[b]Hello to all here at these forums. The name is Marc and as you have already guessed, I am fairly new to this kind of thing. I mean, I'm not new to riding, but I am new to street riding.

I am 18 years old, I weigh about 125lbs and I am about 5'7" depending on which convient store i am leaving, lol. And am about to ship out for basic, for the Army, in about a month. I plan on getting a 2007 CBR600RR after I come back from my 6 months of training.

I have riden multiple dirt bikes and ATV's, but coming here and listening and reading some of these pages have got me wondering. "I don't know as much as I thought I did". So I am here to ask for some help.

When I rode all of those dirt bike's and ATV's, I just rode them. I didn't know what certain specific things were called, or the mixture of fuel/oil ratio for certain stroke bikes and what not. I knew the basic's. Well, I came here and heard all these different terms and what not that I think I should be familiar with. Such as sliding covers, cowls, and just some other things and such. I feel so stupid right now. I mean, I have taught all of my friends how to ride dirt bikes and here I am asking for help on something that, people who know me, think I know about. But I have just come here to ask for some help. Also, some questions... Let me get down to it if you don't mind.

OK, I saw on here some pics of the 08 CBR600RR. I looked for hours and couldn't find where this guy got them cause I was intrigued to find out more about the 08 since I was getting the 07 when I got out, but why not go with the 08 since I'll be out of basic in 08? I mean, it must be better? But then I thought to myself. Doesn't Honda make the 600's in 2 year terms just like the 1000? I thought the 600 had the 07-08 model and that they were the same, and the 1000 had the 06-07 model and is now coming out with the 08-09 model, but this man's pics of the 08 CBR600RR got me guessing. Well, that's just one of the questions.

Also, I saw price range for the 07 CBR600RR. Some have said, 11000, some have said 8500, some have said 7200. At my local dealership, it is 9499 brand new also witha couple year warranty and it only comes in 4 colors: white/silver, silver/blue, red/black, and black/black. My friend and I are getting our bikes at the same time and we both want the black one's. Well, we thought we could get them cheaper if we paid pure cash and we can, it's just if we found a place where we can get them for the 7200 like the one guy i saw, then if we paid cash, we'd be saving a bundle on what we initially thought. That's number two...

OK, also, I have read up on wheelies, I am fair at wheelies on my dirt bikes and ATV's, btu I have heard that street bikes are much much more different. Any comments on that?

Umm, I am an up and coming kid into this world and I know it, and I wouldn't call myself a man yet *even though ***** is something that I am more than capable of getting, and have gotten more than once* I believe a man is someone who has control over their life and who can take care of himself financially and who has a certain amount of responsibility in his life. I am hoping to reach that by entering in the military. My MOS is UH-60 pilot (Black Hawk helicopter pilot).

Anyways, I am here to look ahead of time and find out all the information on this bike an find out if it is a right choice for me and to learn just what exactly I am getting myself into and if I, in fact, want to get myself into this or not. I mean, I love speed, I love sleekness, and I love a nice looking babe in a bikini on the back of my bike at bike week in Daytona screaming "Slow down Marc!" and I reply with "What? I can't hear you over the sound of the wind rushing past." (lol, I go to bike week with my Uncle, He rides his 1954 Harley Davidson Panhead whilst I drive the truck with the trailer with my dirt bikes in it. Then we get to bike week and drive my little put put machine "Yamaha TTR 125" aro

 

im 5'6 with a 06 CBR1000RR... dont play with the suspension unless your taking it to the track... baxsom would probably know alot more about suspension then me - but Honda made the suspension perfect for road capabilities.. and if i'm smaller then you (i thought i was 5'6 but last night a girl and i measured up and she was 5'7 - so talk about "shooting my horse") but i can handle the bike easily - i cant flat-foot the bike but you dont need to be flat footed when stopped, people usually use one foot or i'll tippy toe if i need to..

I dont know if you have a bike yet, or if your planning on getting one - if it's your first, then go for the 600cc, 1krr might be alittle too much power (even tho you have had experience on dirtbikes and atv's).. here's the round-down on the 600cc to 1krr..

