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| spence70 |
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spence70
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spence70
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| shereen |
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shereen
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| Blau Zedong |
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Blau Zedong
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| shereen |
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shereen
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| Blau Zedong |
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Blau Zedong
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| spence70 |
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spence70
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| Teflon-Mike |
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Teflon-Mike
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Joined: 01 Jun 2010
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 Posted: 03:12 - 18 Aug 2011  Post subject: |
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| spence70 wrote: | Some good advise guys thanks but do you think sports bikes make good starter bikes i should i be looking at something different ? |
Something 'different', for sure.
Sports bikes tend not to make wonderful road bikes, let alone great newbie bikes, they are just too 'focussed' on what they are built for, performance.
VFR400 is a great toy to hoon around a track or pull out on a Sunday for a blast round country lanes... but those kind of kicks really ought to be saved for track days.... but VFR4 is just small enough you can be a bit spirited and not risk life or licence too much.
BUT very small 'joy' to be gained from the experience compared to all biking has to offer, and an AWFUL lot of sacrifices and compromises to live with them as an every day bike..... sacrifices and compromises that are a pain in the kneck for a more experienced biker, but you can live with and ride around, but can be rather more unhelpful to a complete newbie, who needs all the confidence they can get, and every advantage available 'just' to get from A to B and not get killed in the process.
Restricted visibility and cramped, unhelpful erganomics are the starting point here; then you start looking at the engine's charecter, and how frenetic they are, demanding lots of revs to make them go anywhere, encouraging you to use revs and ride hard. Handling likewise is twitchy and nervouse, and doesn't seem to 'work' feeling precariouse and unbalenced until you get some steam up, where the riding possition makes more sense and the weight on your wrists is lifted by wind blast off the cosseting fairing, dulling sensation of speed....
All for high speed (ish) adrenaline kicks.... which wont be delivered in great measure from a twenty year old bike, that probably past its best long ago, but which even in a slightly soggy, sloppy and care worn state has far more capability than your average newbie can use in any real measure.
Meanwhile, sacrificing comfort, practicality, visability, for style and speed, you don't aporeciate there can be anything elce to bikes.... more mundane bikes seem 'boring' becouse they dont look or go 'fast' and thats ALL you apreciate about bikes.... you dont get to experience just 'riding' apreciating where you are, as you cant see much of it, and what you can see is a tunnel of blurr....you dont get the same sensations, or apreciation of other aspects of riding, less dedicated or focused machines can lead you.
The bikes aren't built for it, and grumble even more carrying a pillion or luggage, discouraging you from experimenting and finding out what you can do with a bike, rather than what you
can get a bike to do.....
I'd suggest you look at something 'softer' and less focused, a road bike, not a sports bike, and preferably a twin, as they tend to be a bit mnore flexible and softer, and cheaper on the wallet.
Plenty to choose from; starting with the heaviest and softest a CB500, moving on to an ER5 which is a tad less wallowy, and a bit more nimble. More 'sporty' but not a full on sports bike, GPz500s, or a bit more stylish, SV650.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
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| shereen |
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shereen
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| Teflon-Mike |
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Teflon-Mike
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| Posted: 13:32 - 18 Aug 2011 Post subject: |
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| shereen wrote: | Agreed, but my 400 is loads more fun that any bigger bike I have ridden. |
Yup, they can be 'fun' Shereen, but its a very 'focused 'fun'
| shereen wrote: | Have you ever ridden an nc30 or an fzr400? I have played so many times with other bigger bikes and yes they are faster, but when it comes to a road with lots of twisties I stay with them all the way. |
Yup. And I wont argue with you about how they work. Used to do ride outs with a few mates; two on FJ's me on the VF-1000... neither bikes exactly 'nimble'.... and another on his VFR4.
All experienced riders, me & VFR rider both with track time under our belts, in his case, chasing podium places in more obscure classes, like MZ!
Ie far from newbies and riders who could exploit ALL a 400 suiper-sport could deliver, and a bike in its prime, and fettled as club racer, not a sloppy twenty year old road bike, abused by a succession of restricted licence holders.
Giving the VFR its due, it didn't 'only' keep up in the twisties; Give Paul a few moments to wind it up on faster roads and he's stay with us pretty much to the limit; bike could get up to 140, and our bikes would only add perhaps 10-15 to that, and on public roads, we rarely did.
In the twisties, though; remember this is a lad that was sticking evil handling old bikes on the podium at Mallory..... only 'occasionally' showed any of us a wheel... he had to work very hard to find any real 'advantage' in the only enviroment it's supposed to have one.
| shereen wrote: | They are braking their nuts off to go into a bend I just crank the bike over and off I go. |
And here is the clue, to what I think you are finding. It's NOT that your VFR handles THAT much better than bigger bikes... simply the folks riding the bigger bikes aren't riding them so close to the limit.
On the road, OR the track, riders are far more often the more limiting factor than the bike.
But, back to our ride outs with Paul, Big difference, was when we got to Oulton Park or wherever......
We were getting off the bikes, locking lids in paniers, and Paul would TUMBLE off the bike, and be rolling around the floor, asking us to 'rack' him, and get his legs and arms and kneck pointing back in the directions they should, and begging to stick his hat in one of our top boxes!
This was often a 'bit' hammed up, I admit, but bike swapping, yeah; 80 mile run was NOT comfortable! And it was a LOT of hard work.
| shereen wrote: | For a first bike I think a 400 is ideal for a year or so. Especially the 2 I mentioned already, they are very forgiving and for a new rider will build confidence up. |
I know WHY you say this Shereen, but I have to disagree. Yes, they are great little bikes and can give you a very good appreciation of 'handling' and holding higher corner speeds, and can build up a lot of confidence in doing so; but straight off the stops, what they DONT do well, is far too much of a sacrifice for that small benefit and denying a wider experience in early riding miles, give some slightly distorted perspective of what to expect about biking....
And I DO mean 'distorted perspective'.... I cant do 'shoulder checks' on a VFR400.... I have to do 'under the arm-pit checks!
Yes, they are good bikes in thier own way, and they 'can' be a good early rider, if that kind of thing is up your street, BUT not as a 'fist' big bike..... something a bit softer, less focus, more forgiving, more 'rounded' and all-round capable, easier to manage, FIRST, to get your early miles in on, restricted GS500 or something; no exiting, but confidence inspiring, gives you a good grounding, makes it easy for you to get used to the overall dynamic of riding, helps you see whats going on around you, forgives mistakes more easily, and is versatile enough to give you an idea of everything you MIGHT do with a motorbike..... THEN when you step off something like that onto a VFR4 or ZXR4, or FZR4, or a TZR250, or RGV250...... you have some frame of reference by which you can actually appreciate what that kind of bike is doing for you, what it COULD do for you, but more importantly, the sacrifices and compromises you have to make to get them.....
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
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| BoomerBikeMan |
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BoomerBikeMan
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shereen
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| Blau Zedong |
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Blau Zedong
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| MORTON |
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MORTON
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| Posted: 11:58 - 20 Aug 2011 Post subject: |
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Excellent post Teflon Mike, I was going to ask the very same question as OP. So a nice 400 will do me.  |
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MORTON
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| Posted: 11:58 - 20 Aug 2011 Post subject: |
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Excellent post Teflon Mike, I was going to ask the very same question as OP. So a nice 400 will do me. |
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shereen
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 15 years, 60 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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