What do I want from a beginner bike? It would have to be cheap, and ready to ride, between 400 and 800cc, and an electric starter would be a nice plus. It doesn't have to be a beauty. So I browsed the usual suspects (Craigslist, Kijiji, Buy and Sell) to see what's out there for 2,000 to 3,000 bucks.
I came across a 1979 Honda CB400 for 2,000$. The owner kept her in a shack, and although he claimed to be working in a repair shop the bike was rather in an average shape. Nevertheless, I got her kick-started on the first try, and the bike sounded healthy. But too much investment would have to be made before she would be street-safe. Hence I checked out another bike in Olds, a 1982 Honda CB650. She looked o.k., was even equipped with an electric starter, but she was leaking oil, and certainly not worth the asking price of 2,500$. Next I had a look at a 2002 Suzuki GS500E, which seemed to have been stored outdoors for the better part of her life. The poor thing was rusty and looked twice her age. Well, that certainly explains the asking price of only 2,200$.
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