I might get a motorcycle this year instead to save some money.
Pirsig explains that, despite its title, "it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles, either."
a fictionalized autobiography of a 17-day journey that Pirsig made on a motorcycle from Minnesota to Northern California along with his son Chris
1) what kind (make, model, year, style) of motorcycle is good to start, that is also easy to repair.
2) how did you learn how to repair them? YouTube, manuals, some class...?
a. For this case, if you are an absolute beginner nothing will beat a Honda Rebel 250. This was my first bike and it's literally two bolts and a nut. There is nothing to it, that's how simple it is mechanically. Its main downside is that its underpowered. But it'a also super light which means it is very easy to maneuver as a beginner. I was an absolute beginner when I started out so for me this was a good choice. If you want something a bit more sporty-looking, get a Kawasaki Ninja 250/300/400 or a Honda CBR300 or a Yamaha R3. Again, simple bikes, not much to them easy wrenching. These will be faster (a Ninja 400 can get you into trouble fast). If you want a standard bike (feet under butt vs in front for cruiser or behind for sport bikes), a TU-250 from Suzuki is a low maintenance choice. If you want a cruiser with a bit more oomf, get a Honda Shadow 750. It'll be heavier but still very manageable unless you are relatively small in stature. They are cheap, plentiful, and being a Honda, very easy to work on.
b. If you want more reliable (this is a good way to go because as a new rider the advice is that you should spend more time riding than wrenching), I would get a Kawasaki Vulcan S with ABS for a cruiser, or a Suzuki SV650 for a standard/sport bike. Avoid any bike that has an inline 4 with a total displacement of 600cc. Those bike are proper sport bikes that are not beginner friendly. For example a CBR600 from Honda is going to be stupidly fast compared to a Honda Shadow 750. You can also look at the Honda Rebel 500 ABS. ABS is the key here: bikes without it are more common but the technology really should be on most bikes these days. It makes a big difference when you need to stop fast.
If you reply or message me privately with your specific thoughts I might be able to recommend a more specific set of bikes.
2. MC Garage on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9SeHb6U1OQ&list=PLoIkhe-bQc...) is an excellent start. You can watch the whole series in a couple of hours and have the lay of the land so you'll at least know the terms you need to know and have a general idea of the kinds of things you might need to do. From there, it's really needs-driven. Get a bike, it has a clogged carb. So you need to clean the carb. Get the shop manual for the bike (you can often find the PDF online for free), watch a video or three on how to deal with that particular bike's carb, take it off, get it cleaned. Now you want to fix the leaky front fork leg, so you look up how to service motorcycle forks, and so on. I also highly recommend https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/ as a resource for both bike info and bike maintenance info. Their wiki is excellent and you can always ask a question.
If you want to learn how to ride, take the MSF course: https://msf-usa.org/. Then read Proficient Motorcycling (https://www.amazon.com/Proficient-Motorcycling-Ultimate-Guid...). Make sure to get all the gear, head to toe, and always wear it. Motorcycle accidents can get gnarly, and the gear makes a big difference.
Hope that helps!
P.S.: One of the most entertaining and informative motorcycle info channels on YouTube is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNSMdQtn1SuFzCZjfK2C7dQ. I don't think you need to even own a bike to enjoy it.
I have thought about motorcycles on and off, no serious plans at the moment. I like to learn and fix simple things which is why after seeing your earlier comment I got curious about bikes that may be easy to fix.
I’ll probably be going with new and reliable where only basic maintenance is required
Your comment is very helpful and will help in knowing the basics.
Although I've never owned a Harley, I suspect being able to upgrade and maintain one yourself is part of the equation for their success.
Although the japanese tech tree is pretty amazing it can be a little daunting to deal with a street bike with 4 carbs and 20 valves and whatever else is under the full fairing.
Dirt bikes are fun. t-handle wrench ftw.
But even with full fairings you can usually get to all the parts of a bike with relative ease - it's all there right in front of you, no climbing underneath something. Parts aren't as heavy or hard to get to (as a car). And it (usually) isn't your main transportation, so you can take it apart and drive to work in your car. (uh.. when we used to drive to work)
They're less fun to work on imo but so much more rewarding to own and drive. I get so much pleasure out of my bikes that other automotive types can't provide.
The dollar to smile ratio is also way better.
As an off topic aside, I find working on vehicles highly therapeutic. I finally got into motorcycles several years ago and learned that motorcycle mechanics, compared to car mechanics, are few and far between are usually very busy. If you buy a used bike and don’t want to take it to the dealer for service, you better learn to wrench. Let me tell you, it has been a hugely empowering experience. Unlike modern cars, even modern bikes are relatively easy to work on. I got ones with carburetors, so the most sophisticated computer on them is the LCD clock/trip meter. My second bike came to me not running for $1300 plus a bit for delivery. I still can’t believe that with some hand tools, time, and a shop manual I not only got it working, but improved its performance. I didn’t grow up around any kind of vehicles so learning to do this is a personal achievement for me. Yesterday evening I went for a long random ride and it was really something when the machine you had on the floor of your garage in pieces not that long ago now runs just right as you literally drive into the sunset. Motorcycles really helped me deal with the weight of the past year and just the weight of life in general. They aren’t cheaper than therapy but they definitely are more fun.