yaa..that R6 has some killer power...id go with a smaller bike to learn. sell it after a year or two and THEN get your R6. the insurance on that wouldnt be near as bad as an R6. my friend jus tgot quoted on a ZX6R Kawa and it was 7000 a year..and hes 18. just imagine for a 16 year old. but id definitely go for a smalller bike to begin with.
just my two cents
josh

 

When it comes to street bikes, Suzuki is the best. How about a GSXR 600 750 or 1000. These are the best bikes. The 1000 will beat ANY stock car and bike on the street. Be safe.

 

“sAyIt_fmf” has presented you with some sound advice. I’ve been a motorcyclist for 33 years and started at the age of 17 with a Yamaha 360 Enduro (a dual sport). Since then I’ve been through a variety of street bikes (and dirt bikes) and I did eventually get a sport bike; a brand new ’88 Honda Hurricane (CBR-1000) that I still own today and is now my primary motorcycle (until I can justify an ST-1300 or equivalent to replace my tired ’75 Gold Wing).

You are so vulnerable on the street while on a bike. You should learn the ways and hazards of driving in traffic seatbelted into a 4-wheeled behemoth before venturing out on a bike. You are bound to make some mistakes along the way and hopefully those wont get you or someone else hurt. You need to learn to drive defensively and expect the unexpected especially if you plan to eventually ride a motorcycle on the street. When you finally make the move, start out with something a little more sedate than a powerful sports machine, and always have an automobile as a foul weather backup vehicle.

Then as you get older (and the insurance rates get less outrageous) perhaps some of those wild desires will subside somewhat and then you can think about getting a sport bike. I would think that nearly anyone wanting a sport bike (myself included) will tend to bend the rules of the road from time to time as they wick up the machine for an adrenaline rush. But hopefully maturity and responsibility will tame those desires somewhat and you wont become another statistic.

About 7 years ago I was walking my dog late at night and wondered what all the commotion was about a half mile from my house. After seeing a helicopter come in for a landing I took the dog home then walked back to see what was going on. They were air-lifting the passenger of a CBR-600 to the hospital. He was seriously hurt but he was alive. The driver of the bike didn’t fare as well. He was laying in the grass on the side of the street, covered by a sheet. There was brain matter and blood all over the street that was being hosed away by firemen that were at the scene. I saw a lady firefighter doubled over and crying as the scene was a little too intense for her. The driver lost control of the bike on a slight curve in the road and struck the curb ejecting both riders. The passenger was thrown clear of any obstacles but the driver struck his head on a steel street light pole and the impact smashed his skull. They were both teenagers, neither had helmets (and there IS a helmet law here in Maryland) and the driver didn’t have a license. The bike belonged to the passenger who reportedly was drunk (yep – under age drinking) so his buddy was doing him a “favor” and taking his friend and his bike back home from a party.

The shame of it all (besides the fact that neither were wearing helmets) it was determined that the driver was not speeding or otherwise horsing around. I figure the drunken passenger on the back caused some sort of distraction or moved suddenly which caused the driver to lose control (a sport bike responds quickly to the slightest of body movements).

About a week or so later on a dog walk I crossed the street (a little off of my normal route) to have a look at the accident scene. There was a serious dent near the base of that steel light pole that was made by that kid’s noggin. You’d have to see it to believe it as you would not think a human body could cause that much damage to something so solid.

As a seasoned motorcyclist it irks me when I see these young people on these crotch rockets, and more often than not they are nearly void of protective gear (except for the mandatory helmet), instead clad in sneakers, shorts and t-shirts. I guess they have to dress like that to look cool or it’s the style or whatever. I guess they just don’t realize that sooner or later they may wind up with a very serious case of road rash or worse.

I feel pretty confident when I say that as a motorcyclist it’s only a matter of time before you are going down, no matter how good or careful of a rider you are. It may or may not be your fault when it happens. Hopefully when it does you will be lucky like I have been and come out no worse for wear. Let’s see, in my history of riding it’s happened 5 times to me (not counting tip-overs while stopped or nearly stopped):

1) Hit a cable stretched across a closed private road.

2) Was cut off by a car that did a lane change right in front of me. It was about the 10th car stopped for a red light while my lane only had 2 or 3 cars stopped in it, so I had only just started to brake and was going about 35 when I suddenly had to lock it up while staring at the rear bumper of that car as I slid sideways into the next lane of traffic (this was on a curve). Ended up going down and my helmet wedged between the road and the frame of a car in the left turn lane. The light had turned green but luckily the driver didn’t go, as she had felt something hit her car and felt her car “moving” as I was trying to free myself. She couldn’t see me since I was on the ground. If she had gone, she would have ran over my neck which was just ahead of the rear wheel.

3) Struck a large dog with my RD-400 while traveling 65 mph on a back road. It started running forward along the right shoulder to chase me and just as I was within about 15 feet of it, it suddenly crossed in front of me at a 45 degree angle. Dog was killed, bike went end over end - $500 damage, shredded my pants as I slid up the freshly tarred and chipped road, scratches on my face, scraped up my leather jacket.

4) Took an exit ramp after a rain and went down when encountering some oil about halfway through the ramp on my Gold Wing. More shredded pants and scratches on jacket. No damage to bike other than severely bending the bars when picking it back up.

