600cc or 1000cc for starter bikes?(The never ending bike search thread!!)

[yoshiii]

9 minutes ago, 2talltim said:

Weight isn't limiting but height is. You guys have no idea how cramped a small big is for us tall guys. You know those dents in the tank where your knees are supposed to tuck into? Yea mine won't fit into most bikes under 600cc even some 600s. Feels like riding spread eagle all the time and my ads is practically sitting on the rear pylon on most of those small bikes. I'll concur with your previous post and bike recommendation. And yea stay away from the R and RR bikes.

Yes that why I am asking. Some of the sports 250 are too small for me.  Even the dealerships were like hmmmm.  I dont want to buy a bike just because its a slow bike.  I want a bike that I can fit onto, and enjoy riding.  I dont like cruisers.  My first class I took before, the class used naked Hyosung bikes. It was almost a full size bike with a 250cc engine. No problem. The bikes used in the class I just took for Ohio used small 250 street cruiser bikes, like the Honda Rebel. Too small and uncomfortable.

Edited May 12, 2017 by yoshiii

[Tpoppa]

6 minutes ago, yoshiii said:

Yes that why I am asking. Some of the sports 250 are too small for me.  Even the dealerships were like hmmmm.  I dont want to buy a bike just because its a slow bike.  I want a bike that I can fit onto, and enjoy riding.  I dont like cruisers.  My first class I took before, the class used naked Hyosung bikes. It was almost a full size bike with a 250cc engine. No problem. The bikes used in the class I just took for Ohio used small 250 street cruiser bikes, like the Honda Rebel. Too small and uncomfortable.

Go sit on a Kawasaki Versys 650.  Tall guy friendly, beginner friendly (you won't outgrow it anytime soon...if ever), and one of the most versatile bikes ever made.

[2talltim]

Any bike with 90 hp or less will be more than manageable if your smart. A lot of the non super sport 600 fall under this. The versys or vstrom 650 will be taller but are more of a touring bike. If you more sport oriented look into the ones Justin recommended that is a excellent list.

[what]

59 minutes ago, Isaac's Papa said:

R1 is the bike to own, in my opinion. No sense bothering with the others. Suzuki makes garbage and Kawasakis sound like they're coming apart at idle. 

Crossplane R1 and an Icon jacket. 

Crossplane sounds so sexy. Only liter inline 4 I'd consider owning. 

[jbot]

a 600cc sportbike (~400lbs weight, 100+hp) has a much great power to weight ratio than a C6 corvette.  i'm trying to remember the last time i recommended a vette as a first car.  i'm having a hard time remembering this occurring... i don't think my mullet was bitchin enough to retain memory of the incident.  a 1000cc bike is... umm... i don't think there are many comparisons.

 

i'm not even sure what you're looking to get our of this thread... you're not really even asking a question, you just flat out state that you're buying a 600rr or whatever sportbike... so go buy one.  they're all basically the same except kawasaki has the worst oil change setup (at least a 2008 zx6r does), close your eyes and just pick at random.

 

bikes are all about that sweet sweet personal responsibility.  this is why all my motorized two wheel conveyances are 125cc or less.

[yoshiii]

3 hours ago, jbot said:

a 600cc sportbike (~400lbs weight, 100+hp) has a much great power to weight ratio than a C6 corvette.  i'm trying to remember the last time i recommended a vette as a first car.  i'm having a hard time remembering this occurring... i don't think my mullet was bitchin enough to retain memory of the incident.  a 1000cc bike is... umm... i don't think there are many comparisons.

 

i'm not even sure what you're looking to get our of this thread... you're not really even asking a question, you just flat out state that you're buying a 600rr or whatever sportbike... so go buy one.  they're all basically the same except kawasaki has the worst oil change setup (at least a 2008 zx6r does), close your eyes and just pick at random.

 

bikes are all about that sweet sweet personal responsibility.  this is why all my motorized two wheel conveyances are 125cc or less.

I wanted to know if buying a 1000cc bike was worth buying if it was the same price or cheaper than a 500-600 bike as a beginner bike.

[jschaf]

The answer to your question is No.  (Lot's of other good advice from experienced riders on this thread too. They are not giving this advice because they want you to miss out on the fun either.)

[magley64]

Mtt turbine, perfect first bike. You're way too big for a little 1000 cc race bike...

 

Everyone here is wrong, clearly you know more than the combined experience of this entire thread cause you've taken the BRC twice.

 

(Honestly the person advising a bigger bike was probably advising a bigger "cruiser". You were riding a rebel, they thought you should be on a 883 Sportster, or a 700cc shadow rather than a 250cc cruiser)

[JackImpact]

Pretty sure the answer is clear from these guys. Dont overdo it on the first bike. Youve got plenty of time to buy more bikes in the future as your taste and skills change. 

[JackImpact]

10 minutes ago, Isaac's Papa said:

https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/mcy/6111561041.html

 

Buy this bike for $2500. All day ergos, good power (95 hp) and low mileage. Plus, the service intervals on that bike are insane. 24k miles between valve inspections. I owned one. I wish I still had it. Excellent bike and will flat-out get down the road with no issues. Bonus street cred on the plastics doesn't even cost extra. 

