Bike guys in here!
 

Okay so for a long time now I've been contemplating getting a bike! First things first though..I'm going to enroll myself in a bike course so that i can learn to ride a bike!:rolleyes:...i'm been doing some research and a few guys have told me not to buy a new bike when i first start out as they told me that i would most certainly drop it once or twice.;)! Any of the bike guys here..what kinda bike should i start with? I know a liter bike would be murder for me as i don't have any experience with bikes..maybe a 600cc bike or something by that way...
TIA guys..


Miguel

600 cc would be perfect. try not to get anything with R or RR in it, cus thats power you cant handle/dont want to handle at this point in time. im starting too, im looking for the same types of bike. probably gonna get a nice used ninja 500 or something like that.

check out www.sportbikes.ws and go to the "Docs house of knowledge" section. ALOT of good info

Sweet, i'll check out that site. The main reason i'm wanting a bike is because i know they give awsome gas mileage! So i do alot of driving so i know it would save me a ton of money on gas alone...:)

yeah a 600 should be perfect. my friend just got a honda cbr 600, and the only riding his done is some dirtbiking on 250's and a motorcylce class. you should be fine with that bike.

woah hold up!!! a 600 will not be perfect... you will outgrow it within 2 months guranteed... doesnt matter if it says R or RR

first off, how much do you weigh?

john, i know you're not the lightest guy around so i'd say you'd at least need to start off with a 1000. my bike is an 1100 and i'd say it was perfect for my first bike.

regardless of weight though, my buddy has a yamaha 600 (pic below) and he only weighs 140 lbs. he says the bike is way too small for him.

here's the pic of my friends bike.
http://xenotecnikz.com/marks%20mazda...ture%20036.jpg

thats horrible advice man. a liter bike is WAY to easy to lift the front wheel and kill yourself

lol ok...

I am looking into either an older ;ate 80's or early 90's harley sportster or a 600cc bike. those a good bikes ot learn to ride on. I am more of a harley guy but if i see a good deal on a 600cc i would jump on it.

im not much into harleys but i am into the cruiser style bike.. my bike is a yamaha v star 1100. looks like a harley but doesnt rattle like a harley. =)

you guys are right, a 600cc bike is a good starting point BUT, you WILL outgrow it within a couple months... I say why waste the money buying a 600 just so you can sell it a couple months later for a 1000? as long as you can stay off the throttle until you have the skills a 1000 is a great starting point.

the difference between a 600 and a 1000 is not only acceleration. just cruising around you will be at a much higher rpm with a 600 and the bike will be straining to maintain any speeds over 60 mph, especially if you are a fairly heavy guy.

I have ridden many bikes, crotch rockets and cruisers, anywhere from a 250 to a 600 and up to a 1700. you wont have any trouble with an 1000 but you will outgrow the 600

p.s. I dont like my car as much now that I have the bike... today was the first time i took the car out in almost 2 months. it's just not as much fun anymore.

i drive my explorer to work and the bike when i get home. poor car just sits in the garage.

that is horible...mustang abuse:nunu:

ANY bike is a good learning bike... its all about how far you turn the throttle. A big bike guy on our local forum had a hayabusa and basically learned on it.

It doesnt matter the size.... its all about self control.

^^ This is all from what I've HEARD.... I'm looking for a bike myself.

ive heared a lot of bike guys say the same thing floppy does.

its best to learn on something lower power, but it doesent take long to learn then you will be annoyed that it is so slow.

go with 1000.

i kno a kid who started on a cbr 600....yeah its a lil smaller sized bike---but when he went to the track he ran 11's all day long and it was his first time at the track on a bike also---not so slow but ya a lil smaller

I weigh 160 lbs! I don't want a liter bike because i know i won't be able to handle to power! Alot of guys i've talked to recommended that i get something like a R6 on a CBR 600RR and learn to drive it, get comfortable with it and then after a year or so get myself a liter bike....

Get a gsxr600, and DONT get a 1000 as your first bike, wayyyy to much power, dont be dumb all sport bikes are fast, how fast do you need to go really?

The best advice I can give you is, its just like buying a car, Say your buying a car, you want a fun to drive car and you want something to learn to ride and learn to drive stick with. Ofcourse the smart choice would be "something with power that will still be fun to drive, and something you can learn with". If thats the case then I would go with a 600CC, and a 600 is still an extremely fun to drive bike. But if your the type of person that dosn't even know how to drive a car, and dosn't even know how to drive stick and you need to go straight to like a ferrari enzo, then that would be an unsmart but still possible situation. Iv always have cruisers, i want to buy my first street bike soon to take the the beach every once in a while, And when i get it im going to buy a 600 CC, soemthing like a Honda CBR600. Dont be worried about dropping the bike. Just mak sure to get things such as frame sliders and things to protect your bike so that if you do drop your bike it will be super minimal damage.

