My F4i was my first bike...no regrets. But I can see how someone that has a different personality type as me could get seriously dead with this bike. But I also believe that some people can learn on a Hayabusa and never have a problem. I rode my buddies 05 1kRR for a few weeks right out of MSF before buying my F4i...without any other riding experience ever. Riding a bike is mental...not physical...I think a smaller bike just will give you a fraction more time to avoid doing something dangerous than a 600.

I agree with Blackdog 100%...but I would still have made the same choice if I had to do it again. My goal isn't to drag knees and pull wheelies and do stoppies...my goal is to avoid a Harley or some cruiser for as long as possible (I am 43 years old).

There will always be better riders than you...the question is does speed around a track equate to staying alive on the street, my guess is no. Fear, respect, and paranoia will keep you alive...riding skills come in handy when you screw up.

 

I guess I really need to QUALIFY my answer.

If you are 30+, have a family, house, etc. and no longer feel the need to be the fastest on the block, then you may be OK on the F4i. You won't be great, but you may survive long enough to learn to control it and ride it like it was meant to be ridden.

If you are 18-20 and this is your first bike, you will probably get hurt bad at some point. I just hope you have your gear on WHEN you go down.

It's not so much YOUR attitude as you SKILL to deal with the crap that happens around you. A 250 makes it so you are not capable of accelerating to stupid speed before you realize it. This gives you more reaction time. Until you have the skill to do the right thing in the blink of an eye you are a liability on a performance bike. That is really all there is to it.

Beginning riders do not understand that doing the same things you do in a car will kill you on a bike. Until they learn that and make it second nature they are an accident waiting to happen.

There are MANY riders who have picked up a ZX6R, F4i, R6, etc as a first bike. The 600's are the best selling segment of the sportbike market. There are quite a few who have ridden them without incident. There are MANY who are now dead! It's you ***. Only you can tell if you are the type who will crack the throttle when "no one is looking" or if you will remember all the violent crashes posted on the web and ride responsibly.

Since I can't tell what kind of rider you are, or even what kind of driver you are, I tell everyone start on a 250-500. They will be much more forgiving AND YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE!!! You can sell it and get your money back when you decide to upgrade!

 

Blackdog...Let me start off by saying that I respect everything you have to say and I think you are a wealth of knowledge.

BUT

These bikes still go fast enough to kill someone. I don't think this is debatable.

Exactly, and so are you.....I'm sure you started on a 250 or 500 right? You are preaching what you know and others are preaching what they know!

You have completely contradicted everything you have said and reinforced my "opinion" about ATTITUDE not CC's. I know plenty of 30+ people with a house, family, etc that are careless, and vice versa I know many people from the ages of 18-25 that are very cautious riders. Regardless of the age group there will always be irresponsible people in them.

Also, for the record, I don't see any thing wrong with getting a 250 or 500 starter bike.

 

there are always going to be those that prevail, the underdog that wins. in no way is anyone saying that you cannot possibly ever buy a modern 600 class and not make it, but what are the odds vs you getting a more forgiving bike. let me ask you this jordan, do you know what happens if you throttle too much coming around a corner? this is what:

https://cbrforum.com/m_158463/tm.htm

for this reason and a slew of others that i will not list are the reasons you should not start on this bike. lets put this in perspective, if you had an idea to jump off of a 2 story roof into your pool, and you asked your friends what they thought, what are they going to say? "Hell yeah, that would be badass!" so of course you are going to do it. how many people jump off roofs into pools? how many make it, and how many break their back and crack open their skull? there are some that will make it, and the others will agree it was probably the stupidist thing they have ever done. but you did it because it would be badass. IF you do have an experience once you get your F4i (cause we all know you still will get one) you will wish you had only listened.

Blackdog: Since i know you are a cop, how many accidents do you see with n00b riders on overpowered bikes?

 

Blackdog is absolutely right., it depends who it is. For me an F4i as a starter bike is absolutely fine. In my early 30s, I realise I've become a boring git... I'll probably never do anything remotely risky on the bike...and let's face it, we respect our stuff more and don't show off half as much... When I was 17 I fell off my 50cc Vespa at full speed (30 mph), landed on my face (left cheek bone to be exact)...at 30 mph...not nice. I was lucky though....calcium made my bones strong (drink your milk kids) so apart from a beaten up face and a worn out ear (slightly...hardly noticable))...I have nothing permanent to show for it. Thank God. Moral of the story is...if it was an F4i and not a 50cc..I wouldn't be here...cos I always used to go as fast as it would go.

 

Most are either n00b riders on large displacement bikes OR there was alcohol or drugs involved.

I am sure they are out there, but I have yet to come accross a fatality on a EX500 or EX250 with a geared up rider.

Most of the fatalities and serious injuries I have seen are on race reps, inexperienced rider (most have no MC endorsement) and no gear.

Saw one guy in a JR jacket unzipped no helmet, ditched a Bandit 1300 that he was TEST RIDING, snapped his neck like a twig when he hit the trees in the drainage canal. Went off the highway at an extreme speed. (based on witness accounts whom he blew by right before it happened). There was no reason for it. It was on a long gently curve on a four lane expressway with light traffic. Only thing we can figure is he caught a wind gust and didn't know how to deal with it.

All his limbs were attached, they just all went the wrong direction.

Yes and no. Life is a contradiction. Like rrasco said, there are always those who will beat the odds. Do you really want to spin the cylinder and see if there is a bullet in there with your name on it? People survive at Russian Roulette all the time, but play long enough and you will catch a live one.

I am a big believer in reducing the risks while still enjoying the sport.

 

i appreciate everything everybody has said....i'll just throw this out there...i'm 18 years old...i know you are thinking that i shouldnt get one now that you know me age...however i realize how dangerous these things can be...in fact sometimes just the thought of riding motorcycles scares me (rarely) but it happens...i want a bike that i can enjoy for years to come...if i were to get this bike i would probably spend 1-2 weeks in a parking lot before i even brought it out onto public streets...while i want to enjoy the experience of riding...i also want to enjoy life...so i won't be doing anything stupid on this bike

 

Just out of curiosity, what is your driving record like?

 

completely clear...no tickets...no accidents...no nothinh

 

When I was 18...and if I ever had a chance to buy an F4i, I would hope someone would have the commonsense to beat some sense into me. I'd have been dead...no doubt. But then again I was a bit of a nutter....I know not everyone is like that...but most are. Then again, I checked out the website posted on here somewhere called Live to ride ride to die.com (something like that) and was nearly put off the idea about buying an F4i. The pictures in that site are scary...the last one very nearly made me vomit. A guy with his limbs and bits of body all collected together like in a butchers shop... [:'(]

Don't know how you do it BlackDog....if I had to attend a traffic accident scene I'd just be vomiting everywhere...