Post by: Smith on March 05, 2005, 04:06:44 AM
Post by: BillBlank on March 05, 2005, 04:28:13 AM
In summary, the cbr 6 will look after you, there are many of them so repairing or replacing it should be cheaper. They do 150mph so they are not slow. The handling can only be described as excellent. Use bridgestones. The residuals are excellent so IF it survives it's time with you you do not lose too much.
Do spend $1500 on leathers, gloves, boots and a decent lid. I've trashed mine three times now and walked away with it hanging off me in strips. Do keith codes school or similar. Best money you can spend because right now I gaurantee you have no idea how your bike goes round corners. Would you buy a huge gun without some idea of how to safely use it?
okay lecture over, have fun, buy cbr6 and if you're not a total numpty you should be ok. My first three years of riding cost me about £25000 in repairs and new bikes but I refused to learn so some of that was my fault. Okay all of it was my fault, my bike dealership was like a crack dealer.
Post by: Smith on March 05, 2005, 04:38:30 AM
You need to be a little more careful with your lectures until you know it's deserved. Oh, and work on your grammar skills. Your first sentence is unreadable.
Post by: motorep on March 05, 2005, 02:13:40 PM
Post by: johnster999 on March 05, 2005, 08:35:43 PM
Post by: Black92LX on March 05, 2005, 08:41:07 PM
Post by: Darkmind on March 05, 2005, 11:45:45 PM
Post by: BillBlank on March 06, 2005, 08:49:53 AM
You said you were a complete newcomer so you got the condensed version of the "don't kill yourself or bankrupt yourself by being as daft as I was" lecture. Sorry if it grated but how was I supposed to know what you did or didn't know?
Ignore my price guesstimates, I forget that we pay two - three times more than you guys for bits and bikes.
I forgot the SV650, fine little bike.
Post by: GreenFurniture on March 07, 2005, 02:48:23 AM
or you could always get an older ZX6-R.
Post by: CatsDieNow on March 07, 2005, 04:01:21 AM
I bought a Kawasaki Ninja 500 (EX500) and was still worried that it had too much power for me as a beginner. That bike will still out-accelerate a Corvette and do over 120MPH without any trouble.
Do yourself a favor and buy a used smaller bike and upgrade to a better bike after a year of mistakes and learning. Your insurance rates will be much cheaper too.
Post by: atek3 on March 13, 2005, 08:46:51 AM
If you don't want a good beginners bike consider one of the more friendly sportbikes such as the Honda F2 or F3, they are nice bikes, which can go quite fast, but you can pick up a good condition one for cheap, and low side it until you know WTF you are doing.
Then once you have the experience under your belt, then get an R6...the black one... or a CBR600RR...the black one. Actually any of the 600 cc super sport bikes from the big 4 will be under 10k and blow your socks off.
atek3
Post by: Guest on March 14, 2005, 11:09:40 AM
Post by: motorep on March 14, 2005, 02:58:03 PM
Post by: P95Carry on March 14, 2005, 05:21:57 PM
That bike was the dog's **** bits ... superb handling, darned quick and as a package - awesome value. He bought it new IIRC for about 6.5k ... and sold it for 3.5k - in all but new condition and only 6k miles on it. The guy who bought it was onto a great deal.
I'd suggest - look out for one this spring ... and grab it up if a good specimen. You will love it I am sure.
Post by: LawDog on March 15, 2005, 03:57:04 AM
LawDog
Post by: Guest on March 16, 2005, 02:47:53 AM
Just as food for thought look in the paper and see how many brand spanking new (but slightly damaged) high-end sport bikes appear for sale. Then realize that the people selling them were thinking the EXACT same thing that you are. New riders really have no concept of the absolute monstrous nature or true top shelf sport bikes. Every experienced rider in the world will tell you that you should start off with something more reasonable and every single one of them was a newbie at one point and learned the lesson first hand. WHy ignore the advice of people who know what they are doing? That is like getting a shooting lesson from Jerry Miculek and deciding that you know better.
Post by: Smith on March 16, 2005, 01:56:13 PM
Oh, and for the illiterate, it WON'T be a sportSTER.
