Advice for 1st Bike

[Welshy81]

Hi Guys/Gals,

I am new to the world of bikes after spending many years and money on sports/performance cars! I have recently passed my Mod 1 bike test and have got my mod 2 in the next week. I have already been biten by the biking bug! I'm just after a bit of advice on my first bike purchase. Im 29 yrs old and have been looking at some nice 07 plate r6's. I know that these are high performance bikes but have had mixed advice from my mates who own bikes. Some have said get a fazer/hornet to start with whilst others have said go for the r6 because I will only end up changing bikes after a short period of time because I will end up bored of a fazer/hornet and potentially lose money as a result.

I am fully aware of the fact that I am inexperienced when it comes to riding a bike but if I were to purchase a r6 I can safely say I would ride it within my limits. Being a worker in the emrgency services I have frequently seen the consquences of not sticking to your own limits and I am also an advanced car driver which I have already found to be of great benefit when riding purely becuase of my advanced observations/anticipation.

Any advice would be great.

[Ttaskmaster]

Hello mate.

Welcome to the forum!!!!

Now... the awkward bit - DON'T get an R6.

Not straight off, anyway.

I appreciate all you have said and I do believe you will be a responsible rider. You're not a kid anyway and you have some roadsense skills already. But some things are beyond our own control and for the first couple of years, I strongly suggest an easier bike. Whilst the car stuff will stand you in good stead and be an advantage in many situations, a bike is still very, very different.

As an example I still ride my first big bike, which is a 650 Dragstar.

It's very heavy at 230kgs, the weight is low and it only has 40HP. That has been more than enough to see me into some very hairy situations. The experience I built up and the forgiving nature of the bike are the only things that saved me. Had I been on an R6, I doubt I'd be talking to you.

At some point, you will probably drop the bike. At some other point you will likely skid, spin wheels and overaccelerate at least twice, possibly even pull a couple of minor wheelies and stoppies as you get used to the bike. Many of these will be through no fault of your own.

Riding a bike well is usually a whole series of small movements and until you get properly used to that, what seems like the slightest twitch can send you blasting into something.

That said, it is great fun learning a new bike and it's worth learning to ride that bike to it's full potential. I would recommend getting a cheapish messaround bike to start with but also trying several others out. I'm sure the R6 'looks' nice, but whether it suits you properly you'll only know if you test-ride it.

As for the Fazer/Hornet comments.... Absolute bullshit.

The ride is more about how YOU handle the bike, less about the bike itself.

The Fazer is a good, solid workhorse for daily commuting and enough of a performer to have some very exciting riding on.

The Hornet and it's cousin, the Bandit are two utterly Hooligan bikes. If 'INSANE FUN' is your bread & butter, these are the bikes to choose. When you're done with the 600s, they come in Bigger versions, too!!!!

Ultimately, the R6 may well suit you and you may well suit it.

But it's one hell of a bike to break into the world of riding on, probably not cheap to insure and you can expect to be shelling out for at least some minor repair work as you get used to riding it.

Personally, I say wait.

However, the choice is entirely yours.

[Ttaskmaster]

Bloody hell, that was a long post!!!

[mike1949]

Bloody hell, that was a long post!!!

Not so long, but very well put.

Also the 600 Divvy is a good first bike. I bought mine after 15 years of 250's when my lad got too tall and too heavy, after five years I'm still riding it to work every day in all weather and two up on the motorway when needed.

When it does eventually give up on me I will probably go for a 900.

[Cynic]

Bloody hell, that was a long post!!!

+1 yes it was a long post

Seriously DONT get an R6, ive been riding for over 20years and you need to be very 'dedicated' to enjoy something that focused. I didn't get any further along the performance tree than a GSX600f and that came with enough moments in the normal world of idiots and red mist. I did all the knee down faff too. You actually need to slow down to do it on the road how stupid is that

My personal ride, a TDR250, goes like buggery to 90, and is at its very best between 50-80 so for these days of camera's and pc public its perfect. The R6 will be an uncomfortable pain in the arse (literally)till you are in licence busting speeds.

