I am looking to step it up from an '02 F4i to an '06 1000RR. Have any of you made that step? I love the handle of the F4i. I got it as my starter bike. My name initials are RR, which is cool, but I really like the styling of the Honda. Now that I am comfortable enough to run with the fellas, I'm struggling to keep up, as they are all on bigger bikes, though, none on the RR. I figure to be the one to represent and make them envious of the RR (Me and the bike [8D]) I'm digging the ESD as well. I will be going to VIR for trackday next season to tighten up my skillz and I want to do it on the bike that I plan to keep for a while. While, all I have done is ride so far, I have not learned all that I need to know, besides basic maintenance of the bike (oil change, tire change, fluids, etc) so I will be spending the off season learning about what it takes to make my bike as mean as I will want it to be. Holla at your boy if you have any pointers on what to expect, what I should be looking to learn, etc.

IF YOU CAN'T BE GOOD, BE GOOD AT IT

 

Good choice, just take it easy while you get used to the bike. I came from a Hornet 900 (919) to you peeps. So that was a bit different to but i`d never go back the HESD is awesome to never had any problems and its saved my *** a few times.

 

FWIW, I don't consider going from a 600 to a liter bike a step up, especially in the sense of riding track.

Riding a 600 is no better or worse than riding a 1000....just different. With the exception of tracks designed for top end (e.g. Daytona), the lap times between these bikes aren't very different, only by a few seconds for most tracks.

On another note, your original post sounds like you don't ride track yet. If that is indeed the case, I don't suggest using a liter bike as your first introduction to track. If you haven't been to the track yet, you definitely haven't pushed your 600's to any great limits. I think any hard riding you've done on the streets has just given you a false sense of security that you can handle a 1000 to anywhere near its limits on the track.

I suggest you start with your 600 on the track (or even smaller) and really learn the fine art of precision throttle control and braking. As a track newbie, you'll quickly learn that lack of precision throttle control will make you very slow on a liter bike (perhaps even be a painful experience) and get very frustrated, perhaps even passed by those "slower" bikes (e.g. 600s, 2-stroke 250s, etc).

The biggest point I'm trying to drill home here is that riding these bikes the way they were designed to be ridden (at the track), is VERY, VERY different from any aggressive riding you have done on the street. I'm not saying you couldn't learn track with a liter bike but I think the learning curve would be much slower than on a smaller bike.

NOTE: I'm not intending to sound condescending here....I'm just trying to enlighten you to a very rude awakening that many street jockeys experience when becoming a track junkie.

 

abadfish has some good advice there. (hi abadfish... so this is where you hang out? :twofinger )


Depending on where you ride, if you can not keep up with others on your F4i, you definitely won't be able to keep up with them on the 1kRR in a safe manner.

There are plenty of people who I can't keep up with (far too many for my liking), but some of them are even riding as small a bike as ninja 250s.

If you are used to riding your F4i in 8-12k rpm and are doing just fine, then you won't have any problems with a 1000 in 4-8k rpm range. It is only when you push it behind that where things get pretty fast.

Is it a better bike than F4i? for street purposes, sure. For track or aggressive twisty riding, not necessarily. Is it going to make you a better rider? No.

 

But it will take off faster at the stop lights, and kick *** in the straight line.

 

Thats all fine and dandy, but a couple of seconds on a track at 100mph+ is a big difference.

 

Thanks for the input so far. Just so that you know, it has been my intention all along to get the 1k. I came across a deal that was to nice to pass up to get the F4i, so I took it. It was as much a $$$ decision as it was a "don't get a new bike for your first bike" decision. I understand that there will be differences. The thing is, if I plan to do whatever it is that I am going to do on a bike, it may as well be the one that I plan on having.

As to not get that false sense of security on the 1k, I want to learn what I need to know on the 1k. I see it as a mindset where I just want to get a taste with the 600, then get my groove on with the 1000. I know that I have quite a bit to learn, I just do not want to have to learn it twice, if I can help it.

Am I making sense? I'm trying not to be a squid, y'know? How am I doing?

 

Your making perfect sense to me,

 

I am the first person to tell you to buy what *you* enjoy.

But, if you are here asking for advice, then I will tell you what I think: I was about to buy a cbr929 as a step up from a Honda Magna 750. Afterall, I wanted a sportsbike and thought 750 to a 600 was a downgrade.

A very helpful, local, avid rider whose opinion I respected a lot told me to get the 600. That was the best decision for me at the time.

If it weren't for being laid off and being stupid to sell my bike, I would still have my 02 F4i. After having owned an 02 superhawk, an 03 R1, an 03 SV1000S, and now the CBR1000, I can tell you this: I was a lot faster on my F4i than I was on any of these bikes. (and I am not that fast.)

There is nothing to be learned on a 1k that can't be learned better on an F4i. But, if you have your mind set to get a 1k, go for it. It is your money, your life, your choice. [sm=smiley20.gif]

 

Listen to Badfish, start on the 600.