600cc - track/twisties - less HP but feels lighter and you can throw her around easier.
1krr - straights/cruise - alot more HP but harder to lean the sucker - also it's one of the loudest bikes with rattles from what i understand now..

they are about the same seat-height, i think the 600cc one is alittle lower but not by much.. go to your dealer and sit on them, it's nice to get the feel..

for the 08's 600cc's, they are the same style - just minor changes have been made (and color schemes).. I believe Honda revamps 1krr and 600's every two years, but not on the same year. so 09 will be 600's revamp..

wait for the 08's to come out before you purchase a bike, so you can get abetter discount..
for gear wise, this is alot about personal peference.. i like Icon, Joe Rocket, Shift, and Shoei. but check out the gear section for tips on that stuff if you like.

take your time on the bike first, dont get ahead of yourself.. your 18, you have a good 40-50 years left to learn wheelies (i think there are people around 58-68 still riding, might be harleys now or goldwings) but take your time, dont wreck the bike.. you might be better off picking up a nice stunter to learn on then getting your beauty bike.. it's all up to you, but idk what you are looking for.. but if you do wheelie your bike alot, things will start to rattle and loosen up - so FYI.

 

You should be totally comfortable with 1 footing your bike. And if that kind of disturbs you trying to hold up $9,000 worth of bike, maybe look for something used as your first bike such as a F4i, or get frame sliders or a cage put on lol. If you do get the 07 RR, I wouldn't mess around with lowering it, because once you really learn to handle the bike, you're gonna spend 85% - 90% riding and not stopped, so what's the point? lol

 

oh course your dealer told you 9500, but i am sure if you walk in and its 2008 and they still have 07s sitting around, and you have cash you could talk them down ALOT. I would say go with someone who knows how to haggle and be willing to walk away from that dealer if they are not budgeing. If you go with your buddy thats geeting one too, then thats another peice of leverage, because thats 2 sales walking out the door not just one.

Good luck at basic and good luck with that bike when you get back.

oh yeh, and dont worry about lowering it, I am 5'7" as well and its not that big of a deal to not touch the ground flat foot.

 

So long as you know this, you may be ok! I ride dirt as well and every injury I have ever received on a bike was from dirt. I wear full leathers on the street and do track days and recommend the same to anyone that rides sport bikes. So long as you know what you don't know, then you should be able to figure out which direction to lean for more learning!

 

just remember the new 600RR is not a beginner bike. check 600rr.net,
there are like 50 people who have totaled thiers within the first month of ownership there. it handles like its on rails when properly set up and is the lightest 600 out there. combined with a +100 whp engine it can get you into trouble real quick. not to mention that for a 19 year old insurance will be very high.

now you said that you are a light person. the 07 600RR has springs in it that are the heaviest honda has ever put in a oem bike. from the factory it is sprung for a 200lb person so it might be tough to ge your suspension set up right. (not impossible you may have to put lighter springs)

at 5'7" the bike is narrow enough that you should be able to flatfoot it.

now my suggestion. you are going into the army right? active duty or reserve/guard
reason i ask is think of this, the army is doing 15 months in iraq (i am an air force cop who has been assigned to the army for years at a time so i know what i am talking about)

do you want to be paying on a brand new bike that you wont be able to ride for over a year.

i suggest that you find a used 05/06 600RR and ride the hell out of it. save up and pay cash because you will wreck. it happens to everyone. the biggest problem that people run into is that they get their bike, owe more than its worth and total it a month later. do you want that happening to you because statistics say you will wreck within soon after purchase.

suspension settings,
mine was set too soft from the factory. way too soft. even if you never track it have the dealer at least set up the sag on the bike.

 

Wow! Thank you all for the comments, but with that said, I in turn have some questions.

OK, 1st: I have riden some street bikes before but not much. I am going active duty. I also plan on taking the money that I have earned from basic and some of my bonus, to pay for the bike out right. I will have earned about 10,000 in just my standard E-3 pay in the 6-7 months I'm in training, then after my training, they give me 10,000 of my sign on bonus. So I will have about 20,000 to spend. So I plan on buying it out right.

