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New Rider ForumsJust joining the motorcyclist hobbie? Looking to get some information about a first bike? Or have some newbie questions. Are you new to the website?
Last night after my ride, I got to thinking, What is the biggest difference between and 250/500 or a 600 for those who have started small?? What was the one thing after they moved up that kinda make ya go "wow Im really glad I started small!"
I was just wantin to know, so everybody who has started small then moved up, whats the biggest change you experienced when you made the move??
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my experience is in reverse... going from a sixxer to a 250. The available power on tap was the first thing I noticed. A twist of the wrist on the 250 was much less butt puckering than it was on the sixxer. Also, the seating position was much less leaned forward, that is I was sitting straighter up on the 250... might not matter to some people, but it made me a little more comfortable.
And brake feel... was very noticeable to me. Not that the 250 lacked stopping power, just felt different in their strength and reactivity.
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I rode big bikes for years and then when I moved to Japan the first time I got a small inline 4 250. I want to be clear about this, because the 250 I had was a lot different than the ones we get in the states. It had a lot of the same bad characteristics of the inline 600s, (peakiness) but without the power to really twist you up in a hurry.
The main thing I found about riding a smaller bike is that it makes you aware of what you need to be doing to really manage the bike. That means using the transmission to keep the bike in the power band and driving into corners a little hotter than you would on a bigger bike so you can keep your momentum up.
Big bikes with lots of torque allow people to develop bad habits. Running around in higher gears way below the power band, slowing down through corners too much and then relying on the bike's grunt to pull you back up to speed. Of course you can get around on a bike just fine doing stuff like this and many people think that is really how you ride, but it isn’t. Why do you think so many people are shocked when they get spanked out on the street by someone riding a bike hundreds of CCs smaller than theirs?
Once you develop those bad habits, when you do twist the throttle and come into the power band, it can be pretty scary and it can get out of control a lot more quickly than you might think. Slapping the throttle open abrubtly can lead to traction problems (which leads to other things...) Conversly, snapping the throttle shut slows the engine down quickly, but that can unsettle the suspension (which can lead to other things too...) These are just two basic examples, but a lot of these kinds of things can be avoided by learning on a small bike.
Today I'm back to riding a big bore sportbike but I am nowhere near as connected to it as I was to my 250. Maybe a pro rider could toss this bike around and use all of its potential on the track, but I know that if I tried that on the street it would kill me. I really miss owning a bike that I could throw into corners and generally boss around.
good things i liked about starting small and used with my ex500.
- bike was a lot cheaper than any 600+ bike
- insurance a lot cheaper than any 600+
- the gas mileage is better on a smaller cc bike
- there was a few times when i panic stopped and grabbed too much brake, if i was on a 600 im sure i would have been on the pavement before i had time to recover from the lockup
- there was a couple dumb newbie drops in my driveway (not getting the kickstand all the way down and letting it down slowly) that would have pissed me off if it was on a newer shiny bike
- its fun being able to wring the throttle a lot more than you could on a 600+, especially in town, first gear on a ex500 redlines at 40mph, second gear is 60mph... on a 600, first gear will take you over 70mph.
the 250 practically feels like a big scooter compared to a 600SS
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tmkreutzer...i couldnt agree more with your post...i started on a CBR1000RR...i grew up riding dirt and took ten or so years off from riding all together...and then jumped on a liter bike like a true squid...i got 7500 miles before it was stolen and now i have an 06 F4i that i hope i have forever...
what was posted is %100 true...i still have a few of those habits today...hopefully i can get rid of them...maybe a track day or two will help me...but a small bike is way more flickable...i love my F4i way more than the liter...every now and then i miss that grunt...then i ride up on a corner and i am totally over it
smaller can be more fun...depends on what you want...only you can truely answer that question
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