Quote:
Originally Posted by rideMI
You said in another post " I'm 5'2" female, 29" inseam" If you have the money, buy a RPS Viper and build what you want. I have built 2 street legal bikes using the Viper, they cost about $800.00 to start a build.
One person was less then 5' and the other was about 5'2"
Here in MI we can take a Dirt Bike and make it a Street Legal Road Bike and if you do go down the build route, look at the Bridgestone tires, they are a very good road tire, so far.
The other Option, and I think the best, is to find/buy a used/new road bike built from one of the companies from Japan.
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There is a problem of assumption here. First, the Viper would be a great option to stay in budget, but it requires the person converting the bike for road use to have the knowledge/ability/time to add the appropriate lighting, gauges, and related switch gear and wiring. Yes, there are kits available that can solve almost all of this, but even that doesn't come without some required level of ability. While you and I wouldn't blink twice at it, she may not have the same "no problem" approach to such a thing.
If you figure in the cost of shipping for both, and the require cost to convert the Viper, the Magician really isn't that much more expensive, and it requires none of the work or hassel required to add all of the road legal gear. They both essentially have the same seat height, so there is no advantage there. Plus, even if it was $200 more expensive to get the Magician, it comes with an 80cc larger engine, which would be much better (in my opinion) for regular road use. Plus, with a $10 front sprocket upgrade, the Magician can easily achieve basic highway speeds without straining the motor too much.
As far as the Japanese bike suggestion. Given her budget and previous posts, I think it is fairly clear that she has explored that route already, but the options and selection are limited and her inability to travel makes that even more difficult. Plus, finding one in good useable shape that doesn't need a lot of maintenance work has also been a problem - something she noted already. From my own experience, any bike in the $1500 or less bracket always tends to need work, sometimes expensive or labor intensive work that she may not be able to do. Part of the reason these Chinese bikes are so popular is that you get something that nobody has abused, but at the cost of having to do little tweaks and fixes here and there.