Teenage Female - wondering about a first sports bike? or car?

[Mariah]

Ok so just to let you know im almost 15. and i know im really young to be thinking about sports bikes and cars haha. well i've just thought that a new beginner sports bike is around 4 or 5 grand. a used GOOD car is around 7 grand?

so im getting a job next summer i want to start saving as soon as possible. Once i turn 16 im hoping i have enough money to buy either a car or bike. BUT should i get a USED beginner sports bike like a Kawasaki Ninja 250r because I've noticed its a extremely popular beginner bike OR should i get a simple used car for like 7 grand? I'll be using whatever i get to ride to school which is 7.0 miles from my house.

So that means when i turn 16 and i can drive i will be in 10th grade. But no one else at my school rides a motor bike and its a all girls high school in Tennessee... so should i go for getting a bike? which kind? and wouldnt wearing a skirt for a uniform be a problem? what about carrying my backpack? and there will definetely be traffic (not too much though) so please make some recommendations on some bikes but none above 6k please and whatever im buying its definetely gonna be USED.

and please provide pros and cons for the one you prefer

So what do you reccommend? Should I go with a bike or a car? and what kind? and if a bike what should i do about the school uniform, i need to wear a jacket and some type of pants on a bike to keep me safe right? well ill be asking this question again in about a year.

im just asking this question so i can know how it really is out there and i want some opinions on it all.

Thanks so much!!!!!!

And im not sure if youve noticed but i TOTALLY want to get a bike, but that doesnt matter, i want something that will provide for all my needs. also: i would only use the vehicle/cycle to go to school and around the city, not out of state or anything.

and please no mean comments... D:

[DimoJ]

First things first -- take the MSF BRC: http://www.msf-usa.org/
A used 250R can be had for $2-3K, but do a what-if with Progressive Insurance between a Ninja and something like a 125cc Eliminator. Sometimes costs trump what we want. Get a couple of accident free years in before going for a "sport" bike. Heh. Might even look into a scooter -- the floorboard keeps road muck off the feet.

Weather in TN isn't that bad, you can ride year 'round. A bike *and* a cage will cost more than either alone -- very difficult to save enough in gas to pay for a bike in addition to a car.

My daughter walked her middle school graduation in trousers. Unless the dress is mandatory wear jeans. If a dress/skirt is mandatory try balking first, and bring in press/lawyer if need be.

The gear is not for keeping you safe when riding, it's for falling/sliding/crashing. You can go sans 'gear' if you are willing to give up a little skin in a fall.

Might as well go for the bike, the only decent sports car made in the past few decades is the Caterham Seven. A Bugeye or a Spitfire or even an MGB is now an expensive 'classic'.

[It'sThatGuy]

Just as a practical matter a car is better than a bike. It's safer and more comfortable in the rain, plus you can take friends with you to school (and if you have a car you'll have lots of friends! 8^) ).

But if you save $7000 you could have both a nice car and a nice bike, if you don't mind both of them being used. A simple car like a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic would be fine. A Chevy Aveo or Honda Fit or Nissa Versa, something like that. You don't need anything too big or fancy.

As for the bike, well scooters were invented to allow girls to ride in a dress. For a real motorbike you need to wear pants. So we're talking a scooter if you plan to ride to school. You can definitely carry a backpack on any kind of motorbike, but you should strap it to the back seat or rack, not carry it on your back. (I see a lot of people riding motorcycles with backpacks but it just seems to me if you fall backwards onto it you could really hurt yourself!)

Suppose you spent $4000 on the car and $3000 on the motorcycle. You can get pretty good of both for that money, in fact if you wanted a scooter you could get a new one for that much.

[rabidrabitt]

always get a car first because if it rains you got a car then get a motorcycle