s2ksleepy

there are tons of deals out there. my friend bought an f2 for 1k with the fairings all messed up. hes been riding it around just fine. im sure there are bikes out there for less than 1k. if you can hold out on the cool factor, get a bike that cost less than 2k and LEARN. you will probably get your money back when it comes time to sell it.

Chipster

[QUOTE]Originally posted by s2ksleepy
[B]

yes you can.

pfb

MANY threads on this, but if your leaning towards a sport bike, and need more of a beginner bike, reasonable cost, hopefully won't need skin grafts and a cat scan the first week, look at the SV650.

Inexpensive, easy to ride, and if ridden well will embarass many sport bike riders.

MACH5GSXR

GO WITH A 1000, YOUR AS GOOD AS DEAD ANYWAY.

supernig

Let me tell you my story. Im sure all of you who want to start biking have at one point or another sounded like me. It all started when i got infatuated with how sportbikes looked, i just LOVED the look of those things, and with the look i respected the immense power to accellerate and decimate cars(yea i was dumb, but im sure you guys all saw it the same way). So i was determined to learn how to ride. I was going to do this the smart way, for once, and enroll in the MSF course so I could learn how to ride safely. Well i took the course and I passed the course with flying colors, and got my M1 license 'an all. I found riding the bike and shifting all that stuff no problem at all, you know rev matching/braking at the same time you know to keep everything smooth and flow together. After the course I thought it might be good to read up on Twist of the Rist, but I didn't get around to that just then. A couple days later i went looking for possible bikes, i had been researching over the internet and I pretty much knew every bike, its horsepower rating and what people have said about it on the various forums. From what i heard was that the 600f4i was the easiest bike to ride. I contemplated getting the Ninja 250/500r, but I made a very stupid decision. I saw this as strictly something for me to do over the summer(03), and i didnt have the time or the cash to spend money on a beginner bike that i didn't like the 'look' of, just to sell it down the line about a year later(yea yea let me finish). So i found a used 01 600f4i, which i still think looked VERY very nice.
But before i go further i forgot to mention, that i actually had divided my budget in such a way so that I could afford all the top of the line protective gear. I could skimp out on the bike condition, but no way in hell was i going to compromise on gear, so I got the best stuff i could find, i Even had purchased a one piece leather racing suit(yea i liked it a lot actually)
So anyway, I got this bike and the first day I rode it, i thought it was very nice, but I wasn't prepared for how heavy and powerful these sportbikes are compared to the bikes that we learned on. I rode around the local streets - you know streets just walk on, very very low traffic i just rode locally for about 20 minutes. Needless to say i found it much more difficult than I thought it would be. Ofcourse i was ok, but I just cant explain it, the thing is just so heavy to a beginner and the slightest touch of the gas gives you such accelleration. I swear to god if i would measure it, i remember riding around town i used about 1 centimeter of throttle rotation to keep the thing rolling at about 30-40mph - no joke at ALL. As the days went by i got more and more confident on it, but not to the point where i could knee drag and all, but just enough to ride locally comfortablly, so i went into the mainstreets to see how it was. Holy **** did that scare me. I remember the cars would huddle up around me, it's so much different from a bikers perspective, it's literally like being a mouse in a herd of elephants. You could feel that SUV behind you creeping up, it was just unreal. I quickly went home after just a couple minutes on the mainroad.
Days went by and I got even more comfortable around town. This was when it got too dangerous. I would start to ride pretty fast - believe me you guys who want to start say you wont, but believe me you WILL. I noticed that Cops pretty much followed me everywhere i went, just waiting for me to make one mistake and hit the throttle. I never rode for over 1 hour, i usually took breaks in between. Every damn day I went out with my bike, in about every 30 minutes I would almost kill myself. A couple times I would press the rear break too hard on emergency stops(being cut off) and lock up the rear tire. Or the Freeway, oh god the freeway was HORRIBLE. 18 WHEELERS SCREAMING next to you(yea i was too afraid to go to the left lanes and hit 90(it was my first time so i kept it at 65 and stayed to the right), not to mention that the god damn FRONT TIRE kept feeling like it was gaining and losing traction. It felt like the thing was sliding out from under me. Every time I got on the freeway i got scared straight and i got off in about 2 exits. I remember the first time I wanted to hit full throttle to check how fast the thing felt, I would go to the freeway onramp, hit freeway speeds and then get right off. First off i decided that jamming the throttle to full is probably not the best idea, so i smoothly rolled back until it was full and i could feel that the front tire would get very very squirrly, almost as if it was not on the ground, but it had to have been, i mean its no gixxer1k. So after i hit about 70mph in first gear which took absolutely no time at all, I was coming off the offramp, and the ramp banks right, and then left, I approached the turn and i started to lean, and holy **** the bike wouldnt lean, it was STIFF. I pushed a little harder but it WOULDNT go, luckily thank god, the left lane was empty so i creeped into that lane(believe me i had no choice) and i slowed down for the left bank which i cleared pretty easily, but the whole thing shook me up, I could have died there because turning at 70mph i had no idea would have been so immensely different from 45mph.
Sooner or later I just lost all interest, I would go out on the bike and about 15 minutes later i'd be thinking to myself "Ok, now what?". And sure enough some crazy thing would happen that would put me on the edge and ready to die. I'll be totally honest the whole thing scared me as well as excited me. You know one thing I realized about this whole biking to look good thing, is that if you deep down inside, are buying a bike just to look good, then youre going to be disappointed. Why? Because trust me about this, bike looks so much better when someone else is riding it, i mean just go down to the local bike shop and sit down, take a look from the driving position, take a look DOWN at the bike, it looks so ugly from that angle with the fairings sticking out and jutting up at some odd angle, but step off the bike and it just looks beautiful.
I finally ended up selling the bike, thank god i was lucky enough to ride without going down, or getting hurt in any way. If i had done it all over again, I never would have gotten the bike in the first place, because riding for looks is such a dumb reason. If i want to ride for the thrill of riding( I honestly didnt get any thrill from it) , consider a true beginners bike. If youre just set on looking cool, consider one of those 50cc lookalike sport bikes, seriously.

