Any motorcycle enthusiasts?

[Abominator]

I get paid in a few weeks and was thinking of taking a chunk of my paycheck and buying a sport bike. I have 0 experience so naturally I've been looking into beginner motorcycles. One bike I've taken interest in is the 2010 Ninja 250R...



Yes, it's a small engine but right now I don't give a shit about power.

Any thoughts or opinions? And what's generally the licensing process at the DMV for riding a bike?

[RoadToRecovery]

I will tell you from experience, you should go with the bigger bike straight out of the gate.
You can ride a fast bike slow, but you cant ride a slow bike fast. My first bike was a 600RR and my second was a gsxr750. I said over and over before I bought my honda: " I would never go fast on it, I just want one to ride". Low and behold, 2 months later I bought the bigger faster bike.

[Abominator]

I will tell you from experience, you should go with the bigger bike straight out of the gate.
You can ride a fast bike slow, but you cant ride a slow bike fast. My first bike was a 600RR and my second was a gsxr750. I said over and over before I bought my honda: " I would never go fast on it, I just want one to ride". Low and behold, 2 months later I bought the bigger faster bike.

So you're saying I'll get addicted to the speed?

[Bossman]

I bought a Ninja 250 for my wife. Below 7k RPM it feels like a moped. I would get a bigger bike. I believe they make a Ninja 500. You're not a chick are you? Ninja 250 is a great first chick bike.

[Abominator]

I bought a Ninja 250 for my wife. Below 7k RPM it feels like a moped. I would get a bigger bike. I believe they make a Ninja 500. You're not a chick are you? Ninja 250 is a great first chick bike.

Feels, as in how quickly it picks up? How does it sound?

[alexISthrowed]

SV650 Is a good one
http://suzukicycles.com/Product%20Li...egory=standard

The SV650SF is sportier
http://suzukicycles.com/Product%20Li...gory=sportbike

[ylfcm]

Sorry guys but I dont agree.

Op states that he has 0 experiance, now if that means not growing up around dirt bikes etc a 250 Ninja would be a great fist bike especially to learn on.
To many guys go and buy lets say an R1 with no or little experiance and end up dead or seriously hurt.
Mate you can always sell it and buy a bigger bike but mark my words if you get a bigger bike the only time you will sell it to get a smaller bike is if you crase it.
My R1 does 164kms 1st gear on the back wheel, top speed 299km and iv done it . Learner bike?? NO

Only other advise i could give is if you are thinking of buying new maybe just get a 250 used as you will upgrade when you are ready.

We dont start taking grams of gear on first cycle n benching 200kg straight up do we.

Hope this helps stay safe and be wise mate.

Ylfcm

[DSM4Life]

I will tell you from experience, you should go with the bigger bike straight out of the gate.
You can ride a fast bike slow, but you cant ride a slow bike fast. My first bike was a 600RR and my second was a gsxr750. I said over and over before I bought my honda: " I would never go fast on it, I just want one to ride". Low and behold, 2 months later I bought the bigger faster bike.

This is the stupidest thing i ever heard.

[RoadToRecovery]

This is the stupidest thing i ever heard.

Shocking.

And why is that? Think about it.

I bought a 600rr and it was great, fast awesome bike. Then I started riding with other people with 750s, 1000s, 1100s. Its not fun to be left in the dust.

[RoadToRecovery]

Sorry guys but I dont agree.

Op states that he has 0 experiance, now if that means not growing up around dirt bikes etc a 250 Ninja would be a great fist bike especially to learn on.
To many guys go and buy lets say an R1 with no or little experiance and end up dead or seriously hurt.
Mate you can always sell it and buy a bigger bike but mark my words if you get a bigger bike the only time you will sell it to get a smaller bike is if you crase it.
My R1 does 164kms 1st gear on the back wheel, top speed 299km and iv done it . Learner bike?? NO

Only other advise i could give is if you are thinking of buying new maybe just get a 250 used as you will upgrade when you are ready.

We dont start taking grams of gear on first cycle n benching 200kg straight up do we.

Hope this helps stay safe and be wise mate.

Ylfcm

It takes a solid month to learn how to ride well. What a terrible comparison. Bikes and steroids

Why would he be safer with a smaller bike? My 600rr picked up on one wheel with out the clutch also whats your point? The difference between 1st gear on a 600rr and a R1 is about 16mph topend. Is 68mph vs 84mph a difference between safe and unsafe? Help me understand this logic.

[RoadToRecovery]

So you're saying I'll get addicted to the speed?