Engine is basically a R6 engine with different cams and fuel mapping. So, below 8k RPM, she's a gentle lady with excellent commuting characteristics and tall-guy comfort. Twist the throttle and bring her into the five-figure revs and it will light your hair on fire. These bikes are respected all over the world for their "do-it-all" performance. 

lol too late

 

I may buy this bike. 

[thompsonian]

I was in the same boat as you when I first started riding. I'm 6'3 and was around 260# when I got my F4i. All of my friends that I rode with kept saying I needed a bigger bike because I was too big. So in 3 months of riding I "upgraded" to a 929RR. Thankfully, and luckily, I never got myself seriously hurt. I was always told by my uncle with many miles under his belt to "ride your ride at your pace. It isn't a racetrack. Your goal is to make it to the end of the ride. Not to get there first."  That line still rings true to me today. But I wish I'd have started on a different style of bike than the F4i. Something with less power to learn better throttle control. Instead of mashing the brakes on entry then hammering it out of the turn, being smooth with the throttle makes a world of difference. And having a good deal of power on hand doesn't make that easy to learn. Start small. Work your way up. There's a lot of good advice flowing thru this post. Take the time to soak it all in. There's always items available to make riding position better like a set of Helibars or another bar riser setup.

 

Or just go buy the literbike, and toss it, spend a few days in the hospital (if you're lucky) and then say you wish you'd have started on something with less power....the choice is ultimately yours.....

[motocat12]

"Starter bike" If you start at 1000cc where do you plan on going from there? You're only just below the absolute most powerful bikes available.

[bowdog]

Hayabusa, just stretch out the swing arm and add a bunch of chrome! the chrome will weigh it down so you will good.

[magley64]

2 hours ago, bowdog said:

Hayabusa, just stretch out the swing arm and add a bunch of chrome! the chrome will weigh it down so you will good.

Hayabusa is too slow, it barely gets out of its own way with a big guy on it.

 

If he doesn't go for the MTT Y2K, at least get the Kawasaki H2R... You don't want guys on big powerful Harleys passing you....

[jbot]

6 hours ago, yoshiii said:

I wanted to know if buying a 1000cc bike was worth buying if it was the same price or cheaper than a 500-600 bike as a beginner bike.

it is, in terms of a pure cost/performance ratio proposition.  but even demi-god marc marquez started on some piddling 50cc pocket bike.

[thompsonian]

I may be wrong here, but I thought that European countries had a tiered licensing system. Where you had to ride a certain cc bike for so long, then test onto a higher size and so forth. Sometimes I don't think that a bad idea for the States when the average lifetime of a new 600cc sportbike is only a few hours..

[MidgetTodd]

19 minutes ago, thompsonian said:

I may be wrong here, but I thought that European countries had a tiered licensing system. Where you had to ride a certain cc bike for so long, then test onto a higher size and so forth. Sometimes I don't think that a bad idea for the States when the average lifetime of a new 600cc sportbike is only a few hours..

You are not wrong. That is true. And yes it would be a great thing to implement here

[TimTheAzn]

51 minutes ago, jbot said:

it is, in terms of a pure cost/performance ratio proposition.  but even demi-god marc marquez started on some piddling 50cc pocket bike.

Yea but he couldnt even walk on his own when that happened.

[dpgasser]

I've actually come full circle....I have a pretty extensive amount of experience on two wheels and a decent amount of skill, and I have a 2017 KTM 390 Duke on order for curvy back roads and track day duty.

[Tpoppa]

2 minutes ago, dpgasser said:

I've actually come full circle....I have a pretty extensive amount of experience on two wheels and a decent amount of skill, and I have a 2017 KTM 390 Duke on order for curvy back roads and track day duty.

I may need to ride that 

[Casper]

I always recommend getting something you don't mind crashing. Look for under 100HP, light, and cheap. Many great recommendations in this thread already. I'd add supermotos are stupid fun, great for taller people, and not overly powerful. 

[JustinNck1]

When i first started riding, I was bound determined to go buy a brand new supersport. Called insurance for a qoute beforehand, and they qouted $7k a year. I asked why so high and they said a rider with an endorsement less than a year on a new supersport, they figure they will have to write it off within 3 months. This is the sad truth. I wish I still had my F4i I had when I was 17, just to see how much better I could ride it now, cause back then I didn't have half the skill I do now.

[dpgasser]

10 minutes ago, Tpoppa said:

I may need to ride that 

Anytime Tony....just waiting impatiently for delivery.  Original timeframe was April...now, who knows?

[magley64]

1 hour ago, Casper said:

I always recommend getting something you don't mind crashing. Look for under 100HP, light, and cheap.

Great point, too.

 

Tried to convince my friend of this, and he insisted on something cherry with zero scratches... Wasn't a month later he high sided it in some weeds at a lower speed, scratched up the paint, broke the turn signal...

 

Could've saved a grand on a similar bike that was already scratched.

[Casper]

10 minutes ago, magley64 said:

Great point, too.

 

Tried to convince my friend of this, and he insisted on something cherry with zero scratches... Wasn't a month later he high sided it in some weeds at a lower speed, scratched up the paint, broke the turn signal...

 

Could've saved a grand on a similar bike that was already scratched.

Which brings me to another recommendation. When starting out, spend more on the gear than the bike. Get a good helmet, leathers, gauntlet gloves, boots, etc. Don't by cheap gear.