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Your first Bike?

2K views 36 replies 30 participants last post by  jeffy74 
#1 ·
I'm sure this thread has been done before, couldn't find one on search though.

I just bought a 600RR 04 about a month ago and I have come to find out it's a lot more bike than I originally thought. I learned to ride through a MSF safety course on a kawi 125cc and the difference is amazing, the throttle control is unbelievable.

I'm just curious what everyone else has done for their first bikes? New ones usually or used ? Start with sports or cruisers? I'm in no way regretting my decision but i'm not pushing my limits either.
 
#4 ·
Well you bought the same first bike I did. Get ready for it, that bike is amazing and stupidly fast. There is going to be people in here saying you should have started smaller and will hound you for it. My suggestion is to take it easy on that bike until you get a feel for it. It's lighter then most every other bike out there, has good and bad points to it. It's capable of 167mph "I've been there" thats indicating almost 180, but sportbike speedos are off about 7-9%.

Wheelies are easy, use 89 octance, 93 makes the bike run real rich and actually lessens the performance. for the first 500 miles I wouldn't reccomend you follow that damn sticker, everyone I talked to said give it hell, ride it like you plan on riding it later. Easy break in then switching to hard riding will result in lower engine life.

Um, only other thing I can think of is you should have waited for the 05's, they have inverted forks :twofinger

nice bike btw
 
#8 ·
Seriously, why don’t people learn to ride before buying a new bike?
Motorcycles are dangerous and stupidity will kill you. One who cared more about riding rather then posing might choose a bike more aptly suited to one’s abilities.

New drivers don’t take drivers ed. in a Porsche Turbo…why would you buy a bike that is abhorrently faster then an exotic supercar? Obviously, you made a bad decision. Now you must attempt to remedy the situation. Take a rider’s class…and be safe.
 
#10 ·
3l1t3 said:
Seriously, why don’t people learn to ride before buying a new bike?
Motorcycles are dangerous and stupidity will kill you. One who cared more about riding rather then posing might choose a bike more aptly suited to one’s abilities.

New drivers don’t take drivers ed. in a Porsche Turbo…why would you buy a bike that is abhorrently faster then an exotic supercar? Obviously, you made a bad decision. Now you must attempt to remedy the situation. Take a rider’s class…and be safe.
Good question, cool factor? I bought this as opposed to a used bike because they were hard to find anywhere within 200 miles of me, no small good condition sport bikes. I looked for 6-8 months and finally gave up and bought a new one. (everything else was a 600cc and about almost the same sticker).

I did take the MSF basic course and i'm taking the advanced course here in a month, I don't ride like a fool i'm pretty damn cautious. Although your words are heeded and I appreciate the analogy of the porsche turbo, I had never thought of it that way.
 
#11 ·
evils-03-RR said:
use 89 octance, 93 makes the bike run real rich and actually lessens the performance.
that is bad advice. a higher octane will not make a bike run rich. having more gasoline(no matter the octane) than there should be in the fuel/air ratio will make the bike run rich, and nothing else. octane is related to the compression your engine makes and higher octane deters predetonation, but it will not make your bike run rich. you might have just had a batch of bad gas.
 
#12 ·
Phobos said:
I did take the MSF basic course and i'm taking the advanced course here in a month, I don't ride like a fool i'm pretty damn cautious. Although your words are heeded and I appreciate the analogy of the porsche turbo, I had never thought of it that way.
i recommend getting a good 6 mos of riding before taking the advanced class.
 
#14 ·
Man, I don't know why I get so upset, well, I kinda don't care, i guess it just really irks me when noobs give out bad advice to other noobs who don't know any better. yes, some noobs might get by, but some of this advice can seriously get someone into trouble.
 
#16 ·
Stephen072774 said:
I love to outrun newbies on 600's in the twisties, and then take off my helmet to reveal my (premature) grey hair. Talk about priceless. :D
That's gotta be one of the best things, riding a slow bike fast, while all the other guys are riding their fast bikes slow.
 
#17 ·
RACER X said:
i recommend getting a good 6 mos of riding before taking the advanced class.
Being i'm in the AF I have no choice in the matter. If you don't take the course within 30 days of getting the bike they ORDER you to not ride. Of course the military never does anything that makes sense why would they with this?
 
#18 ·
I started on a GSXR 400, then a Virago 250, and now the CBR F4i. I took my first MSF course back in '94, and I took it again two years ago. Oddly enough, in my second MSF class, the instructors told us NOT to buy small bikes because we'd only outgrow it. While they didn't necessarily say to buy a 750 or 1000+, they said a 500 or a 600 was a good start. Go figure.

Anyway, I ended up getting the 250 even after the instructor told me I'd outgrow it. Truth is...he was right...but I made the decision to go down a notch from the 400 because I wasn't comfortable with the 600 at the time. After 3 months, I was damn near doing circus tricks on the 250, but that was a cruiser, not a sportbike 250. Big difference. I rode the 250 for about eight months, ditched it on Ebay for $2900 (new out-the-door for $3,500), and bought the F4i. I'm happy with it, but next summer, I'm giving it to my Mom (yep, she took the MSF course), and I'd like to buy a used '03 954RR.

Well, all I can say is good luck with your bike and remember to respect and take care of it (maintenance), and it will always take care of you.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Phobos said:
Being i'm in the AF I have no choice in the matter. If you don't take the course within 30 days of getting the bike they ORDER you to not ride. Of course the military never does anything that makes sense why would they with this?
Uhm...actually the policy makes quite a bit of sense, and I don't know why it wasn't implemented sooner. But again, we've lost what?....around 9....Airmen to motorcycle mishaps so far during our 101 Critical Days of Summer http://afsafety.af.mil/AFSC/RDBMS/Ground/2004 - 101 days/2004 101 Days Update 25 Aug.ppt . That's one too many. I'd tell you not to ride either....if you're not responsible enough to take the course, and as a government asset that we've paid millions to train, then you'd have proven you're not responsible enough to ride.
 
#20 ·
I started on a 1991 Honda CBR 600 F2 with no regrets!
 
#26 ·
Borrowed Ninja 250 for about six months until I found an '91 EX500 at the end of last year.
 
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