[Jahx]

Howdy folks.


I am an experienced rider (15 years, 240k miles), and my current bike is a 2006 SV650S. I have been the "Motorcycle Evangelist" of my social group for many years, and added two new riders to the fold this past year. One of them is ready to turn over the keys to his Ninja 250, and pick up something a bit more highway friendly, and with a little less lean (Small guy, about 5'4" I believe). He said he was interested in a cruiser looks wise, so I took him to the local stealership, and had him sit on nearly everything on the showroom floor. Turns out he likes mid controls (so there is that at least), and he feels much more comfortable with bars that come back a bit. The bike he liked best was the Suzuki Boulevard M50 (The revitalized Marauder), but while he liked it, it wasn't quite right.

So, on a whim, we headed down to the local Harley Davidson dealership. He tried a few bikes, and found a couple 883/1200's that felt ok, but when he plunked down on the Street 750, everything just clicked for him. The ergonomics just fit him to a T. So here I am, gathering all the information I can for him (He is a younger guy, 24, and not a lot of experience with buying bikes).

And that is me.

 

[AYEDEE]

Welcome aboard buddy! All that you have said sort of confused me. Are we talking about you here? Humour me please. I am dumb at times.

 

[bbally]

Welcome aboard. The XG is laid out pretty nicely.

 

[StoneFree]

Howdy folks.

So, on a whim, we headed down to the local Harley Davidson dealership. He tried a few bikes, and found a couple 883/1200's that felt ok, but when he plunked down on the Street 750, everything just clicked for him.

Howdy back at ya.

First I want to commend you on taking your friend to see numerous different motorcycle brands to check out. While I'm a "Harley" guy I don't believe that a Harley is the best motorcycle for every rider and the brand and model a person should purchase needs to be based upon their specific riding needs.

You mentioned that your friend is interested in a "cruiser" motorcycle but prefers mid-controls (the historic definition of a cruiser includes forward foot controls) but that's no big deal. Often those that haven't used forward controls don't like them. No biggie of course.

Both the Suzuki Boulevard M50 and the Street 500/750 both meet the definition of a "cruiser" albeit with mid-controls and both are very good motorcycles although based upon the "specs" and "price" the Street has a definate advantage IMHO.

In the end I think that your friend needs to go with what he feels most comfortable riding as all other factors sort of drift into irrelevance in the final decision. The Suzuki Boulevard M50 and the Street 500/750 are virtually the same when it comes to the type of riding they address.

If he does select the Street then he also has the advantage of being a Harley owner that comes with a certain amount of social distinction and social networking based upon HOG. That shouldn't be the reason for purchasing a Harley but is a benefit of being a Harley owner.

 

[Jahx]

Welcome aboard buddy! All that you have said sort of confused me. Are we talking about you here? Humour me please. I am dumb at times.

Nope, the street won't be for me. I already have a vtwin (My sv650s) that serves me quite well, and honestly at 6'3" the street is a trifle small. My young friend on the other hand fits quite well.

 

[Jahx]

Howdy back at ya.

First I want to commend you on taking your friend to see numerous different motorcycle brands to check out. While I'm a "Harley" guy I don't believe that a Harley is the best motorcycle for every rider and the brand and model a person should purchase needs to be based upon their specific riding needs.

You mentioned that your friend is interested in a "cruiser" motorcycle but prefers mid-controls (the historic definition of a cruiser includes forward foot controls) but that's no big deal. Often those that haven't used forward controls don't like them. No biggie of course.

Both the Suzuki Boulevard M50 and the Street 500/750 both meet the definition of a "cruiser" albeit with mid-controls and both are very good motorcycles although based upon the "specs" and "price" the Street has a definate advantage IMHO.

In the end I think that your friend needs to go with what he feels most comfortable riding as all other factors sort of drift into irrelevance in the final decision. The Suzuki Boulevard M50 and the Street 500/750 are virtually the same when it comes to the type of riding they address.

If he does select the Street then he also has the advantage of being a Harley owner that comes with a certain amount of social distinction and social networking based upon HOG. That shouldn't be the reason for purchasing a Harley but is a benefit of being a Harley owner.

Indeed, forward controls made him pretty uncomfortable. While I normally tell my new riders to buy used to avoid the depreciation associated with driving a new bike off the lot, it looks like he will have to take that hit, as the Streets are too new to have a used market as of yet.

I freely admit to being a trifle uncomfortable with the prices I see bandied about. MSRP is $7,499 for the bike, and I find it hard to imagine paying more than $8,100 OTD, however it seems that many are picking up their bikes in the $9k + range. My other experiences with buying new bikes have all been metrics, and in each case I either paid MSRP + tax/title/tag, or I managed to get less than MSRP (new model year out already etc).

 

[HDGuy]

welcome to the forum!

 

[Livin On]

welcome to the boards, this is what I love about the motorcycling community, do you think this much effort gets put into new drivers?

We can always be a touch geeky when talking about bikes especially to non riders, so its nice to get a few new guys into the fold

 

[StoneFree]

Indeed, forward controls made him pretty uncomfortable. While I normally tell my new riders to buy used to avoid the depreciation associated with driving a new bike off the lot, it looks like he will have to take that hit, as the Streets are too new to have a used market as of yet.

I freely admit to being a trifle uncomfortable with the prices I see bandied about. MSRP is $7,499 for the bike, and I find it hard to imagine paying more than $8,100 OTD, however it seems that many are picking up their bikes in the $9k + range. My other experiences with buying new bikes have all been metrics, and in each case I either paid MSRP + tax/title/tag, or I managed to get less than MSRP (new model year out already etc).

New v Used is always a consideration but I think it's pretty easy to decide which way to go. If you plan on owning the M/C for a long time then I'd always recommend buying new. If you plan on changing M/C's every couple of years then I'd go used. As you noted there is a huge drop in "value" for new when you first purchase it's a "paper-loss" unless you actually try to sell it. If you own the M/C for years then the loss of value is more than made up for with the reliability of the new motorcycle that should require virtually no repairs.


If a Harley dealer is trying to sell for more than MSRP then go to a different dealer. My local Harley dealer never sells for more than MSRP and will ship anywhere in the US and I don't personally know of any Harley dealers trying to sell their M/C's for more than MSRP.


The Street 750 is less expensive than the Suzuki but I'm sure you're already aware of that fact.

 

[HDGuy]

welcome to the boards, this is what I love about the motorcycling community, do you think this much effort gets put into new drivers?

We can always be a touch geeky when talking about bikes especially to non riders, so its nice to get a few new guys into the fold

i actually wonder if I will ever see that sort of effort put into new drivers in my lifetime LOL