Triumphrat

SBBonnie · 05-24-2007

Probably not the best idea but what are your thoughts? My brother-in-law may be getting his first bike and I've been keeping an eye out for him. A few really good looking Nighthawk have come up on craigslist around here for cheap....Too big??

porsche996 · 05-24-2007

Nah. That's a pretty good starter bike. It's a large engine, but a 20 year old engine design; not a whole lot of power compared to modern 750's.

My first bike was a Nighthawk 650.

Sprint1050DA · 05-24-2007

That's a bike I've recommended as a starter bike. You're not going to find many newer bikes that are easier to ride.

SBBonnie · 05-25-2007

Thanks guys - what do you make of this? The enginge looks cleaner than my brand new Bonnie and the bike was made the same year I was!

http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/mcy/337623768.html

or this one....

http://ventura.craigslist.org/mcy/337473697.html

[ This message was edited by: SBBonnie on 2007-05-25 01:33 ]

97sprint · 05-25-2007

Has he taken the MSF course yet ?

The 750 Nitehawk, yea it's an old design but runs well.
Tons of parts out there for it.

What's his physical size? Can he sit flat footed?
Does he have the co ordination to ride?

Lots of questions, none to make him feel uneasy.

sweatmachine · 05-25-2007

it's a good bike, a bit heavy (top heavy at that), but it's very versatle and he won't tire of it quickly. I owned one when I was 17.

It'd hit around 125-130ish if I remember correctly!

KevyKev · 05-25-2007

I haven't looked around at dealers lately (or your ad/link) but I do know that you used to be able to drive a pretty good bargain on new ones that are a few years old at dealers. The 750 Nighthawk was almost my first (owned) bike for this reason till I came across my old Katana 600.

SBBonnie · 05-25-2007

He's still in the convincing his wife stages (my sister) and so he has a long way to go before he'll be riding. Now that I think about it he's shorter than me - probably about 5'5"-6" so seat height may be a problem. I started on a 250 Nighthawk and remember that even that was a little tall. Thanks for all the input guys!

R100Pilot · 05-25-2007

For folks just learning to ride, it's about the weight more than the power.

I mean, sure, you shouldn't stick a newbie on a GSXR1000. But power can still be modulated with the throttle. Weight can't be changed. Neither can how it's distributed (if it's topheavy, for instance).

Stick a beginner on a heavy bike with low or high horsepower and they're gonna fall over. It's just gravity. Learning to manage that weight is the biggest hurdle in riding.

So if you're brother-in-law's a big enough guy, the Nighthawk shouldn't be a problem.