My First Bike??? What to buy???

[pitfactaX]

That is the best answer for anything i have ever seen unit.

 

[coolmodee01]

you lot spend just as much time on ya jap bikes as i do on my china which is not much

hell i used to be fixing my xr every weekend
yes due to the odd crash and tree's thats why i ride mini's

so you cant tell me that a jap bike is all that much better
i doesn't matter what you buy you will always be spending money cars, bike and bitches

there the male vise

 

[MiniMadness]

Thanks for that unit. I now have alot better insight. Where can I pick up a good quality, well looked after crf50 from??

 

[unit_mx]

you lot spend just as much time on ya jap bikes as i do on my china which is not much

hell i used to be fixing my xr every weekend
yes due to the odd crash and tree's thats why i ride mini's

so you cant tell me that a jap bike is all that much better
i doesn't matter what you buy you will always be spending money cars, bike and bitches

there the male vise

True , no matter what bike you buy you will always be ensured plenty of garage time. My ktm since I bought it has gone through 2 sets of fork seals and 2 countershaft seals , I've riden it for about 40 hours too. But its the rate in which the china bike goes through parts ie: my mso lasted one and half years before seals started to go , little niggly things started to go - this is where the corners are cut and are often hard to find better replacements.

It seemed everytime I replaced something with a better quality part the part holding it on would brake or bend. I spent $40 on nissin brake pads for my rear caliper only for the next ride to have my caliper bolts snap from the mount and ruin the caliper which was something I had never seen before. First few rides my chain snapped and destoryed my magneto pickup - a new motor. See you can spend all your time buying new chains , wheel bearings etc for the bike to prevent these problems but the next part along will become the subject , like a chain. You replace a shitty part with a good part but the part holding that part will then cop all the grief and brake , you contiuneto spend $$$$ upgrading and upgrading by the time you relise ' shit , I've spent 3 grand on my bike holding it together' .
I can justify spending money on getting parts fixed and not replacing whole units such as forks if you have a buggered fork seal on a bike you will know will go the distance not just brake next ride and not from a stack.

Thats what pissed me off about owning an import , I would look after it so much , spend all this dough on maintaining it. Ride it and it would be broken. Then you buy a new better part but thats only a short term solution because something else would brake surley. I never got any moments to spend money on bling as something always needed replacing. You get over working on your bike , fixing the same thing over and over again. Ie: my wheel alignment on my china , my left wheel spacer was not square on the edge making my wheel crooked and causing the chain to run up the side of my chain guide. You don't get faults like that on jap/euro bikes often.

Thats why I have sort of come to relise buying a jap is a more logical option. Resale wise , you get penuts for a china - good luck getting anything over $1500 for any China second hand , where as you can buy a crf50 stock for $1000 second hand , it wont depreciate more than $800 so you stand to loose $200 at max , but you can also make $200 on the sale if your smart enough.
Then you can sell the parts out , make back 3/4 of what you initially paid for them. There is a demand for these parts too now as import owners what to do up there china's with quality parts - only prolonging the inevitable brake. So all up you loose a very minute percentage on what you paid for the bike. A china , you can pay $3900 for the latest motovert pro but at the end of the day you'll be lucky to get half that back. Crf's have a great resale value if your smart with them and return them to stock and buy your aftermarket bits at a good price.

Bascially:

China= Very good initial value , cheap , strong , fast. Downside - poor resale value as these bikes time and time again as a majority have failed to last more than 3 years without the need to spend big on them. Prove me wrong with a large volume of the same bike , not just exceptions

Jap = Pay the same price as the average china in stock , spend the same amount modifying it to ride , slightly more expensive but not that much more than say a motovert pro but ensured top resale value and atleast a 50% return on aftermarket part sales. Downside - are more expensive to initially build , some users may find their ego is inflated causing loss of friends.

But as you said Coolie , what ever your into you'll spend $$$$ , its inevitable. But how much those $$$$ will end up costing you is totally different to how much you spent - if you get my drift.
Either way what ever bike you get , you'll need to spend money on it like your Woman , car , house. Life is one big expenditure , spending doesnt stop. But if your smart with your money then the cost of what you spend can be greatly minimised.

Will the debate ever end? Who knows.

Ultimatley its up to the individual , what their needs are , their wants. Its a 2 way street , both requires you too spend but how much will it eventually cost =

China = Short term cheap , long term expensive
Jap = Vise versa

But dont think your bike is an investment , YOU WILL LOOSE MONEY ON IT. How much you stand to loose is different though so be smart!

 

[MiniMadness]

Thanks Unit. You do not unserstand how much your posts appreciated.

Where can I get a decent crf50 from??

 

[I_THUMP]

You will have to search for a secondhand one from places like the trading post, bikesales.com, bikepoint.com, ebay and also the miniriders classifieds are just some of the places to search. For a new one just go to a Honda dealer.