basically, were all saying buy a 600 its got teh power the looks and you can still learn on them, jsut dont get anything along the lines of ducati, aprilia triumph, basically, anything from Europe, cause just like most cars from Europe, they are a bitch to fix, get parts for, and insure!

Bolded for emphasis. The SV is a great all-around bike, and it works well for beginners. You get the same, easy-to-ride v-twin performance of the entry-level Ducs with about 25% of the maintenance costs*. There is a cult following and there are aftermarket parts galore for these bikes. I regret to this day selling my 99 SV.




* a rough estimate

I don't recommend a 600cc sportbike (Katanas don't count...) for a beginner. Modern 600s have upwards of 110 hp and will do mid to high 10 quarter miles. Plus they have top heavy power bands with most of their power over 9000 rpm's which is probably not ideal for a beginner. I knew two guys that bought R6s for their first bike last Spring.....and neither made it through the Summer. I would get a small V-twin or as I said earlier the Katana or EX500. Start slow!! You have plenty of time to move up to the fast bikes...

get a busa or a ZX14 you'll be fine. i promise! lol, but what is your background on bikes whats your experience level? ever ride a dirtbike? crotch rocket? harley? anything really?

^^^ knows his bikes too.

Between the three of us , two are former racers and one is a trackday rider/president of the first vegas Sportbike Club ( www.scsportbikes.com ). All three of us have been around for years , and have seen the mistakes of new riders. For every rider that says he was fine starting off on a bigger bike , there are 9 that are never heard fron again. Some of the 9 are dead , others sold and never look at a bike again others ??? who knows.

Baby Duc vs SV , the SV also holds its value a lot better , the baby Duc will be hell to get ride of and you will have to give it away.

like i said... 250cc is a great beginner bike. can be had for less than $5K, easily... not enough power to kick you off it or catch you off-guard. not enough power to have you carry passengers (you shouldn't ride with passengers until you got at LEAST a year's worth of experience).

Plus, dropping a new bike vs. dropping a used/beat bike is totally different. it's like buying a $5K car you crash into trash cans, back into poles, etc and care less about vs. the $30K car you buy that you clean everyday.

once you got the skill down, THEN get the bike that scares you a little (aka, 600cc+).

I had my 600 Ninja and I never dropped it. I came close once, but was able to maintain control. I think 600's are a great beginner's bike. I'd personally get a 750 to 1000cc bike now though. But then again, I don't think I'd trust others enough to even ride in Las Vegas.

Have you ridden a new 600 , they are under 400 pounds and have 110HP. The are much faster than the 1000cc bikes of 6 years ago. I would only recomend a 600 supersport bike to someone who has ridden the dirt there whole life.

Man you guys are making me nervous now... :paranoid: Do most people drop their bikes at some point early on?

Usually right away, most new riders do a lot of parking lot drops, and only a few take themselves out big in traffic. About 3 months into the learning curve the parking lot drops go away and thats when its gets really dangerious. This stage the new riders have more balls , they feel better ont he bike , some get complacent , some ride over there heads etc etc and have to potential of going down hard. This stage last usually till about the 1 year mark , from there its still about learning to master riding. The last stage of riders have the get offs once and a while and depending on there training are usually pretty safe to be ont he road.

No, I had an 88 Ninja back in the day (over ten years ago). The R1 must be be rediciously fast than! Of course it probably weighs more though too which will helps keep the bike down a little more.

The R1's weight about 75 to 100 pounds less than your 88 Ninja and have well over double the Hp of it . The new 600 weight only 5 to 10 pounds less than the liter bikes and will have 25 to 35 more Hp than your old 600.

A new 600 will run high 10's in the quarter , while a new liter bike will run high 9's to low 10's.

Thats insane!! I sold my bike while I was in basic (or my parents did rather).

Yes....

some drop their bikes after a year of riding... boot got stuck on the peg. :)

fyi, my 600RR is 370lbs dry (i thought it was closer to 350lbs)... the 2007 CBR600RR is 340lbs.

I almost did that a couple weeks ago coming home from sonic. I usually tuck my laces in when i ride.

biggest diff in old bikes to new ones is frame material, aluminum is the new weapon of choice. i had a 92 ZX600 for a while, thing wouldnt lift teh front if you hamered it in first gear. still moved decently quik though and was lots of fun.

So I have been checking craigslist like crazy... I found a 1993 Honda NightHawk 250 (same bike I rode at MSF) for only $800... and insurance is only $227 for the year... Not bad... lol...

On the other hand the Ducati's insurance came out to be $3377 for the year... That is more than I pay for my car... Crazy! Why does a bike that cost's 1/4 the price of the car cost the same in insurance?

Because A- Your bodily injury from a bike accident will be much more costly than a comparable car accident and B- Bike theft in Vegas is just out of control right now.

So they dont lose as much money. When your bike has a great chance of getting ripped off, or crashed within 6 months , they will make you pay. Another great reason to start small.

So how much is an SV650 to insure for a year. Chances are, it will be under $1k.

Like I said... Harley's and Ducati's get hit with a "bonus" because of the high parts costs. Almost any other similar bike will be 1/2 the price. I almost bought a 916 back in the day, but the insurance would've been 3 times what I was paying for my ZX-7.

I'm around $1200 on the SV1000 but that's with upped medical coverage.

My Aprilia Mille R was only $3 more than the GSXR750 that got replaced. They believe exotic bike owners will be more responsible with them( suckers ). Now combine a new rider with an exotic bike , they will bend him right over.

It's not on any exotic bike. The agent told me it's specifically on Harley's and Ducati's. I asked about Aprillia's and Bimotas and there was no surcharge on them.

The Harley Sportster i'm looking at right now , $275 a year full coverage , and the big twins will cost me around $300.

oddly enough, my cbr600rr was only $720/yr :shrugs: