Going to see my first bike tomorrow

[Khanivore]

Passed my test a couple of weeks ago. Decided I would buy a cheap hack which I could drop a few times without significant financial impact. Looked at the prices and convinced myself to upgrade to an older sports tourer. Looked at the prices and convinced myself to go for a ducati monster. Looked at the prices and..

Well, tomorrow I'm going to look at a zx6r. Totally idiotic choice for my first bike. Will cost a bomb to repair if/when I drop it. Goes against all of the advice I have received on getting a first bike. Starting to panic just a little bit. Very excited

[CaNsA]

But is it contemporary?

[reed]

It'll be more fun to have a bike you actually want, than to have a bike you got just because you didn't want to drop something nicer.

Have fun on it and make sure you go really fast everywhere, remember, there is a 95% chance that nothing bad will ever happen ever.
____________________
Generic XOR 50, Gilera SMT 50, GSXR 400 GK73A, Ducati Monster 600, Honda Hornet 600.
Sold. Stolen. Written off. Sold. Current.

[G]

Older ZX6R (G/J/A) makes a sensible first big bike if you can be sensible with the throttle.

They are of course a very fast bike, but also have a bit more relaxed feel than some - it won't shake it's head like the R6 of the day.

[Khanivore]

Cansa I feel the stripes on it do give it a contemporary feel which should be perfect for when I park it outside Starbucks to hang out with my hipster friends drinking skinny extra shot lattes.

This is a p8f and by all accounts they are not as user friendly as the 636 predecessors you referred to. Still, I'll look cool until I hit the deck.

I will take it easy and hope for the best. If you don't hear from me... Keep an eye out for a zx6r being sold for parts

[Ariel Badger]

I do not see you living to a ripe old age but like your attitude. Have some Karma, cheaper than flowers.
____________________
Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[G]

Missed the point in the first post - but my post still stands, even more so.

A newer ZX6R is actually only very marginally quicker than a £1300 older one.

Compared to your average car, the difference between the two is miniscule.
Some people may actually be faster on the more forgiving older bike.

But, it's your money for you to decide what you consider is important to spend it on!

[Khanivore]

I'm not buying a newer one because I want a faster one. I'm buying a newer one in the hope it is less likely to breakdown. I won't be riding the bike anywhere close to its capabilities. I know that.

[G]

Get a recovery policy and a second bike of the same model. You'll still have money left in your pocket and if it does break down, you can just swap to the other one.

Note that the riding position on the 'new age' bikes (R6, b1h, CBR-RR) is a lot more 'extreme' than the older ones and overall they are a lot more focused bikes. I would choose based on the bike you want, not reliability - then go for a good example of the bike you want.

[Rogerborg]

Dibs on your corneas.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Bubbs]

Shotgun the liver and kidneys.
____________________
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

[Musketeer]

He will be fine. I jumped from 26bhp 125cc onto 100bhp 600cc with no problem.

I'm not a believer of CB500/GPZ500/SV650/ER-6 route so encouraged on here. Just get 600cc sport bike that you really want but treat it with some respect. And when finally you decide that you are ready to go faster on it then you probably are not, so don't. Give it time
____________________
Current Bike: Yamaha XSR900 Previous bikes: Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja, Aprilia RS125 2-stroke

[Rogerborg]

Hands up anyone who died jumping straight on a supersports 600. Nobody? That's all right then.

Some sample bias may be evident.

I have become Tef, destroyer of dreams.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[yampug]

i went from a honda h100s to an fzr1000 surprisingly i'm still alive, only moment i had was when leaving a roundabout i decided to open up the throttle a bit to much while still leaning over not realising a 1000cc sports bike will happily highside you. legs and arms in all directions spectating car driver with jaws dropped watching me, surprisingly i recovered it and carried on up the road with a bit more respect for my fzr.

good luck with your zx6r nothing like that feeling of owning your first big bike

[Bullet]

I dont really buy in to this 'get a smaller/slower bike first' as it only goes as fast as you twist your wrist afterall! Plus crashing a cheapo cb500/ER5 shitter will hurt just as much as crashing a shinny zx6, only differance is the repair bill, and thats what insurance is for! Enjoy your new Ninja and keep it shinny side up!

edit - most newbies if they drop a big bike, do it at low speed or stationary. get some crash bungs fitted just in case they're only about £50.
____________________
nonstop unicorns vomiting sunshine pills into a rainbow toilet
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
past: ZXR750 J1, K1 & H1, GPX600R, Yamaha Radian. present: ZXR750 J2, SP-1, CB350

[G]

Other newbies arrive at the corner they didn't realise was nearly that tight at 130mph rather than 70mph because they're on a rather faster bike that 'feels' better and it doesn't go so well.

