Cycle

[Akuma]

I was looking at gettin a good starter sport bike.

The different bikes I was looking at are the Honda CBR600RR or the Kawasaki ZZR600

If anyone has any input on these or other good bikes I would appreciate it.

Note: I would like a bike around 600CC.

 

[CasterTroy]

What kind of experience on motorcycles do you have?

Go get your MSF certificate at a local community college if you're new to riding

If you have experience on 2 wheels....the next question is, what type of riding will you do, and how good a rider ARE you?

What bike you “think†you need depends on how far into the sport you want to go.

If what you’re after is posing on a sportbike for curb monkeys, or impressing “the boyz†with wheelies and straight line performance without ever daring to use any of the bikes capabilities, you can do so with any SS 600 or "liter bike". If you’re luck doesn’t run out before your interest you’ll end up selling it anyway because you were never really into it that much to begin with.

On the other hand, if you are really serious about riding, you won't be concerned about what you ride at all.

I wouldn't buy ANYTHING new if you're not an experienced rider....believe it or not, you will sell your bike within a year. Doesn't matter what you think now, in a year you will have discovered what aspect of riding a sportbike you like most...be it POWER, style, comfort, or handling and you will put all your efforts into buying THAT kind of bike next.

Personally, I would find a mid-90's CBR 600 and test the waters for only a coupla grand

And next year, it will be worth about exactly what you paid for it, so you won't lose anything


I'll say more when you respond to your experience with motorcycles and what type riding you're into (touring, posing, knee-draggin, track, drag strip, all around)

 

[jeepinmatt]

I second the MSF course. I had been riding dirtbike for 16 years and streetbikes for 3 when I took it, and it still helped me a ton.

Another excellent starter bike is the Kawasaki Ninja EX 500. They are plenty fast, but have a much less volatile nature than a 600cc inline 4. That was my first bike, and I really missed it. So now I have one for the track. A modern 600 such as the cbr600rr is really too much bike for a beginner bike. Many people have been fine starting on them, but just as many have killed themselves. Everyone thinks they have enough restraint, but saying and doing are two different things.

I bought my first Ninja for $1400, and sold it a year and a half later for $1800. My current trackbike i bought for $1100. A good site to find them on is www.ex500riders.com or the cycletrader, or ebay.

Hope that helps.

 

[Rich]

A CBR600RR is not a starter bike by ANY means.. It's a 600cc racebike with a license plate and quiet exhaust.

I second what Troy said... some GOOD starter bikes off the top of my head.. Suzuki SV650 (naked, cheaper when you drop it), EX500 as was said, older CBR's, maybe a Yamaha FZR600..

If your honest about what you want to do, you can get a much better bike with cheaper insurance.

 

[90xj]

I ride a suzuki bandit, hell of a motor and cheap insurance as it's considered a "standard" instead of sportbike. Makes a really good starter bike, this one is my first, and i'll keep it for awhile as an extra bike just because the ergo's are good for longer rides.

My next bike is gonna be a motard, light, awesome handling and they are basically dirtbikes, so if you drop them they don't cost much to fix.
Josh

 

[tempoffroad]

dont get the 600cbr i sold my 900rr that i had rode a lot for the 600 just because i wanted something that was a little smaller in the curves. That is when i lived in CA. The 600 was still stupid fast and not a starter bike. I think i layed it down more than the 900. Start with what jeepinmat said or an old hurricane or Katana they will still hall but you should be able to keep the front on the ground more. I now have a vtx1300 and still miss my 600, and so do my doctors.

 

[Rob]

I had a Ninja ZX6E as my first sport bike. Way more power then I needed. But learned to ride a sport bike with it.

 

[Chris_M]

I'll second what CasterTroy said. 1st time sportbike riders should buy an older cheap bike to get there feet wet, then sell it next year for about what they paid for it. I have a few friends that didn't listen to this advice, then got a big told ya so when they had a 8 month old bike they didn't like, tore up, and were several grand upside down on payments when they tried to get something different.


Of the new 600 bikes, I'd go with the 600RR or a R6.

 

[StudNuts]

I second the cbr f4i or the cheaper f3. 600s arent all that fast and powerful. The f4i I had was probably by far the easiest bike I have ever riden. Hell, my brothers girlfriend learned to ride on it.

Take my advice, Ive had my share of bikes. Dont get a ninja or a katana trainingwheelless bikes, you will grow out of it too quickly and be pissed off you have to ride around on a nerd cycle. Ive seen it many times.

 

[CasterTroy]

600s arent all that fast and powerful.

