ISO Cheap Dual-Sport Motorcycles!

OK, I finally settled my fickle mind and decided to go with a dual-sport motorcycle as my beginner bike. Also, a used one so I don’t cry the first time I drop it.

A small dual-sport motorcycle matches my riding experience on mountain bikes. After convincing myself, I can’t seem to find a cheap one. Where are the cheap dual-sport motorcycles?

Cheap Dual Sport Motorcycles on FB Marketplace.

I like that FaceBook now has a marketplace, but it doesn’t seem easy to navigate and set up a proper search. It might be that sellers don’t know how to list their motorcycles because of them being dual-sport. Are they listed as street bikes or as dirt bikes?

Once in a while, I find a good listing, but then with a few more clicks, I see signs of damage or abuse. These findings might be why they are cheap.

So finding the motorcycles are complicated with the search settings, and the dual-sports I find are cheap for a reason and aren’t worth the trouble.

Cheap Dual-Sport Motorcycles on Craigslist

I like Craigslist. It’s been around for decades now, with no cost to the seller for posting their items, and it has a decent basic search setup. Now I have mixed results.

I have found a few dual-sport motorcycles worth looking at, but I get one of two responses when I contact the sellers. The bike is sold or silent. I found a few not-so-cheap dual-sport motorcycles, but nothing worth pursuing. I keep looking and very hopeful.

Cheap Dual-Sport Motorcycles on eBay.

This site has been my least promising classifieds for a cheap dual-sport motorcycle. I believe eBay charges a percentage fee on the final sale price, and the seller is factoring this into the asking price or reserve.

I like how many pictures there are, and I can identify apparent damage, but if I can’t get a dual-sport cheap, I have to move on or wait out a motivated seller.

My Conclusion:  Dual sports are low-maintenance bikes and offer a lot of fun to ride, even occasionally. So when the owners don’t use them, they are stored away for next time.

There is no pressure to sell the dual-sport since they can be up and running after sitting for a long time. Just drain the gas, and disconnect the battery. Friends tell me I either have to get another type of motorcycle or pay more for what is available.

Feeling like going cheap is making buying a used dual-sport is a gamble.

There are other motorcycle types I was considering as my best first-time motorcycles. I’ve been so wishy-washy lately, so going to keep focused on a dual sport for now. We’ll see…keep searching…

Update: Cheap Dual-Sport Motorcycle Search Done!

After searching a little bit more online searching for my first motorcycle, I came across a class of cheap motorcycles that seemed to have a cult following.

Chinese-made Dual-Sport Motorcycles. Examples are Hawk 250, TaoTao TBR7, Raven 250, etc.

I am told these cheap dual-sports are powered by a cloned old Honda engine(cb125) that has been over-bored, increasing their displacement to 229cc.

Not quite the 250 you hear often, but don’t most motorcycle manufacturers round up? Example: Husqvarna Svartpilen 401.

I narrowed my choices between the Hawk 250 and TBR7 motorcycles, and TaoTao TBR7 was my first motorcycle choice. I was looking for a road-worthy motorcycle that could still do some off-roading and was manageable for me as a new rider.

Wish me luck!