The 600RR is my first bike and I think most people would say that it is not the best bike to start on. It really comes down to maturity. If you can keep a level head you might be ok. Some people say speed kills but so do egos. If your only reason to buy a bike is to beat some riced out cars you probably shouldnt buy a motorcycle. You can find plenty of other cars that will beat them all day long and you can still get beat on a motorcycle I have seen a 240z with a supercharged lt1 smoke an R1. well enough with the warnings they have been covered plenty already.

Some others might disagree but I think riding dirtbikes does translate over to streetbikes. From riding dirtbikes you will have the basic mechanical skills already and know theplacement of the controls, throttle control, shifting, braking, and to some extent being used to not having traction.

Well whatever you do be safe.

 

A 600cc will be fine for what you want to accomplish. The problem is, you may want to reconsider your goals before you get hurt. Don't take this the wrong way, but most 18 year olds have self control issues ( I was one of them ) and come very close to dying fairly often in cars and bikes. A 600cc can be scary fast to anyone that isn't used to a liter bike. Put that kind of speed and power with ego and testosterone and nothing good can happen.

Get a bike, take it easy, and have fun....but not too much fun at first.

 

got an example for you:

i have a lot of "ricer" friends. around here there's this stretch of road that's nice... straights & twists combined. well just last weekend this 20 year-old who just bought a gixxer 750 less than 30 days old wanted to race my buddy with a modified MR2 turbo. long story short his bike is in pieces and he's in the hospital. oh and he's ridden dirt bikes since he was 8. i agree - a lot of skills learned on a dirt bike can carry over to sport bikes... but you don't round corners on a dirt bike at 90+... which is when this dude flew off the road.

just be careful bro...

 

I'm not gonna flame you, my first bike was and is my 929rr. bottom line is its your money, your body, and your bike. Just becareful, respect the bike. I don't race, but I'll pull away from a ricer when one comes up on me while riding. Nothing stupid, just a little more throttle. Anyway, just start off crusin' and get used to that.

 

yah i nearly slapped my head into the side of a semi cuz i was flying onto the highway, learned from that
yah i nearly slapped my face into the side of a car cuz i was stunting on rural streets, learned from that
needless to say i went from 500 to 600 to 900 and i'm happy where i am at...would be fine with a 600 or even the 500 back because i can IRON BUTT my *** around everywhere and that's what i do....i ride for the shear fun of riding, not the fact that i can burn any car that pulls next to me. To be honest the 500 is perfectly fine and you can beat all your little ricer friends all day if that's what you intend on doing and it'll keep you at a level of confidence. That's what i rode back home in MD/WV and when we went on rides (usually 90% 600s, 1 or 2 1000s and myself on the 500) I never really fell behind...it can hang corners with the best and better yet cuz the torque wont rip the rear out from under you

my 2 c

 

600 all the way or even smaller. I just started on a CBR600F2 and im 17, and its faster than most cars ive ever been in(r/t viper, etc) but unless u actually want to enjoy the bike for urself and respect it, ull prolly kill urself on any bike by riding stupidly and racing ppl. The first time I gave it wot in second on my f2 it throw me back for something i didnt expect, and that was when i thought I was prepared for it and on a lone country road and i wasnt trying to "impress" anyone...so be safe and have fun!! just my thought good luck

 

get what you want plain and simple its your cash.

 

Thanks Guys for all the help. I will be getting a 600 f4 or f4i possibly but on the racing part I wont be doing it two often on the streets I should have told you I live a mile from Piedmont Drag Strip Sorry but thats were i will race mainly. Thanks again!