What feature do you rate most in choosing a motorbike?

[rocketman1]

I have looked at buying additional road bike, for open road use, and have researched alot of reviews of various bikes on the net.
As a reasonably experienced rider I find one thing I look for when choosing a bike, and that is handling is #1.
If a bike is not rated , at least 5 stars for handling and comfort by the journalists, I find it hard to consider.
Maybe because I have scared myself a few times on other bikes especially when failing to take corners, I now consider it the #1 priority when buying another bike.
Research tells us 48% of motorbike accidents occur with bikes failing to take corners, and I realise that many bikes are not suitable for NZ roads.
I find it hard to consider that people would buy a bike with 2-3 stars out of 5 for handling.

It could be argued it is the rider , not the bike, but I would argue that we all enter corners too fast at some time in our riding careers, this is when you need a bike that handles, your life depends on it.

Interested what other riders think is the major consideration.

[Laava]

Surely the criteria would be different depending on useage? If you wanted a round town bike, then comfort would not be as important as it would be on a touring bike etc. and handling is subjective in a similar way depending on road and/or traffic conditions

[cheshirecat]

Gear driven cams

[AllanB]

Too many factors involved in buying a bike to narrow it down to one. Probably fair to say that most purchases are restricted by $ on hand. So get the best bike for their buck!!!!


Handling - relative to what, a good handling cruiser will be nothing like a CBR which will be nothing like a good handling dual purpose bike.

Best to just pick your fav colour!!!!!! LOL

[Big Dave]

Versatility.

[speeding_ant]

Gear driven cams

If only for the noise they make

[Big Dave]

Research tells us 48% of motorbike accidents occur with bikes failing to take corners, and I realise that many bikes are not suitable for NZ roads.

It's not the bike that fails to take corners. Nor is it down to suitability. It's the numpty on the throttle.

[Voltaire]

Must be 2 cylinders as that's what the ones in my shed have

[Tarded]

Desmo valve action of course.

[EJK]

Colour. aasdfa

[Motu]

For me it's got to be a bike no one else wants - that means it's cheap. Preferably not going, that means it's even cheaper.

[Gremlin]

Meets my needs.

[xXGIBBOXx]

Comfort , if i want to go for a long ride im not going to be walking round like a 80 year old man the next day

[Tigadee]

My bike's gotta have nice pipes, yo!

[Berries]

I have looked at buying additional road bike, for open road use, and have researched alot of reviews of various bikes on the net.
As a reasonably experienced rider I find one thing I look for when choosing a bike, and that is handling is #1.
If a bike is not rated , at least 5 stars for handling and comfort by the journalists, I find it hard to consider.
Maybe because I have scared myself a few times on other bikes especially when failing to take corners, I now consider it the #1 priority when buying another bike.
Research tells us 48% of motorbike accidents occur with bikes failing to take corners, and I realise that many bikes are not suitable for NZ roads.
I find it hard to consider that people would buy a bike with 2-3 stars out of 5 for handling.

It could be argued it is the rider , not the bike, but I would argue that we all enter corners too fast at some time in our riding careers, this is when you need a bike that handles, your life depends on it.

Interested what other riders think is the major consideration.

Forget about the research. it is pretty hard to fall off on a straight without someone else involved so it is somewhat meaningless. You seem to be overcomplicating something that should, in an ideal world, be driven more by the heart than the rating of someone you have never met on roads you will never ride. What is a 5 star rating for handling anyway? How does it compare to 3 stars? Who knows.

I might be wrong and wind a few people up here, but the type of bike is probably a better indication of handling than some rating from someone who wants to be nice to a dealer or manufacturer. Over the last few years I have lost count of the number of crashes I have seen involving big Japanese cruisers like Boulevards where they have simply run out of ability/tyres/ground clearance on a moderate curve and crashed in to an expensive heap. At the same speed I doubt most other bikes would have had a problem. And most other bikes handle sufficiently well to cope with the legal speed limit and quite a bit more. For me it wouldn't make a difference unless the bike truly did bend in the middle.

I'd consider price, unfortunately. Then a combination of looks, comfort and performance. And then the grin factor. While I would certainly read reviews of bikes I was interested in those five factors are personal to me, so I am unlikely to be swayed by what I read.