[jammin04]

im looking into buying an 04 zx6r. does anyone have any advice about buying a new bike?

 

[Freakinout]

is this your first bike? if so I wouldn't suggest buying it new, you will drop it and more than likely lay it down. it isn't as bad if you didn't pay those hefty new bike price tags.

 

[nathan600r]

You sound just like the idiots I went to school with, and the idiots I used to work with. They all thought they could ride, and the one person that actually convinced his dad to buy him motorcycle proved my point. He wrecked it three times I think in about two months. Just buy the smaller bike, so you can learn to control it, and no after two weeks you are not ready.

Moderator comment.
( Seems like somebody jumped the gun here !
Although I agree with what you're trying to say when it comes to new riders if not the way you said it. We did not yet have the background of the rider on which to pass judgement.)

Uncle Bob.

 

[jammin04]

im not a retard i know how to ride a bike. im not sayin im an expert but im not gonna be stupid and go and try to be a speed demon as soon as i get it. that will come later. sounds like ur friend was a spoiled bitch. i wish my dad would buy my bike for me. instead he just wants to kill me for getting one.

 

[Freakinout]

You sound just like the idiots I went to school with, and the idiots I used to work with. They all thought they could ride, and the one person that actually convinced his dad to buy him motorcycle proved my point. He wrecked it three times I think in about two months. Just buy the smaller bike, so you can learn to control it, and no after two weeks you are not ready.

I actually know lots of people who have started on a 600 without any problems, now I think that everyone should start on something smaller, but you can go on a 600 and never have any problems.

Hell, one of my friends bought a brand new R1 about a year ago and has never went down. That was his first bike, which I feel was a stupid stupid decision to get something that fast for your first bike, but you can start off with a 1 liter and do well.

My personal suggestion is a 250 or 500 thats used, they are cheap, easy to maintain and a lot more forgiving than any of the 600s+

 

[Uncle Bob]

Hell, one of my friends bought a brand new R1 about a year ago and has never went down. That was his first bike, which I feel was a stupid stupid decision to get something that fast for your first bike, but you can start off with a 1 liter and do well.

My personal suggestion is a 250 or 500 thats used, they are cheap, easy to maintain and a lot more forgiving than any of the 600s+

Obviously getting a real powerfull bike does not garantee that you will crash. But it does increase your chances by a factor of about ten.

5/5/5 rule , most accidents happen in the first five minutes of a ride and/or within 5 miles from home and/or in the first 5 months of riding.

The probabilities of a properly trained rider, riding at speeds appropriate for the road conditions and abstaining from drugs, alcool and extreme speed are about 2% of ending up in the E.R or Morgue. The probabilities of a newbie on a powerfull sportbike sees his chances grow to over 25%. That is he as a 1 in 4 chance ending up hurt or dead. So out of four new riders three will tell you that it's perfectly safe to get a crotch rocket as a first bike and the fourth may never get to express his opinion.

The problem with the crotch rockets is not the power or the speed capabilities but rather the hair trigger controls that are very difficult to dose correctly. A newbie makes mistakes, that's a given but exacerbate these mistakes with a bike that magnifies them and you have a recipe for disaster.



I totaly agree with the last paragraph though.

 

[michiganarft11]

Get something used to start. Decide how much your gonna ride, and whtat you can handle. Go with a 500 or a 600, cause you sound like the type of guy that would never be happy with something smaller.

 

[koreandude]

As a first time rider, i feel like a 500cc class bike is very reasonable start with especially the EX500/GPZ500 sportbikes (if you like sportbikes). I bought a '00 Ninja EX500 D-7 500R w/6200 miles on it for $2500, never been dropped, with near perfect paint.

For a new rider, it has a docile power delivery under 7k rpms, however a nice rush of power afterwards which is more than enough for a beginner and once the rider becomes familiar with it, is very usable. I can't remember which bike mag had the stats but they clocked a stock 2001 500R from a standing 1/4 mile @ 12.8 sec.

Now, i've been riding for 3 months and i'm starting to feel the need for something bigger (for many reasons, i'm 6'1" and the bike is a bit short for me) but the reality is i haven't really used this bike to its full potential and that potential is through the turns which require precise control and technique.

Lacking that control and technique can be a disaster waiting to happen with a powerful sport bike.

Unfortunately the MSF Experience riders course doesn't address much in the high speed turning dept. and Racing schools are a bit much for performance street riding so i've been doing a lot of reading.

Right now an excellent book i'm enjoying is called Total Control by Lee Parks. It addresses EVERYTHING. Proper riding technique even riding two up. Suspension dynamics, turning, leaning, aerodynamics, right and wrong ways for this and that, even FEAR and a whole lot more. It's full of diagrams, color pictures and just down right practicle everyday usuable info for the rider who wants to perform on his/her sport bike or any bike on the street without going in blind (and potentially hurting/killing his/herself). Good stuff that i recommend. Another book a friend of mine recommends is "The Twist of the Wrist" by Keith Code.

Rich.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Welcome, good info.

Proficient Motorcyling by David L Hough, also a very good book.

 

[jammin04]

yeah yeah

i know everybody recamends that you start off with a smaller bike if your a beginner. but i dont want to have to upgrade to a bigger bike once i get sick of the smaller one, which i know i will. thats just the kind of person i am. i rode dirtbikes when i was younger and have also taken the msf course so i know how to ride pretty well. well enough that i think i can handle starting off with a 636 as long as i take it easy until i get comfortable with the bike.

 

[michiganarft11]

If I were you I'd get the 6R. Just ride it around in a neighborhood for awhile, and parking lots. Get used to the weight of the bike and how it's gonna move for ya. It's still a very high posibility that you may put the bike down, happens to a lot of people. That would be the only reason I'd buy used, besides the fact that you can see if 600 is enough for you.

