Boy, I could not agree MORE. Same thing applies to HUGE underpowered bikes, like, say.... for instance many of the larger portly Harley's. I could not imagine aggressively powering out one or two up onto a 80+mph California Freeway climbing uphill into heavy traffic on a warm day. Just not enough oomph wheezing out of the stock engine room.....

 

HI I found a few on Craigs List for St. Cloud MN. With Pics looked really nice

 

Try this link. Just a quick glance and I found more than 10 Sportys all in the $4000 price range. I do not think that your brother in law is going to have a problem finding a bike

http://stcloud.craigslist.org/search...min&maxAsk=max

 

'88 Sportster, 9,500 miles, BIN prie of $3200 on ebay (he'll have extra change for good riding gear), bike is in PA: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Motor...1%7C240%3A1318

 

That looks like a good deal. Got the Sundowner - looks like stock pipes and A/C...

 

Thanks for all the quick replies, keep them comming and I'll send him the links.

 

IMHO, pick the cheapest, most decent/relibale bike he can. Hopefully he will prove me wrong but most beginners will dump the bike due to rookie/newbie mistakes.

 

Personally, if he's going to get an older bike then he needs to be able to work on it or know someone that can help him work on it. If the bike has been setting it's a good idea to flush the tank, replace the filter, clean out the carb. All minor things that may keep him from setting by the side of the road wondering why his bike died and won't restart. Also when a bike sets for a while seals can dry out and as you run it you develop leaks. It's no big deal fixing those in that there are no major parts to replace, but it's time consuming and paying for labor can get expensive.

He should be able to relatively easily find a mid-90's sportster with 10k-15k miles that's within his price range. The most likely thing he'll have to do immediately is replace the rear tire and brake. Personally if $4k is his limit then he should be aiming for $3,500 and if it needs a new brake and tire drop that to $3k. Leave a $500 buffer for parts, tools and accessories. Accessories include things like boots, gloves, helmet, a tool bag and not just chrome dodads.

 

So he's looking at borrowing 100% of the Bike cost (Tax, Title, License and Insurance included)?
How long has he been thinking about this?

 

He is already pre-approved for a $4000 signature loan, he can probably come up with some out of pocket money for Tax, Title, License and Insurance, however, and I’m just thinking if he could get into a bike for about $3500 he could have that extra $500 to pay the tax man. If he found a nice enough bike for $4000 he would probably jump on it. My main concern for him is that he buys a bike at the bottom of its depreciation, that way if he decides he doesn’t like it, he can sell it for what he has in it.
He has thought about this for a long time, he knows he wants a HD, but he don't have allot of money. (Military E-5 with an unemployed wife and two kids).