when ready for a bigger bike

[07cbr600]

i have been hearing a lot of guys on this site say that they put on a year of riding on a 250 or 500 before they got on to a bigger bike. and from the way they talk about how they were smart and waited a year and that they suggest that everyone do it, that there mightier than everyone else. and that were all incapable of riding a bigger bike. a lot of them talk like now that they started small they automaticly can get on a bigger bike and never have to worry about crashing. this annoys me so when do you think that you should get a bigger bike. 17, 18, 21. because im betting that i have more road miles on my bike than they have on there 250s ao 500s.

[bush]

Originally Posted by 07cbr600

i have been hearing a lot of guys on this site say that they put on a year of riding on a 250 or 500 before they got on to a bigger bike. and from the way they talk about how they were smart and waited a year and that they suggest that everyone do it, that there mightier than everyone else. and that were all incapable of riding a bigger bike. a lot of them talk like now that they started small they automaticly can get on a bigger bike and never have to worry about crashing. this annoys me so when do you think that you should get a bigger bike. 17, 18, 21. because im betting that i have more road miles on my bike than they have on there 250s ao 500s.

Did you just start this thead to bitch and complain? Take a fucking midol.

Why do you people get so ass-hurt when the experienced riders say it's good to start small?

[07cbr600]

Originally Posted by bush

Did you just start this thead to bitch and complain? Take a fucking midol.

Why do you people get so ass-hurt when the experienced riders say it's good to start small?

no but i think that you replyed to.

and thats not what im saying at all. there are guys that are 17 that got a 250 as there first bike {at 16} maybe put on 3,000 miles and the think that they automaticly deserve a bigger bike. and then they cant crash and are invincible.

[jabberwoky]

07cbr600:

You do raise a valid point. Just cause you ride a 250 for a year does not mean you are a capable rider and ready for a 600 superbike. I totally agree with you. You first post was a bit unclear on its point, but I get what you are saying. I think part of the problem is maturity. Most young riders want it all now. Each rider has to realize that it is a personal decision as to when they step up to a bigger bike. Another issue is peer preasure. When I was shopping for my 500 I got alot of ribbing and joking from customers in some of the shops I went too about "regreting getting a 500" and ever a few sales people that comented about "outgrowing" the bike. It is a hard thing for someone to ignore.

[07cbr600]

thanks. maybe i should have been more clear. when do you personally think that your ready for a bigger bike. i think when you dont have to ask yourself if your ready or not. as far as a bigger i really dont care how fast it goes. i would love for the 250 to have the same plastics as the 600. if it did i wouldnt look for anyother bike.

[TwistedGray]

How do you have more ROAD miles then most people that are just starting as well?

[07cbr600]

because im an iresponsible kid. no its just where i live the cops wont pull anyone over thats driving a quad and a dirtbike on the road. my bike being an enduro, i ride on the road a lot. very iresponsible ya ya ya, i have put on over 4,000 miles on my bike since last july. i put on around 1,000 in the last week or 2 alone. thats how i have more miles. and once again iresponsible with bad consequences.

[Jehos]

Originally Posted by 07cbr600

thanks. maybe i should have been more clear. when do you personally think that your ready for a bigger bike. i think when you dont have to ask yourself if your ready or not. as far as a bigger i really dont care how fast it goes. i would love for the 250 to have the same plastics as the 600. if it did i wouldnt look for anyother bike.

They do, check out the Hyosung 250. Looks just like a modern 600. Same thing for the Suzuki GS500, another recommended beginner bike.

As for when to step up, I don't think it can just be "when I don't have any question I'm ready". Crash statistics show that riders with less than 3 years experience think they're better than they are, especially in the 24-36 month range. You're about as likely to die in a wreck during that period as you are when you're brand spanking new on the bike. That very dangerous period tends to be attributed to overconfidence.

Personally, I think it would be nice if there was some test you could take that says you're ready for a bigger bike, but unfortunately there's not. That's why around here, a lot of people use some general rules of thumb:

- 1-2 seasons of riding
- 10,000 - 20,000 miles
- Significant portion of riding done on twisties
- Track days

None of those things alone is enough to say you're ready, but if you've done most or all of them, you might be ready.

Also, I think it's worth pointing out that there are two different times related to upgrading your bike: (a) when you're unlikely to injure or kill yourself, and (b) when you've mastered your current bike. I'd argue that 99% of riders look at the first one as the deciding factor. These are the guys that "got bored" of their starter bikes after a couple months. They're also the guys that you'll find on liter bikes and bigger after a season or two of riding. Almost nobody looks at mastery as the reason to move up. The only ones who seriously do that are racers who work their way up through the different bike classes. They start on 125s and 250s and progress their way up to wherever they can get to competitively. For some, it stops there. For the truly gifted, it leads up to MotoGP.