5) Made a quick left turn after leaving the parking lot at work (traffic light was solid green and oncoming traffic was approaching). Next think I know the bike was down and sliding towards oncoming traffic, stopping before hitting anything. Just minor side panel scratches to Gold Wing and a little scrape on my wrist. After some quick analysis I determined I had forgotten to put up my side stand and when I did the quick left turn, the kick stand gouged into the asphalt and lightened the rear wheel causing it to lose traction and the bike to go down. The next day I greased up the pivot point on my side stand so it would flip up a lot easier (as it was getting pretty stiff).

I have several hundred thousand miles of on-road motorcycling experience. My ’75 Gold Wing has over 100,000 miles on it and my CBR-1000 has nearly 40,000 miles on it. I’ve been cross country (solo) many times over the years, and have ridden to Alaska (solo) back in the 70’s when the ALCAN highway was still a 1200 mile dirt road (it’s still 1200 miles, but I hear it’s all or nearly all paved now). I don’t ride much any more (family responsibilities) and when I do it’s mostly commuting or running errands.

Anyway, if you really want to ride on the road, start out with something gentle, have fun (but not too much fun) and prove your mother wrong (that you will NOT get hurt). My advice is to save the wheelies / stoppies and speeding thrills for your off road antics where you are generally going slower, the ground is softer, it’s not illegal and there is a lot less traffic about. That way you can have many, many years of two and four wheel riding enjoyment.

 

I didnt read to see if anyone else mentioned it, but you will definately DROP your first bike, and you dont want it to be an expensive pretty one hitting the concrete. Also you will prolly lay it down. Get a cheapo slow beater to learn on. Heck, my RD was 300 bucks, find one of them, they can ride wheelies and are very quick. Just not too fast after 100.

 

2tv, that was a very god post, and you made some good points about being a rookie rider and stupid mistakes. It's sad to see these little punks out there thinging they're pro riders. Just yesterday here, a man on a bike was killed as he was coming home from work when his back tire was clipped by a 19 year old kid on a sport bike. This guy just loved to ride, and left behind 3 kids. He was killed by a little punk kid (I know who he is), who will have to live with that guilt for the rest of his life. So austinL911, it's probably not a good idea to be asking if an R6 can spank you moms vettes ***, maybe you should learn how to ride the friggin thing.

 

i think you should get somthing like a ninja 250 . It should be makin like 35-45hp and the best part it only weighs like 300 pounds . then after youve hade it for awile get your r6.

 

cheap plug

I know this isn't for streetbikes, like the fast ones, but I'm helping a bud startup a custom chopper site.. see sig


[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

2tv,
good post,
I rode dirt for years as a kid, rm 125, KTM 400, Husky 430, then quit, got married, and gave it up generally, I saw a royal star & that hooked me, I got a catalog, and the wife saw the v star, that hooked her.. we both went through the basic rider course offered here, and I suggest it strongly to nayone that is interested in riding. A lot of valuable lessons are learned there as I was to find out in 25K miles and some time later, I was riding the 650 while the wife was trying to take the course, as she had NEVER ridden a bike, and did not want to drop a 500 lb bike and skin it up, she still was nervous after taking the class, and was needing to ride something to build her confidence up, it ended up being a 84 rebel 250 I found with 4K miles for 1200 bux, well we rode around the subdivision for about 100 miles doing all the excersises in the MSF course, and see retook the course, then we sold the rebel and got a royal for me and she rides her v star,

the thing I have noticed is this, some (read alot) of folks drive completely oblivious to their surroundings, putting on makeup, talking on phones, etc, and will try to pass a bike on the right side of the road, follow too close, and with the skills tought in the rider course and riding like you are invisible to others, it has managed to keep me in one piece (so far) I still don't take riding a bike for granted, and like you often wonder about kids on sportbikes. would I get another bike, yes, do I ride with full protective gear, sure, but it is my choice as I have a family I'd like to get old with.
is it still a thrill to twist the wick on the bike, sure..is there a time and place for it. yes.

Austin,
laws vary by state depending on the dmv, in fla, it is 15 to ride a bike, but that is 5 brake hosepower, then 16 the restriction is lifted.
a smaller bike would be a lot easier to handle starting to ride, do you have to worry about other folks on the road, well yes and no, you have to be aware of them and anticipate their motions, and always leave yourself a way out in case you need it. riding on the street is a diffrent experience, like 2 tv says, it is a matter of time before you go down, I firmly belive it, I came close a couple of times, due to others actions and weather and a poor judgement call on my part, I'm still learning as well, only been doing it since feb 2000, 5K on the v star, and 24K on the royal, and still have to watch my lane position so a car won't cut me off, or crowd me..

there will always be a market for commuter bikes, and you can ride one and sell it for close to what you have in it if you pick one up used,
the course (motorcycle saftey foundation) is where i'd start, then you can go from there..

 

R1=180mph...

 

yesterday my cuz got in a very bad head on crash on a street bike and the other guy was on a street bike too, they told me that he could die. I dont know what exactly happend yet but i know it was a bad crash.

austin: dont get a freakin R6! youl die. Get a ninja 250 or somethin like that.