I'm planning on a new rides and need a few ideas/suggestions, the choices (images are samples I found on the net):

Honda CBR600F4i:


Kawasaki Ninja 500:


Suzuki GSX-R 600:


Triumph 595:


Yamaha YZF 600:

 

Get the Suzuki, its all badass... I miss mine...


mine was a GSXR 750 though, not a 600

 

Suzuki or the Yami....both are awesome.

 

I'm leaning toward the Triumph or the Yami.

 

boooo!!

 

I'll beat you yet Leo, hahaha.

 

Jixxer or the F4i ...

 

Huh? If your reffering to my bike. It would hand the *** to any of those bikes... Last time i raced with it, it ran with a stock R1... pretty good for a 750 if ya ask me..

 

thats just funny, i read it to myself...lol

 

600s are quick. 750s are more than enough power. Liter bikes and bigger are pure overkill unless your trying to kill yourself...

 

Have you ridden before? If so I'd suggest NONE of them! Never get a crotch rocket as your first bike, you'd probably kill yourself, I know I would have. If this is your first bike go get a used POS standard (no plastic) that you won't mind when you drop it, because you WILL.

However if you've ridden before, I'd stick w/ the Honda. Probably the most reliable and MORE than fast enough. Wait for Dave to chime in here, he's got a lot more experience w/ 'em than I. I've got a Suzuki and am unimpressed w/ the quality. Shoulda seen the white smoke comin' out of her this morning!

However there is definitely call for a liter bike. If you plan to do a lot of highway time and/or ride 2-up a lot the extra weight helps a lot. I'd hate to ride 300 miles 2-up on the Interstate on a farkin' 3xx lb. CBR6! My Bandit 1200 weighs in at over 600 wet and is far more stable at speed (yes, I have ridden a CBR). And then there's the torque. Mine could deal w/ 2-speed tranny and still be ridable. You'll be up and down the gearbox in traffic on a 6. Then again the 6 makes my bike look like a dog on tight twisties. So it all depends on what you're after..

 

Hey Bubba, i have ridden Dirtbikes durring my entire childhood.. im wanting to get a crotch rocket.... i was looking at a GSXR 600 or 750... you think i should start out small.. i found a 250cc ninja for 2500 that i could get to learn on, but i think i can ride just fine because of my dirt bike experience? Lemme hear your 2 cents

 

Starting smaller is always better, in my opinion. Then again a 250 is really too small to be usefull on highways and such. I would think one of those 500s, like the Kawi in the original post would be a better deal. I think Suzuki (used to?) makes one that was uber cheap and had no fairings and such. It looked kinda dumb, but was probably a helluva first bike. Small enough to learn on yet big enough to be comfortable on State and US highways. Although still too small for long treks on the superslab.

If you've been riding in the dirt for a long time, then you've probably got a great jump, even moreso then some of the rest of us. I did not, I started at 16 years old (10-11 years ago now!) directly on a '78 Honda Hawk 400. Basically it was a light-ish weight, air-cooled 400cc inline twin. A great bike, 'xept on the superslab. I hear all the great GP road-racers start on dirt-bikes and dirt track racing. I know my biggest weakness is sand spots, I freeze up. It is something I've been working on for my entire life. I hear those w/ dirt experience are less freaked out by it. Ya'll are used to having that front wheel slide..

Another biggie, at least here in NH is the licensing test. Here in NH the test is done in a parking lot at the DMV w/ your own bike. It involves a lot of slow speed manuvers and is a BEAR on a big bike. The story I still love to tell is the about the day I took my test. There were two guys that flunked: one on a Gold Wing GL1100 (opposed 4-banger, a very wide bike!) and the other on a Kawi 900cc sport bike w/ clip ons. Neither could negotiate the slow course w/o putting their foot down. Meanwhile a woman pulled in w/ her husband (who obviously had his license already). She was riding a 125cc Honda POS that burned oil and just looked like *** and he was riding a full dress Harley. She aced it first try no problems. It was obvious that their fist stop on the way home was the Harley shop to fit her for something bigger. I too breezed through at the ripe age of 16 w/ my lightweight 400.

Nowadays they've got the MSF beginner course, which is taught on 125 or 250cc road bikes. I think that's the way to go bigtime. You start on these little 'toy' bikes. A weekend on these things will tell you if you even want to ride. If you can't handle those machines, you will have a horrible time on a 600cc rocket. I hear lots of people walk away from MSF courses having totally changed their minds about riding, it isn't for everyone. Best case the course gives you the first experience on a road bike and teaches you some good habits. Then you can go get a bigger bike w/ some confidence.

I should add that in most states passing an MSF course automatically gets you your license. You get to skip the state test.

Personally I'm not a fan of full-on, race-replica rockets. Sure, they're fast and they handle great, but lotsa bikes do that. My father has 40+ years of riding experience and can make his tired '89 Harley 80 cuber fly. Sometimes I've got a helluva time keeping up w/ him even though I'm riding a 'higher' performance liter bike. And rockets aren't comfortable. I'm sorry, but the saddle on the CBR-6 is a joke. It's all of a 1/4" of foam! And then there's the price. My B-12 was $6500 brand new off the dealer's show room. You'll be hard pressed to get a good used gixxer for that price. My bike is a helluva lot of fun, is still relatively comfortable, and was a relative steal. Insurance isn't as steep either (less plastic = less insurance).

However if you're still hooked on the GSXRs, I'd go for the 6. I have no personal experience w/ either, but I've been told that the 750s from all the makers, especially Suzuki, are horribly overpriced compared to the 6. You can put a few bux into a 6 and get similar performance out of a stock 750 for a lot less. But again I have no personal experience. My bike is largely stock.

