Need a lot of advice with first bike purchase.

[Rosenrot]

First off let me say hi to everyone. I’m completely new to this and would like some pointers and advice, let me say I know absolutely nothing about street-bikes what so ever, however I did race MX for 10 years so I can ride.

My situation:

I'm done with MX, I just sold my CR250 so thats over, I have around $6-7k saved up in the bank and would like to buy a new sportbike and move to another hobby besides MX. My uncle just purchased a new 2006 Suzuki GSX 750F Katana for $6,000 and I really like it. I got the chance to take it for a spin and fell in love, it fit me really well. Being I only have around $6-$7k right now my options are limited but the Katana seems like a good bike. I have the money in hand and am ready to make a buy but wanted a little feedback from some of you experienced riders first on what I should do.

Thanks in Advance.

[R1oldguy]

<<< Official SBN Welcome

If you're REALLY serious about hearing advice from some older and experienced riders than good on you.
First. Take the MSF
Get good gear and wear it.
Read all of the "stickies" in the New Rider Forum.
and DON'T start your journey on a high strung 600 or larger bike.
Riding and racing MX is great for teaching you how to handle the controls of a bike, but does virtually nothing for teaching you how to ride a street bike.

When I started street riding way back when, there was no internet or Forums for me to go to, to get any advice. I don't want to sound like a preachy old man, but I had to learn the HARD way and suffered the crashes to prove it.Use the tools that are freely given and learn from them.
You will recieve good and bad advice on here. Pay attention to whos telling you what. You'll get the picture.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.
BE SAFE and HAVE FUN

[ridesideways]

you can do better than a used katana for $7k. most people here will recommend an inline-4 engine because that's what all the SS bikes have. but a v-twin will probably suit you better coming from MX.

i'd recommend a used SV1000 for a first road bike.

do you like fully-faired bikes or nakeds? what are your goals in riding? is riding a motorcycle like going to the amusement park for you, or do you consider it a skill to master? the answers to these questions will help people recommend something for you.

[Rosenrot]

Thanks Guys. To ridesidways:

I'm not sure what you mean by "fully-faired or nakeds" remember I'm new at this.

My goals are really just to look cool, have a fast bike that will keep up with my friends and something I can add mods to later down the line. I've been racing since I was 8 so riding a dirt bike is second nature to me, I've even raced a CR500 in 3 Super cross event's to give you some idea. I'm a pretty big guy as well, 6"3 260lbs so I need something with lots of power that will go when I twist the throttle. Not being arrogant but when I rode my uncle's 750 I found it quite easy, I'm real rusty with the turns though but either then that I didn't find it much different then riding a dirt bike. Hope this helps

[malik ross]

Originally Posted by Rosenrot

Thanks Guys. To ridesidways:

I'm not sure what you mean by "fully-faired or nakeds" remember I'm new at this.

fully faired would be a bike with a full fairing. the Katana fits that category. a bike with no fairing would be a "naked" bike.

Originally Posted by Rosenrot

My goals are really just to look cool, have a fast bike that will keep up with my friends and something I can add mods to later down the line.

your ability to keep up with your friends will depend upon your ability to ride, not the bike. take an MSF course to get used to the handling and finer movements of a streetbike.

Originally Posted by Rosenrot

I've been racing since I was 8 so riding a dirt bike is second nature to me, I've even raced a CR500 in 3 Super cross event's to give you some idea. I'm a pretty big guy as well, 6"3 260lbs so I need something with lots of power that will go when I twist the throttle. Not being arrogant but when I rode my uncle's 750 I found it quite easy, I'm real rusty with the turns though but either then that I didn't find it much different then riding a dirt bike. Hope this helps

you don't need a lot of power. you need the skill to use it. all the power in the world means nothing if you aren't in the power. different people have different opinions but MX experience counts more in my book than in others. i'm not going to say you shouldn't by a sportbike but i will say tkae some time to get used to it. it also sounds like you don't have a lot of informaiton regarding the types of streetbikes that are out there and the differences between them. read the new rider forum and pick up some motorcycle magazines to help you get a better understanding. sport rider, cycle world and motorcyclist are my recommendations.

[lemosley01]

Originally Posted by Rosenrot

Thanks Guys. To ridesidways:

I'm not sure what you mean by "fully-faired or nakeds" remember I'm new at this.

My goals are really just to look cool, have a fast bike that will keep up with my friends and something I can add mods to later down the line. I've been racing since I was 8 so riding a dirt bike is second nature to me, I've even raced a CR500 in 3 Super cross event's to give you some idea. I'm a pretty big guy as well, 6"3 260lbs so I need something with lots of power that will go when I twist the throttle. Not being arrogant but when I rode my uncle's 750 I found it quite easy, I'm real rusty with the turns though but either then that I didn't find it much different then riding a dirt bike. Hope this helps

Dirt racing does nothing to teach you anything about riding a street bike. It develops habits that are wrong for riding a street bike. If you didn't find riding your uncle's streetbike much different than riding a dirt bike it is because you were riding it like a dirtbike, which is WRONG.

