New Motorcycle: Research your needs

In order to end up with the new motorcycle best suited to your needs, you have to clearly understand what you are looking for and what options are available to you. This is done by researching in two areas.

Firstly, you research the market to find out what kinds of motorcycles are available, familiarizing yourself with the different features, styles and price ranges etc. Secondly, you examine your own unique requirements in a new motorcycle.

Research the market: Motorcycle essentials

When you get down to the detail you might get a little lost in the world of V-twins, parallel twins, in-line 3-cylinder and single cylinder machines or twin spine, tubular steel frames versus monocoque and step-through scooter designs versus conventional motorcycle designs.

The first part of the research step is to investigate just what's available in the new motorcycle market. The range of options can seem overwhelming, but you can make a good start by understanding the following major features:

Types: Motorcycles are designed for on-road and off-road use. Off-road motorcycles have greater ground clearance and are built for the rigours of rough ground. Road bikes range from step-through scooters to adventure motorcycles that can deal with a degree of rough going, cruisers that are big and powerful, to touring bikes that have some luggage storage and can cruise at highway speeds in comfort, and sports motorcycles that have breathtaking performance close to their racing cousins.

Design: The basic design differences between motorcycles relate to your seating position. Most motorcycles give you an upright seating position for best visibility and comfort; however sports motorcycles adopt a low forward-reaching position to reduce air resistance.

Performance: Learners, shoppers and short-distance users don't really need high performance, so there is an excellent range of motorcycles with 125cc to 250cc engines to suit. Admittedly many people buy a motorcycle for the power buzz and cruisers, adventure bikes and sports motorcycles are equipped with engines all the way up to 1800cc.

Cost: Motorcycles can be a cheap method of transport. Step-through scooters are amongst the least expensive. A cruiser with the same engine size can be double the cost and the most expensive touring bikes and super sports motorcycles can be over five times the cost of the more simple machines.

Research your needs: Questions to ask yourself

Now it's time to determine what your requirements are in a new motorcycle. For example, will you use the new motorcycle only for short trips or will you need to carry luggage and maybe even a passenger?

You can start this process by considering the following questions - as well as any others you think of yourself - and recording your answers.

Have I used a motorcycle before?
	If you have used a motorcycle, work out what you did or didn't like about the motorcycle. You may be looking for one exactly like it, hoping to upgrade, or even trying to avoid any particular features that you found inconvenient.

What exactly do I need a motorcycle for?
	Think about whether this will be a working machine, a commute machine, a leisure machine or you may be competing in serious races. There are motorcycles designed for every conceivable use, so be clear how you will use yours.

Will I be carrying passengers or packages?
	It's not the obvious question but even if you will be carrying passengers or packages on a frequent basis, you'll want to do this in safety and comfort. Some motorcycles are better suited to passenger and load carrying than others.

Are aesthetics important to me?
	Motorcycles can be an inexpensive mode of transport and aesthetics are not always important. Most modern motorcycles are pleasingly designed but many people buy a machine purely to admire it and to be admired and will be drawn to the more adventurous designs. Decide how you feel about this before you set foot in a saleroom.

How much do I want to pay?
	Motorcycle costs vary, so it makes sense to set a budget.

Understanding your needs is the key to a successful purchase and you can revisit your list of needs at any time during the buying process.

Once you complete this Research step, having informed yourself about the essentials of new motorcycles and identified your needs, you are ready to move on to the next step: Evaluation.

Video Links

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