Well then I must just be an over achiever. I got a 600RR as my first bike. I get a long just fine. I have taken my time. I started out slow in large parking lots. Then went around a few blocks around my house. Just kept going little more at a time and I am getting a long just fine. Do I think that someone should go get a 1000 or bigger bike, no. But I say get what you want. It all comes down to the driver. There is no set rule that says what bike is the best for everyone. I know people that would kill themselves on a 250 and guys that could get on a 1000RR for thier first time and be just fine. Again I will use the car comparison. When I was in high school I argued like hell with my parents to get an Iroc Camaro. They said I would kill myself in it. Well I didn't. It comes down to being safe. No matter what you get you can do dumb things that will get you killed. I guess I am just saying that there is no exact rule for something like this. There are to many variables with every rider to say there is a cut and dry answer. I guess I am either above the average or just a dumbass that will kill myself with my 600RR. I will say that I don't go over 80 MPH on my bike, I don't drive at night and I don't do any kind of stunts.

If someone is screwing around and going 100 MPH in a 55 it doesn't matter if you have a 250 or a 1250, you are going to have problems. Just because the 600 CAN go faster quicker, doesn't mean you have to. A 250 can go 100, it might take a little longer but they can get there and cause some problems. Hopefully my rambling gets my point accross.

 

Your getting your point across alright, your defending your decision and you feel that everyone can be like you. He posted a question about what bike he can get as a beginner, and the choices that I listed are excellent bar none. You may ride fine, and that's great. I don't know if you have encountered problems that would put your expertise to the test, but it will happen. Due to the fact I have ridden all these bikes, I know what I'm referring to. A 600's brakes are much more powerful than a 500, or 250. A compromising position can come up where you have to hard break, and when u endo, how do you react?? On a bike with less braking characteristics, it would be easier to avoid such maneuvers and thus recover unscathed.

The facts are, you can kill yourself on any bike.. Sure! So you want to get a supersport to start as your first bike, that is your life. He asked what would be a good first bike for a complete beginner and I gave him suggestions for a safe first bike to start with. Not everyone has the coordination that you may have yourself, and by your reiteration of your feelings about starting on a 600 may cause somone to get injured. That is what I am trying to avoid. I have trained people to ride, and have seen how mistakes could have caused major wrecks if they were on anything other that the 500cc bike they were riding. But because of "My" recommendation of the bike they purchased, they are still riding today, and quite well at that.

So don't get your spurs all in an uproar because you feel that you are an exception to the rule, anyone can start on a 1k bike. But the people who will still be riding after a year would be a different story.

 

Am I the only one who thought, "What’s the point"?

Just kidding Josh I think you make good points. I bought the 600rr as my first bike when I haven't ridden in over 12 years and when I was riding way back then it was on a classic 75 CB400F.

I will say that take my riding very seriously to the point where I read a lot and constantly discuss riding technique on this site and with very experienced friends locally so I keep improving my skills. I also always wear riding gear. You might catch me with out a jacket on but that is very rare. It is amazing at how much I've improved over the last three months. I do ride aggressively but I also ride very disciplined by always practicing everything thing I learned about braking, shifting, looking far ahead and through turns, riding position, etc, etc. The sad thing is that there are surely riders here who don’t have a clue that riding properly is so complex. I don’t care how much experience you have, if you haven’t already read the book Total Control and you will learn something to improve your riding skills.

My next step to keep improving my riding is going to a few track days and even Freddie Spenser’s riding school out in Las Vegas. I can't wait until my wife is through with school and starts bringing in some "nursing wages" so I can afford to do this.

I know there are people here who think it is a bad move but next year if I can swing it financially I will be on a CBR1000RR with the wifey following close behind.

 

I think everyone here has made great points. My main thing was I only wanted to buy one bike over the next five or so years. I tryed to find the middle of the road. I wanted to get a F4i but the only dealer within about a 200 mile area only had a few RR's left so that is what I got. Do I know what to do with all situations...No. Do I hope that I don't have to hammer my brakes...YES. I guess I will just do what I can to learn and ride correctly. I guess it looks as though I made the wrong choice on my first bike.

What should someone do that only wants to buy one bike over the next five years or so??? What should somone like me do that doesn't want to trade from a 250 then to a 500 and then to something like a 600RR???

 

Since you asked.....I think someone in your position should still start on a smaller bike. The majority of sportbike owners don't hold their bike for that long. They either crash it or want to get something else. It'll be interesting to see if you still have your bike in 2010.

But this is your first bike, not your last one (unless you decide to give up riding). this is also a decision that involve's ones safety. And also the safety of those they share they road with.

In the case of the smaller bikes, they're pretty easy to sell because they are in high demand by other beginner riders. I know of many instances where people got their money back or even more in resale. So its not like you'd lose anything. In the worst case scenario, you buy a smaller bike and learn that you can handle a bigger one in a relatively short time. I don't see it as a big deal that you change bikes every few years.

Think of it this way. You learn to fly a plane. Do you just immediately jump into a fighter jet and off you go? Of course not. You start small (like a Cesna) and gradually work your way up, as with anything that requires fine-tuned skills.

