My 1st bike was a QA-50 Honda. That thing is much more scares of ME now! Poor thing! But as BKL points out start small and the go big. Europe has the right idea, you can't even drive a big bike (over 500CC) without 1 year of riding (and you didn't kill yourself).
Fun, you never said how old you "eldest" son was. Knowing you a little he could be ten years old! 
My 1st bike was a QA-50 Honda. That thing is much more scares of ME now! Poor thing! But as BKL points out start small and the go big. Europe has the right idea, you can't even drive a big bike (over 500CC) without 1 year of riding (and you didn't kill yourself).
Fun, you never said how old you "eldest" son was. Knowing you a little he could be ten years old!
Pretty sure he said the fellow was 25. I might have made that up, though.
Pretty sure he said the fellow was 25. I might have made that up, though.
You are correct he is 25 years Jung 
I learned on, and still own a 1985 Kawasaki GPz750. It is the Ninja a year before they called it the Ninja. It is still technologically advanced with a rear mono-shock, Inline 4 with 4 carbs and a 4 into 2 exhaust. It's still quick in acceleration and nimble in the corners. 750 is quite a bit of bike for a beginner but I made the determination when I bought it (at age 25) that it could go slow before it went fast. I also wanted to learn on what I wanted to ride. No matter what you start with, you need to respect the machine and the attention it takes to ride on two wheels. Understand your skill level, or lack thereof, and stay within your capabilities. Do that and any machine can be safe, don't and any machine can take you out, regardless of size.
If anyone is interested, I am ready to rehome this bike. There is some rash (lack of respect I guess) and the carbs likely need gone through.
Sport bike, standard or cruiser would help narrow it down. My son wanted a sport bike first, like most youth, but I made him compromise with a standard until he put some miles on. His budget was also a factor so understanding how much can be spent helps out as well.
He found a mint 2001 Honda NIghthawk 750 that looked just like this one:
He paid $3000 for it rode it for 3 years and sold it last year for $3650. Pretty proud of him in the end. They are beginning to get harder and harder to find so you will likely pay a bit more for pristine copies. Just FYI, he replaced it with a dream sport bike - a Honda Superhawk. Cost him exactly zero dollars to buy his first bike, learn to ride and then get the sport bike of his dreams. Smart kid and did it all on his own.
This is what he is looking at, I have no idea what to say is it good or bad. HELP.
If that's what he looking at I would just buy a used Sporty 883 or 1200 and be done with it. Sporty was my first road bike and I loved it!
If that's what he looking at I would just buy a used Sporty 883 or 1200 and be done with it. Sporty was my first road bike and I loved it!
I'm not a big fan of used stuff. What I'm looking for is an opinion how this bike is, good bad and the whole spiel.
Plus I would help $$$ is one of our son's, and they are working. 
I'm not a big fan of used stuff. What I'm looking for is an opinion how this bike is, good bad and the whole spiel.Plus I would help $$$ is one of our son's, and they are working.
It's a good bike. Here's a good review for the 2017 500 & 750. The 750 is only $700 more & would be worth it (50% more torque while only being 25 lbs. heavier wet weight). As a new rider, I would spring for the ABS brakes for an additional $750 - huge safety feature.
2016-2017-harley-davidson-street-500-street-750-ar171008.amp.html
Video review - good & bad covered...
Video review - good & bad covered...
Thank's Larry @Tripod I did e mail this info to Jan. I agree safety is most important, I will tell him I pick up the difference $$ if he likes the bike. And I would be full of envy because I never owned a Harley.
I'm not usually a fan of HD bikes, but I do prefer bikes in the 500 - 900 cc range and the HD 500 and 750 both look pretty decent. I, too would recommend ABS brakes, especially for a beginner rider. Before I switched to the Slingshot, I liked the Yamaha FZ-09 (definitely too much power for a beginning rider), but Yamaha wasn't selling it with ABS at the time.
I love it, but I don't think it is a beginner bike or that he could afford it.
Yeh prolly not as a beginner bike but it's for sale just thought I would throw it out there...
It's a good bike. Here's a good review for the 2017 500 & 750. The 750 is only $700 more & would be worth it (50% more torque while only being 25 lbs. heavier wet weight). As a new rider, I would spring for the ABS brakes for an additional $750 - huge safety feature.
2016-2017-harley-davidson-street-500-street-750-ar171008.amp.html
I have to agree with Larry (Tripod) - ABS is a MAJOR safety factor.
As long as we are being silly, my new HD came with factory installed potato chips in the cushions!
I had a 2007 SV650 Naked bike and it was probably my favorite bike. Lots of owners have gone back to the SV650 after having owned bigger bikes because it is so versatile and fun w/o the temptation to blast thru the speed limits just to get to the bike engine's performance sweet spot.
Having said that, if he is a beginning rider, I'd recommend going with a 300-500cc bike. This generally means between 30-45 HP. This size bike has more than sufficient performance for beginning riders w/o the problems potentially introduced by larger HP bikes. The SV650 has around 66 HP and is powerful enough to overwhelm a beginning rider if he/she should inadvertently accelerate too quickly. The only problem with some of the smaller-engined bikes is their frames are sometimes on the small size for larger riders.
My first bike was a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 and I put around 8000 learning miles on it in around 8 months before buying my first new bike, a Suzuki DL650 (same basic motor as the SV650) but with a frame suited to taller riders with longer inseams.
Before I made the switch to the Slingshot, I was seriously thinking about the Kawasaki Vulcan S, which can be adjusted for several different rider sizes. It's a cruiser powered by a derivative of the Ninja 650 motor and has been available since 2015, so used models are now available.
I love the SV but it is very tall. There are so many bikes that I just don't want to ride because of the height (28in inseam). Tolerable for multi hundred mile rides but not inspiring around town. Cruiser first!
This is what he is looking at, I have no idea what to say is it good or bad. HELP.
local dealer had several of those on stock last year and seemed to have trouble selling them. First off the regular Harley guys put their noses up over them
(Doesn't mean much and that might be a reason to buy one). What troubled me when looking at them was how corroded all of the new ones that they had were. Mostly it was the hardware. Not sure how much Harley skimped on these trying to use their name to appeal to a beginner market.
I love the SV but it is very tall. There are so many bikes that I just don't want to ride because of the height (28in inseam). Tolerable for multi hundred mile rides but not inspiring around town. Cruiser first!
I'd have to agree about the seat height, but the SV seat was still lower than my V-Strom DL650 (around 33"). The V-Strom was great for long rides, but woe be unto the rider if a foot slips when stopping and trying to stay upright. Over 7 years with the V-Strom, I rode almost 60K miles and during 5 of those years, I also put around 55K miles on my SV. I miss both of those bikes, but liked the SV a little more since it had ABS.
