What kind of bike for commuting?

[derpherp]

I commute about 2000km per month, mostly on freeway doing 80mph. What bike would be ideal for this sort of use? Would be my first bike.

[Easy Rider 2]

Originally Posted by derpherp

I commute about 2000km per month, mostly on freeway doing 80mph. What bike would be ideal for this sort of use? Would be my first bike.

NONE. Honestly.

First bike, freeway at 80 MPH......receipe for disaster.

Read the threads here about "getting my first bike".
Take the MSF course.
Get a bike you are comfortable with and ON that is 400 cc's or more.
Get a decent size windshield.
Recent used, without a lot of plastic body work is best......unless you are rich.
Ride and practice for a year; only THEN do you venture out on the freeway at 80.

Consider that the MINIMUM safe following distance at 80 is about 9 car lengths. Study the freeway trafffic a bit and see how many cars observe that distance.

Also take a rough count of how many bikes there are during rush hour.
If you live near a BIG city, most riders have figured out that it is NOT a good thing to do.
Also if there is a sudden rain storm, showing up at work looking like a drowned rat isn't good either.

Having an accident at speed hurts a LOT more on a bike than in a cage.

[pushrod]

DH,

Honestly, the best vehicle for your stated application is not a bike.

Get a solid small car for that. At 80, some econoboxes get almost the same fuel economy as most "bigger" bikes.

If you REALLY want a bike, get a small one to learn on, and do the commute in the car until you have the skill (and a continued desire) to get a bike for the SuperSlab.

[derpherp]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider 2

NONE. Honestly.

First bike, freeway at 80 MPH......receipe for disaster.

Read the threads here about "getting my first bike".
Take the MSF course.
Get a bike you are comfortable with and ON that is 400 cc's or more.
Get a decent size windshield.
Recent used, without a lot of plastic body work is best......unless you are rich.
Ride and practice for a year; only THEN do you venture out on the freeway at 80.

Consider that the MINIMUM safe following distance at 80 is about 9 car lengths. Study the freeway trafffic a bit and see how many cars observe that distance.

Also take a rough count of how many bikes there are during rush hour.
If you live near a BIG city, most riders have figured out that it is NOT a good thing to do.
Also if there is a sudden rain storm, showing up at work looking like a drowned rat isn't good either.

Having an accident at speed hurts a LOT more on a bike than in a cage.

Well I do have a car at my disposal so I'm okay with practicing for a year or so before hitting the highway.

I live in small city and commute to even smaller one, there is hardly any traffic (seriously I might see 1 or two cars max on the freeway going same direction) in the morning and not enough for any kind of traffic jam on the evening.

Anyway I'm not in any kind of hurry to go 100mph on my first day or anything so I'll take your advice. However I am still curious, how big of a bike would one need and what sort for the situation I described?

[trenttheuncatchable]

I have used a Ninja 250 to go 80mph (on the speedo) on the expressway in heavy traffic (chicago area) every Monday for a roughly 100 mile round trip for a couple of years. I used a smaller (less teeth) rear sprocket so that the engine wasn't as busy, but that wasn't actually a requirement.

It also got around 60 miles per gallon (measured).

[Easy Rider 2]

Originally Posted by derpherp

However I am still curious, how big of a bike would one need and what sort for the situation I described?

I just LOVE it when people don't read ALL of what I post...........

Covered that above. In general, you need 400cc's or more to keep up on the highway. 750 is plenty for anything legal.

Then, your second post is somewhat in conflict with your first. If the traffic on the highway really IS that sparce, why do you think you need to be going 80 MPH ???

[derpherp]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider 2

I just LOVE it when people don't read ALL of what I post...........

Covered that above. In general, you need 400cc's or more to keep up on the highway. 750 is plenty for anything legal.

Then, your second post is somewhat in conflict with your first. If the traffic on the highway really IS that sparce, why do you think you need to be going 80 MPH ???

Well you didn't exactly say that 400cc is good enough for highway, you said I should NOT go to highway and the recommended 400cc so I just thought you meant it as a good starter bike.

As to your question, well I want to get to work / home from work fast as possible, is this not obvious Who wants to spend their valuable free time on road?

[seruzawa]

No offense but getting a bike to do 80 on the highway when you've never ridden before is a bad idea. You should start on a smaller bike that you won't mind dropping because all new riders drop a bike occasionally, if only in the parking lot. Pick up a used dual purpose bike like a Super Sherpa or maybe a DRZ400 and ride the wheels off of it around town for a few months first. Don't forget decent gear, jacket and pants and helmet, too. That's my 2 cents.

[The Spaceman]

Originally Posted by derpherp

I commute about 2000km per month, mostly on freeway doing 80mph. What bike would be ideal for this sort of use? Would be my first bike.

If you don't need to bring stuff along, go with a 1000cc or larger supersport bike. The GSXR 1000 or BWM S1000RR are examples.

If you want to tote some stuff along, get a VFR1200, a Kawaski Concours 14, or possibly the Triumph Sprint GT. They have or can be equipped with luggage.

Have fun and be careful!

[derpherp]

Originally Posted by seruzawa

No offense but getting a bike to do 80 on the highway when you've never ridden before is a bad idea. You should start on a smaller bike that you won't mind dropping because all new riders drop a bike occasionally, if only in the parking lot. Pick up a used dual purpose bike like a Super Sherpa or maybe a DRZ400 and ride the wheels off of it around town for a few months first. Don't forget decent gear, jacket and pants and helmet, too. That's my 2 cents.

No offense taken, safety before everything else. However I have to say that I am not going to buy dual purpose just because of the fact that I'm 22 year old 220lbs guy and there are lot of those bikes in my town ridden exclusively by 16 year old kids. I don't plan to ride for image or anything and honestly don't care that much about the bike but I am not going to be a part of that gang

If you don't need to bring stuff along, go with a 1000cc or larger supersport bike. The GSXR 1000 or BWM S1000RR are examples.

If you want to tote some stuff along, get a VFR1200, a Kawaski Concours 14, or possibly the Triumph Sprint GT. They have or can be equipped with luggage.

Have fun and be careful!

Well those bike definitely are years away for me unless I want to kill myself