But until you've ridden a liter bike, you have no IDEA that the 600's aren't the fastest thing in the world

Thats like a person thats driving their own full tube buggy on 38.5's at tellico with ease, coming to URE and climbing in someone elses stock jeep and bitching because it's not capable. Well, the owner of that stock jeep thats never driven a tube buggy, or gone to tellico has NO IDEA of how incapable his rig or his skills are

Everyone has to START somewhere. Even Nicky Haden had to START somewhere.....noone is a pro out of the box. And to RUSH into it, just to for-go the "growing out of a beginner bike" is a recipe for disaster waiting to happen

Seen it WAY too many times.


F3's and F4's don't lose their value over a 12 month period. And with very little invested, they represent almost no loss. And it's not a bike those with "image issues" have to be concerned about getting ragged for having. If you've actually GOT a dick and don't let others opinions get to you, a Ninja 250/500 or Katana 600 are perfect beginners bikes...but many don't have enough security to be able to own them. SO thats why I suggest an F3/F4

It's MORE ignorant to try to skip a step and jump to something, not knowing if you even will LIKE the ergo's of a supersport or even have the balls to push a F3/F4 to anywhere NEAR it's limits even within the first few YEARS of riding.

If you are really serious about riding, you won't be concerned about what you ride at all. Be it a GSXR 1000 or a Ninja 250. You will be concerned with when, how often, where, and how you ride. You will seek out instruction from people who help you produce results. You will get the best gear, and spend your money on schools - invariably track schools, whether you are interested in racing or not since it is impractical for schools to be held on public roads. You will ride any and all of the bikes you can and they will be everything from 100cc to 1000cc and it doesn't really matter what they are because you are more concerned with whether or not you can really ride the hell out of the bike.

$3000 Bike+$2000 Gear+$2000 Track days/schools=Faster than ANY Liter bike produced. And for LESS than most liter bikes and 600SS cost USED


Sorry to sound like such an elitist, snob nazi, but having witnessed a death, had a couple of friends go down HARD, and seen way too much of this crap repeat itself over and over like a bad skipping record in the last 15+ years I've been riding on the road (legally I might add....get your damn motorcycle endorsement biaches!) I do what I can to curb further fatalities/injuries/bad biker reputation

 

[BIGWOODY]

If you have had a decent amount of seat time on any dirt bike/dual sport larger than a 125..a 600 really isn't going to be a huge transition. I had ridden dirt bikes rom the time I could walk, my first street bike was a Ninja 900 back in 85'. I was 15 when I got it and rode it until I was 18, then sold it with close to 40k miles on it. I really don't think the engine size of the bike has much to do with it, I've seen people get killed on Ninja 250's. I've been hit by cars several times that claimed they didn't see me, I've slid off the parkway through the woods at 60mph while I was acting like a dumbass. Not to sound like your mom, but they are dangerous no matter the size or shape. Take a course at least to brush up on som e safety. Last year I sold my TLR1000, I've had a bike pretty much all th time since I was 15. I don't have the desire to own another, I've been lucky not to get killed and at 35 I realized what my mom had been telling me all my life, they are dangerous. I never worried about what I might do to cause an accident but I stayed paranoid about everyone else on the road. Good luck and try not to get hurt, I'd recommend a 4x4 with an open top.

 

[jeepinmatt]

Let me explain a little more why the Ninja 500 is the perfect starter bike.

1. Its got tons of ground clearance so that you can learn to lean to live.
2. They are generally unchanged since 1987, and almost totally unchanged since 1994. This means they are a proven, reliable and dependable platform.
3. They have nearly 60hp, and weigh under 400lbs. In other words they will still do 0-60 in the mid 3 sec range.
4. Top speed is around 140mph. Sure you will want more, but why do you think guys put turbos on Hayabusas. You will always want more. Realize that the key thing here is that you are getting starter riding, not trying to finish riding too soon.
5. Insurance is a whole lot cheaper. Also, since you can buy it outright, you can just get liability instead of collision too. This will save you a ton of money both in the short run and the long run.
6. If you do wreck it and tear it up bad, a whole nuther bike is about the same price as a painted to match fairing for a modern sportbike.
7. It will probably have some cosmetic blemishes. Trust me, this is a plus. When you get your footing wrong at a stop sign and fall gently over and scratch your fairing, you won't care.
8. The weight of the 500 is centered low enough that it isn't very top heavy, so unless you are 5'3" like me, the one foot balance game won't be an issue.
9. You can actually make money on older cheap bike. As i stated earlier, I bought mine for $1400 and sold it for $1800. All I did to it was put new tires on it. I got thousands of dollars of fun from it too. And after selling it and riding a few other things, im back on a Ninja 500.
10. To me this is the most important thing: You will never get passed in the turns due to equipment, other than making sure that you have a good set of tires on the bike. With a good rider (notice I said good, not great/excellent/awesome/amazing) the Ninja 500 will hold its own against all but the best of riders in the turns. Going fast in a straight line proves nothing.

Im gonna stop here, as this post is getting a little long.