What about an SV650?

I'll apologize for not organizing this story, I just typed as it came back to me.

jstar

I'm going to play the bad guy again. I have already been in several discussions on this board about this topic. In fact honda606 & I have debated this in another thread. I'm not here to start anything or to argue. Just here to offer my opinion.
I pretty much did everything honda606 said NOT to do in his post. I've been riding for two years now. I bought my Triumph TT600 brand new in 01. My opinion is that you need to know your limits and live within them. In fact that's a slogan in the MSF class. It can't be said any better! Personally I feel that if you take the MSF course (which I highly recommend) and you feel very comfortable and confident and you also seek the advice of your instructors, then the judgement call is up to you. A 600cc bike has a lot of power & it is not to be taken lightly, but I believe that with the proper gear (which should ALWAYS be worn) and the MSF course and possibly more extensive training/practice, a beginner rider can start out on a 600. It could be that I'm the exception, but I'm not that arrogant. It just takes common sense and knowing what your limits are. You have a valid point not wanting to buy a 'beginner bike' and then turning around 3-6mo later and selling it. Just be smart about it and don't take any unnecessary risks.
Ride safe!
-jeremy

MACH5GSXR

[QUOTE]Originally posted by supernig
[B]"Let me tell you my story."

Damn that's a long story.

Penforhire

Start with a bike you're not afraid to drop (meaning cheap). If you buy at the right price you can sell it later and take a small or zero loss. Don't go cheap on the safety gear. Your helmet & jacket should last longer than your first bike.

If you're riding a scooter you already have a leg up on many would-be cyclists. I personally find scooters to be more dangerous than bikes. The tires are too small to handle road irregularities and the standard scooter seating position means less control of the machine.