Ideal Beater Bike

[GoldOxide_imp]

Nice one Django. Looks vintage.

Yesterday I say a green Ural with sidecar (empty). Man, the Ural looked unstable in motion, even on smooth road.

[Honda_Fan_imp]

Nice one Django. Looks vintage.

Yesterday I say a green Ural with sidecar (empty). Man, the Ural looked unstable in motion, even on smooth road.

Coming from post soviet block country my introduction to motorcycling was an Ural and it’s best use is a dirt road under 20mph with a loaded sidecar full of potatoes.

[misterprofessionality]

if it's truly an ideal "beater" you're after you need look no farther than the Suzuki S40. one cylinder of savage fury. it sounds like a lawnmower. you can get them for 1200 bucks. they're featherlight for their size, and narrow as a slice of bread. they've been in production for nigh unto 32 years, so there are literally millions of spare parts available. you can drop it, wipe the gas tank off and carry on about your day. my wife has been using one as a beater so far and it's been great. she's bent the levers and i've just taken them off and hammered them back into shape....truly the definition of a beater.

[GoldOxide_imp]

if it's truly an ideal "beater" you're after you need look no farther than the Suzuki S40. one cylinder of savage fury. it sounds like a lawnmower. you can get them for 1200 bucks. they're featherlight for their size, and narrow as a slice of bread. they've been in production for nigh unto 32 years, so there are literally millions of spare parts available. you can drop it, wipe the gas tank off and carry on about your day. my wife has been using one as a beater so far and it's been great. she's bent the levers and i've just taken them off and hammered them back into shape....truly the definition of a beater.

Sounds quite reasonable for a daily beater.

[Stichill_imp]

Sorry I've been busy with family obligations today, just now checking back int.

Fun suggestions, crew! Honestly I would feel bad about beating the old UJM-type bikes. They've been beaten enough and now need someone to start preserving them.

LR that '99 Concours is an amazing value when you really think about it. Wow. Probably would have a hard time getting more bike for less money than that!



One unusual candidate I thought of today, not quite dirt cheap but pretty low-priced, is the Honda CTX700N (N = naked version) with the standard transmission (non-DCT). Used examples with low miles can be found from private sellers in the low USD $3k range. I'm not entirely sure you could get ABS on the non-DCT version in the US; might have been only available on the DCT variant. This would be a bike that I would not feel bad about taking out on dirty roads and bringing back filthy because I don't think it looks good even when clean.

(+1) on looks no matter what the application.

In addition:
[ul] [li]Likely will start in sub-zero conditions, unlike many of the 20th century suggestions.[/li] [li]Likely decent on fuel economy.[/li] [li]Low enough that anyone [in the family] can ride it.[/li] [li]Highly unlikely it would be stolen or vandalized.
[/li][/ul]

Good point! Who would even want to stand next to it?!
That’s a true beater, Django! Another great suggestion misterP!

[Frulk_imp]

Well, since a number of suggestions disregarded some of the basic prerequisites the OP stated I’ll throw out this suggestion. KLR 650 in any vintage. Dirt cheap. Reliable as an anvil. Can do about anything (just not excel at it). A tank you have to take a second mortgage out to fill up. A simple and cheap mod will drop the seat if it’s too tall. It will do gravel and highway all day long and without much drama take you all the way to Shackleton’s hut if that’s your goal.

[Stichill_imp]

I’ve ridden one of those, Frulk. It was tall for me but I liked it. Didn’t know about the lower seat mod.

[2017EX_imp]

I have perhaps a little different take on the Beater thing. I did have a beater car for many years to get me back and forth to work. When the weather, and/or roads were bad, my beater car took some of the worry out of sharing the road with far too many drivers that did not know how to drive in inclement weather.

With the exception of back in High School, when my motorcycle was transportation five days a week, my motorcycle is for enjoyment. Now I am older ( much older ) and retired, so I can be as picky as I want about when I ride. Temperature, be it hot, cold or anywhere in between is not an issue for me, as I just dress accordingly. If the roads are not good, and/or the weather is not good, I just dont enjoy riding my bike. Then too one of the very few times I have laid a bike down in 50+ years of riding, was when the street was damp several hours after a rain.

As to my bike being clean, I keep it clean for me, because that is what I like. There was a standing joke among all of us in the group I rode with back in the day, " a clean bike runs better and faster". The clean thing has always stuck with me, whether it is my car, or my bike. So, for me, a beater would not be a consideration because I would not be riding in conditions that would benefit from having a beater. Mind you, I am not throwing shade at anyone that does not have a clean bike, good road, or good weather as priorities for enjoying a ride.

[Stichill_imp]

Interesting perspective, 2017EX. Like ferret said, in our area we're getting rain about 1 of every 3 days. That means on average 1 of every 3 weekends. And that means on average 1/3 of the riding season. I don't think I "enjoy" riding in a hard rain any more than the next bloke, but a lot of times rain is light and/or a temporary inconvenience. But, the road remains wet and dirty long after the precipitation stops.

I have this vision of being less concerned about checking my weather app, scouring it in hour-by-hour detail, looking for clear breaks so my nice bikes stay clean. Rather, I could see taking a quick look; if the forecast looks messy then I jump on the beater bike and sally forth. Given that usage scenario, a more modern / reliable / low-maintenance bike would be an asset. Four-stroke, fuel injection, electronic ignition, ABS, tubeless tires in a common size, low-maintenance final drive, etc. Turn a key, push a button, go. No choke, no carb, no points, no inner tubes, no chain lube, no fear of wet-road braking.

The other part of the vision I have is riding back into the garage on a wet / muddy / dusty / gritty / salty bike and parking it without conscience until I feel inclined to hose it off.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Interesting perspective, 2017EX. Like ferret said, in our area we're getting rain about 1 of every 3 days. That means on average 1 of every 3 weekends. And that means on average 1/3 of the riding season. I don't think I "enjoy" riding in a hard rain any more than the next bloke, but a lot of times rain is light and/or a temporary inconvenience. But, the road remains wet and dirty long after the precipitation stops.

I have this vision of being less concerned about checking my weather app, scouring it in hour-by-hour detail, looking for clear breaks so my nice bikes stay clean. Rather, I could see taking a quick look; if the forecast looks messy then I jump on the beater bike and sally forth. Given that usage scenario, a more modern / reliable / low-maintenance bike would be an asset. Four-stroke, fuel injection, electronic ignition, ABS, tubeless tires in a common size, low-maintenance final drive, etc. Turn a key, push a button, go. No choke, no carb, no points, no inner tubes, no chain lube, no fear of wet-road braking.

The other part of the vision I have is riding back into the garage on a wet / muddy / dusty / gritty / salty bike and parking it without conscience until I feel inclined to hose it off.

(+1) My "Mule" serves this purpose (NC750XD), but I do wish it had shaft drive. Can't have it all, but good enough.