for a sporty bike?
the SV650, and Ninja 650 are good bike to start on. both have excellent chasis, and brakes, with solid engines. niether are crazy fast stock, so its a good first time ride, and both are raced so there are lots of upgrades available to build a very capable racer/canyon ride.

a good rider on a well set up 650, can school the typical idiot on a 1000cc bike in the canyons or a "trackday"

The SV has been around for a long time, and used examples are all over, and can be had for $1k to $4k depending on year and condition.

a few of my toys:

I hope you drag race the black bike too, an extended swingarm ruins a bike for anything other than squid bullshit, or drag racing. Obviously you drag race, seeing the blue machine. Looks wicked.

the black bike is my old racer, it is still street legal. the Blue bike is my current racer, track only.

I have an R6 as my daily driver, and occasional track bike. stretching and lowering the bike is bad for the canyons,but is cool if you really just want to cruise it around town. the black ZX12 is stretched 8 inches, and is still 4 inches shorter wheelbase that a "Softtail", makes 120hp more and weighs 150lbs less....

some people want to cruise, i would rather cruise with 200hp. but that is just me, we all buy bikes for our own personal reason.

Those are some sweet machines!

Im looking for a sport type bike for sure. I love the ass of the FZ6 but i love the styling of the ninja. :P Suzuki doesnt do a whole lot for me.

yeah, the Suzuki is hard to love.....but it is very capable bike.

the FZ6 is pretty cool....but I would probably rather have an older R6 that i could buy used for cheap, learn on it and then trade it for a nice, shiny new bike.

My 2005 Kawasaki ZX-6R (636CC) is my first bike and love it. I want more bikes though.

Nice. I was hoping you used the modified bikes for what those mods are made for, as clearly you do.

There are too many dbags out there with stretch swingarm gixxer1ks that dont know shit about riding. It seems like more ppl that stretch are squids than aren't. At least from what I've seen.

This is very true, if i got a great deal on a decent used 500 or so, id consider it to learn on and see if i liked riding enough to make the commitment. I really wish i could legally loan a bike for a bit.

i would suggest an older used bike for anybody just getting into it. that way you can figure out you really like riding before spending an ass-load of cash or getting stuck financing a bike for a couple of years.....

yeah, stretched bikes and ten inch wide tires are to bikes are like putting 26 inch wheels on a $1500 beater....total D-BAG move.

they both can run. the black bike won me a track championship, in 2007.

Okay, im seriously considering this. Ive always wanted a bike and now that ive done some thought about it i wanna pursue it for now. I know a helmet, jacket, and gloves cost around 500 or so easily more, but what gear do you guys recomend i get? I know what i need, but if you guys think other gear is needed id like to know. I know i need, Helmet, and gloves without a doubt, and almost for sure a jacket. I dont think i would like to wear boots because they are kind of a one use thing and they would be a pain i would think. Whatcha think? This is for street driving of course.

You need a DOT approved helmet, armored jacket, armored gloves, armored boots and armored pants. Each item needs to be made for riding motorcycles. That's the minimum. You can further armor yourself under your clothes. If you value your skin, you will wear all the gear. The fact that you said you "almost for sure" know you need a jacket... c'mon man.

AGATT.

And yeah riding boots are single purpose use... Get riding boots.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...tor7937835.jpg

Ouch that fuckin sucks for the guy above. I wasnt sure on some peoples preferences on jackets. So i need to find a shop nearby that sells all of this and try some stuff on. Whats AGATT? Are there any specific brands i should look for or is it just whatever looks the best imo?

AGATT= All Gear All The Time... this will save your ass, cause you WILL go down at some point.

Field Sheer, Joe Rocket, Alpinestars, Sidi, Icon, TourMaster, Speed and Strength...etc... make sure any gear you buy is armored and CE rated.

Scorpion makes nice helmets, I love my EXO-1000. Just make sure its DOT approved and full face, but most important with helmets...make sure it fits your head. Very snug is a good fit. Try on a lot of them.

Leather protects better than textile.

I definatly need to go to a motorcylce specific gear shop. How much should i expect to pay for all the gear?

you'll find out after you try everything on and decide what you want. the costs can vary wildly.

I know right? 800 dollars for some jackets, 1300 for a pair of pants? Ridiculous.

I paid about 1200 for every bit of gear I wear. My jacket and pants are textile. I use Joe Rocket Alter Ego pants and a MotoGP jacket...also textile. Alpinestars SP1 gloves, Scorpion Exo-1000 helmet and Thor 50/50 boots.


you say ridiculous...but keep in mind...skin graphs are a LOT more expensive.

SHOEI RF900-$400
Winter leather jacket with armor- $170
Winter gloves with armor-$50
Summer Gloves-$40
Summer textile jacket with armor-$195

I don't have shoes or pants yet, though I don't think I will be popping for motorcycle jeans anytime soon. Joe Jocket big bang shoes are next for me.

Its not that expensive and I got most of it over time. Had the helmet for drag racing already. Got the jacket and summer gloves next. And just got winter jacket and gloves this year.

Not tryin to be a smartass, but didnt you say leather protects better than textile? If so why did you opt to buy text?

good question. Yes, armored leather protects better than armored textile.

I got textile because I could only buy one set-up, and leather is just too fucking hot in the summer here.

If/when I hit the track though, Ill be wearing a full leather one piece suit. That would be the ultimate protection.

As long as the textile items you buy are well covered with CE approved armor, you'll be well protected.

Make sure the gear you buy fits...if you buy too small, you will end up not wearing it, if its too big for you, it could be dangerous.

So textile breathes better usually? Is vented leather better or still hot as hell?

yes, vented textile breathes better than perforated/vented leather.

How hot does it get down there during your summers?

High 90s at most normally, but its been over 100 some years for a week or so at a time. Where I am, I get all four seasons completely.

textile serves a purpose.....but it is not as sturdy as leather. a good leather jacket will survive multiple crashes, where textile sometimes burns thru after any prolonged contact with asphalt.

if summer is hot, then get a textile jacket...or you will tire of the leather and will choose not to wear it.

if you are not the type that needs the latest, and coolest...there are lots of discount website that sell closeouts, and last years gear for cheap.

Instead of a Motorcycle section, I'd say just a Motorcycle thread would be more appropriate, put it in the lounge or something and just leave it stickied.

I wish i had this. During summer we keep it in the 110+ area for weeks in a row sometimes.

I couldn't ride if I didn't have my textile jacket for the summers here.