Sport Bikes... who has one?

Everything else
1

So I’ve been in the market for a sport bike. I’m taking the MSF course soon and just looking around at deals in the area, trying to see what kind of price ranges I can expect and whatnot.

My first inclination was to get a newer Ninja 250R, but I’m getting a lot of flak from people I know saying that I’ll get bored of its lack of power within months of riding it. I wanted it as a light, nimble starter bike, but I think I’m realizing that those people may be right.

So I’ve expanded my search to include the Honda CBR600RR, the CBR600F4i, the Yamaha YZF-R6, or the Suzuki SV650S.

Does anyone here have any experience on the middleweight sport bikes, or motorcycling in general, that they would like to share?

2

Most folks recommend a 600 or bigger, simply because less bike will get pushed around by wind on interstates.

H.

3

I’ve got a 2000 SV650 (the naked version), and I enjoy it a lot. Honestly, my experience with other bikes is pretty limited. I rode a ~92 YZF that belonged to a friend for a while. I learned on a 500cc Interceptor (84, I believe) that I had for a year or so.

I don’t have any significant experience riding any of the other specific bikes you mention, so I’ll just leave it at this: I think the Suzuki is a good choice for a beginning rider – unless you are really serious and really aggressive, you’ll be happy with it indefinitely.

4

Yeah I’ve had a couple recommendations for the SV650. It’s definitely a contender.

Houngan, a side effect of a 250R is that it’s so light and not powerful, you really don’t want to be on the highway much, if at all. A 500cc and 600cc isn’t much of a difference in terms of weight.

5

You’re gonna kill yerself!

6

I’m just sayin’. I had the same question, and I also never plan to get on an interstate with a bike, so I’ll probably wind up with something similar. Bur that’s the answer I received from a number of folks re: size.

H.

7

Gear, gear, gear! Get your gear sorted out before you even consider bikes. ATGATT(All the gear all the time). A good jacket, pants, gloves, boots and helmet will go a long way in saving your ass if anything happens.

With that said I would stay way from the inline 4s for a first bike(600RR, R6, etc) they are really peaky and easy to get out of hand very quickly. I would suggest buying used, the chances of you dropping the bike within the first few months is really high. The resale value of ninja 250s don’t really fluctuate very much and you should be able to sell it for close to what your paid for if you find you want to upgrade to something bigger.

8

In 2006, motorcycle riders accounted for 11% of all traffic fatalities, which made for a rate of 5.5x that of auto riders.

Also, in any crash, you are 35 times more likely to die if you’re on a motorcycle than if you’re in a car.

9

We should probably take it as a given that he’s aware of the risks of riding a motorcycle.

10

My mom has a Ninja 650R. That’s a very fun-to-ride bike, easy to control, good acceleration. I haven’t driven it on multi-lane highways, however. Heavy traffic is not my idea of fun. I haven’t driven any others in that displacement range recently, so I can’t compare, but 600-650cc feels really easy to throw around and feels quite powerful.

11

If you want to do it right:

12

Hey, neat – a topic I can actually contribute to!

First: Gear. Go to NewEnough.com and get a full-faced helmet, armored jacket, armored gloves and boots. I wear armored pants, too, but lots of folks prefer jeans and I can understand that.

Second: First bike? Stay aware from anything with “R” or “RR” in the name. A CBR66RR is NOT a beginner’s bike. It’s a track bike with headlights. On the street, you won’t ever use 50% of the capabilities of that machine. And it makes casual rides much more uncomfortable than they need to be.

Then again, 14k RPM is pretty fun :)

Third: Buy used. Many entry-level bikes haven’t changed much in years and used values are very low. Are you a big guy? That will change what bikes I suggest.

Typical suggestions:

Ninja 250 (the pre '08 styles). Not great for the highway for long commutes.
Ninja 500. Better all-arounder. More power, but very manageable.
Ninja 650. Getting even bigger here, but still manageable.
Suzuki SV650. Great value. Good choice. Naked version has less plastic to break.
Suzuki GSF-500/650. Not a bad choice, but lots of breakable plastic.

If you aren’t dead-set on a sport bike, I’d recommend a dual sport for a first bike, too. Lower power, easy to ride. Check out the KLR650, DR650, or DRZ400.

They get overlooked a lot, but I love Buells. The XB9S, XB9SX or even a XB9R would be a suitable beginner’s bike. Lots of torque and a lot more fun in day-to-day driving situations than an inline-4 600cc bike (which requires felony speeds before the fun starts really happening). Almost zero maintenance, minimal plastic to break and get great gas mileage.

I also think that so-called “Standards” are too often overlooked for a first bike. H-D Sportster 883, Honda Nighthawk, Triumph Bonneville, etc are all great bikes that will be much more sporty than 99% of the cars on the road.

Whatever you get, buy it used. Go into it knowing that you’re going to ride it for 12 months and then get whatever it is that you REALLY want.

13

Then why does he want to buy one?

14

Can we buy Dirt a motorcycle?

15

For the same reasons that people do other things that are dangerous – they have decided that the expected result is sufficiently pleasurable to outweigh the risks involved. Granted, if he were involved in an accident and had the skin sheared off 40% of his body and broke his back, he might re-evaluate. But, you know, people who like to rock climb might change their minds if they fell too, I guess.

16

Good suggestions. I’ve decided on sport bike because that’s the posture I enjoyed the most when sitting on dozens of bikes at the dealer, and seems to really put your experience into the road ahead.

I’m a light guy, 140lb and 5’6". This definitely factored into my first decision to go with a Ninja 250R, which has a more upright posture than the middleweights and is almost too light.

What the hell? Really?

You can break your neck going skiing or snowboarding. A 3 foot fall onto your skull is enough to kill you, which makes walking downstairs a hazardous activity!

31% of all motorcycle fatalities occur with the operator being intoxicated. Did you know that?

Or how about I stop shoveling a bunch of facts as they are all irrelevant due to a concept you may not be aware of, called fun. We can add convenient and efficient onto there too if you like.

17

Sorry, I just see enough bad drivers on the road on my daily commute that I never want to have only a helmet and leather for protection. There’s risk and reward in everything, but it’s way out of balance when it comes to riding a motorcycle. Get a dirt bike and take it somewhere on a truck.

18

My friend got an Aprilia Tuono-R Factory with a 1060cc kit for track days. If that’s the kind of thing you’re into, check it out.

19

A top-tier “Factory” bike should really have traction control. Or maybe they put it on the bike but lie about it, to better simulate an AMA racing bike?

20

Get a flag so motorists can see you: