Buying first bike, advice needed

as a beginner, i would take the aprilia rs250 just to get accustomed to riding for a bit.

 

As much as I don't like to do this. Here is what happened to me as I was taking it slow on a gixxer 600. Inexperience mixed with a powerful bike can put you on the ground in no time as I found out firsthand. It's not so much going slow that was difficult, but what you do when you have to make quick decisions that throws you down. Since you tend to overcompensate for things, such as braking in my case.
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I did exactly the same thing.............got my license and bought an R6. I almost killed myself. I sold it. I am now done with bikes.

I would actually recommend a dirt bike.............best way to learn bike dynamics and to get comfortable on a bike.

 

Ok, I'm an Aprilia guy and I would stay away from the Aprilia RS250. They are incredibly light weight, have about 50-60 HP and are VERY peaky for power. I raced one a few times. Not to mention being a 2 stroke they require a top end rebuild every 1200 - 1800 miles. You can get into a lot of trouble with those too. They require a Finess to the throttle and over all riding technique. I would hardly call them a beginer bike.


I would go with an SV650. Reliable, a ton of fun, flickable.

 

Do a search as this topic has been discussed before.

Beginning riders should have bikes with torquey, slower revving engines; Suzuki SV650s and 2 valve air-cooled Ducatis fit the bill nicely. Take a course and buy good safety equipment. Assume every vehicle on the road doesn't see you and you'll be fine.

You can trade up to the latest 200hp/20,000 rev/300lb Japanese Superbike at a later date....

 

He mentioned he wants it too look good.


This is the eternal problem with Bike manufactures.......Bikes like the Katana, SV, etc would make great beginner bikes....Problem is (especially in the case of the puke-inducing Katana) that they are ugly.

The Supersports have all the eye appeal, as well as all the power and performance.

My advice is to respect the machine, from the pit of your heart. Don't just say it, truly mean it, and then buy the bike that you really want.

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103433

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=102335

just from the last couple of weeks

 

http://www.bikez.com/category/index.php?category=1&sort=&show_pictures=true

You might find this helpful.

 

ParhamK,

Check out the Ducati Monster 620. It's approximately 600cc and from what I've read on this site, it's a good beginner bike. One of my best friends purchased his first bike last summer, a Suzuki GS500F and loves it. For more opinions on this bike contact docdavid (username on FerrariChat) and get his opinions. I met docdavid last summer at a FerrariChat meet. I know it's not a Ducati, but it might be another option for you.

www.ducati.com

Best of luck.

Andrew

 

Fixed.

 

I had a lot of sport bikes in my day. I always went back to Kawasaki ZX-7. I hate Suzuki and had a horrible experience with a Honda and had them lie to me and treat me like crap. I vowed to them, in writing, 12 years ago i would never buy another Honda motorcycle.

Still won't.

I loved the few Yamahas i had, too. But Team Green was my #1 choice.

 

josh - were you wearing gear when this happened? what happened in the crash?

doody.

 

Yeah I was wearing a jacket, helmet, and gloves. I thought I was going too fast into a curve, and instinctively grabbed the front brake. (BIG NO NO!) The momentum took me off the bike where I landed and skidded on the road. I was taking it easy the entire time, and my inexperience caught up to me. Like I said, those split second reactions are the hardest to learn. I would've been able to make the turn without even breaking.

PS it wasn't my bike, and I did pay for all the damages caused.

 

Is that your patella? If so, which of your vastus muscles lost their grip? Do you get to wear an immobilizer for a long time?
_______

Get a 250 Ninja - when you're ready to move up to a bigger bike... keep the 250 Ninja, and enjoy it to it's fullest when you don't feel like riding the bigger bike.

 

Tom,

I'm not sure the name of the bone / muscles. I had to wear a sling for a month and cannot fully extend it as far as my other one. Forgot to mention my clavicle was also broke.

 

Mike-I originally wrote "wants to kill you" in my post but I didn't want to scare him...

 

IIRC the 600r is the racebike platform and the 600c is a bit detuned and more subdued. Either one would be a nice first bike. Enough power to get you into trouble if you don't respect it but much more beginner friendly than the current 600s.

 

Question i see a lot of sport bikes have way way bigger front discs then the rears. Now just out of curiosity and my own experience. Whenever i used my front brake on a dirtbike i took a spill. Now for the race bikes i know they use there fronts more then the back but how? How do you not lose traction, because that tire is so small and asking it to turn and slow you down at the same time is almost impossible. So how do you use the fornt brake is what i am asking i guess. How do you not fall when you use it?

 

Lots of good advice here for a newbie rider - particularly about not OVERBUYING a bike. 600CC SS bikes are crazy these days, I feel way too much bike for a beginner.
As mentioned previously in the thread, people buy these things, scare the bajesus belt out of themselves and give up on motorcycles entirely which is a damn shame.

The 600 DUC, the SV650 and my recommendation the GS500F are more than enough to learn on. The GS is ancient technology and have been the basis for race series so they're bulletproof and theres tons of hopup parts to keep it interesting for a few years. And they're dirt cheap so you wont lose much when you trade for a higher perf bike.

Now take the money you saved and buy the best helmet you can get - I wear an Arai. I see kids with the hot bikes and pipes and they are wearing an $80 HJC - this is one area I can't believe people skimp on. My helmet has literally saved my life so don't put your head into some bucket.

www.araiamericas.com

Also

www.shoei.com

good luck and good riding

 

It is not a question of 'if' but when; buy the best safety equipment money can buy you, which will never be enough, but without it, you are guaranteeing yourself harm. And, no matter how good you get, you will likely crash. And, it may not be your fault, or be something completely stupid... If you are prepared for all that, go for it. Riding is a beautiful thing.