As for "that's what insurance is for" - to be precise, "that's what money is for", as a new rider with a big own-fault claim is likely to be paying out a good bit.

If you've got the self control to keep the speeds down, it's all good.
Not all do.

[BTTD]

[Bullet]

Sorry G, but I completely disagree. Nobody, not even a newbie finds themselves arriving at a corner at "130 rather than 70" without realising it! 60 instead of 40 maybe, but that could happen on any bike. Infact if I had to go into a corner a touch too fast due to inexperiance, personally I'd much rather be on the bike that can turn, break, grip, and handle better.

A lack of self control makes little sense to me either as even a 500 twin will accelerate fast enough with a high enough top speed to kill yourself if you're riding it like a loon, hell I've seen idiots on 125s crash due to a lack of self control and some 125's will push 70mph. As an argument to not having a bike at all I'd buy that one.

And insurance is paid for with money, I don't see your point? As I said the only real difference is the repair bill and an own fault claim will increase your insurance cost regardless of what bike your insuring.

I do agree with you that the older zx6 can be a sensible first big bike and is only marginally off the performance of the newer one, were it my money I'd get an A1p but the only reason would be because its cheaper and more comfy!
____________________
nonstop unicorns vomiting sunshine pills into a rainbow toilet
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
past: ZXR750 J1, K1 & H1, GPX600R, Yamaha Radian. present: ZXR750 J2, SP-1, CB350

[Atomic Punk]

It's not if, you will drop it.
Maybe not this week, maybe not this month but you will drop it.

(By drop I don't mean crash)
____________________
I may have lost my way but I'm way ahead of schedule.

[j.silvs]

I got a GSXR 600 after i passed my test.

Make sure you put some crash bobbins and cotton reels on it asap mate! could save you a fortune in the future

[G]

Well, we likely can't ask the people it happened to as above.

But I've certainly seen and heard of on here many people arriving at a situation at a very significant speed that likely wouldn't have on a slower bike.
A big bike can get from 70 to 130 very quickly, especially when compared to something like a 500 twin - where you'll maybe get to 90 in the same time. So, someone coming out of one corner, going to full throttle and misjudging the next corner will be a lot worse off on the bigger bike.

Have you ridden any modern sports bikes?
These days they can feel very 'easy' - while on an older bike with similar power it does feel like you're working it, getting jarred by the suspension etc. I find Hondas particularly bad for this.
As a slightly different example, doing 140mph on a zx9 with a double bubble 'felt' a fair bit slower than doing 85mph on the KLR650 I had.
Stick a new rider on the KLR and they're probably not going to be going over 80, despite it getting to 98 on the clocks.
Stick them on the ZX9R and they'll likely feel confident to go significantly faster.

Sure, you can kill yourself with a 500 twin. But a bike that gets to twice the speed in the same time which also has sharper brakes and twitchier handling, I'd suggest is more likely to kill you.
And the issue is that you don't (relative to the bike) have to ride it like a loon. On the 500 you're having to extract every bit of performance to get it going at a decent pace. On the sports bike you're using 30% and still going a lot faster with the bike feeling more composed.

Claiming on insurance costs you money. Quite significant amounts often. In many cases more than if you'd just gone TPO and put the money aside.
So it's not really a case of "that's what insurance is for" for many people, but "that's what money is for".

[Khanivore]

I was not able to see the bike I did manage to buy some motorcycle trousers so at least now I am geared up to ride (already had the other bits). My day was not a write off either. I visited two bike shops and sat on loads of bikes inside the shop. i sat on a Hornet, CBF, CBR-600F, ZZR, VFR, Harley (!), SV650s, Street Triple, CBR-600RR, ZX6R, Monster.. and i think there were a couple more.

The biggest surprise to me were the super sports bikes. I had expected to feel awkward and ungainly on them but I didnt. The position did not feel that compromised at all. At first I was leaning on my wrists and I could see how actually riding the bike like this for any period of time might be painful. However, as soon as I remembered to sit using my legs to grip the tank the wrists had no weight on them. I did sense some tension in my lower back, but again soon as I adjusted my posture that moved to my hips and I was fine. They didn't seem that scary (IN THE SHOWROOM - this statement is purely about posture, not the fact that they take you in to corners fast etc).

Anyway, I was pretty disappointed when I couldn't go to see the bike. I was looking forward to riding it and had lost the initial fear i had of even test riding it.

I considered arranging another trip but it's a long way. Instead I'm going to see a CBR-600F which is a grand cheaper tomorrow. The CBR is probably £300 above the bargain price i was looking for but it is 1 owner, FSH, and completely unmolested by all accounts. Hope I get a test ride.