less available, and more expensive parts are.

[DareDiver]

Hey thanks all for your advice. It makes sense that a smaller company would have harder to find parts/ more exspensive parts. My buddy did say they are pretty easy to work on though, being that they are a single cylender. And i would go through a class to help me learn how to ride. And you will save money on insurance too with taking that class. Thanks again and havea good weekend....

[EvilTwin v2]

While I agree with many of the points...especially about taking a riding course. I think everybody should take one...including people who have ridden before... I wouldn't just throw up the Ninja250 as the answer. For a small rider, it can be a nice step, but I honestly feel that it will be outgrown far too rapidly to justify the purchase, and even though I'm only 5'10", I find them quite uncomfortable.

My advice would be to find a bike that's comfortable. Figure out what sort of bike you like. I'm partial to Adventure Tourers, Standards, or dual sports (street & trail). I grew up on dirt, so I prefer a position that puts the pegs under me. I also feel I have the most control in that position.

Next, pick a bike that offers a balance of power to grow on, but not so much that you're going to kill yourself on it. I went from a Suzuki TJ1000R which had enough power to easily get away from a less experienced rider to a Suzuki V-Strom DL1000. The V-Strom's engine was based on the TL's (1000cc V-twin), but was tuned to be much more rideable. If you're a smaller rider, there are several 600cc standards or adventurer tourers that will provide alot of fun for many years. However, if you're larger or plan to carry a passenger, I'd consider one of the milder 750cc - 1000cc+ standards, cruisers or adventure tourers.