Im looking for a late 70s to late 80s motorcycle to buy. It will be my first motorcycle but l do have a fair amount of riding exp. A Standard style is what l think im looking for.Any ideas on a suitable model?
Im good in the mechanical dept. but finding parts for any old motorcycle can be a challenge

Honda Interceptor
the greatest bike ever made!

rd 350lc original nutters bike :-)

what about your mechanical abilities?

this would be a 25-40 year-old bike..do you think you could find parts..electricals were shady at best on 70s-80s

CB750F

1984 to 87 harley evos.
no cam chain to wear out or need adjustment. (gear drive cam)
no periodic valve adjustments required.(self adjusting hydraulic lifters)
no multiple carburetors with easily blocked tiny jets to synchronize just 1 big carb with big jets that wont get stopped up by anything smaller than a peanut.
electronic ignition with a rev limiter so u cant blow the engine by over reving it.
reliable as a stone axe, these things will still run fine when totally worn out & neglected.
huge selection of catalog company is making every kind of parts & accessory is for them at very competitive prices.
the late 80's/early 90 is were just as good but they changed suppliers for the engine cases & some of them had porous castings& oozed a little oil.
if u like to scrape the pegs get the FXR model,at 650lbs they take a lot of effort on the bars to get them down but they will hold any line u put them on with no weave or wobble at any speed as long as the swing arm bushings r in good shape.

the CB line was the best and simplest of the time!

I've got a Shovelhead FXR l will probably hang onto forever, but if you're looking to go a little cheaper, l had an '82 Honda Sabre I've got a lot of good memories of, and if it is too cafe-racer for you, the Magnas of the early '80 is were the same drivetrain. The V45 and V65 were the same basic engine as the Interceptor sportbike, but the Sabre and Magna had shaft drive. The parts for both still pop up on eBay.

l have an 82 Yamaha Vision 550. Parts are hard to find, but fun to ride. It has 60,000 + miles and is still going strong.

l will second the '82 Yamaha Vision. Had one, it was a fun ride.
Even at 16-17 years old, it ran just exactly like the write up in Cycle World when it first came out(right down to the flat spot in the throttle).

My other vote would be any Honda CB inline 4.