Personally were I to do it over again I'd go for the Kawi ZR-7s. I looked at this bike real close and finally went for the B12 for assorted reasons. In retrospect it probably wasn't the right call. (I've had some serious problems w/ my Suzi!)

My next bike will be a cruiser. Probably a 1100-1300cc Honda. Preferably a shaft drive V-twin. Something w/ a really fat saddle that the woman will be comfortable on..

Hope something in all that helps..

 

I almost bought the yamaha, but got in an accident so I couldnt aford it now, so i'd say get the Yamaha

 

Thanks Bubba, im hooked on the rockets!! My friend had a 500 CBR, tried to sell it to me for 1000!! i wish i woulda took him up on it!!!! stupid stupid me!!!!! im leaning toward the 600 alot, and first thing to be replaced IS the seat :-) I work for the Dept of Public Saftey, so... the test shouldnt be hard for me, gonna go talk to one of the guys that gives the test for some pointers.

 

honda motorcyles are the way to go..

 

I should hope that the test is just as hard for you as it is for everyone else! That said getting pointers is okay in my book. But be sure and ask for riding pointers, not help-me-pass-the-test pointers. Big difference.

And I should add that other state's testing proceedures are probably totally different. For example when my grandfather went for his test in Maine it involved a lot of on the road testing. There was NONE for the NH test, everything we did was in the parking lot. Some say that the NH test is kind of a joke because of this.

 

Ha! W/ an avatar like yours I wonder why you think so?!

Do you ride? If so, what? Love hearing from other 2-wheel junkies..

 

Don't know how I missed this one.

It used to be that Yamahas and Suzukis were for people that buy because of the hype and Kawasakis and Hondas were for people that knew better. Lately that has changed and the Honda and Kaw are now more race oriented.

My 929 is relatively relaxed, good enough for 100 miles at a time. The new bikes aren't. If you are buying a bike to be cool so that you can tell everyone you have one, get a GSXR or Yamaha. If you are buying one to ride and actually use every day, get a used Honda or Kaw or don't get a sportbike.

The wife has an '04 F4i, and while it is a second runner to the 600RR it is way more practical and 95% as fast.

If I had to buy a bike right now I would seriously look at the '05 Triumph Speed Triple.

 

I was looking at a honda CBR also, ive always been a fan of hondas
first 2 wheels i sat myself on was a honda XR 80

 

Dave and I had this discussion a while back on the Honda 919, which is considerably more expensive than my B12 and doesn't have as much displacement or (arguably) features. I think we basically agreed that it was more money because it was a Honda. Sometimes you get what you pay for..

My bike is uber cheap and mega fun. I'm not disapointed that I bought it and I'd suggest it to others definitely. But then I'd still rather have a Honda. My '78, my father's '86 Magna, mom's '84 'Wing, gramp's Rebel and later his Shadow. All were bullet-proof! Sadly the 919 wasn't available in '01 so I couldn't even consider it.

Dave: I saw a used Triumph back in '01 when I was shopping. It was at this HUGE used dealer up my way. The salesman listened to me say I was looking for a B12 or a Kawi ZX-7 and pointed to the Triumph. I knew nothing about them and walked away. Have to say I wish I'd given it half a chace..

 

The guy that works next to me rides a 919. He likes it but agrees it costs too much. It's up 100 this year but you do get a compression adjustment in the front fork now.

That was probably the same Triumph dealer my friend got his Tiger at. He bought it in NH. It's for sale now, he got fired from JB Hunt.

 

The 919 just dosen't interest me. But then my opinion about plastic-ized bikes like your 929 has changes since I bought my 'naked' B12 too. I think yours almost qualifies as a 'sport-tourer', which is probably what I should be after.

Actually I saw the Triumph at a used dealer. Motorcycles of Manchester. The place is like a big-kid candy store, two floors of fun! They seem to have nearly one of everything. In the front they've got just-last-year model CBR-6s, gixxers and such. Then as you work your way back there are those funk-tastik Harleys from the 'dark' days of the mid/late 80's. Even further back there's the fun stuff: late 70's and early 80's vintage UJMs. If I ever win the lottery I'm gonna have to drop in there.

They had a used Triumph something or other sitting on the main showroom. The salesman said he had one himself and it was non-stop fun. At that point I was pretty much in the B12 or Kawi ZX-7 rutt though and didn't give it much thought.

Oh, my favorite two visits to the Manchester shop: one day I was in there and they had one of those Kawi police specials, you know, right out of CHIPS. Well some wiseass had scotch taped a Dunkin' Donuts box and an empty coffee cup to the back deck of it! I couldn't stop laughing.

Another time I was wandering around and walked past the bathroom. They had a single-seater bathroom, like in a normal home, except the room was huge. There in the middle of the room was a Duc Monster up on it's center stand! What a horrible life, having to sit there and look at that wonderful bike while doing your business uh?! ;-)

The guys that run it have one helluva sense of humor, which is far more than I can say for most dealers, new or used.

 

We don't have anything like that around here. That sounds like a cool place. You're lucky to even find used bikes, let alone a decent selection of them.

I wouldn't go so far as to call the 929 a sport tourer but compared to a GSXR it almost is. With a set of heli bars you probably could do all right. The trunk is huge for a sport bike as well. I can easily fit two fifths of booze in there.

 

They've got a healthy markup, especially compared to private sale, but compared to new dealers it's still a great place to shop. Can't beat the selection either. I don't actually know anyone that's bought from them, but I was real close.