Good luck

 

[Mr. ZX-11]

First you should find the bike that fits you and that you are comfortable with, then go from there.

 

[Maiku]

new bike

I think you'll be happy with a zx6 for a long time. From what I've learned so far, besides the fact that it's 100 more cc's, it's lighter than the 500. I have a 500. I'm extremely comfortable on it, but I'm starting to wish I got a zx6 only because it's prettier. All of them are plenty fast enough.
A girl (about 20yo) across the street from me just bought a zx6. It gets rubbed in my face everyday. She isn't having a problem riding it.
Just my opinion. All bikes are dangerous, no matter the power. I agree with the upgrading part. Not something you want to do. Get something you know you'll be happy with. And just ride safe.

 

[DLaw]

I have a 2000 ZX-9R for sale right now. It was my first bike as well. I didn't ride it all that much because of some circumstances, but you should be fine if you respect the power...

 

[bikeaholic]

re

:shock: i am just simply amazed how some folks think because they know how to ride
a bike they think they can jump on a go fast bike and ride like they stole it!! :roll:

anybody in the forum who has rode both rockets and cruisers knows what i'm talking about
i get the impression they think both are handled the same way-well i got news for you-
they don't. i'm not give riding lessons here but riding is technique depending on the bike
lift your butt off the seat on cruiser-no big deal
lift your butt of a rocket - disaster
dump the front brake on a cruiser-nothing
dump it on a rocket going into a corner - possible disaster
do you know how to roll a throttle? can roll off the front brake? do you know what suspension load is? what do you do when the bike is out of shape? like i said the" riders" here know ALL about it!

your a first time rider and you wanna learn go fast techniques-that's great!!
just because you think you'll grow tired of a smaller bike quickly is not the reason to
buy a bike beyond your skill level.yea its cool looking to ride around on a bad a$$
bike but until you have experienced the feeling of sport bike dynamics,start within
your ability-i know folks who started with big bikes too and had no problem but i firmly believe thay are the exception to the rule.

i get off the soapbox now
:lol: :lol:

 

[Uncle Bob]

I agree with the gist of bikaholics post.

Fact is that statistics are in your favor but are still not great. New rider on a crotchrocket about 1 in 4 odds of dropping it, maybe 1 in 6 of hurting yourself and 1 in 10 of killing yourself.

Please take it easy and get proper training.

 

[moonhorizon]

I think it is nice what everyone is saying. But you have to start somewhere. I'm getting an R6 soon, my first bike. I've talked to everyone from friends to professionals and they all say that it depends how you use it. If you know you are going to abuse the power then go smaller but if you are going to be a safe driver and not push it until you get a few years under your belt, you'll be fine. I have to get an R6 b/c my lack of height but also for the love of bike.

 

[spyder]

Re: yeah yeah

i know everybody recamends that you start off with a smaller bike if your a beginner. but i dont want to have to upgrade to a bigger bike once i get sick of the smaller one, which i know i will. thats just the kind of person i am. i rode dirtbikes when i was younger and have also taken the msf course so i know how to ride pretty well. well enough that i think i can handle starting off with a 636 as long as i take it easy until i get comfortable with the bike.

I agree with you 100% I think that a MALE rider should not get anything smaller than a 6 for their first bike just for that reason... I think that if you buy a 500R you will want to buy a 6 the very next season and you will definitly not get what you paid for the 500R... I also understand why people tell "NEW" riders to get a 500 but, you do not have to use all the power that the 6 has.. There is a thing called control.. A person is going to know what they can and can not handle and probably will not push themselves beyond there limit.. YES the 6R has way more power than the 500R, but again I am a firm beleiver that if you plan on riding hard and riding for a while you should just get the bike that you want to get and learn how to handle it.. Put some frame sliders on it and that will protect your fairings if you do happen to drop it... Well enough rambling on ad now you know my opinion...

Good luck

 

[heffjay9000]

600?

my 2 cents:

Go with what you're most comfortable on. My first bike was a 500, and I outgrew it in terms of skill within a month. My buddy bought a 600 katana at the same time for his first bike, and I couldn't get enough of it... plenty of power to grow into and enjoy. The 600 tought me the meaning of smooth throttle response, as the 500 I could rack out without fear. My first time on a 600 I broke the rear loose in a left turn (gear shift + 2 much gas = fresh brick in pants) and almost slid it into a truck on my right. Ah, memories.

I'm 5'11 150, so my 600 is more than enough for me and my riding style. Bottom line is what are you most comfortable with?

 

[Uncle Bob]

Re: yeah yeah

I agree with you 100% I think that a MALE rider should not get anything smaller than a 6 for their first bike just for that reason... I think that if you buy a 500R you will want to buy a 6 the very next season and you will definitly not get what you paid for the 500R... I also understand why people tell "NEW" riders to get a 500 but, you do not have to use all the power that the 6 has.. There is a thing called control.. A person is going to know what they can and can not handle and probably will not push themselves beyond there limit.. YES the 6R has way more power than the 500R, but again I am a firm beleiver that if you plan on riding hard and riding for a while you should just get the bike that you want to get and learn how to handle it.. Put some frame sliders on it and that will protect your fairings if you do happen to drop it... Well enough rambling on ad now you know my opinion...

Good luck

Your opinion is IMHO Stupid ! hope you aren't getting too many people maimed or killed with your really dumb advice. Male or female has nothing to do with it, you speak of control, it is this lack of "control" experience that newbies get into trouble with. We're not talking about necessarily intentionaly opening the throttle wide open but rather accidentally jerking the throttle causing an unexpected and violent reaction of the bike.

You want to ride crazy go ahead but don't get others to follow your lead with the pretext that you're still alive so it is safe.