My brother has finally seen the light... he's got his open license and is looking around for a bike.No suprise he headed straight for the *** whooping GSXR1000... but after a bit of discussion, I convinced him it was really not an ideal bike for a new rider and although it's a litre class bike... it is very light and small and he is 6'4" and 140kg... it wouldn't look right and he'd get sick of leaning forward on it.

He's now keen on the GSX1400 and he's convinced me to take one for a test ride tomorrow to help him with his opinion. At AU$13,990 ride away, I can't see how he can really go wrong... even if he sold/traded it in 1 or 2 years, it couldn't really drop in value more than 4k so there's not a lot of new vehicle value loss to be worried about... it's got 2yr unlimited k warranty... it's got me half interested even... but I'm 99% sure I'll take it for a ride, say it's not for me, and go back to ol' reliable '95.

Has anyone got any arguments for me to use about why he should go for a second hand bike first up? The prices I've seen around for nice bike under 4 yo are all atleast $10,000... hardly worth the risk when he could have a new one for a few more $'s. He really belongs on something 1,000cc+...

What brought you to your 1kf? Mine was price and opportunity...

 

The oldCBR 1000 F is a farbetter road bike than the GXS1400, and it is also more powerful. The wind protection isnon-existingon the GSX1400, and well before 200 km/h it becomes unstable due to asoft chassi in combination with the heavy wind load on the body. The GSX provides plenty of torque though and is an easy-driven comfy commuter at lower speeds.

I tried a friendsGSX1400 a couple of years ago, it was very similartothe bikes you use when taking driving lessons, i.e. they are perfectly fine up to about 100 km/h but not very attractive when the pace is a little higher.

 

How long has your bro been riding? If he's still pretty green, it makes sense to get a bike with a few scrapes on it so he won't feel as bad about dropping it. Same goes for naked bikes, les expensive plastic to break if he drops it.

 

He's nuts. My dad has a GSX1400 with a full Yoshi system and it is a complete road rocket. 0-100 it will nail a Hayabusa easily. Heavy bike with massive amounts of torque, my dads been riding for over 30 years and its caight him off a few times. I nearly got thrown off it once in the wet when I went to overtake at 60 gave it to much throttle and the back wheels went into wheelspin.
They are awesome bikes but no way in hell should a inexpirenced rider use one.

Tell him to get a 600.