A motorcycle driving class is always the smartest choice too, they teach you how to be aware of hazards you never would of thought of.

http://i15.ebayimg.com/03/i/08/3d/9b/cc_12.JPG

Floppy has really good advise..I have 2 friends 1 with a 06 Honda CBR600 and a friend with a 04 GSXR 600..both have had there bikes for 3-4 months and already want a 1000. If you don't think you can handle the power right away then don't give it full throttle..take it easy until you think you can handle it..just thinking you are going to make a big mistake getting a 600.

no1 should start with a bike bigger then a 600..for those that have never riddin a bike before they are fuggin fast as hell...most cars cant keep up with 600's if you are starting on a 1000 good bye! 1000's are stupid fast

yes, 1000's are fast bikes but if you stay out of the throttle you can control it. its no harder to control than a 250 as long as you stay out of the throttle...

you will regret buying a 600. yes i know they are fast and some can even run 11's (with a perfect driver, mind you) but its not all about acceleration. like i said before, a 600 will not be fun for cruising around. you will be riding at a much higher rpm and the bike will feel like it is straining to maintain speeds. a liter bike is not going to kill you any faster than a 600 would but it will be more comfortable for cruising around and you wont outgrow it in a month or so like a 600.

Hayabusa GSX1300R FTW!!! lol j/k I wanted to get me a 600 honda sooo bad for a long while before a good friend of mine got in a pretty bad accident when a car pulled out in front of him but I've been riding dirt bikes all of my life so I don't think I'll do too bad b/c I had a honda 250 dirt bike.

with a dirt bike you dont normally have to worry about cars pulling out in front of you... no matter how much experience you have, take a riders course and learn the techniques for avoiding a collission and dont drive like an idiot.

I am going to go with a 600 for now! What do you guys recommend! I like the ones that have the muffler underneath the seat, I think it's pretty cool! Does having the exhaust there make any difference vs. those that have the exhaust on the side? Can anyone list all those with the exhaust underneath the seat. The only one i know is the cbr600! Plust I'm going to go with a used one. I'm sure i can pick one up for around 3-4K...thanks guys..
PS: Sorry if i'm asking stupid questions but I absolutely know nothing when it comes to bikes...

Miguel

you can put the exhaust under the seat on just about any sport bike. go to www.jpcycles.com and look at exhausts for sport bikes. a lot of companies make the hidden exhausts for them.

there's a couple bikes that come from the factory like that but i cant remember which ones off the top of my head. it makes no difference except it looks better underneath the fender and you dont have to worry about a passenger burning their leg.

my 1st bike was a 1984 yamaha XT-250 street legal dirt bike (enduro)

ever since my friend wrecked his Buell XB9R because of some jackass driver I will never own another bike for the street again...its not worth it.

I helped my buddy choose his bike, He chose the Honda CBR600 for many reasons a) Its honda and you know its going to last you forever and you wont run into problems. b) have heard of a lot of problems from yamaha sports bikes, and c) Suzuki's didn't really catch his eye. He financed his honda CBR600 and hes paying like $80 a month. brand new one too. When buying a used bike i wouldn't buy one with more then 18,000 miles. 20,000 miles on a motorcycle is like saying 100k on a car

If your going to spend the money on a bike go the extra mile and do it rite my gsxr 600 is to small for me and ive only owned if for 3 months

thats what i've been trying to tell them all along...



but i was accused of giving horrible advise from somebody who doesnt own a bike.

I just got my motorcycle license about a month ago and I've been ridin' the hell outta my dad's Honda Shadow. It's pretty much a piece of **** touring bike but it's still fun as hell to ride. He takes his Harley and I take the Honda and we usually just go ride around in the country for a few hours. I'd love one of the CBR 600RR's but I've got no room in the garage and I can't afford one right now.

As for the difference in exhaust below the seat and exhausts on the side, really the only difference is that if you're dumb enough to wear shorts, you won't burn the **** outta your legs when you get on the bike and are sitting at stops. I always wear some sort of long pants because if you wear shorts, it's pretty tough not to touch the exhaust on the side because you'll forget about it when your stopping after riding for 2 hours and that pipe is pretty damn hot.