getting a bike

[karmakaze]

i just got a loan approved to get a motorcycle.
i am looking at a 99 suzuki TL1000s

anyone have any comments on this bike?
or alternative sugestions?

[gothic_spleen]

http://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/155978356.html


i just did a quick search for ya....hope that helps..

suggestion....get a helmet and new underware

[karmakaze]

http://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/155978356.html


i just did a quick search for ya....hope that helps..

suggestion....get a helmet and new underware

thanks for the link. but $5800 is a bit more than i would be willing to pay for that bike. the one i am looking at is full faring and between 4-5g

[Bone]

i just got a loan approved to get a motorcycle.
i am looking at a 99 suzuki TL1000s

anyone have any comments on this bike?
or alternative sugestions?

Be sure that if you buy it that all the safety recalls have been done
the TL series had at least two recalls in the 97-99 range I am aware of, the biggest one being for the steering dampner.

The TLs aren't the most forgiving of bikes in the handling dept (again part of why I say make sure that the bike you are looking at wasn't in the recall and if it was that the recall was done). If you do something stupid on this bike it's gonna reach up and bite ya...hard. Not a bike to learn on, so if your looking for a starter bike, look else where.
In the starter bike with a sporty look, I would recommend looking for either a suzuki bandit, or honda CBR600. The Suzuki SV650 series is another bike I would HIGHLY recommend. It's very Forgiving bike thats plenty playful. Ask Arkady about that one, it's what he rides.
All three are considerably more forgiving than the TL will ever think about being.

To the TL's plus sides, its a Twin (but so is the SV), which means Broadass Tourque Band. The motor in that bike makes power just about everywhere in it's RPM range though not real spikey.
Four Cylinders like the cbr, gsxr, zx, yzf-r, make almost no power idle to usually around 7000 rpm where the power comes in with a HARD snap. Often hard enough to pull a full wheely under hard acceleration.

If you feel comfortable with your riding skills I have to say, I wouldn't mind owning a TL. Very manageable power, and a sexy looking bike (reminicent style of some older ducati's) and I just love a twin cylinder motor....

Another thing to think about on a "sport style" motorcycle - insurance
check with your agent on the price for the bike you are looking at. I have seen insurance prices for some sport bikes that will cost you the cost (or more) of the bike per year to insure.

Shop around for insurance too... prices can be hugely different... my last shopping for my 77' BMW ranged from $80 a year to $549 a year for minimum legal insurance. Always quote the EXACT engine cc size too. Manufactours round up the engine size most of the time for the sticker on the side of the bike. My bike is listed as a 1000cc, but is really a 980cc engine. Tell the insurance company that my bike is 980cc helps keep my insurance lower, as the next $ price jump comes in at 1000cc.
Heh... tricks of the trade. Doesn't work with all companies, and newer more comman bikes are harder to sneak past this way.

Last let me add that if you are looking for a way to have cheap transportation- the money you save in gas, you are going to spend it back in tires and maintance. Sport bike tires usually run between $150-$220 for a rear tire (good for average 6,000-8,000 miles) and $110-160 for front tires (good for average 10-12,000 miles), add to that the price of mount and balance ($79 per wheel where I work). Just in keeping tires, you can see how fast these things add up (your looking at $600-800 in tires every 10,000 miles or so.
Service intervals rage for maintance work around every 4000-6000 miles that can cost anywhere from 100-800 each service

ie: you can easily spend around $0.10 per mile in maintance alone, just to keep the bike running properly. This figure is by letting an authorised dealer handle all the work on your bike.

Know what it's gonna cost to maintain a bike your looking at before you buy. I can't stress how important the factory services are to the life of a bike. They must be done or you WILL spend a lot more $ later for repairs.

I don't want to turn you off to the idea of a bike, I just want you to be aware of what owning a sport bike costs before you buy. That's the biggest trap that people walk into with a bike.

If you want a professional eye to go over a bike before you buy it, PM me and we'll try and hook up.