[Ninja_Desu_Yo]

Hello,
I have been reading this site for a while now, and a few weeks ago i decided i wanted to get a bike. I have my eyes set on an '05 Ninja 500r. It is within my price range. I was just wondering if anyone could help me, give me any sugestions or anything. I really look foward to learning how to ride, i am only 17, but 18 in march, and that is when i can get the bike. Thank you in advanced for your help.

 

[NinjaGirl]

Welcome!! :wink:

http://www.msf-usa.org

 

[2WheelFun]

Ninja_Desu_Yo....Welcome!

I do not ride a Ninja but I do LOVE riding!

I'm sure other will be happy to share information with you about that. If you have not taken a safety course yet....you should give it serious consideration. Just my 2 cents.


http://www.msf-usa.org/

 

[Calamarichris]

Welcome Desu-yo! Are you sure you're only 17? You sound more responsible than many new riders who are much older (I've heard there have even been one or two in this forum) who pick a bike simply because it looks slick in the magazines.
The Ninja 500R is an awesome, awesome bike. I've been riding streetbikes for about 13 years now and have ridden many different brands and models. I currently ride an '02 ZX9R that will break an honest 90-mph in first gear. I don't need that much engine and I seriously considered trading that beast for a 500R earlier this year. No lie!
My wife started on a 500R and it was such a neat bike. It's fast enough to walk briskly away from any car you'll see at a stoplight today. And when you learn how to ride on a light, well-balanced machine like the 500 you'll almost certainly have better-developed skills than the average rider. My wife rode 20,000 miles on her 500R and after a while she was passing guys on full liter-bikes on the curvy road on Palomar Mountain.
The 500R will make 125mph pretty easily and will smoke every Harley, except for the V-Rod. It's light, it's fast and you can get replacement parts for cheap, because Kawasaki hasn't changed it (other than color) for more than a decade now.
It doesn't have much poser-value, but it's a great bike. The only reasons I ended up not trading my overkill 9R for one this year is because I changed the gearing to get better mileage and knew I'd be losing my butt on trade-in because it's already got 33,000 miles on it. (And I kinda bonded with it on our recent trip to Philadelphia.)

Good luck, whichever bike you end up getting! And tell your parents I said you're smarter than the average rider.
-Calamari Chris in Carlsbad, CA

P.S. And Whistle's spot-on! MSF is the way to go too.

 

[Ninja_Desu_Yo]

Thank you so far. I am looking foward to being on these forums. CalamariChris, thank you for the compliment. I really dont see a point in getting a bike because of its looks and stuff because driving a bike, you need to be responsible. What your bike looks like isnt gonna save you while riding. The rider and the bike will after you learn how to handle it. I do not have any safty courses yet, but when i turn 18 in march, my gf, my gf's sister and myself are all going to this saftey course and then, if you pass, you get your licens (sp) rite then and there. I am looking foward to march. But i have been researching bikes for the past few weeks and the 500r is the one i believe i like the best. Thank you for your opinions and such

 

[Calamarichris]

If you've already got a girlfriend who rides, DON'T LET HER GET AWAY! A wife who enjoys riding motorcycles is a blessing on your life. She's like fudge-coated bacon. There are thousands of poor souls whose overbearing wives won't let them even have a bike, and thousands more who get the third-degree guilt-trip from their wives if they go riding for a few hours on a sunny Sunday morning.
Taking roadtrips, staying in hotels in faraway places, trading bikes and seeing the country together with an adventurous woman is one of the most beautiful aspects of life I've ever seen, heard, read about or imagined.

-CCinC

 

[JTpaintball70]

Congrats on picking a 500R I'm only 17 also, and your reasons sound alot like mine for getting one. Good luck on your MSF course.
The 500 is one nice bike. If you can find a used one where break-in was done responsibly, then that might make it easier, since break-in is kinda hard to do well (ask most of the members here and at other boards, sometimes it can be kinda hard to keep her under 4000 RPMs for the first 500 miles )
Other than that, I think it's the perfect begginer bike. Then again, it's my first so I can't really say much about it compared to anything other than the Eliminator 125s we rode at MSF
Good luck man!

