Never understood the "master the 600 before moving up" theory. I ride a 929 and if I were to move down to a 600 I would be more prone to having an accident. any time you switch up or down they will handle differently and you will need to adjust your riding for the bikes performance. Im preety sure most people wouldn't get off a 600 on toa 1k and crack open the throttle because they mastered the 600.

 

To me, sportbikes are the ultimate, unique sort of best friend. When you find one you like, and put in the effort, you'll never have a more loyal sidekick (well, except for your dog). It's all emotion, of course, and only logic will put you in a position to enjoy that emotion, but it's almost impossible for motorcycling perfectionists to go through life without a way to satisfy their need. The only trouble is that model years keep progressing, and your best friend will begin to age and then you'll be in a constant state of yearning for a higher level of perfection. And that's the rub: if you didn't use logic to provide ways and means, pure emotion won't pay for the new, cool ****. The flipside is that people who can have whatever they want whenever they want it don't invest as much emotion into the relationship because its replacement is already on standing order at the dealer.

So, emotion or logic? I say both in a yin/yang sort of fashion if you can manage it. I'm terrible at logic, which explains why I sold my future for a brand new '93 900RR. I still have it, but now there's zero chance of an '07 1000RR because I focused on satisfying my emotional need for perfection back then, rather than shoring up logic. The lust for new hasn't lessened any, its only gotten stronger.

But, then again, you could be hit by a bus from behind into a train and smashed against a concrete pylon and go straight up to heaven without ever having swung a leg over that RR.