Most of the advice you'll find here, especially in the New Rider forum, is aimed at finding some mark between the two. Sure, you could hop on a 600 after 6 months of riding and you probably won't die. However, your learning curve will probably hit a brick wall which means you aren't continuing to develop the skills that might save your life one day. The experienced riders here will try to guide you toward waiting to upgrade until it's relatively safe for you to do so. "Safe to upgrade" happens well after the "won't die" point, but well before the "mastery" point.

[TwistedGray]

Originally Posted by Jehos

- 1-2 seasons of riding
- 10,000 - 20,000 miles
- Significant portion of riding done on twisties
- Track days

None of those things alone is enough to say you're ready, but if you've done most or all of them, you might be ready.

Then again, they might be more then enough or what ignorance would say "too much"

[07cbr600]

not a fan of the hyosung 250, but im liking the gs 500. i looked at the 4 major brands non stop and havent seen the gs 500 yet. i also see wheat yor saying. never thought of it like that. thanks for all the information. i hope people will read this and understand it.

[HarvesterUT]

you could try the hyosung 650gtr....it's a 650cc but only 80hp...so it's a far cry from the modern 600s

[Jehos]

Originally Posted by TwistedGray

Then again, they might be more then enough or what ignorance would say "too much"

Well sure, that's going to be overkill for some people. However, this is the internet. For the most part, the people giving advice have never ridden with the people asking questions. I know that Fargin_Bastige, tmkreutzer, acalliste, and others have the attitude that they'd rather give overly cautious advice because (a) lots of people lurk these forums, and (b) they don't want it on their conscience that they gave advice that might have gotten somebody hurt or killed. Basically, there's no downside to waiting too long to upgrade, but there is tons of downside to not waiting long enough. It's obvious which way you should err.

[naceric]

My 2 cents. I spent over a year trying to decide which bike to buy as the first bike I would ever own. (I had never ridden before) I narrowed it down to a Ninja 500 or Ninja 650r. (I thought a long time about a Katana 600 or 750 too.) When I went to the dealership in Lincolnwood, IL (Chicago) I was heavily pressured to buy the bigger bike and stay away from the Ninja 500. Three sales people got together by me and said I was too big for the 500 and would outgrow it in about a month and want to sell it. They laughed at the thought of getting a 500 starter bike, in fact. I am 6' 190 pounds, which is not that big. I do think their pressure and its affect on my ego kept me from buying the 500. I bought the 650r and I think it's fine for me. There have been a few instances when I made minor mistakes on the bike while taking low speed turns (braking/throttle-related), that were mere wobbles on this bike, but I am fairly sure they would have been accidents on larger (race-inspired) bikes. I am fairly happy with the 650r, but I really don't like the riding position. Ironically I think my height is a factor. I just can't get comfortable. I want to sit back in the seat, but I am constantly fighting not to slide forward in the seat, which is REALLY annoying. I am not sure whether this would be worse on the 500cc bike or if it is just an issue with the riding position on the 650r. It seems the 650r is made for riders around 5'7" or so. Because of that, I don't know what advice I would give new riders about selecting a first bike. I think that the physical size of the bike in relation to the rider (not engine size) is a factor that they should consider. I've heard a 250 isn't too small for someone 6'0", but if it's more cramped than the Ninja 650r, I would HATE it. Overall, the 650r is a decent beginner bike because it has lower horsepower and may be more forgiving while learning. I do see why a 250 or 500 would be even better; and more importantly, I realize why a 600cc sport bike or supersport is a huge mistake for most beginners. It would have been for me, anyways.

[TwistedGray]

Originally Posted by Jehos

It's obvious which way you should err.

Is it really that obvious?

I went from
86 500R
98 500R
94 600F2
94 900RR
97 600F3
99 GSXR600
*99 GSXR750* (buying soon, I think)

Seems that I am doing quite fine with the way I am doing things...

I didn't go through 1-2 seasons of riding with the 500s. I think I had about 4-5000 miles between the 2 500s. I would say 3/4 of riding was twisty roads on the 500s. Also, I just started doing track days with the GSXR.

MY METHOD which seems to work QUITE well is to ride with older people with more knowledge. The ones who have been riding for longer then I have been born. I don't think you need 1-2 riding season, I don't think you need X miles, I do think you need twisty road riding, and I do not think you need track days under your belt.

[MAD_CAT]

oh boy here we go