What next?

[rusty_bawz]

ok guys I've been riding a year now and been on my zx6r since i passed, I've been thinking of selling up and getting either a zx9r or a cbr900r.

but the wife thinks I should keep the zx6r for a bit longer and gain more experience before i go for a bigger bike.

is she just panicking for no reason or has she got a valid point???
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[Carlos NSR125]

It depends really, a mean if you think your are an okay rider and think you will be able to handle one then go get your self one. Only problem is you would have to be careful haha !
At end of the day, the bike only goes as fast as you want it to go, so its completely up 2 you.

[MarJay]

Well, Clearly you've had plenty of advice from experienced riders in this thread so far!

I'll give you my opinion on this, but first of all I'll give you some of my biking background. I've been riding for over ten years now, and I've owned lots of bikes from the very small to the very large. My first bike was an NS125R, then I had a VFR400 NC21 and then I had an SV650. My next bike was a Triumph Daytona 955i. I have also owned a 954 FireBlade, a Buell XB12R, various 600's and two strokes.

Now let me ask you a question: Why do you want to get rid of the ZX6R? Is it because you're bored of it? Or is it because you want to tell your mates you've got a FireBlade or ZX9R? Or is it because the bike is too peaky and you'd like something a bit more lazy?

For me, buying the FireBlade was the biggest mistake of my biking career. Coupled with selling my Buell it taught me a lot about what I actually want in a bike. I bought the FireBlade because I wanted a big sporty bike that was comfortable and could go quickly. My first choice was a Firestorm, but I figured that the blade had less weight for me to throw around and more power and wasn't that much more money. Not long after I got the blade, I lowsided it on a roundabout. I spent a lot of time and money fixing it, but I could never get confident on it. Initially I thought this was just down to the accident, but in actual fact I realised that it was because it wasn't fun to ride. It was exhilarating, it was exciting but I wasn't grinning from ear to ear on it. I think this was partially because the bike required so much respect (for want of a better word) when you are riding it. You had to be really gentle with the throttle input and with the brakes and handling. It was just too sharp and too much for me, and I'm fairly sure unless you weigh 20 stone and nothing else will drag you around, its too much for most people for the road.

Not forgetting that previously I owned a Daytona 955i which is still a 900cc sportsbike. That had more weight and a bit less power and I was much more comfortable on that bike. That was about the quickest you'd want on the road really. It was tremendously fast but it was still fun, and you could abuse it a bit and still be upright afterwards. To be honest though, I had that after I had been riding for three years, and that wasn't enough experience to really make use of the bike. It did teach me a lot, but in a way it also held me back. I think I learned more from my next bike (A Triumph TT600) than I did from a whole two years on the Daytona.

Now I've got a Speed Four. This proved to me that I hadn't lost my confidence after the lowside on the Blade, because on the test ride I immediately hopped on it and went very fast very quickly. I was giggling to myself in my lid because it reminded me what a bike should be like, and that is loads of fun.

If you're not having fun on the ZX6R, then a 900cc bike won't necessarily sort it, and may even make it worse. Of course, there are a lot of people who do buy big bore bikes and love them to bits, but I wonder how many of those think in the back of their mind that they'd have more fun on a 600 than the litre bike but don't say so because of peer pressure.

The last point to add to this is that if you had grabbed me at 25 and said "Mark, you're better off with a 600, you'll have more fun on it" I'd have laughed at you. The only way I was convinced of this was by buying and owning a bigger bike for a while. So I suspect that whatever I say you'll go out and buy a 900-1000cc bike eventually, but I urge you to get the best out of the 600 before you consider it.

Can you ride the 600 to its limits?
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Kwaks]

Totally agree with the post above (Marjay).

I have had my zx6r B1 for a nimber of years, and can't find a better bike for me on the market which is worth trading in for. Have rode thous in that time and was seriously underwhelmed, in fact friends have traded in their thous to get the same model as me after riding mine

So depending on which zx6r you have, I wouldnt see any benefit from going to a blade etc, what you make up in straight line speed you would lose in corners etc.

This might be one isolated instance where the female is correct
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[wizzzard]

Very well put by marjay there i think

I now have an fzr1000 and it is a fantastic bike fast, agile and good fun but it is no more fun than the zxr750 i had before it.

I never took the 750 to its limits as im not that good a rider and was looking for a smaller commuter bike for the daily run to work. I was seduced by the engine size of the fzr and having ridden it for a while now i have to say i am sure i would have just as much fun on a cb500.

It does cost a whole lot more in petrol and insurance for the thou and im pretty sure i will be out looking for a commuter again soon enough.
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[mistergixer]

I'd recommend a GSXR750, a K5 model would be ideal, especially one in Blue/White colours with a Yoshimura can.
If only you knew where to find one.......
[/shameless plug]
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[SlimRick]

100% Agree with MarJay

Footnote: I haven't actually read what he said, but he quite often speaks sense so it's probably sound advice.

[Knacker]

Both the suggested bikes are queer

Buy a busa
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