Looking for recommendations on a high mileage motorcycle or scooter.........

in the 250-500cc range. I just picked up paperwork for a learner's permit this morning. Please let me know if you have had any experience with the following: Honda Reflex Sport, Honda Big Ruckus, Suzuki Burgman 400, Yamaha Majesty, Kymco Xciting 250 and 500 or classic motorcycle in the same engine rating class. Issues like maintenance intervals, maintenance costs, reliability, performance under load and ride comfort are important.

- 250-500cc is a big range, with a huuuuuge difference in mpg. A relatively new Japanese 250 will blow your mind for gas mileage, top 400 and it's usually less impressive. Still better than about any car, though.

- If you're new to riding, consider investing in the MSF course. Worth its weight in gold.

- Think about where you'll be riding, esp. in the above engine size consideration. Stop-n-go you'll be happier overall with a smaller engine, low enough to put yer feet down a lot. On the highway height is less of a consideration, and gearing high lets the engine rest a little at speed.

- Best advice I ever got: take your bike budget, and dedicate 1/3 of it to safety gear.

don't want an underpowered bike running high rpms constantly. This is a tough decision. On your excellent recommendation I picked up a "Ride with Pride" motorcycle training and safety course brochure this morning and will sign up with them as soon as they call me back. I realize safety equipment is paramount and I am spending a lot of time on gear this is protective and very visible, appreciate you emphasizing the safety protection aspect. Thank you for your reply and great advice!!

your height/weight can definetly be a determining factor in the bike you choose. If you are a smaller person, a 250cc bike may be just fine, but if you're larger, you may want to go with a larger bike.

Also, the type of riding you do is an important consideration. Is it putting light to light in 45mph city traffic or do you want to ride on the highway too?

and NY on highways, state and country roads as well as city driving. I will be racking up a lot of miles on this machine as I plan to use it as a replacement for my car for making sales calls.

thank you for your recommendation and reply!!

If you are going to do that much traveling, I'd say you want a bike with at least 500cc if not larger. Traveling down the highways especially, a 250cc bike would get old in a hurry.

I'd take a look at a Kawasaki Vulcan 500. It's a great starter bike for a new rider, has enough power to run the highways just fine, comfortable seating position since you'll be on it a lot and it should get fantastic gas mileage.

will be running high rpms constantly and beating the machine to death vs. better mileage (50-55 mpg) with a 500cc class engine running lower rpms constantly and extending the service life of the machine. I am realizing there is noway to have it both ways. I looked at a Honda Shadow VLX this morning that felt comfortable to sit on, I will take your advice and check out the Kawasaki Vulcan 500 later today and get back to you. What kind of mileage would you expect with the Vulcan? Thanks for your reply and advice!

At 190lb, you would work a 250cc machine to death. And the first time you encountered some stiff headwinds on the highway trying to get somewhere on time, you'd curse the day you bought it.

As far as gas mileage, I don't know exactly what to expect. I have looked at the manufacturers websites and I guess they don't have to publish mpg ratings? Ratings would probably be useless anyway, riding habits, conditions etc. can all affect mpg to a great degree.


For comparison purposes, I ride a 1999 Harley Sportster 883. I commute 96 miles one way to work 2 or 3 times a week. Speed limit is 75mph, and, when I'm a "good boy", I'll run 70-72 mph and average anywhere from 52-57mpg. (I only averaged 49 mpg on my last trip :evilgrin: )

So, if I can get that out of a 900cc class bike, I would imagine that good riding habits should net 60 or better, especially on the highway.

good luck

and it has been added to the shortlist of choices, great recommendation and thanks!

The smallest bike I would consider for significant distance riding is a 500. I would be unsurprised to get consistently 65mpg on the GS500

If I were to buy a new bike today, it'd probably be a Suzuki SV650

Put some thought into seating position. I've had cruisers and I've had sports-tourers and I've had standards. The sport tourers were best (for me) and cruisers were worst. I found the swept back handlebars and the out-front pegs to place all of my weight on my tailbone and kill my back from holding my upright body against the wind with my arms.

Put some thought into ownership cost. A $8,000 bike that will only last 20k miles costs $0.40 per mile to ride. Fuel at $.06/mile is comparatively trivial. I find it easy to believe that a 500 will last twice as long as a 250.

The Morphous almost fits in, as a 249cc.

I don't think you can go wrong with either bike. Thanks for your reply!!

I'd been trying to find this guy's article for you. Bit of a read, but overall sound advice:

Good First Motorcycles :thumbsup:

advice and recommendations. I have printed the article and will reread throughly over the weekend. Thanks again for being so helpful, I really appreciate all the useful info.