I can guarantee you aren't rusty with the turns if you have never ridden streetbikes. You don't turn a streetbike the same way you turn a dirtbike. You can't develop rust on a skill you don't have.

Throw out your dirt experience. It is meaningless other than it shifts the same and the throttle works by rotating it counter-clockwise.

Throw out your size as well. Plenty of guys much bigger than you ride 500s to learn on.

Ninja 500, GS500 would be fine learning bikes and brand new cost much less than 7000. Find a used one and spend a year or two learning on that. You will become a better rider faster. Not only that, you aren't so worried about controlling the bike and will have 'leftover' attention for dealing with street survival.

If your friends do more than ride in a straight line, one of those bikes will go a long way towards teaching you to keep up with them. If they ride twisties a lot, it doesn't matter what bike you buy, you still won't be able to keep up with them for a while. If all they do is ride in a straight line, well, sorry about that - there are no excuses since you are in WV - there should be lots of good roads in the mountains down there.

When you started riding dirt, would starting out on a cr500 make sense? Street bikes are no different in that regard. And remember, on the dirt there are no cars out to get you.

[tilejerky]

Most people knock the Katana's as being "old-tech" pieces of crap. I say that makes it a perfect bike to start with, given your dirtbike background.

I started riding on an '83 Honda Nighthawk 650, which was relatively heavy for a first bike. It had decent power, too, but I had a lot of respect for the bike's ability to bite me in the ass, and I did just fine. It helped that I was 28 years old, and had gotten most of my testosterone-induced dumb mistakes out of my system.

Having said that, I've got four bits of advice for you:

1. Take the MSF class before you ever put a wheel on the street. It's important, and it should be fairly easy for you to do.

2. Take your time learning to street ride, or you'll be crashing sooner rather than later. DON'T try to "keep up with your friends" until you've got a few thousand street miles under your belt, at least. The biggest danger for you is that your MX background will make you overconfident on the street and get you into trouble. If you can have the patience not to rush the learning curve, then you'll be fine.

3. Buy GOOD gear. Do this before you buy a bike, and before you take the MSF course.

4. Buy a used bike. They've been making Katana's since about 1928 or so, which means that you can buy the same bike as your uncle's without paying for a new one. A 2001 or so should do the trick for you.

Good luck with it, and be sure to post back when you decide what you're going to do.

[Cabanaboy]

It irks me when people say that the dirt riding has NO bearings on road riding. Although I understand that road riding requires more finesse* with the throttle, the same basics ARE there. You lean on dirt as much as road, and dirt is more precarious to be on, it has little stability and can change it's surface friction at any point in time. I think dirt is a great way to earn core riding excperience, whether it be lean in, stability, braking (also immensely hard to emergency stop on dirt vs. road), acceleration, and just plain reading the dirt and keeping the plastic from touching anything but air.

Now, that said, road riding is different outside of core technique. First and most importantly, you have to deal with other human being guiding these 3,000 lb. death blocks, also referred to as cars. This is the worst aspect of road riding possible, because it is one aspect you have no control over. The key is to just anticipate and avoid situations. Strategies that should be used are stopping and remaining in 1st gear, and watch those mirrors. You never know when the car coming up behind you sees you or the stop sign/red light. Make it a GOOD habit to slow down and downshift atleast one gear when aprroaching intersections. This gives you compression braking for slowing down, puts you in powerband level for emergency swerves. Again, have visual sex with those mirrors when slowing down, 80 year olds hate the eye doctor as much as new music. Also ride smart on public roads, don't allow yourself to be distracted by something on the side of the road when you are in the presence of cars. Just because that will be when the soccer mom is reaching down for her dropped cellphone and swerves conveniently into your lane.

Alot of people ride aggressive on the road, most noteably squids, but experienced riders can get away with it too. As you are not that experienced, and I sure as hell hope you don't mutate into a squid, take it easy ont hat throttle, and driving severely defensively for a year will get you into the habit of NOT killing yourself and becoming another statistic.

And as usual, and VERY important, take the MSF. I don't know if Wiscounsin is like PA, but our MSF is free with a permit, and the MSF was as educational as it could be. I've ridden dirt for 8 years, and road on and off for all of those 8, but the MSF taught me great stgrategies I use. And the road course was fun and very easy.

Good luck, don't squid, and have fun.

