Looking to get into Riding

[Vubi032]

Hello Everyone,

I have a massive dilemma that I hope some of the people here would help me with. I apologize in advance for any spelling errors as English is not my native language.

I know a lot of you will probably roll your eyes at the question I am going to ask but I have to

Basically I'm looking to get my FIRST EVER Bike, and I'm looking at an R6 2003-4.

A bit of background info to help you understand my reasoning.

I am a 25 year old guy, with a steady job and an up and coming career. The passion for motorcycles is something I have carried since birth really as My father rode sports bikes all his life, My two Uncles do as well, as does my elder brother as well as 90% of my friends.

Through them, and the MC they are a part of I have spent my entire life around them, sadly however my financial situation did not allow me to purchase a motorcycle up until this point( and I would rather die than have "daddy buy me one"). Over the years I channeled my passion towards the mechanical side of the motorcycles, I worked as an assistant in a pit crew, and have even helped put a few "Custom" racing bikes together, from 250CC Caffe Racers too 600 Super stock (categories). While I have no riding experience, and I fully understand the difference between the driver and the passenger seats I have spent thousands of Kilometers on the back of Sports bikes, from ZXR9's to FJ 1200's(guess that ain't a sport bike), CBR's VFR's ECT...

I am finally in a position where I can afford a motorcycle, and I don't need to tell you guys on here how pumped and excited I am to start my driving classes and tests towards my license.

I have a big dilemma (even tho I have decided for the most part).
Some of my older friends, Friends of my Father/Uncles are telling me to start of with something like 250-300CC, my problem is that a 250-300CC Bike(the kind I would like to get) would set me back anywhere between 3-7K Euros, My brother and a lot of my younger friends are telling me that I would be fine with something like an R6.

Now I Know r6 is a beast.... I have no delusions about the power of this motorcycle, and the dangers I can get myself in to with the lack of experience I have.

I am however a rational person, I fully understand that I need to learn and grow into it, and while I am certain that I would learn more , and faster on 250-300CC's If I were to buy one in my area I would be stuck with it for several years, due to the pricing.

I'm talking about the R6, but 600CC bikes in general here, when I say that I have had numerous recommendations, from people who know me well that Ride bikes when they tell me I will be fine with 600, to quote a friend that has been riding Yamaha bikes since YZF 750(1993') and currently owns an R6 ,the R6 handles like a scooter below 7,8,9K RPM....

I wouldn't consider starting on 600, but since a lot of people that have an invested interest in my well being and life expectancy are telling me that I will be fine on it as long as I understand my shortcomings and lack of experience, as well as respect towards the bike, It's something I can learn on and Grow Into and not be bored of in a few months, One of the reasons I am looking for a bigger bike is also due to the fact that I simply need to be able to take it on the highways for commute between cities as my GF will be moving abroad for a few months(400-500KM away from me) and I plan on seeing her during that time too.

In any event.... Considering I respect and want to grow into the bike.... What would your opinions be on starting on an R6... I have made up my mind basically, but I imagine this MSG board is a big board with a lot of different views.

Sorry for the wall of text and I hope to be joining you guys in the streets soon.

All the best,

V

[grr666]

You can die on a 300, you can just die a bit quicker on an R6. Buy whatever it is that you want mate.
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Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
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[davethekwak]

[arry]

Fireblade.

Thread.

[Rogerborg]

First, get your license. You'll be doing that on a 600cc+ bike. Take the opportunity to thrash it during your training.

Then decide what to get. I bet it won't be a big step back down to a 250/300.

An R6 though, hmm. It will encourage you to chase the revs. Even on a relatively tame CBR600F, I found that the fun only really began at 100kph. Riding a fast bike slowly is pointless. Riding it fast is hazardous.

It's really a decision that only you can make, based on your own self control and the use that you are likely to make of the bike.
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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

[SuperMike]

I would echo the advice to get what you want. I had this dilemma a couple of years back coming from a 125 scooter onto a big bike. A number of people said get a 250 or something small to learn on but I'm so glad I didn't.

I ended up with a new cbr650 which although not quite in the R6 league is certainly not a million miles off. I trust myself that I'm not a liability and so far I've been proven right. I am now used to the power of the bike and it feels normal. I would have been bored within days of a smaller engine.

Nobody can tell you whether you'll end up in hospital or not. I'm far more afraid of other drivers than I am of my ability on a big bike. I would 100% say go with your gut feeling on this one. You are young and you will undoubtedly get into cock waving situations with BMW's etc. I've had times where I've given it a handful of throttle and 'won' the race off the lights, and I've had times where I've sat back and thought this isn't the time or the place. It's a question of how much you trust yourself to make good calls on a big bike. The R6 will hit 100mph in a blink which is more than enough to put you in the back of a bus if you use it at the wrong time.