Put it this way, I bought my 600rr in may of 06 swearing I would never speed.
By August of 2006 I was on my gsxr750 with 6th gear pinned on the NJ turnpike at roughly 180mph.

Stupid? 10000% Would I do it again? Probably not. But the difference between 2 months was:"Wow I love this bike" to "This thing isnt fast enough".

Even cruising around with friends that have bigger bikes it gets frustrating when they pick it up a notch and you have to catch up every couple minutes.

[DSM4Life]

Shocking.

And why is that? Think about it.

I bought a 600rr and it was great, fast awesome bike. Then I started riding with other people with 750s, 1000s, 1100s. Its not fun to be left in the dust.

So then you learned on the 600 which is smart. Do you really believe the 600 is the same as a 750 ? So cracking the throttle on the 600 compared to the 750 will be identical ? Your wrong and your advise is dangerous. Just look in any junk yard and just count the endless hayabusas you find.

To the OP. Don't buy anything over a 600cc to start off with. BTW, your first bike should be used anyway. I started with a 600 then 6 months later moved to a 750cc. Did i lose some money in the deal ? yes but the things i learned on the 600 made me able to handle the 750. I got in some sticky situations with the 600 where as if i had the 750 at the time i don't think i would have made it. So really ask yourself, is saving a few hundred bucks worth your life ?

[DSM4Life]

Put it this way, I bought my 600rr in may of 06 swearing I would never speed.
By August of 2006 I was on my gsxr750 with 6th gear pinned on the NJ turnpike at roughly 180mph.

Stupid? 10000% Would I do it again? Probably not. But the difference between 2 months was:"Wow I love this bike" to "This thing isnt fast enough".

Even cruising around with friends that have bigger bikes it gets frustrating when they pick it up a notch and you have to catch up every couple minutes.

And your going to take advice from a guy like this....

[RoadToRecovery]

So are you saying you cant ride conservatively on a 750? If you ring the throttle on any bike .5L and up you will be on your back. Once you go from 600 up it boils down to top end. The difference in acceleration numbers is marginal

600rr 1/4 mile time roughly 10.6
GSXR 1000 1/4 mile time roughly 9.7

the difference in acceleration -
600rr 0-60 3.2 sec from a stand still
GSXR 1000 2.9 sec from a stand still

Learning on any bike is dangerous but you might as well get a bike to grow into.

[RoadToRecovery]

And your going to take advice from a guy like this....

Well of course you didnt highlight the fact that I admitted it was stupid. But in reference to the question, he asked if speed was addicting. Thats your answer.

[QuieTSToRM33]

I've always wanted a cruiser .... what do you guys recommend ?

[ylfcm]

i will tell you from experience, you should go with the bigger bike straight out of the gate.
You can ride a fast bike slow, but you cant ride a slow bike fast. My first bike was a 600rr and my second was a gsxr750. I said over and over before i bought my honda: " i would never go fast on it, i just want one to ride". Low and behold, 2 months later i bought the bigger faster bike.

you said it youself you would never go fast but you did!! So why get the bigger bike!
Ego,s can be lethal

[Gra]

I think you will get bored pretty fast on the 250. I had a 400 and it was fun the first ride, so I would go with a 600 or maybe a 750. But I`ve ridden dirtbikes since I was 5. You could test ride some bikes and see what you like?

[Gra]

And sportbikes are only fun to ride fast IMO.

[Bossman]

Feels, as in how quickly it picks up? How does it sound?

It picks up very slow. It starts to sing at around 10k but you have to work at it. This bike will do 100MPH if you have enough road and time. It sounds ok with stock exhaust. It gets what power it has at very high revs. If you want to get around someone slow, drop it down a few gears to get the revs up.

Im not advising you buy an advanced crotch rocket, but I think you will regret the 250 within the first week. It wouldn't hurt to look at the 500 if you like the Ninja.
Check out this video
http://www.kawasaki.com/Products/pro...ns.aspx?id=315

With most of these bikes, if you keep the revs down, they're not too scary. My VTX 1800 is the exact opposite. With the 1800CC Vtwin it has lots of torque right from the get go. Twist the throttle and your neck will snap back.

[Bossman]

I've always wanted a cruiser .... what do you guys recommend ?

Can't beat any of the jap cruisers for the value and dependability. You can't compare them to the Harley of course, since you don't have to work on them as much...

[ylfcm]

It takes a solid month to learn how to ride well. What a terrible comparison. Bikes and steroids

Why would he be safer with a smaller bike? My 600rr picked up on one wheel with out the clutch also whats your point? The difference between 1st gear on a 600rr and a R1 is about 16mph topend. Is 68mph vs 84mph a difference between safe and unsafe? Help me understand this logic.

