[stefan]

Hey guys..

Looking to get a motorcycle here. I am not necessarily sure I want to pick up something I can "grow into" right away... rather, just something to get me by for a seasons while I'm learning.. but I really have no clue.

Some bikes on my list include..
Kawasaki Ninja 250: seems like a good starter bike with a sport seating position. Though I'm told 250cc won't cut it.. SO..
Kawaski ZZR600: potential here.. I can get it for a good price.
Suzuki SV650S: looking for opinions on this one, too.

I'm open to suggestions! Any ideas for me?

[Russo]

make sure if you finance, you don't get a revolving line of credit... Suzuki got me on the $169/month deal and @ $200 a month it would have taken me 15 years to pay off a $12k bike... luckily i was able to pay the balance cash and get out of it... personally, i don't know how every bike out there rides, but i prefered my Busa over my brother-in-laws cbr... it's like comparing a horse to a billy goat...

[TP 135i]

ADVICE................Be Careful........Be Careful....Be Careful
I could tell you some very bad stories, but I'm sure you've heard stuff about cars and bikes.
Just remember.........NO ONE CAN SEE YOU WHEN YOU ARE RIDING A MOTORCYCLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did I mention to be careful

[Car Whore]

Need to know a little bit more about how you plan to ride... My wife has an '08 250R Kaw that is just a blast to ride & great beginner/cruiser bike. I ride a '05 ZX6R and it's quite fun to ride around as well..

The 250R is very much underestimated but IMO more bike than most people need.

Couple of questions:

1.) Do you already have a motorcycle license?
2.) Is insurance cost a factor? (good record/bad record)

Generally,

I would recommend a cbr 600 F4i. It has an somewhat upright riding position. Not as hardcore as the other 600's on the market. They dont make it new anymore but that was my first bike and I loved it. Although it was in 2002.

Something similar should work.

[mchaskell]

1. Don't ever let the dealer finance the insurance in with the purchase of the motorcycle. The insurance is only for one year but you will pay for it over the life of the loan.

2. Big bike are easy to ride, small bikes are more fun. With a big bike you don't shift as much as with a small bike where you need to work the gears more. My favorite street bike was a 700 cc Honda V-four.

3. Consider a dual sport (my current choice) like a Suzuki DR-650, Kawasaki KLR-650 or Honda XR650L. Upright riding position, plenty of power for most uses. Plus you can ride fire roads and do light off road, good gas mileage, also cheap to insure.

4. If you buy a crotch rocket make sure you like the riding position. Low bars are a pain in traffic. Cramped riding positions can leave you stiff at the end of the day (unless your under 25) and insurance can be expensive.

5. As noted elsewhere be careful. As they say it is not whether you will go down but when.

[white135]

First bike was an SV650. Great bike. plenty of them at good prices. I think the enthusiast site is svrider.com.

[stefan]

To answer a few of the questions.. I've got my learners and am getting my license soon (going through a school.. one of the best ones in Calgary). Insurance won't be an issue. And the purpose is to just bomb around a bit on the weekends on twisty roads.

That financing situation was interesting.. definitely something I'll watch out for. A CBR600 F4I would work for me (and my friends on an SAE team swear by the engine), but I've only seen the RR's which are expensive. I've sat on a GSXR and an SV650.. a riding position somewhere in between would be nice.

[1050Wien]

I have a 750 Ducati Monster and absolutely love it. It is a great bike with a versatile seating position. They hold their value well but are also somewhat expensive to maintain.

As already mentioned above, safety is th emost important thing. I would encourage you to take a class and read as much as you can on safe riding. There are some good motorcycle forums out there that have entire sections devoted to safety.

[mtla4]

dont get an f4i the bike will scare you to death. Get an sv650 or something similar then upgrade. I track only I dont ride on the street anymore I went down, got it, few friends died, tickets and plates are expensive here. GET SOMETHING USED because you WILL DROP THE BIKE(could be parked) sooner or later.