I have gone to the dealership more than 100 times, It is a Honda/Yamaha dealership and it's where I get all my bikes and appearal. I have sat on the 07 600RR's and I am not flat footon it. Iamboarder-lining the tip toe factor. So, lowering it needs to happen cause I want to feel comfortable and have complete control. Tip toeing in my opinion is not having control.

I have been riding dirt for about, umm... 10 years now, and I have not once wrecked. Never, and I pride myself on that. Even when trying wheelies, I never layed the biek down. The occasional stall happened when I was first starting out, but other than that. So, needless to say, I feel a bit confident going into this about not wrecking. But I do know that street is different than dirt. If some one who rides dirt could give me some pointers on the transitioning from dirt to street, it would be helpful. I mean, I have like 12 bikes, of which I mainly ride my 3 Yamaha 125 TTR's (1 in blue, 1 in red, 1 in white). And there are times where I take them on the street to go from friends houses to mine (about1000 yards). Is it any similar to riding with a street bike?

 

You don't ride on your tip toes, and if you lower it, you are only screwing up the handling. Either get use to moving it as is or deal with an ill handling bike.

Transitioning from dirt to street? Every person I see that says "Man, I use to race dirt!" always hangs off the bike the wrong way. On dirt, you tend to steer by sliding the rear. Try that crap with a 600RR and you are going to get a rude awakening. Seriously...... Learn from someone. Last guy I saw just like you picked up a brand new Gixxer 1000 and stuffed it into a ditch because of target fixation and not looking through the corners. When I asked him what happened, he said he did everything just like I taught him. My response was "At what point did I tell you to stare at the ditch and ride into it?".

BTW........ That $10K bonus you are expecting? Think again. Bonuses get hit at a higher tax rate, You will be lucky to see $6500 out of it. That other $10K? Uniforms get taken out of that as does taxes and everything else.

How do I know? 23 years in the Marine Corps has taught me a couple things........

 

Dude, don't buy a new bike. I don't care how much you pride yourself on not crashing in the dirt.
You will be much more relaxed learning to ride a street bike that's not all bright and shiny new with showroom shine that you're worried about scratching up. Get yourself an 05-06 that's got some miles on it, maybe someone tipped over in the driveway--you'll save big, and learn better. I've had 9 bikes in the past5 years, none of them new. Even after riding for 5 years, I would never buy a new bike.
I paid $5300 for my '06 600RR last November, cause it was Thanksgiving, and some car dealership had taken it in on a trade--and was probably gonna go to auction soon. They had to get rid of it. It's got some minor scuffing from going over in some someone's driveway, and a slightly bent footpeg, but it don't bother me. I ride the heck out of it, and love every minute on the bike.
Also, once you buy your bike, you'll probably end up wanting to put acouple grandinto aftermarket mods--exhaust upgrades, power commander, etc. . .so buy used and be smart with your money.

 

OK, to meanstrk: Thank you for the comment, but when I ride in dirt, I lean with my turns, I don't turn with my rear. You lose all manner of control when you do that if you aren't experienced, but luckily I am. But I plan on taking it nice and slow at first with my bike. Also, with my bonuses. I get 1,544 dollars every month on my E-3 pay. My bonus is 20,000 quick ship bonus for shipping out before the 30th of September. Plus I get an additional 18,000 for going into Airborne. I am guaranteed 10,000 of my bonuses after I get out of basic, I have that in writting and I get my standard pay, thats in writing too. Also in writing is where they will be taking out the costs of my stuff from, and that comes from the remaining 28,000 in myremaining bonuses. I have it all in writing and I have thought it through and I am making sure that i know all the facts, just in case.

To bikerboy: Why not get a new bike? I mean, I have been riding for almost 11 years now, its still 10 but almost 11. I am very experienced, but I just don't know some of the terminknowledgey that you guys speak of. I can ride, and I teach people how to ride. I mean, so what if I geta scratch or 2 on my bike, so what if I lay it down a time or two? I can take it back because I plan on paying the extra 2000 to get the 10 warranty on it "Any and all damages are to be fixed and or compensated for bythe factory; and if said 2 wheeled motor-vehicle is 'totaled' basically, I can go and trade it in for a whole new one." So I am not to worried about messing it up a bit, but I still don't plan on messing it up. But thanks for the concern, lol. But yeah, anymore advice?