OT: Best First Street Bike

[Willfulone]

Looking for suggestions for a rice burner, for a first bike for a friend...Late model...95ish to 2000...he has ridden motercycles all his life, just not on the street.

I keep telling him a Ninja would be a good place to start with a late model bike...

Peace
Willfulone

[derekhonda]

yeah start out on a 600 class bike. Ive owned a zx6 (kawasaki) and found it easy to ride, all though if i was to guide a friend to a bike, it would be to a CBR600f3 (hondas 1995-98).

A ninja 250 and 500 would both be good bikes though aswell, i just dont think they have the "sport bike" appeal to them

[JLanphear]

If you've got a good head on your shoulders you could ride anything.

If you want to get on something with the purpose of riding it to it's full extent (on a track of course), you would be better off with a 600 class bike.

A 1000cc bike isn't any harder to ride than a 600cc bike if you are just cruising around and can keep your right wrist from twisting too far...hehehehe...

Good luck man.

-Josh

[Red00Honda400EX]

GS500 that way he can get used to being on the road with others. Have him take the MSF class too.

[JTRtrx250r]

the VTR and Ninja 250s are light and flickable and will do thye same as any other sport bike...just w/o the hp or the image like Derek says haha

the GS500 is another good noob bike, its alot like the EX500 (or Ninja 500 power-wise) but the Ninja 600 is much diffrent power-wise, makes the 500 feel like a girls bike due to the inline 4 of the 600...and thats the kind of out put I like:D

These guys are pretty much on top of it, check into the insurance part of it...that might be the deciding factor, Ive heard ppl around here paying $3000 a yr just for insurance, and remember anything w/ an "R" in it..is gonna cost a bit more to insure

Its best to take the MSF course, not just for your own safety...but for others around you too, and in most cases..you wont have to do the riding part of the test at the DMV if you take the MSF course

Good Luck to your pal:)

[Regular_Joe]

IMO .... Take the MSF course. You'll learn a ton and will be much safer.

Don't buy into the myth. IMO the 600SS are too much for a beginner. Your just asking for trouble. It's like saying its ok to learn to drive in a Ferrari. You wouldn't, and bikes are harder to drive than cars.

I know it doesn't sound like much 500cc vs 600cc, but the difference is night and day. The 600s usually put out about 2x the power of the 500s. Its the 500cc twin-cylinder vs 600cc inline 4 cylinder.

Start w/ the GS500 or the Ninja 500. Both can out-do most any car out there. Look at this website. Gives a good example of what bikes can do. The lowly GS500 is on par w/ the Honda NSX, Audi S4, and the Ferrari Testarossa. Not too shabby.

1/4 mile times (http://www.syclone.freeserve.co.uk/rivals.htm)

[Chanman420q]

ive been concidering a street bike, but also in the same perdicament, on what size, as im not a twist throttle friendly person. i dont want something snappy til i can learn to control the throttle

[sly400ex]

R1:devil:

[Syrus]

Chances are your going to lay down your first bike, so whatever bike u buy, dont empty your pockets to pay for it, buy a decent 500cc, and buy it cheap, learn on it till you get board of the power, then step up from there.

When u learned how to ride a quad, or dirtbike, did u start off on a new 450r, or CR250r ? id hope not, most of us started off with a 50cc trail bike or a small quad, starting off on a big bike and wipping out on it for the first time will scare you from the sport complety, and also cost ya lots to repair something new.

[xr50layke]

get one of those honda stuntin' mobiles....CBR600 or something.

[JTRtrx250r]

Originally posted by sly400ex
R1:devil: LMFAO! They'd be cleaning him off the road w/ a putty knife and a shop-vac:D

[Regular_Joe]

Fact: As a new rider you will need to learn throttle control.

That being said, my 03 CBR F4i (600cc) does 68mph in first gear @ redline. Most all 600SS bikes do high 60's in first.

Likewise the 1000cc sportbikes do low 90's mph in first gear. The new Kawasaki does over 100mph in first. Plus they will power wheelie in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, with just throttle anywhere under 100 mph without trying.

Neither of these class of bikes are something you want to learn throttle control on.

Get a GS500 or Ninja 500. The GS500F is full fairing racebike just like the 600's and 1000's. It looks better in person than it does pics. Either of these will accelerate on par w/ big name cars under 100 mph (plenty fast on the street).

1/4 mile times (http://www.syclone.freeserve.co.uk/rivals.htm)

Suzuki GS500, 51hp, 1/4 mile time 14.2 secs @ 93 mph
Lambo Countach, 375 hp, 1/4 mile time 14.0 secs @ 105 mph
Porshe 911 Turbo, 296 hp, 1/4 mile time 14.1 secs @ 103 mph
Honda S2000, 237hp, 1/4 mile time 14.3 secs @ 100 mph
Subaru WRX, 215hp, 1/4 mile time 14.5 secs @ 95 mph
Nissan 350Z, 276hp, 1/4 mile time 14.1 secs @ 100 mph

[xr50layke]

where do these things top out at in 6th?

do they shorten up, because 1st is just very high? i cant see 2nd gear going 150mph.

[Regular_Joe]

The tranny's are very close in ratio's between the gears. First is crazy, for every 1,000 rpm it adds about 5 mph of speed. So w/ a 14.5k redline, that gets you about 70 mph. Every gear after first adds about another 20 - 15 mph. Puts the top speed for a 600cc in about the 150's or so.

This is why its a bad beginner bike. Twist a little too hard, say 1,500 rpm, and you just added about 7 mph to your top speed. Doesn't sound like much but its not good on corners and in close quarter situations in town ....

First gear pulls like a beast, overall scary, and even could be considered violent. My Banshee has nothing on it ....

[Tommy 17]

i been lookin into street bikes also... but insurance on a cbr is CRAZY!!!! so i'm gonna wait till next year...


i rode a cbr600RR (the 1st bike i ever drove myself) and went down the road... i'm use to a dirt bike hit the gas shift... hit the gas shift... i looked down at the speedo it was at 120 and i was in 3rd gear... i instantly let off and hit the brakes...


on those bikes 25 mph feels like u want to fall over... u don't even relize ur in the 100+ range untill u look down... they handle so good its unbelievable!!!

i honestly think theres 3 things that happen on a street bike...

1. u die
2. u get a speeding ticket so high u can't afford it...
3. u sale it 1st bc you know the other 2 are goin to happen 2 u soon

[Regular_Joe]

About the only way to make insurance affordable is to go w/ State Farm. The catch is they want a house, a car, and the bike too. They assume if you have a car and house, you must be somewhat resposible, not just a punk. You also can't join them until you have 3 yrs no tickets.

Needless to say my premiums for my '03 CBR 600cc went from $800 last year to $1400 this year w/ Progressive. Then I bought the house and had the 3 yrs time of no tickets. I immediately swapped to State Farm. I am now paying $250 a yr.

The catch w/ them is they pay what its worth. You buy a 30k car and drive it off the lot, wreck it an hour later you are ****ed. They will give you the book value of 26k or so. You have to pick up the difference in those cases.

I hear Farmers insurance is also reasonable ......