Ultimately your life and your choice. For all the horror stories it is possible to ride well and safely on a sports bike.

[Keir]

I went straight to a GSXR 600, wasn't a problem at all. just be sensible about it. if you are the kind of person that cant control themselves then it might not be a good idea.
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Current : '08 Yamaha FZ1s
Previous: '99 Honda CBR 600FX, 03 ZX636 B1H, 99 Fazer 600 (red), 02 GSX-R 600 K2, 00 SV650s (red), 2008 ZX10R, 97 Bandit 1200N, 04 ZX6RR K1H, 04 GSX-R 1000, 98 Fazer 600 (gold), 05 Madness 110 Pit bike, 04 CR125R, 00 SV650s (black), 06 KTM 625 SMC, 99 SRAD 600 track bike, 03 SV650, 98 Bandit 1200N, Bandit 600SY, 03 GSX-R 600 K3, 01 GSX-R 600, 01 Fazer 600 (black), VFR 400 NC30 x3, 78 Honda Dream, 00 Speedfight 50

[Polarbear]

Another for 'get what you want'. Presuming you aren't a grade 1 cock then buy your R6 and take it easy

My very first bike was a Yamaha 250 2 stoke with a very narrow power band, crap handling and no brakes to speak of. An R6 would have been way safer

I'm still here.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[Azoth]

It depends on the sort of riding you want to do. To benefit the most from an IL4 sports 600, you will need to take it to the track now and then. It will be great fun and a learning experience. The more experience you get, the more fun it will be. However, track days are expensive. If you don't intend to take them, it will be a long time before you are able to eek the fun out of that bike on the road. Riding a motorcycle is a serious business that can result in disabling life-changing injuries if the worst happens. If you're sensible you won't push your R6 to the limit on public roads, which means it won't be so much fun as a smaller bike. The sweet spot for bikes on the public roads is 60-95 mph on windy country lanes, and ridiculously higher for straight line open roads and motorways. This makes smaller bikes paradoxically more fun if all you intend to do is road riding. Just something to bear in mind.

[Rogerborg]

^^^
That. For my purposes, I enjoy my smaller bikes and my torquey-but-not-revvy 800 twin more than I would a 600cc IL4. The CBR600F and FZS600 that I tried both produced their performance at speeds that I very rarely reach on the road.

However, your use and tastes may be different, so pick the right bike for you.
____________________
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

[Teflon-Mike]

Go learn to ride.
Get a licence
What bike. is pretty much the last question you need answer not the first.
There's a lot of shit on the list needs sorting before that one needs tackling.

R6.. well, personally I find that whole genre of bikes pretty 'boring'.. they are NOT 'a beast'. They are incredibly capable, and incredibly fast, but also pretty ant-septic IMO.. they are designed for one reason and one reason alone, and that is to do fast, lots of it, quickly and easily. Ride one slow, and I get about as much riding satisfaction as from loading the washing machine, and have distinct 'impression' the bike is yawning and asking Have we got there yet?" Up the pace? Bike gets into its stride, and you get a 'thrill' from hw fast you are going very very fast... and still little rider feedback or 'engagement'.. bike has stopped yawnng.. now t's saying "OK...FAST.. how fast you want to go?"and after that initial 'rush' of fast... it's back to boring.... bike goes where you expect t almost before you need think to tell it, and most entertaining bit of the job is keeping your eyes open for speed-traps.. or worrying whether that flash of yellow in the corner of your eye you just had was one you missed.... Going quick on these things requires almost no rider engagement, effort or conscouse thought.... and they go very VERY fast.....

To my sensibilities they are incredibly un-engagng to ride, even less rewarding, and on the public road, just a fast way to loose licence you haven't even got yet... quickly.

I honestly have more 'fun' of that slightly deranged must go fast variety on a 125, that can't even go half as fast flat out, down hill with a tail wind. Kicking its flanks with my heel like a horse jokey trying to coax every last once of oomph from the thing. because it ISN'T easy! Bike makes me work for every little bit of 'quick' it might occasionally delver, hence it is 'engaging' I actually feel like I am doing something, not just a passenger making the odd request; and I get some satisfaction and feel rewarded for that work, when it does, occasionally give me a bit of 'quick'... which is usually at velocities unlikely to trouble speed traps or risk my licence very much, so I can get home and not be having a weeks worth f paranoia looking at the letter box, wondering f they are going to wack me with a huge fine and take my licence off me.

My 125's are mostly old, and four-stroke and far from 'sporty'.. BUT, they can still top 70mph and so break pretty much all UK speed limits if I try hard enough.. and coming off still hurts....

