Motorcycles for starters?

Question

In the near future I am considering getting a sport bike and I was wondering, is it better to get a 600 thats too small and grow out of it? Or is it better to get a 1000cc bike that you can grow into and be satisfied with the performance for the long run? Considering safety, fun, and financial what would be the better choice?

Answer 1

This is easy and important that you do it. Go small and cheap. If you go big (and 600 is big) the chances of your crashing are extremely high. I've been riding for 50 years (and have an ongoing love affair with crotch rockets-the faster the better), and see, on average, one crash a week. Stastically, 80% of accidents are by riders with less than 5 months experience.
buy a cheap 250 to 400. learn how to ride-if you haven't ridden a sport bike, then you need to learn. they are different than any other bike. I can, almost, guarantee that whatever you buy, you will want something different when you get a lilttle experience. the cheaper your bike the easier it will be to (1) sell and (2) sell without loosing a lot of money. watch people who know how to ride and mimic them.
the reason why new riders crash is because they try to keep up with the more professional riders and wipe out in the curves. the other reason is doing wheelies and stoppies. In 2000 when the Suzuki GSXR1000 first hit town the first 4 sold wrecked within 4 weeks. imagine this: a 600 is faster from 0 to 60 than a corvette, will go around a 160mph. think of it as hitting a 300 pound lineman without shoulder pads. lots of things break. within 2 months of riding with other riders you will want to change what you got. tell them you thought you had better learn to ride before getting a bigger bike, and you wanted experienced riders advice on what to get. all crotch rocket riders are ego freaks and can appreciate what you're saying. they ALL have either crashed or know someone who has crashed (I have lost over 2 dozen friends to bike wrecks-and all but ONE was the bikers fault)
save your money and buy a $2,000 bike-that's good enough to ride with the guys and still cheap enough to sell without loosing a lot of money-if you sell it for $1500 you learned for $500-that ain't bad. tho other side of the coin is you go out and pay $7,000 to 9000 for a 600 and, 6 months later you dicide- I like 600 but I want a XXXX. now you've got all your money tied up in a bike that will be a lot harder to sell. or you decide you want a 1000 or a ZX14 (complete with pilots license)

sorry this was so long winded, but I have seen sooo many riders proped up against a tree, with a broken leg, collor bone etc, looking at their new bike and saying "I just bought it" or "I owe five years on that" etc. new plastic on a crotch rocket is over $3500, and you ain't NEVER had anything that will go from 0 to ballistic before-and it's a serious rush. I got pulled over for 110 in the twisties (all by myself-just admiring the sky,trees, etc. had no idea how fast I was going-but I knew that 5 minutes before I was going 170(then I WAS watching for cops))

Answer 2

It depends on whether this is a sportbike or a cruiser. A 600 cc cruiser is a pretty nice bike for a beginner who likes the riding position. A 1000 cc cruiser is likely to be a good bit heavier - I'd only get one if you know for sure that you can pick it up if you accidentally drop it. It's pretty common to accidentally drop your bike on the ground (notice I didn't say wreck it - you're probably more likely to make some sort of newbie mistake getting it onto a centerstand, or otherwise drop a more or less stopped bike). And you will have an easier time with a lighter, easier to ballance bike.

If you're talking supersports... the engine sizes don't compare with cruisers directly. It's like comparing Formula One racers to truck motors. A 600 cc sportbike is around 100 hp, and so light it's about twice the power to weight ratio of a Corvette. This really isn't something that is easy for a beginner to control. And a literbike is something only an experienced race rider will be able to push to its limits.

So I would recommend starting even smaller if you want a sportbike, something in the 500 cc or smaller range. The most these make is around 50 hp, but that's still really fast if you're coming from the world of cars. And these can still be fun to ride down a twisty road. I'm a relative newbie myself, only about 3,600 miles of experience, and I haven't outgrown my GS500F.

And remember, this is your first bike, not your last. Once you really master riding a small bike, you'll be a much better rider if you trade up to something bigger than somebody who started on a bike with way too much power and had to "respect the machine" all the time (translation: never pushed it anywhere near its limits).

Answer 3

a 1000cc sport bike will kill a rookie. they respond instantly to do what the rider tells it to do even if it will cause a crash. they wont forgive a mistake, and rookies will make a mistake at some point...if u go down at the speeds these bikes are capable of, the road is going to grind u up into hamburger.
sport bikes are lighter in weight than cruisers, that gives them their manuverability and speed. put a 600cc water cooled engine in a frame that's only 450 pounds, it wont take long to break 100 mph in the quarter. a kawa ninja 250 will be alot more forgiving than a 600 or 1000cc bike; at least it will give u a brief time to correct a mistake instead of instantly putting u on the ground.
i see more sport bike's go down than cruisers. most of the time, they took a turn too fast, and basically went off the road, or they paniced when the pegs started to scrape, and sealed their fate by hittin the brakes leaned over.
ur first 6 months of saddle time will be the most hazardous. it's a statistical and proven fact. there's 2 riders: been down, and going to go down. sooner or later, u will go down.

an old timer told me this when i started to ride: the 1st time u think u know it all, and the 1st time u disrespect the bike, that will be the day it puts u down hard. ur survival at that point is up to god.

Answer 4

Beginner on 1000cc sportbike=dead biker

Answer 5

get a used 1000 there so fun and if your young you can take it to the track(if u had the money)but 1000s will pop a wheelie like nuthin and if you just wanna ride there perfect because theve got alot of power without all the upgrades. a 600 is overrated sure if you like acceleration600 are the way 2 go but takes alittle more to pop it up but it all depends on you preferance

Answer 6

you should get a 1000cc bike would be better in The long run

Answer 7

go with the 600....they have plenty enough power! u should be able to ride that forever!