The example is DONT start at the top theres a good chance you can hurt yourself!
And my point with the speed is its a F ukin g rocket on wheels. Crack the throttle n you will go over, hold the throttle on in a corner n you will go in! If you have no experiance. Is there no reason 90% or R1,s get writen off!
And im not saying anybody is safe on one just learn to ride first! And you can be unsafe on a 50cc moped when an old lady doesnt see you but you have minimized ya chances by riding something you are more suited to.

[alexISthrowed]

250
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4dhIaMY2Pw

500
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvJwUNDS3SM

[ylfcm]

It takes a solid month to learn how to ride well. What a terrible comparison. Bikes and steroids

Why would he be safer with a smaller bike? My 600rr picked up on one wheel with out the clutch also whats your point? The difference between 1st gear on a 600rr and a R1 is about 16mph topend. Is 68mph vs 84mph a difference between safe and unsafe? Help me understand this logic.

A solid months to learn to ride WELL !!!! Are you ROSSI. You mean be able to change gears n get from A to B . I guess everyones WELL is different. By the sounds you are 1 of the guys that think they are the king of the track or range and havnt even scrubbed the edges of ya rear tires let alone ya front.

[ylfcm]

Put it this way, I bought my 600rr in may of 06 swearing I would never speed.
By August of 2006 I was on my gsxr750 with 6th gear pinned on the NJ turnpike at roughly 180mph.

Stupid? 10000% Would I do it again? Probably not. But the difference between 2 months was:"Wow I love this bike" to "This thing isnt fast enough".

Even cruising around with friends that have bigger bikes it gets frustrating when they pick it up a notch and you have to catch up every couple minutes.

So 3 months of learning to ride you were doing max speed on ya 750?? My point exactly!!!
And cruising around with mates that were what probly EXPERIANCED riders you got frustrated. That was your ego getting in the way!

[RoadToRecovery]

So 3 months of learning to ride you were doing max speed on ya 750?? My point exactly!!!
And cruising around with mates that were what probly EXPERIANCED riders you got frustrated. That was your ego getting in the way!

What is your point exactly?
And by picking up a 750, I guess that increased my experience by being able to keep up with the group?

I have an idea, lets totally avoid the actual point to try to gain leverage in a conversation.

A solid months to learn to ride WELL !!!! Are you ROSSI. You mean be able to change gears n get from A to B . I guess everyones WELL is different. By the sounds you are 1 of the guys that think they are the king of the track or range and havnt even scrubbed the edges of ya rear tires let alone ya front.

Yes, actually the term "well" means in a satisfactory manner. I never claimed to be a MotoGP racer or even very experienced. If you know the basics would that be considered satisfactory to ride a bike? Im not talking about talking a power slide at 120mph Im talking about riding around in the street. Never once did I mention the track. You people go above and beyond the actual conversation its ridiculous. No one said "Hey RTR can you drag your knee?".

[RoadToRecovery]

you said it youself you would never go fast but you did!! So why get the bigger bike!
Ego,s can be lethal

Do you not have the comprehensive skills capable of depicting the message in a story?

[Bossman]

If you can't be competent on a bike in a month, then you should ride a trike.

[alexISthrowed]

get a burgman



*It seats 6
*It is fully automatic
*You look like a badass
*you can travel at a blistering top speed of 82

[MotoXracer]

Listen to DSM, do not buy anything over 600cc except for an SV650. The SV650 is probably the best bike to learn on. A nice V-Twin is great for the street. You jump on a bigger bike from the start, you'll just end up learning to ride like a squid.

[RoadToRecovery]

Listen to DSM, do not buy anything over 600cc except for an SV650. The SV650 is probably the best bike to learn on. A nice V-Twin is great for the street. You jump on a bigger bike from the start, you'll just end up learning to ride like a squid.

This just like everything else is another piece of parroted advice passed down from other riders with experience who hate seeing new riders on bigger or nicer bikes. Stop being a hater.

Can someone give a good enough reason why learning on a 750 is different from learning on a 600? Or is your answer "Youll just look like a squid" what ever the hell that means.

[zimmy]

Parroted advice? It's advice LEARNED. The difference is that the extra power will get you in situations that you just won't know how to handle when you are just starting out. It's that kind of logic of go big as soon as possible why so many riders of cruisers like me have to suffer with higher insurance.

