I was just wondering if anyone could give any advice on whether or not a cbr 600rr is a bad choice for a first bike. I have never ridden a motorcycle before, but I'm scheduled to take the safety class in june, so this will give me some hours of experience and safety tips. I would go with a smaller engine, but I really love the style features on the 600's. I ret eally want to buy a 2003 this summer. Some dealers tell me I'll be fine, others say to start smaller. Does anyone have any suggestions? Really I'm just wondering if I will be able to get adjusted to the power of the bike if I take my time getting used to it, and not doing anything crazy. Thanks for any help, I really appreciate it.

 

it's not about the CC's... it about the bike as a whole. For a beginner, in general, the CBR600RR is not what many consider to be newb friendly. You are far better off getting motorcycle that is tame on the throttle input, Steering geometry, and rider angle attitude, and they are much much cheaper to both buy and insure. we're talking a difference of $6000 difference between buying a use CBR and a Used EX500, which is what i suggest you get to start your SPORTBIKE riding life.

start standard sport (EX500, GS500, Buell Blast, SV650, EX650) before going to supersport because the name truly means exactly what it says.

 

I am sure I will get bashed but here goes. I think any of the new 600 sport bikes would be a good first bike.
And here is why, They offer better suspension, brakes, and handling.

When you first started driving, the car you started with would go faster than the law allows.
But you were disciplined enough to keep it within limits of the law, or risk losing your license.

Basically you can get killed just as fast on a Ninja 250 as you can on a Liter bike.

The simple answer is the cbr 600rr is a great bike for a new rider. Just use your head and do not try stupid stuff
and pick your riding buddies carefully. More times than I care to remember people I know or have met, get in with the wrong crowd
and get sucked into a bad situation, and normally go down. Just be smart about where you ride, and get with someone to help you out after the course.

When learning, here are some very easy rules, to get familiar first.

Never ride alone, find a friend to come along with you (on a separate bike of course)
No passengers
Stay out of traffic
Do not ride after dark
When someone ask do you want to race, SAY NO
Find some back roads, and get familiar with the bike.
And absolutely never ride after drinking or having a bad day, heading out angry might cost you dearly.

I do not want to sound like your father, just pointing out dumb mistakes people make.

And if you are in the Dallas area, come ride with our group, and we will make sure you get home without scratches on you or your bike.


My first Street bike was a Honda Hurricane 1000, very fast but would stop on a dime.

Todd

P.S. Let the bashing begin

 

i started out on an 05 CBR600RR for my first bike. I have been riding dirtbikes for 8 yrs so i had some motorcycle experience, but the CBR was the first street bike that I had rode. I took the motorcycle safety course and then 2 days later went and got the bike. I took it easy for a little bit to get used to the bike. The motorcycles at the safety course dont compare at all to the 600RR, so just be careful and go easy till you get used to it.

 

It depends on your ammount of self control.
Take a good hard look in the mirror, AND BE HONEST ABOUT IT, and decide weather you have a level enough head to be tame on the bike until you gain enough experience, or if you will get cocky when you start getting confortable on it. Visit http://www.ridetodie.com regularly to remind yourself that these bikes WILL KILL YOU if you get in over your head. If you can HONESTLY say that you will be diciplined enough on it... go ahead an get it... theyre GREAT bikes, and you wo'nt outgrow it like some say.

HOWEVER: If you even suspect you'll get overexited/ ride more on adrenaline than brains, get the 200, and gain valuable experience on it. you will outgrow a 200 for the street, but it will serve you well tolearn fromthe mistakes your body won't survive on the 600.

either way.. good luck, and enjoy the ride.

 

i learned on a 600cc f4i

 

Great first bike, and a little more comfy at first I hear.

 

i agree with nightslugger jr...
but if you do decide to get the 600. use your head . these things will sneak up on you real fast .especially on the novice rider like yourself .
BE CAREFUL WITH WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO BUY .

 

Better suspension? yes. brakes? Yes. handling? Yes. FAR stronger in every category. take a moment to think that bolded text through. STRONGER, not better. Stronger springs, MUCH stronger brakes and a extreemly strong steering. MEANING, do anything wrong with any of the above, and you'll get tossed like a rag doll. Upset the suspension by changing gear mid corner? Suspension gets upset and will buck you off if you don't know how to recover (and you wont know how). Someone cuts in front of you and you need to apply the brakes fast? being that you have very little brake control to speak of you will grab a fst ful of brakes, and the next thing you'll faintly recall is your head being driven into the pavement at 40MPH by a 430lbs motorcycle because the front suspension didn't compress and you Endoed (front wheel lock up stop combined with radial rotation). Take a corner a little hot, hit the brakes and turn at the same time? Whammo! you just set yourself up for a tank slapper.

On a motorcycle that DOESN'T have strong components, or extreme steering geometry (The 03-06 CBR600RR has a 24* Rake angle and doesn't come with a steering damper while the 2007 is a sub 24* rake angle and DOES come with one, because it's nessesary for even the smallest steering imputs) your chances of making it do any f the above becomes dramatically less. I know of no EX500 that ever went into a tank slapper (EX500 has a 27* rake), the front suspension compresses quickly, and the brakes are sigle disk double piston with a longer throw than most others making a stop like the one above much more controllable from a new rider stance.

What?

This is true. it's the same with ANY motorcycle on the planet.

You started on the wrong foot there. It is not a great first bike and never will be. everything else though holds true.

Red responses are mine:
[quote]When learning, here are some very easy rules, to get familiar first.

Never ride alone, find a friend to come along with you (on a separate bike of course)so someone can laugh at you when you crash
No passengerswerd
Stay out of trafficimpossible
Do not ride after darkwerd
When someone ask do you want to race, SAY NOwerd
Find some back roads, and get familiar with the bike.Back roads are often mis-maintained and have wildlife hazards so choose it carefully and never bomb any road without doing a recon of it prior. roads can change overnight.
And absolutely never ride after drinking or having a bad day, heading out angry might cost you dearly.werd

I do not want to sound like your father, just pointing out dumb mistakes people make.

And if you are in the Dallas area, come ride with our group, and we will make sure you get home without scratches on you or your bike.


My first Street bike was a Honda Hurricane 1000, very fast

 

i just bought my first bike a few weeks ago and its a 2005 600RR, i love it and im taking it slow, so far its been fine. be smart about it and you should be fine, u cant help what other jackasses on the road do, so it doesnt matter what type of bike your on, if they pull out in front of u, theres not much you can do besides pray you can get out of the way without anything going wrong.