Common Pitfalls of Beginner Bikes: Costs, Quality, and Growth

So I'm gonna start with used bikes because the prevailing advice for many riders is to buy a used bike, especially if they're a new rider, the thought being that it helps you save some money and you don't have to worry about dropping or damaging the bike because it's probably got a lot of scratches and scuffs, maybe even a few dents on it already.

And this makes sense on one perspective, but here's the, here's the thing that runs into as a problem if you do go into this as a beginning rider who doesn't know anything about motorcycles, to be frank, and you may not even be mechanically inclined.

Older bikes can be a little finicky.

They might not start consistently.

They could have issues with a clutch or a brake lever that doesn't move smoothly.

They could have a transmission that doesn't shift smoothly.

And all of these can just make it much harder to learn how to ride because you can't even have your bike working consistently.

And this just creates a barrier to you as a beginner who's trying to figure out, "How do I make this thing work?" And if the bike doesn't work consistently, how can you really learn if it's then creating all these barriers for you? It's hard enough for an experienced rider in that situation, but for a new rider, this becomes really insurmountable, so this is one of the big challenges.

Another thing that happens with used bikes is, and this is just part of any bike that you've used for a period of time, parts will wear out.

Now, the bike that you bought might have tires that are very nearly worn out and thus they won't give the same grip as a new tire and they can make you feel less confident.

Maybe the head bearing is starting to fail and the steering sticks at some points or even wobbles, and how can you learn if the bike makes you worried not just about your confidence in riding, but in your confidence that the bike is working properly at all? This is another problem that you run into with some of the used bikes.

And when we start to look at these things together, with all the finicky bits and the worn-out parts, you might need to spend a lot of time trying to get your bike into better working shape and you're spending your weekends fixing the bike rather than riding.

And while you spent less to buy the bike, did it save you anything if you're just frustrated trying to get it working versus actually learning to ride a motorcycle? And then if we take a, a couple of these things and then we start to look at the expense, the reason why everyone advocates for you to get a used bike is to save some money.

And time is part of the equation, of course, but there's also an out-of-pocket cost.

Even if you are mechanically inclined and you can do all of the work yourself, you may need to buy replacement parts, and if the bike has an issue, it's probably out of warranty given that it's a used bike, so you need to pay to get it repaired on your own dime if you can't do it yourself.

Sure, you saved $2,500 versus a new bike getting your used bike, but now you might find yourself needing to spend 800 to $1,000 getting new tires, another three to $500 getting the brake pads and rotors replaced, maybe another six to $800 getting the head bearing and wheel bearings replaced, and before you know it, that $2,500 you saved has been evaporated in all the repair expenses and you still have a bike with no warranty.

So this is why I urge caution to people when they say, "Go get a used bike as your first bike," is it's a nice concept and if it's a relatively recent used bike, that might work out for you.

But if someone's encouraging you to buy a 15, 20-year-old used bike, there's just a lot of stuff that can go wrong with an old bike.

They're awesome.

They-- I'm not disparaging used bikes in the sense of that they're not fun.

I just worry that they may be more of a hindrance to a beginning rider than the benefit from a cost efficiency would suggest in your purchase price, because you're gonna spend still a lot of money to get it in working order or at least to keep it in working order versus something that you're getting right off the showroom floor that you know has a warranty.

And as we've talked about in previous episodes, I'm not a fan of also spending $30,000 buying a brand-new bike as a beginner.

I think that's also silly.

But there's a ton of more cost-effective, cheaper bikes that you can buy brand new that can work well as a beginner bike.