You used an example of a car earlier. Comparing a Camaro (or whatever its was) to a sportbike is not in the same league. A Camaro (though aruguably a sportscar) doesn't have the acceleration that most motorcycles have. Most level-headed individuals can deal with the top end but with bikes, its the quick acceleration [and deceleration] that gets you in a world of hurt. Plus, in a Camaro, if you do f*ck up, you have all that body armor to protect you. Cars, even sportscars, are much more forgiving to ride aggressively when the driver doesn't have the necessary skills to do such. So I don't think your comparison is a valid one. But I digress...

Anyway, just my 2 abe lincolns.

 

I have to!! Wife said so.......

Anyway I see your point and the others. I guess I made the wrong decision. There are also others that got a 600 or higher cc bike for thier first one also. Starting small would have been better. Hell I ALMOST bought a Ninja 500 but they didn't have any at the local dealer. I then looked at a Katana 600 but didn't like the whole carb idea.

More food for thought. I was told a fuel injected bike is better for a beginner instead of carb. The justification was the carb bike would lage some at acceleration and would mess you up where the fuel injected would take right off. Since we are going over what is the best for beginners I would this should be discussed also.

 

I wouldn't necessarily call it wrong....If you abide by my previously stated philosophy on beginner bikes, then I guess you could say that you could've made better (or safer) decision. But that's neither here nor there....you're decision has already been made. The trick now is not to have you regret it. Sooner or later (if you haven't already), you'll want to start pushing your limits. The safest place to do that is the track. If you can't do it there, you'll need to make sure you do it in a place that has lots of room for error (although I have no clue as to where that would be).

As far as the carb vs FI thing, I don't think a beginner would benefit from one over the other. No doubt that FI has smoother power delivery overall, but a well-tuned set of carbs is just as good. Throttle control and precisionis more important at that stage.

 

fi is A LOT more touchy than carbs. i started on an CBR 600F1, and moved up to my 600RR. i still find myself slipping a little too much on the gas mid corner occasionally due to the fi. with carbs, i never had that problem, it was always smoother on the throttle but with a little less responsiveness. carbs are great for beginners, but everyone started with something different so anyone giving you crap needs to pull their panties out of their *** and respect your decision. so long as you're not starting with a liter bike, then i say go for it. one word of advice, however. get frame sliders IMMEDIATELY because most riders i know have dropped their bike in a parking lot or driveway, and that is one easy way to prevent cracking or messing up the plastics on your new bike.

 

I love this thread. I think this issue has a lot more levels than we are giving it credit.
To start off with, My first bike was a XR250 dirt bike that I put turn signals on to make street legal. That was 22 years ago, and I was 16. I actually hid it in friends garages and yards because my parents wouldn't let me own a bike. I rode it for about a year. And I must have dumped it 20 or thirty times, mostly on dirt trails. And I never even owned a helmet. Couldn't afford that and gas as a dishwasher. I would highly recommend an old enduro for a beginner rider(helmet too,never see me without one anymore). The amount of control over changing road surfaces is irreplaceable. And that carries over to any bike. Plus, if you drop a $1000 dirt bike, it's still worth $1000!!, try that with a Super Sport..
My next bike was trouble, with a capitol "T". A '77 supersport 750, must have weighed 900lbs. Be careful going from a dirt bike to a street bike, I never gave it much thought about laying it down.... Until I had to lift it up!
Had that sucker up to 145, what else do you do when you are 18? On that bike I learned a lot about riding on the street. I had bike control down already, but I was ill prepared to deal with other drivers, strong brakes, and road conditions on street tires(they weren't anything near what they are now).
Over the years, I've had many bikes. I currently own a '87ns250r, an '84rz350, an '98f3, and an '04f4i. Let me tell you the motor on the f3 is alot smoother and controllable than the f4i. The f4i doesn't have the same fuel injection as the accord! As far as either of them being a beginner bike- not unless I stayed in parking lots the whole time. That's another point, I said that it wouldn't be good for me. I don't know any other riders as well as I do myself.
As far as buying a 250 ninja or whatever, My friends would poke fun at me. Isn't that funny, and all my friends are in their late thirties or 40's. They even did when I bought the f3. "Why didn't you just by an R1?" or " The new zx-6r is what you should have looked at, then you wouldn't have bought that!" Man, street credit rears it's ugly head when you're never expecting it!
Either way, People are going to put their money where their heart leads them too. And That will rarely be a Honda rebel. Anyone buying a 600rr or F4i(as a 1st bike) is not a stupid or crazy person. They've obviously looked at other bikes in the class and made a educated decision. They aren't buying the most powerful(zx-6r, gsxr), the lightest(zx-6r, r6), the best looking(749-now that's a sexy piece,r6, zx-6r), they are buying, the best balanced, the most reliable, and best finished bike available, in it's class. And they are definitely not buying the cheapest!
These people are on this forum to gain information. I'll lift my beer to that(never when I'm going to ride, or work on it). Let's welcome them and stuff them full of our experiences, that's the best part of this forum. We all need to know when to keep the bike in the garage and drive the car! E