[MattR302]

Originally Posted by Rosenrot

I'm a pretty big guy as well, 6"3 260lbs so I need something with lots of power that will go when I twist the throttle.

dont use that excuse. thats like saying that me, being 190lbs, i can drive my sentra around, but since you're 260, you need a corvette. my 50hp ninja 500 hauls me plus my 135lb girlfriend around with no problems.

Originally Posted by Rosenrot

My goals are really just to look cool, have a fast bike that will keep up with my friends and something I can add mods to later down the line.

do you want a bike so you "just can look cool", or do you want a bike so you can learn to be a skilled rider and enjoy the sport/hobby? if you want to learn to be a good rider, i'd suggest buying a cheaper, used, less powerful bike, as your skills will develop faster, enabling you to keep up with friends, as mentioned above. you can always add mods to it down the line. if your goal is to "really just look cool", you might as well just stand next to a friend's bike at the local hangout and pretend its yours. good luck with whatever you choose, and wear protective gear.

[Fargin_Bastige]

Originally Posted by ridesideways

you can do better than a used katana for $7k. most people here will recommend an inline-4 engine because that's what all the SS bikes have. but a v-twin will probably suit you better coming from MX.

i'd recommend a used SV1000 for a first road bike.

do you like fully-faired bikes or nakeds? what are your goals in riding? is riding a motorcycle like going to the amusement park for you, or do you consider it a skill to master? the answers to these questions will help people recommend something for you.

First off, this guy is STONED on the SV, It's not a good first bike

Secondly, MX experience is not street experience. You can't draw a connection between the two because of traffic, the way you turn and stop and other differences exist.

Take the MSF course first, get a 500 for a few seasons and learn the survival stuff first.

[Fargin_Bastige]

Originally Posted by Cabanaboy

It irks me when people say that the dirt riding has NO bearings on road riding. Although I understand that road riding requires more finesse* with the throttle, the same basics ARE there. You lean on dirt as much as road, and dirt is more precarious to be on, it has little stability and can change it's surface friction at any point in time. I think dirt is a great way to earn core riding excperience, whether it be lean in, stability, braking (also immensely hard to emergency stop on dirt vs. road), acceleration, and just plain reading the dirt and keeping the plastic from touching anything but air.

Now, that said, road riding is different outside of core technique. First and most importantly, you have to deal with other human being guiding these 3,000 lb. death blocks, also referred to as cars. This is the worst aspect of road riding possible, because it is one aspect you have no control over. The key is to just anticipate and avoid situations. Strategies that should be used are stopping and remaining in 1st gear, and watch those mirrors. You never know when the car coming up behind you sees you or the stop sign/red light. Make it a GOOD habit to slow down and downshift atleast one gear when aprroaching intersections. This gives you compression braking for slowing down, puts you in powerband level for emergency swerves. Again, have visual sex with those mirrors when slowing down, 80 year olds hate the eye doctor as much as new music. Also ride smart on public roads, don't allow yourself to be distracted by something on the side of the road when you are in the presence of cars. Just because that will be when the soccer mom is reaching down for her dropped cellphone and swerves conveniently into your lane.

Alot of people ride aggressive on the road, most noteably squids, but experienced riders can get away with it too. As you are not that experienced, and I sure as hell hope you don't mutate into a squid, take it easy ont hat throttle, and driving severely defensively for a year will get you into the habit of NOT killing yourself and becoming another statistic.

And as usual, and VERY important, take the MSF. I don't know if Wiscounsin is like PA, but our MSF is free with a permit, and the MSF was as educational as it could be. I've ridden dirt for 8 years, and road on and off for all of those 8, but the MSF taught me great stgrategies I use. And the road course was fun and very easy.

Good luck, don't squid, and have fun.

You don't turn a dirtbike in the same way. If you are, you're not doing real well.

Braking is different as well, you use the rear in a totally different manner on dirt.

So, if it irks you that people say dirt doesn't help street, fine. It really shares very little other than basic operation and low traction conditions, but the low traction conditions play way more into roadracing than street riding.

[lemosley01]

Originally Posted by Fargin_Bastige

First off, this guy is STONED on the SV, It's not a good first bike

Secondly, MX experience is not street experience. You can't draw a connection between the two because of traffic, the way you turn and stop and other differences exist.

Take the MSF course first, get a 500 for a few seasons and learn the survival stuff first.

Thank you.

[Ride.]

SV 650 would be good. Or a Katana 600. They'll serve the purpose you're looking for. And if your excuse is "they don't make me look cool enough" then please find a different hobby.
You know what looks really cool? Having skills that you've developed through a series of proper choices (such as choice of first bike) and being able to not only keep up with your friends, but ride circles around them on a much "lesser" bike.
Its better to be the fast guy on the slow bike, than it is to be the guy riding slowly on a fast bike.