Anyone have one? (or more...)

I'm looking into getting a cheap used one to start out with soon. Just to use for about a year until I'm ready for one with more power. Was thinking about a Katana 750.

 

I was thinking about getting a Ninja 250...mostly becuase I do not want anything really powerfull, but mopeds arent cool....

I go a lot of places by myself, and only live 3 miles away from my job, so I really don't need a car excpet for in the winter, or when it rains.

 

Don't get A Katana or Ninja . Get a Honda CBR . I've had several. A W E S O M E bike that you will not outgrow... You will definitely get bored with Kat or Nini. Others... maybe a Suzuki GSXR or Yamaha YZFR. Depending on you size... a 600 should be fine. I guess I kinda have outgrown the traditional "sport bike, aka racing bike", hence the "R", and have recently been looking HD V-Rods. Similar, but definitely different. FYI- that "R" also means higher insurance, but, IMO worth it. Also, regardless of what you decide, BE CAREFUL! There is not a summer that goes by that I don't know of someone who has been injured or killed from riding a "bike". Finally, wear a helmet! I perfer Shoei

 

I just plain don't want that much bike is all....

 

A buddy of mine suggested the Kat b/c it's cheap and looks cool. He told me to start out cheap b/c I will lay the bike down once or twice and it's better to do it in a cheap p.o.s. rather than a new $9000 bike.

 

my friend recently bought a 2004 suzuki gsxr 600. that thing is fast.

I honestly don't think you would need anything faster.. the 600 does the 1/4 mile in 11 flat. very cool bike.

 

LOL. just like cars, that's what everyone says at first!

 

Motorcycles are freakin scary though lol. Thats not saying I don't want one Cuz lord knows, I DO

 

Lying the bike down!!!!! Dude, if you're playing to lay a bike down, then don't get one. That's like saying I don't want a nice car because I'm afraid I'll reck. Who said anything about spending 9K. They've been making CBRs for 20 years... well, previously called Hurricanes. You could probably pick up a 2000, 01, 02... for about 3K... I had a Katana once... was not satisfied. I would rather have a used CBR, GSXR, YZFR, etc, then a new Katana or Ninji. It's like anything else... you always want more, power that is... BUT, I understand, you want something mello to learn on and cheaper insurance, that's cool. Like I said eariler, be careful and wear a helmet !

 

I want something shy of 100hp. Maybe 80-90. How much does the Honda 599 have? I've heard they are quite mellow until youhit 9000+ RPMs.

Knight. 11 flat in the 1/4 isn't that fast compared to most bikes. 1000cc bikes can run low 10's to high 9's. The same guy that told me about the Katana has a Honda CBR1000cc that he runs at about 10.2. With a good driver it could do high 9's.

But, the 600 does sound pretty mellow to me...

 

More so than cars, a bike's performance depends on the rider. I beat much faster bikes on a regular basis on my R1200RT simply because the riders do not know how to get thriugh the corners as well.

On topic. The Katana is relatively inexpensive, and a decent bike to learn on.

Take my advice and go to some riding schools, and plan on spending enough money to allow for a DOT/Snell helmet, jacket, gloves, boots as a bare minimum.

 

I've already set aside about $800 for saftey equip, only problem will be getting boot that fit. (I wear a size 14 EEEE)

I've signed up for both basic and advanced classes already, basic in December and Advanced in June '08.

I'm now thinking it will be better for me (my wallet anyway) to get something that I'll be happy with for a few years. I found a dyno chart for the GSX-R 600 and it's rated at 99hp @ 11,000 RPMs. Until I am comforatble with the controls and can use them without thinking about it, I will be staying under 6,000 RPMs, and under 40mph. I want to enjoy the bike, not telling scar stories...

 

I'll be using mine for transportation.....I have no intrest in going more than 70mph...

 

Good luck on staying under 70... if you "floor it" you'd be over 100 in about 3 seconds. I can say you're going to stay under 70, but statistics show otherwise.

 

plus.....the Ninja 250R is only $2,990 brand new. Thats what I'm talkin!

 

i rode dirtbikes for years, that helps but on the street be carful, i was lookin at yamaha rs600

 

Those have way too much power for me right now. Maybe after I've been riding for awhile.

I'll be talking to by buddy about bike a good while today on if he thinks a beginer can handle a 600cc near 100hp bike. If so, I'll probably be getting the GSX-R600 or the CBR-600

 

I bought my first bike in 1964 in Japan. It was a 55c Honda, 5.5 hp. Great bike to learn the basics in a country that had narrow roads and slow speed limits. Over the years I prgressed to bigger and faster bikes, got a competition license and road raced for a couple of years.

After a hiatus of several years from motorcycles I rode my brother's CBR600, forget the year, maybe 2000 or thereabouts. Like most 600cc bikes it was pretty docile under 6 grand or so but grab a handful of throttle, let the revs climb, and it's Katie bar the door.

Be very careful with your first motorcycle. I'm pleased to see that you've set aside funds for gear and school-you've already thought this one out. Nobody plans to lay down a bike but back in my day we used to say there are only two kinds of riders: those who have dropped it and those who are going to.

Back in the mid sixties I was a student at the University of Washington in Seattle, happily tooling around on my 305cc Super Hawk. I was in awe of a young professor who rode a Norton 750 Commando. She was only about 5'4" but she rode that bike well. One rainy night she came to an uphill stop at a red light, put one foot down and it slipped on the wet surface. Dropped the bike of course and couldn't lift it back onto two wheels until her knight in shining armor-well, me-helped her. I wish I had been in her classes. That act might have been worth an A.

Seriously, take it easy until you have a lot of experience, ride defensively, and keep the rubber side down.

 

I'm also hoping the bike I get will be able to be riden by my wife. I want to buy a bike for me, then give it to her once I learn to ride better and I'll buy a 1000cc bike. But, the 600cc might be too big for her, since she's not even 5 feet tall, and weighs about 105...

 

You just missed mine. I sold it this past weekend. It was a 2006 Honda CBR600RR. Basically brand new. I rode it only a couple times before a deer ran into my car on the road and near totalled it. I ended up selling it because that was the deal with the wife...Keep the bike and the fixed 2000 mustang or sell both and buy a new 06 stang...and of course you know what I did.