I'm 5'9" 180lbs male wondering how big of an engine i should go on my first bike. The concensous i seem to find is at least 750, but my wife might ride occasionally and i dont want to get a 750 and find its too small.

What do you guys think?  

I am 5'8" 170lbs bought my first bike last year and got a Honda 750.  Love the bike, easy to handle and a joy to ride.  It handles most of the riding I do without a problem, even when my wife is on the back.  I am glad I started with a 750 because it is a very forgiving bike.  The only problem is if you are planning to spend a lot of time on the freeway you may want to look at an 1100 or 1300.  The 750 is great for every day riding, but at 70+ mph you are pushing its limit.  

Hi; I,m 5'10" at 185lbs. I have a C50T Suzuki.It is 805cc and a great bike. It is easy to get in and out of traffic. The bike handles passengers very well. I have had guys up to 250+ and have  had no trouble maintaining speed. Very stable when stopping.
The engine gets a little busy at above 75 mph.
My riding friend has a Honda shadow 750 he is 375 ++.   The only time he had any performance related trouble was when we were heading up Cabage(mtn pass) 3000"-3200" in elevation. I had to wait for him. The poor bike just could not pull him up the grade. Very steep grade. He maintained about 45-50 mph untill he got to the top.After that he kept up just fine. The Honda ran very well didn't miss a beat. The C50 had a little more get up and go. good luck...scruffy  

Thanks for all the responses. I'm not sure how much 70+ driving im going to be doing but im sure it will be some. Im guessing that if the wife wants to ride im gonna have to go 1000cc+.


Just to confirm I ill i be ok @70mph with just myself riding on a 750 right?  

At 70+mph the 750 is at what I feel is it's outer limit of performance.  It just feels like it needs another gear. Allthough it  handles fine at this speed even when my wife rides with me.  It just feels stressed.  I'm about 170lbs and she weighs in at about 125lbs.  If most of your riding will be done at lower speeds, I would highly recomend the 750 as your first bike.  

The pastor of my church rides a Suzuki Intruder 805cc. Seems to be enough for interstate riding (75 mph in Nebraska). He and his wife have been on several trips. I think one thing to think about is learning to ride on a smaller cc bike if you have never had a bike before. I started on on 81' yamaha 650cc. Great starting bike. After two years I moved up to a Vulcan 1500 classic. Great bike almost twice as heavy and twice the power. I am glad I learned to ride on a smaller bike. Remember, 20 yrs. ago 1100cc was a monster bike. People did great with 500-750's. I believe for a first bike you would do fine with 750-1100cc.  

I'm 200 lbs at 5'7" and ride a Intruder 800. Absolutly a perfsct size for me and any passengers that I take aboard.  

I have an 08 Suzuki C50, wonderful bike, plenty of power and great response. If I ever lay it over I won't need a crane to pick it up. The C50 is an 805cc with EFI and a 32bit ECM. I have a Honda V45 magna, it was a nice bike and it had me almost ready to go after a VTX 1300 of no less than the 750 Shadow but after comparing the bikes including the V-Star and the Vulcan I didn't think I could miss with the C50, I was right. But, thats just my opinion. Hope it helps.  

Part of it is perception. I had a '82 Mustang GT that did about 2k at 60. To me that was normal. I now have a Subaru that does close to 3k at 60.  It's normal for the engine.

The smaller displacement engines usually have a fairly high redline, and if you go there, you get a lot more performance than you think.
I rode an 800 Vulcan thru the heart of the Adirondacs and I could keep 60+, I just had to drop a gear or 2 and let the engine I actually had out (as opposed to trying to ride the engine I wanted... low RPM grunt).
jstasyszen, you rode a Magna so, you should agree about riding the engine you got. Those 4 cyls were quick if you let them out.  

I am a new rider, so my opinion may not be valid, but I had the EXACT same questions you did before i purchased my VTX-1300S honda. I was about to purchase the 750, but they had a few 07' left of the VTX-1300, so for $1,500 more, I got twice the bike. I have only gone up to 60 mph, but when my wife starts riding with me (130 lbs) ; I am 175 lbs, I think the 1300 is the bike which I will never have to "upgrade" in the future. I would caution you about the weight! At 650+ lbs, it's pretty heavy when it tips over, so don't kill yourself trying to lift it up afterwards!  Let me know what you think when you make decision.