I'm looking at getting my very first motorcycle (second hand buy of course) and i have no experience or knowledge except how to drive them. I'm looking for a decent bike which is reliable. But not a crotchrocket (aka. racing bike).

Also, buying second hand i'm not sure how many miles (or kilometers) is a good buy? For instance is 30,000 km's a well used bike or one which is fairly new? As well, i'm looking for a bike around 1982-1988 age range because its all i can afford (there are plenty in Nova Scotia going for $1500-2500 Canadian.

Thanks ahead of time for any advice you can give . Personally, i'm leaning towards a Honda because their parts are pretty generic and well priced.

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This doesn't have anything to do with Epic so why is it in the Epic section?

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because.... its general discussion... i thought maybe we could talk about something other than epic.

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In fact you even get some happy birthday threads, and the Australian who ebayed his life and others, so no problem, I guess.  

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Nope, I asked about having a general (O/T) discussison board a while back and CS said that these were the appropriate boards for such stuff.  

ps- i dont know nuffin about bikes.  But ive always thought that Kawasakis go fasta. If itz a red wun.  

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Hi!

If you want something reliable, go Honda.

If you want my personal opinion, go for Triumph or KTM (viva Austria   ).

cheers,

By the way I didn't vote as my knowledge of motorcycle brands would not fill a 6mm scale Ratling's head.  

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thanks mspaetauf . Thats seems to be the general consensus with the people i know. Sadly, we don't have any austria brands overhere, mainly the three listed, BMW and Harley Davidson's. But i don't like the look of Harley's and BMW's are way outside of my price range. lol Besides, BMW's usually are racing bikes which i don't want.

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My dad's into vintage bikes and both Honda's and Triumph's rate high in his opinion; Triumph's tend to be a bit more 'beefy' but Honda wins on reliability and parts; what sort of Era are you looking at? I must admit to definitely NOT being a fan of modern (sports) bikes...

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I don't know much about the bike market in Canada, I'm afraid, so I can only talk about what's cheap and reliable here in the UK.
Best by far is an early 90's Honda CB500 twin. Reasonably good looking, cheap (you can pick them up here for about £500) and virtually bulletproof. I know despatch riders who've done 100,000-plus miles on the original engine. They're easy to service too.

Regards,
Reaver

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Personally o favour Enduros. Even if you aren't in motor-cross.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enduro

I owned a Yamaha XT350 some years ago until i sold it

The merits of an Enduro is that you sit higher than on other bikes. I was able to look over most cars, giving me an exellent view of my surroundings. The handle was quite broad which enhances the steerability on rough/difficult ground.
Andit is quite light inweight. I was able to outrun a Porsche on the first 100m after a red traffic light turned to green

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i was thinking of buying a 1985 Honda Shadow. I hear its one of the best for price/reliability. Always open to opinions and thoughts though.

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