750...something of a 'barge' fast is not it's forte... still pretty rapid... but, it's not a 'fast' bike. Lacking wind cheating fairings though, I do get the wind in my face and the 'sensation' I'm involved something, not just a passenger watching scenaray dissapear in a blurr rather quickly, getting ever more immune to the 'fast'... and wrestling quarter to of metal round bends? Bit like the 125's begs a bit more input and involvement from me.. but apreciatg what that bkes best at, backig off, I can ride it a bit more sedately, still feel 'm doing something, but not having to grak a sweat to do it... AND I can ejoy public roads for what they are really for... going places.... seeig stuff.... meeting people, that kind of thing... rather than living GP Hero fantaces, on a make believe race track, where points mean penalties, not prizes, and only reward is to get home again.... and wonder whether for the miles I'd done, I would have actually had more fun, at a real race track, where 'fast' is rewarded with lap times and trophies, rather than "Yeah yeah, I bet" down the pub.

F your enthusiasm for sports bikes and 'fast' is such you cant understand this.. if your practical riding know how s so scant you don't even know what I am talking about..... then this will be utterly wasted on you.

As a newb, with ltte or no rider experience you will do what so many do... you will get on an 600 sports, and go "Wow! FAST" and every time you get of this bike you believe 'such a beast' and it has't killed you, you will convince yourself that s because you are such an inate riding 'ace' and have 'tamed the beast'.. whch will encurage you to carry on, doing no more than easy 'fast', the bike delivering t to you, pretty much on a plate for little or no rider involvement, eve less encouraging you as a 'new' rider to learn anything or become a better rider... just one who uses more throttle to get more easy fast, convined its your innate talent, not the bike you have 'tamed' doing that... until you end up either in a ditch wondering what the heck went wrong, or becoming so imune to the sensation these things dont delver, you convince yourself you have 'out grown' such a weedy little bike... and its time to step up to a full litre, to get back that 'easy fast' sensation you felt on the 600 when it was novel... and repeat the cycle.. just with ever so much more 'fast'... until you either outgrow it, or enough ditches have emptied your wallet you give up.

And you will likely never get any real appreciation of what a bike can do, or the fun to be found in working for your reward or developing a working relationship with the bike, or of anything they can do, BUT 'fast'.. let alone the sights and sounds and people you are missing rushing by in a blur...

Your money kid.. your choice... but, there s SO much more to motorbiking than tearing around in circles with your arse in the air, and so much 'fun' to be found in so many places, you are denyng yourself with this aspration to dive with a bike that, is really pretty much a one trick dog.

BUT here and now... you cant ride very much at all, legally on the road... so it is really just NOT an issue....

Go get some learning

Go get a licence..

Then when you are a bit more clued up, and in a position ANY bike might actually be a viable reality not a fantasy... take a deep breath and ask yourself what you REALLY want to get out of biking, and is a Super--Six the best place to get t or as much as you could?

Little hint for you... accidents tend to happen when enthusiasm rushes you into the gap between competence and confidence; kerb the enthusiasm a little, get the competance, and don't let confidence get ahead and drag you into trouble before you got it.

Dont Rush. Rushing is fast way to hurt on two wheels, and you are rushing towards making choices over bikes you don't even have a licence to ride yet... get your ducks a row kid, ad worry about what s REALLY important.....
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[Freddyfruitba...]

[Rogerborg]

[davethekwak]

[Andy_Pagin]

[Vubi032]

Thanks for a lot of the input you guys put forward.

To address some concerns... Yeah I will obv wait till i get my license sorted, it's a bit of a long process in my country as it takes me 2 months of training on a bike and in traffic with an instructor before I am even eligible to take the tests.

I will be learning on a 650cc bike, a bit tamer but yeah...

People brought up the issue of how quick on the throttle it is , and it's one of the main reasons I am making the post is to get a feel for ppls opinions on this.

I do have regular access to a track in the city I live in(Free as well) and 3 other tracks I don't have to pay on between 70 and 200km away from where I am at, so I would like to get some of that RR urge I feel out of the way on those.

Mind you I have no plans on being a street Rossi , Ive learned Mental Discipline through years of Martial arts and a brief time in the Military, so I belive I will be in control as I know myself. And I am more interested in the technical limitations people feel I would need to overcome.

But thank you all for your Feedback, some great things being said here on both sides of the argument, keep it comming!

[Bozzy]

You'll be fine on an R6 as a first bike I'm sure. It'll only go as fast you want it to, and ultimately you sound sensible enough.Although there are other alternatives between 250/300cc and 600cc super sports, performance wise. What about a Hornet or CBR600f? Similar power band but more practical riding position wise.
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2004 SV650S >>> 2009 Street Triple R

[Vubi032]

[Bozzy]

[andyscooter]

Op

You mention an mc in your first post

I'm guessing by the others bikes its not a sons of anarchy style mc
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[Vubi032]