Quote:
Originally Posted by Spec 1
This is some of the only worthwhile information stated thus far.
/\ If you've never ridden, consider a Ninja 500 or older 600 (pre-2002). Realize you will drop your motorcycle so it's preferable for your first bike to be ok with scratches. You should keep your first bike for a full riding season or at least 5,000 miles.
Stay away from an R6 as your first bike. Some people have started with sportbikes and been ok, and you'll hear a lot of guys saying "I had an R6 as my first bike and I was fine! If you can't handle it you're a pussy!" but they are the exception to the rule. 100+ hp on a motorcycle is dangerous and will injur most starting and kill some.
EXCELLENT starter bikes are Suzuki SV650s, Kawasaki 650R, Honda 600F3, Kawasaki EX500, or Yamaha FZ6.
Because bikes aren't like cars. If you put your throttle down in a car, you'll either accelerate or oversteer. If you do that on a sportbike, you can loop it or lose the tire out the back. I've been riding for 6 years and I've had over 15+ friends DIE. I can't tell you how many new riders have crashed because they were either going too damn fast or they were on a bike too big for them. "Control your wrist" doesn't work as well when you're 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and 0-100 in 5.0 seconds. The tiniest of throttle increase can send you hurdling towards the wall on modern sportbikes.
Also, krnnerdboy, I'd be interested to hear how you ride. Riding in straight lines or on highways, etc would be one thing on a Gixxer 1000, but riding it properly on the kind of roads I travel (read: corners & lots of em) is rediculous unless you have a lot of experience.
Also where do you keep your bike in the powerband? Many riders who skip up in the powerband quickly never end up using their motors. They ride at 6-9k RPMs. They've often never ridden at all if more than a brief moment at 12-15k RPM. SOOOOOOO many riders think "Their 600 is slow I must need 1000!" but they've never gotten above 11k. Fact is sportbikes aren't designed to really have any power until you hit 9k or above, and they dont really start moving till 12k+. My 600cc is quicker than most Lambos, I just use it correctly. Many never even realize they're not using their power.
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This is good advice. I've been a motorcyclist for over 35 years (dirt bike at age 11) and have been street riding for 27 years (over 100,000 miles). What no one has yet mentioned is riding a motorcycle in traffic is ENTIRELY different than driving a car in traffic. Having a 1000 GSXR with no riding experience and getting into a situation that will lead you to panic (every new motorcyclist does) is a recipe for injury or death. Get a 600cc standard and take the MSF rider course and take a slow progression on learning how to ride on the street. A good motorcyclist has a good attitude, extreme confidence, and excellent skills that he builds over time.