Hello all, I am looking at getting a sport bike and would like to know what you guys think. First ill say I am 6 foot tall 220lbs...does that restrict me to a certain size bike (ex. >600cc)? I am very interested in the Suzuki GSXR. My budget is $6,500 USD. Any other brand I should be looking at? I am looking for looks/performance for the best price. Any help would be interested as I am new to this. (models I should look at, brands, cc etc) My dad rides this: http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g206/krazykid035/DadDay.jpg
Go and sit on anything you like the look of - until then you won't know what feels comfortable to you! I find the really sporty bikes kill my hips, don't ask me why... So its all a question of personal preference. Brands wise - theres plenty out there: Ducati Aprilia Honda Triumph Suzuki Yamaha Kawazaki And probably many others...
Have you ridden a bike before? If you haven't I would suggest something other than a sports bike to start with, you wont be able to exploit a proper sports bikes potential until you have some experience and other types of bike will be more forgiving of mistakes that you WILL make to begin with. Naked bikes will be cheaper to repair when you drop it (and you will) and generally have more relaxed riding positions and steering geometry. You don't say what you want to use the bike for. If it's just a bike for having fun on then comfort is probably not the primary requirement but if you want to use it to commute or ride long distances then it's more important that performance. Personally I like twin cylinder bikes, they have more torque with makes for easier riding ( less gear juggling to stay in the power band) though normally at the expense of power. Four cylinders will generally have more top end power but a narrower power band. Three cylinders (Triumph) will probably be somewhere in the middle and they will try to tell you that it's the best of both worlds. I'm 6'5" and 250 pounds. In Britain you generally start on a 125cc which for me was a joke as my knees got in the way of the handlebars but the 500cc CB500R (I think) that I progressed onto was fine though I didn't do any long rides on it. Currently I ride a BMW R850R which is a pretty big bike but still a little small for me on longer rides. I don't personally think there's much to choose between the Jap bikes (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki) so look at what they cost and which one you like to look of. European bikes break the mould a bit, Beemers with the boxer engine (Fantastic in my (biased) opinion) Ducatis with the desmodromic valves and the Triumph triples, they do tend to be a bit more expensive. I have no idea what prices are like in the US but second hand is probably the way to go for your first bike as it will lose less value when you drop it. You also need to budget for helmet and leathers, the protective gear can be expensive for quality but only the terminally brain dead ride without it. Also, if you're not an experienced rider I can't stress highly enough how important it is to get proper training, even if you're a car driver and know traffic it's completely different on a bike, training can save you life and has saved mine many times already. You'll also enjoy yourself more and get more out of the bike. Moriquendi
Like others have said before I would suggest a less "adventurous" bike for your first one. If this isn't your first one or you are determined to get a sporty bike I would reccomend you look at a Honda VFR800. I am 6ft 3 and find proper sports bike too small for me. My first bike was a Kawasaki ER5 and I quickly moved on to a 1200 Bandit (suzuki). I haven't owned a VFR but I have ridden several and they are great bikes. Last bike I had was a Suzuki GSX1400 but am seriously looking towards a Harley for next bike. This is just as important as choosing a bike.
I have ridden before, both my dad's Harley and some bikes in an MSF course (safety course). I plan on mainly using it for around town transportation (5 miles to school and back) and on occasion a 2 hour ride to my house. I am looking at getting a used one for sure. Through my research, it seems a 2003/4 is at the top range of my budget. I have all the gear already as my dad got it for me so I can ride his bike. (full helmet, padded jacket and pants, high rise boots, gloves etc) I have looked at standard bikes and they are just "meh". I guess it is the practice that I would get on it, then sell it to upgrade.
I would certainly suggest you don't aim for your "dream" bike first time round. Even if you have ridden before it's a pretty steep learning curve when you start spending real time on the road. You will drop the bike and fairings are very expensive to repair/replace. A naked bike avoids those costs. You should also realise that harleys are actually pretty low performance machines, great for touring but they aren't by any means sports machines so your experience on it, while useful in terms of roadcraft (observation, traffic awareness, hazard perception etc) will not prepare you for a sports bike as well as you might hope. Naked bikes started off as sports bikes with the fairings striped off, nowadays they are manufactured but a lot of the mechanicals and geometry are the same. Standard bikes are not really the same as naked bikes ( at least I don't think they are) they have more relaxed geometry for more stable riding and a more upright riding position. Moriquendi
Oh, so should I be looking for naked? Not standard? What kind would be a good start for a sports bike?
The classes don't seem to be all that well defined but to take Triumph as an example the Daytona 675 is a sports bike, the Speed triple is a naked bike while something like the Bonneville is a standard bike, that's how I see it anyway. Of course it's not as distinct as that when you look across different manufacturers, they will all have different geometries and riding position. Moriquendi Edit: But really, as others have said, for a first bike something like a CB600 or the other manufacturers equivalents is pretty much ideal. Common enough to be cheap second hand crashed often enough to leave plenty of cheap spares from breakers. There's good reasons why CB600 and the like are used by riding schools; they're easy to ride but capable enough to progress on, common enough to be cheap, reliable, long lived (ish, a 40,000 mile jap bike is high mileage, a 40,000 mile BMW is nicely run in ) and because they're common and people crash them there's a decent supply of cheap spares from breakers.
If you are looking at naked bikes you could look toward the Suzuki Bandit or if your budget allows a Ducati Monster. For your first proper day to day bike you might want to go for an average bike though. Kawasaki ER5, ER6, Honda CB500. EDIT What about the Suzuki sv650s (half fairing) or the Yamaha Faser (half fairing)
So, so true. I dropped mine at the weekend (from a stand-still, thank god) for the first time. Not a scratch on it
Two drops ( note to self, avoid fords ) and one off in my first six months, it WILL happen. Moriquendi
I am liking the half fairing models. What is killing me is that I can get this for $5,000 and a half fairing is $4,000 to that much :/ But i guess if I will be saved the hassle of repairs and such and I get the experience.. the half fairing or naked bikes are the way to go... for now.
There's also insurance which will be pretty painful in your first year but probably lower for a naked bike. Moriquendi
Suzuki Bandit is a good first bike - but I'll stick with cbr 600 as recomended - cheap, fantastic and faired
Even though you've ridden before I wouldn't get a GSXR. They are race bikes made road legal. The throttle response is insane, a quarter turn is full power. Most GSXR riders have at least 12 - 18 months of riding a less powerful bikes first under their belt. Even the 600cc model will likely be too much to handle. You're talking about a bike than can out accelerate a Dodge Viper. I suggest you take a good read at this thread http://www.gixxer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8956
Welll If you're into harleys but fancy a sports bike you could always get a Buell, the XB9 or XB12 shouldn't be too expensive in the states. Though I don't know if you aren't too tall for them ;-)