Post by: atek3 on March 18, 2005, 10:30:17 PM
Post by: atek3 on April 21, 2005, 10:00:07 AM
atek3
Post by: Smith on April 22, 2005, 03:47:26 AM
Post by: InfidelSerf on April 22, 2005, 07:54:43 AM
If you like plastic like me a 900SS or 851/888 You could probably find a 1995 916 give or take a year under 10K too.
If you can adjust the valves on a DOHC inline 4 you can maintain a Ducati without any trouble.
Personally I think its a myth that they cost more. They do if you refuse to touch it and pay someone else to maintain it.
But my personal opinion is that you should never ride a motorcycle you can't maintain or even rebuild if you had to.
I wouldn't fly a plane I couldn't repair or know how everything works.
JMHO
Post by: Nathaniel Firethorn on April 22, 2005, 01:22:03 PM
Maybe a Hayabusa?
- NF
Post by: atek3 on April 26, 2005, 08:27:09 AM
Good SV650 Prices
atek3
Post by: Smith on April 26, 2005, 04:07:09 PM
Post by: atek3 on April 26, 2005, 04:23:13 PM
http://www.ironbutt.com/about/default.cfm
atek3
Post by: atek3 on May 27, 2005, 08:46:17 PM
Post by: atek3 on May 27, 2005, 08:49:51 PM
How much riding experience do you have?
atek3
Post by: atek3 on June 01, 2005, 11:55:47 AM
Post by: BillBlank on June 01, 2005, 01:41:54 PM
. On topic, at that price, CB500 honda. Simple and quick in the right hands. Easy to work on to, this from a man with more thumbs than fingers.
Bill
With great fraternal love to a new member of the phsycotic two wheeled brotherhood.
When in doubt buy an R1, what does not kill you may well paralyse you
Post by: ...has left the building. on June 01, 2005, 02:59:00 PM
Post by: atek3 on June 01, 2005, 04:41:45 PM
atek3
Post by: CatsDieNow on June 02, 2005, 04:57:36 AM
Listen to me here. Get a Ninja 250 or a 500. A Suzuki GS500 is also a good choice. Get a used one that can be dropped (because you will) without too much heartbreak.
You are getting your first bike - not your last bike. Give yourself the opportunity to learn properly on a more forgiving motorcycle.
It is not a lack of responsibility or maturity issue, because I know that you are both; it's a lack of riding skill. Kids (and adults) do not learn to race in Indy carts. They start in little midget ones and work their way up commensurate with their skills.
Seriously, I just don't understand this...you guys are the same ones who reccommend starting newbie shooters on .22s, understanding safety and marksmanship fundamentals, and taking training classes to improve skills before choosing to carry a handgun. Why do you believe motorcycling is somehow different?
Post by: atek3 on June 02, 2005, 05:08:56 AM
http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=112109
some good excerpts:
Quote
Hi, I'm new to bikes! I'm looking for my first bike! All of my friends ride {garden variety 600 supersport}. I've been thinking of getting a new {garden variety 600 supersport}, though I'm open. What can you suggest? TIA!
_______________________
BARF Responses (choose one):
1. Yah, sounds solid, man. That's how I started, meng.
2. Take the MSF and get a new Ninja 250/500/Sv650.
3. Get a dirt bike instead.
4. Buy your gear first, then take the MSF, then get a used, small displacement bike to learn on.
5. Why not get a liter bike? You can handle it if you respect it.
6. Guess you've already made up your mind. No talking to you. RIP.
_______________________
BARF Responses (choose one):
1. Yah, sounds solid, man. That's how I started, meng.
2. Take the MSF and get a new Ninja 250/500/Sv650.
3. Get a dirt bike instead.
4. Buy your gear first, then take the MSF, then get a used, small displacement bike to learn on.
5. Why not get a liter bike? You can handle it if you respect it.
6. Guess you've already made up your mind. No talking to you. RIP.
forget the R6, it's gutless, I mean you'll probably outgrow it in a few months anyway, just start with an R1.
atek3
Post by: ...has left the building. on June 02, 2005, 09:18:53 AM
Thanks for the advice! I've mostly rode 4 wheelers off-road and then of course driving performance autos. I plan on not going balls to the wall with a bike at all though because I'm paranoid about other people's driving ability. How fast is the R6 really? Isn't the 0-60 time around 5 seconds? Is it a bike that is tough to control/unforgiving?