Question you have to ask yourself...it will take a little more time and a little more money to take steps up to knowing how to ride a bike and gaining experience, but if you do it, you will increase the chances of you NOT DYING. To me , that is worth it.


Also...even if you ride daily...you don't know and can't know sh*t about riding in a month.

[MotoXracer]

A squid is some one who can only ride fast in a straight line. There's more to learning to ride the just going fast in a straight line. Check out this video, the guy riding is on an SV650, has about 70hp, the guy in front has what looks like a gsxr1000 with ~150hp. You can see in the corner, the guy on the SV is actually pulling on him and it's not till the straight away that the GSXR pulls away.

http://www.youtube.com/user/862057#p/u/49/CR9UU1lZD2A

Now, the reason people say to learn on a smaller bike is that when you build up your skills on a smaller bike, you learn how to use the bike to it's full potential. You learn how to make speed in other areas like cornering and braking. Finally when you are wringing the snot out of the motor for more power, you move up a size. How do you think the guy in the above video will ride when he moves up from the SV650 to an SV1000?

[RoadToRecovery]

Parroted advice? It's advice LEARNED. The difference is that the extra power will get you in situations that you just won't know how to handle when you are just starting out. It's that kind of logic of go big as soon as possible why so many riders of cruisers like me have to suffer with higher insurance.

Question you have to ask yourself...it will take a little more time and a little more money to take steps up to knowing how to ride a bike and gaining experience, but if you do it, you will increase the chances of you NOT DYING. To me , that is worth it.


Also...even if you ride daily...you don't know and can't know sh*t about riding in a month.

Were not talking an astronomical difference in torque and hp here. Were talking a marginal difference. Fractions of a second in acceleration. A 600 is just as dangerous and powerful as a 1000 in most circumstances.

A month is all it took for me to be comfortable and able to control my bike. If you cant control a bike properly after 30 days of riding, you shouldnt have one in the first place.

And that sort of logic isnt why insurance is expensive for riders. Its expensive because of different ratios, those including the amount of riders that are injured due to drivers not being able to see them and hitting them. Even the most experienced riders take their spills.


MotoxRacer - I know what and why they call new riders squids, its just a poor explanation of why riders shouldnt have the bigger bikes. "Because your new" Its a ridiculous explanation.

Either way you look at it, if you are conservative and cautious and respect what the bike has to offer you can safely learn on a liter bike. Its the difference between use and abuse.

And that video showed and proved nothing.

[MotoLifter]

Listen to DSM, do not buy anything over 600cc except for an SV650. The SV650 is probably the best bike to learn on. A nice V-Twin is great for the street. You jump on a bigger bike from the start, you'll just end up learning to ride like a squid.

Not true. while this may be the case with some people, I cant think of a worse blanket statement in motorcycling.

I learned to ride on a kx250 and have been racing a 450 in the pro/expert class for years.

Granted there is no need to learn to ride on a 1000cc but it is possible and I know several racers that did and are very fast on one.


Moto

[Abominator]

lol, a lot of anger in this thread.

I'm probably going to take DSM's advice. One reason I want a small bike is because speed is just not something I'm interested in right now. All I want is a stylish looking bike that will get me from A to B without any problems. Maybe once I actually have a bike I'll develop a more need for speed (maybe that's what some of you are getting at, who knows?) but speed and power are the last things I'm considering right now in terms of my bike search.

Thanks again to everyone for their input. Feel free to keep posting your opinions--I'd like to hear everything you all have to say.

[NC600cbr]

Oh bikes!!!

My first (and current) bike was a 2002 CBR 600 F4i - her name is Isabelle and I love her in case anyone was wondering.
I had little to no experience before getting this bike.

I'm glad I went with a 600cc bike, as I know I would have grown out of a 250 quickly. I obviously wouldn't suggest getting anything larger than a 600, there really is no need. A 600 can be docile enough to grow into and has enough guts to give you your thrills.

Certainly get a used bike. Check Craigslist - cycletrader - local newspapers.
I would NOT suggest buying new.

Purchase whatever you get the best deal on!

Here's a few pics for fun.

[energizer bunny]

well only reading a couple of responses and having no experience on road bikes.....going with common sense id start off with a smaller bike and work your way up!

[RoadToRecovery]

well only reading a couple of responses and having no experience on road bikes.....going with common sense id start off with a smaller bike and work your way up!

Cool story.

[alexISthrowed]

Oh bikes!!!

My first (and current) bike was a vespa - her name is ralph and I love her in case anyone was wondering.

Listen to Nc600 he knows his shit