Hi guys, 

I am new to this forum. Yes, I have loved Harley's since a child - but in terms of knowledge I am still a 'newbie'.

 I currently reside in NSW and am 18, getting my bike licence very soon. Since I will be a Learner, I am looking to buy the 'Street 500' as my first bike. Just a few questions:

- Is it worth buying a new Street 500 due to licence restrictions, or should I buy a cheap, used Jap bike until I can ride a more powerful Harley?

- Does anybody know the month in which the Street 500 is expected to be available on the Australian market?

- A concern I have about the Street 500 is it's not so good sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plh437m7Tks 

 What could I expect it to sound like with CFR slip on exhaust?

 

Thanks for bearing with the little knowledge I currently have.

John

 

Welcome to the forum. I wouldn't know a thing about the Street 500 myself in terms of sound or performance, or release date. My advice, and it's only an opinion, is that the $10-12k expected price point is probably a bit steep for something you'll soon grow out of, and perhaps better spent like this: Buy a cheap japper for $3-4k, learn how to ride on that, and then by the time your a little more experienced and your licence is unrestricted, sell it, and with what you saved you'll have money to buy a decent new or used HD sportster or big twin. Just my 2 cents.

How long do you have to stay on restrictions ?

You could do a lot worse than the street.

Don't worry about the sound, as that will be sorted out by the aftermarket:

 

+1 what Jayman6 said. Your a young bloke , with his heart set on a Harley , I cant knock you for that. Between now and when you have a unrestricted licence get riding experience on a cheap bike , go to plenty of bike events and check out all the bikes etc. Get yourself familiar with all the Harley models etc. Go to dealers and check out , and sit on all the models . A couple of models will stand out that you will click with. When your unrestricted you will have some sort of an idea of the style of riding you like, and also have a better understanding of bike prices etc. This way , you should have a few years on your first Harley without saying to yourself , I should have done this, and should have done that.
That all being said, if your old man is loaded, buy the fucking Street 500 !!!!
By the way Welcome to the forum . Cheers

Hey guys,

After reading your replies, I went to the RMS website for NSW and saw that from Learner to a full licence it will be a minimum of 3 years and 3 months, the entire time being restricted to learner approved motorcycles. I think if its gonna be 3 years I might as well spend a bit and buy the street 500 as I never really had any interest in jap bikes.. Having said that, I will probably buy a cheap jap bike to start off with and learn on...

Thanks for the replies

Fair call. Just make an informed decision mate. Let's say the street runs you 12k ride-away, you'll almost inevitably put another 2 or 3 grand into it on mods over the next 3 years. All running costs aside, the bike will still owe you somewhere just south of 15k by the time your on your unrestricted. Unfortunately, you'll be very lucky to recoup even half of that on a private re-sell, and as for a trade in, not even worth the insult. Otherwise spend 3-4 grand now, and save your bucks for your eventual long-termer.

I must be an old fart. Over 3 years before your unrestricted. As you can gather I don't mix with many 18 year olds.

When I got my car licence, (I lived in a small country town), I rocked up to the local cop shop with my mum, saw the local copper , (who was the coach of our local rugby footy side), he wrote down some paticulars, he said hello to my mum, told me to drive the car with my mum around the block and do a hill start outside the cop shop, do a U turn and park back outside the cop shop. Went inside and got my licence. On the way out, he says , there's no excuse to be late for footy on Saturday is there now !! And to think I could of driven straight away in the most powerful car on the road at the time !!!!

Ah the good old days. How things have changed !!!!!

Think about insuarnce cost for a new rider on a new bike too. Esp when you may have a few small stacks on it playing around in the car park learning your M.O.S.T techniques.
Insurance for a young fella learner will be through the roof. And it gets more expensive after you make a claim.

Im probably too far for you to be worth it (I live in the snowies) but My missus is selling her GS 500 for $2500. Ive only just put new chain, sprockets, rear tyre and fork seals in. Its had a low speed learner stack but nothing that stops it from rego or riding, just some scratches and a crack in the fairing. its rego'd too and id get a road worthy for it. but for that price you dont bother with comp insurance or dropping it once or twice as a learner. And cheap LAMS bikes always hold thier value as somone is always learning and doesnt want to waste money.
There are plenty of bikes like hers on the market mate. and believe me, you will most likely have a few tiny stacks in car park as a learner. nothing worse than scratching your new bike.

Yes mate go for a jap bike, you can go up to a 650cc for twelve months then go to your Harley. My first bike was a DRZ 400 its allot harder to ride than a Harley and it really gets you thinking about your riding skills at the time.

 

Just my advice mate

 

The advice on this thread is spot on.
These fellas know what there talking about,
Get the cheap second hand jappa to learn,
I dont mean learning to ride a motorbike,
That takes an hour or two.
Learning to ride in traffic takes some years and constant learning
like looking out for textas on mobile phones,
reading the traffic, flow, trends ect.
How to pull right hard for an instant to go left to avoid a car, or vice versa, whilst not throwing yourself off the bike.
Theres years of experience in the posts above, and there advice is free.
Only some time will give you that experience.

Also, a cheap jappa as your first bike is a good bike to learn maintanance on.

Truth is even us old dogs on this forum are still learning.

Welcome to the zoo

And have a little fun along the way