I spoke with my bro-in-law today and he said he would go halfsies on a Ninja 250 for us both to start on. If I find the right used one, that should be $1K/each. Not too bad! I think I might go that route instead.
Post by: CatsDieNow on June 02, 2005, 10:04:01 AM
The top speed isn't so much the issue - it's the torque and horsepower in a light and unstable package. I would have to really try to do a wheelie whereas the R6 will do them quite unintentionally if you aren't already skilled.
The really interesting stuff, acceleration, is in this chart: http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/146_perf_nums/ Even my little Ninja 500 will (almost all motorcycles will) wax most "cheap" sports cars between traffic lights and do 120mph.
Dirt bikes are street legal if the have all the appropriate features like turn signals, mirrors, a horn, license plate fixtures, etc. You can get a factory dual-purpose, aka street and trail bike - all the big four Japanese manufactuers make one or two.
Post by: atek3 on June 02, 2005, 12:24:13 PM
R6's are especially bad beginner bikes, because they make almost no power down low, so you gotta rev 'em to get the power, only thing is, rev too much and you've looped the thing as the torque curve goes up strongly in the power band.
Twins are generally much better for beginners as the torque curve is generally flatter, so you don't get an unexpected, "rush of power" when you aren't ready.
atek3
Post by: ...has left the building. on June 02, 2005, 01:38:54 PM
Is there any concise on-line motorcycle buyer's guide?
Post by: atek3 on June 02, 2005, 02:12:18 PM
http://motorcycles.about.com/od/roadtestsreviews/a/motoreviews_sm.htm
Post by: atek3 on June 02, 2005, 02:31:03 PM
Being Daniel Flory, if you are willing to go slightly exotic...
In most of the rest of the world, motorcycle licenses are "tiered" meaning you can't just hop on a CBR1000RR and go wad yourself. They force you to start on a smaller displacement bike. So 125, 250, and 400cc displacements are all big in Europe and Japan. Some 400's were imported into the US but they didn't sell well, now the good 400's are gray market imports only. For a californian thats a problem, as its tough to register non-california bikes, for someone who lives in America, its not so hard. So I'd say check your local classifieds for the Honda CB-1, Suzuki GSF400 (bandit), Kawasaki ZXR400, Honda CBR400, Yamaha FZR400, Suzuki GSXR400, and Honda vfr400. All are sport or sport-standard 400cc bikes. They'll be more expensive than an EX250, but probably more fun too.
atek3
Post by: ...has left the building. on June 02, 2005, 05:43:19 PM
Thanks for all your help! And yeah, you hit it perfectly: I'm willing to go exotic. The 400cc sounds like a good compromise. Are they twins or 4 cylinders? I'd imagine they're twins but I don't know jack about bikes.
Post by: atek3 on June 02, 2005, 06:50:29 PM
the sporty 400's make about 50 peak hp. Enough to go real fast, but not totally nuts. If you want a beginner bike that you can leave it in 2nd gear in the twisties, get an SV650. If you want one that will teach you the art of picking the right gear when cornering, braking, and accelerating, get a 250 or 400.
atek3
Post by: InfidelSerf on June 03, 2005, 05:57:59 AM
Some say its a high maintenance bike. But honestly its not any harder to adjust the valves on a desmoquatro than your typical DOHC.
I also don't reccomend you get into motorcycling unless you can work on your own bike (JMHO) My view is that it holds your life in your hands so make sure you know every inch of it. I'm sure others would have the counter view that its better to pay a pro.
If that's the case make sure you research their reputation. One of my main motivations for working on my own bike was because I got to know all the local mechanics.
Post by: atek3 on June 03, 2005, 10:10:56 AM
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6708&item=4552989940&rd=1
Sweet FZR400
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=50042&item=4553617227&rd=1
atek3