[320Devil]

Just got back from two dealerships while helping my buddy look for a bike. He too is a new rider and is in the market for a used bike to learn on. I recommend you go to a dealership and sit on some bikes to see what fits you well. My friend is short, only 5ft 6" I think, so on a lot of the bikes he was on his toes. The GSXR 600 fit him well, the Honda CBR600 was a little higher, and the Yamaha R6 was too tall. An SV650 is a great beginner bike, but it was too tall for him. Another great beginner bike is a Kawasaki Ninja 650R. It has a parallel twin with an upright riding position. Yamaha FZ6 is a good one to look at as well. For a first bike I would go used. Get comfortable on it for a 6 months and then you can sell it for a little less then you bought it for and can then go out and get what you really want. The dealerships will rip you off on a used bike, so if you buy from them make sure you do your research as to what the bike is actually worth. If you're a good driver you'll be a good bike rider. Key is paying attention and keeping your wits about you. You WILL NOT fall if you pay attention. Regardless of what others may say, every accident on a bike is the rider's fault. It up to you to have good situational awareness and watch out for the idiot drivers. Good luck!

[TP 135i]

Originally Posted by 350zpilot

Regardless of what others may say, every accident on a bike is the rider's fault. It up to you to have good situational awareness and watch out for the idiot drivers. Good luck!

Sorry. but that is just not true.
Don't try to tell someone new that all accidents can be avoided if they are aware because that's BS.
I was making a left turn through an intersection where I did not have a stop sign. There was a guy in a car fully stopped at the stop sign to my left. Just as I entered the middle of the intersection he accelerated from a dead stop and T-Boned me. I saw him coming and tried to swing wide to keep from getting hit, but it was impossible. I flew about 75 feet in the air before I came to rest from about a 10 MPH hit. Lucky for me it was a cold morning and I was wearing leathers and a full coverage helmet. The helmet ended up being cracked and unusable.
The other drivers response....."I didn't see you"......I was no more than 20 feet in front of him when he accelerated.
I had a friend who had the same thing happen to him......6 months in traction.........
So don't you dare tell this newb that it's always the riders fault cause that's a total load of crap.
I agree that you MUST have good situational awareness to avoid as many problems as you can and you must always assume that the other driver will do something stupid, but you can't avoid them all.

Sorry for the rant, but that was the day that I decided that my physical well being was more important to me than riding motorcycles.

[Russo]

other advice is to make sure you aren't like other people who buy a 600 and once you get comfortable with it, in about a month, wish you'd bought a 750 or 1000... go sit on a Busa, you can get used ones pretty cheap...

[stefan]

Can't see myself driving anything over 600cc... on paper, if I become a good rider, I should be able to extract great performance out of it.

Thanks for all the advice so far. SV650 seems to be a popular choice. The Hayabusa is way too much for me. Still leaning to the ZZR600 (based on the fairly common recommendation in this thread for 600cc's)

[scs]

if you're new to street riding, id stay away from anything bigger then a 600, the sv or the ninja 250 are probably the best bikes for a new rider. the last thing you need is a busa. may even consider a drz400sm (supermoto) very fun bike for jetting round town.

[imported_mega]

SV's are great bikes, suitable for a beginner, can do track days with them

[1er junkie]

I will only get ducatis. They mean business, and even the older ones are beastly.

[imported_mega]

fairly high operating costs on ducs much higher than a simple sv or ninja

the only real beginner bike they make is the monster 695/696 and they cost a LOT more, I sure would not want to learn how to ride a bike on that expensive of a machine


696 msrp 8500 $
sv650 msrp 6000 $
250 ninja msrp 3500 $ if you can find one

the new ninja 650 looks nice too, 6500 $ msrp

[Russo]

Originally Posted by stefan

Can't see myself driving anything over 600cc... on paper, if I become a good rider, I should be able to extract great performance out of it.

Thanks for all the advice so far. SV650 seems to be a popular choice. The Hayabusa is way too much for me. Still leaning to the ZZR600 (based on the fairly common recommendation in this thread for 600cc's)

my first bike was the busa... what most people forget is that since the busa has SO much more torque than a 600 or 750, you don't have to crank it up to 15000 rpm to have fun.. just crusing at 5-6k on the Busa can give you enough enjoyment...

also keep in mind that the Busa has a hydraulic clutch, which means the bike will roll a little forward to help ease take off... this was another thing i liked over my bro-in-laws cbr, that thing would stall out alot...

[imported_mega]

hydraulic clutch only puts fluid in the line between the lever and the clutch arm

vs a cable

they operate the same, if that cbr was stalling he had either the wrong type of oil, or the cable needed maintenance


recommending a busa to a beginner is absolutely crazy, they are big bikes and not easy to handle