 

[Ninja_Desu_Yo]

Hey, thank you. Yea my gf is a great gurl. She was a little hesitant about me getting a bike, but then after her and i talked about it, and did some research on it, she thought it wasn't a bad idea. So me and her sister were talking about getting our licens (sp) together (she is 24 and is gonna be getting a bike soon hopefully. She still makes fun of me for wanting a sportsbike instead of a crusier, but oh well ) and then my gf said that if we were doing it, since she always wanted to get hers, so she said that she would come with us and take the course and hopefully get her licens (sp). Then after I hopefully get my licens, I will be buying the bike. Also, my mother was a little hesitant on letting me get one becuase I am her only son, and only child, and she sees and hears and reads all the stories about people getting killing on motorcycles and such. And yea, I see where she is comming from because i am her only son and child, but her child has to grow up sometime. I am going to be graduating in June, I am going to be 18 in March. I see what she means how I am her only son and child, but I can't be a child forever. I love my mother but I need to/want to do things that i wanna do. I am not the type of teenager who thinks he/she is invincible. I know what death is. I have seen it all over the place on the news, in my family, from close friends. I know that death can take you at any age. Im not going to be the kid who gets his bike on the first day and gets on the main road in my town going 75mph when it is 50 mph and i probly wont go on that road for a few weeks or even months till after i get use to the bike. I want to grow up, get married, have a family, have kids after i get married lol, make my mother a grandma, and hopefully a great grandma, heck, even a great great grandma if possbile. THe point being is that i am not stupid and I know that a motocycle is dangerous, but then again, so is every object that can reach speeds of even 35 pmh+. I also know that you can be the most safe driver in the world, but especially on a bike, you need to be the safest, and the one with the most quick reflexes. Being alert helps too. So just use the Force (sry, Star Wars fan here) and its just like pod racing ha. Thank you for all your help and opinions. I really do look foward to being on this site and reading all your stories, learning from them and posting my own.

 

[Freakinout]

Welcome to the forum.

Take the MSF course and you'll be way ahead of the rest. Also plan on purchasing gear on top of that bike. At minimum you need boots that go over your ankles, jeans, a textile or leather jacket, leather gloves, and a helmet. Depending on where you live you might wanna look into mesh gear for the summer, it doesn't protect as well, but after about 95F leather just doesn't work so well anymore.

My family warmed up to the motorcycle after I got it, when they saw that I was responsible with it and that I really enjoyed it.

 

[orangemug]

i would say start with the 500r also. i bought a 05 500r last month and it was the first bike iv ever rode, very rider friendly in my opinion. i thoguht i would need more power than that like how everyone does but the 500r has enough to outrun about every car u meet. i was messing around with a viper the other day and just laughing the whole time thinking how he spent +70k and i spent under 5k. the onyl downside iv seem to find is that aftermarket parts especially for the engine r hard to find. all in all tho i would strongly agree with everyone and tell u to get this bike.

 

[Ninja_Desu_Yo]

Yea, the 500r i think is going to be my best choice. I have to put money down and then do payments probaly, but it will be worth it. The saftey gear i have seen tho is alot of money. That is something i didn't realize until last night. Oh well, better to be safe than sorry. If i just have enough money for the bike, and not the gear, as hard as it would be, i just wont ride the bike till i get the gear. Oh well, I need to start saving up lol. But yea, i really do appreaciate everyone's help on this topic. Everytime i see the 500r, i just start to drool. It is such a along time away, March 19th is. That is when I will be 18, and then i need to plan for the MSF course..i will probaly will sign up in advance for it..so i can do it on the 19th or like the 20th or something. either way, i cant wait for it to be here.