I'd be looking at a bandit or fazer, something that is still bloody fast but will give you a second chance WHEN you miss something.

[Girl Racer]

Hey there, I am also a new rider and passed my test about 2 months ago....I am a 28 year old female and when I was looking for a first bike last year I scoured the country high and low looking for the "perfect" bike

As I am a woman, a very fussy one at that, I found the only bike that took my fancy was a 2002 Yamaha R6, I was in love!!

Yes us women are cosmetic and that was the main reason I chose the R6

I wanted something that looked sexy and made me look good too, I'm not about speed

A bike will go as fast as you make it and I love it, I don't do daft speeds or tricks, but I enjoy the power that it has.

Hope this helps

[barkwindjammer]

I'd agree with Mike19canteen, you cannot go wrong with a diversion, solid mechanicaly-will easily go round the clock with regular(ish) oil and filter change, loads and loads of cheap 2nd hand parts, not stuffed with electronic jiggery-pokery, easy to handle, cheap to shod, a real 'jack-of-all-bikes' and highly under rated, and like Mike if mines ever bites the dust (52,000 miles on clock-easily another 52,000 still in her) I'll be hunting down a Div900

[Cynic]

Hey there, I am also a new rider and passed my test about 2 months ago....I am a 28 year old female and when I was looking for a first bike last year I scoured the country high and low looking for the "perfect" bike

As I am a woman, a very fussy one at that, I found the only bike that took my fancy was a 2002 Yamaha R6, I was in love!!

Yes us women are cosmetic and that was the main reason I chose the R6

I wanted something that looked sexy and made me look good too, I'm not about speed

A bike will go as fast as you make it and I love it, I don't do daft speeds or tricks, but I enjoy the power that it has.

Hope this helps

And with the greatest respect you will have no interest in the pissing, my dicks bigger etc contests that blokes always get into, and that is the biggest problem a new rider has. His mates are faster ( cos they have been riding longer) and he will try to keep up untill he has his first moment. Every bloke does it and most come through fine but wiser but generally financially worse off in one way or another

I went the long way on bikes 50 to 100 to 125 to 350 etc. I had incidents and near misses, still do, had one recently. An R6 is a waste. You will be quicker more confident and safer on a divvy, fazer etc.

You don't learn to ride till you pass your test. And as my father has said for years the most delicate component on a bike is the nut holding the bars.

[exess4]

[exess4]

At some point, you will probably drop the bike. At some other point you will likely skid, spin wheels and overaccelerate at least twice, possibly even pull a couple of minor wheelies and stoppies as you get used to the bike. Many of these will be through no fault of your own.

True Ttaskmaster.

The ride is more about how YOU handle the bike, less about the bike itself.

Also true.

You sound cautious enough, and seem to "know your limits", so there shouldn't be any reason not to get the R6. I'd much prefer the Fazer over R6 . . and for sportbike -ahem, no comment on YOC.

I mostly agree with all of the for-mentioned members' comments/opinions. I learned to rde when a friend bought a '87 Hurricane off the showroom floor for 3300 US dollars (those were the days). So naturally, I HAD to have one! That was when I was "bitten". But didn't get a bike until 3 yrs later and that year Kawi. came out with the '90 ZX-6 (ZZR) so then of course I had to have that one, after 3 years of drooling over CBR brochures.

I mostly excercised proper caution. No outrageous stories of carving it up on backroads, trailbraking and sliding into curves then wheelieing out. Only occasional top speed on a straight or burnouts at a red light taking off smokin' on the green. Tires were more reasonably priced back then.

I weigh (then and now) 140 lbs, that was a 750-sized and brawny heavy bike for a 600. (some people enjoyed pointing out those 2 facts).

Not many problems, but that is still TOO many problems. Always the close calls, of course. Then a weekend night, entering a restaurant parking lot where kids were hangin out, the irresistible sudden urge for a handful of throttle and not so subtle release of clutch, hit a bump or pothole meantime. You've heard superlatives of a bike wanting to rip itself away from your grip; That's really what happened. Was jarred or jolted back toward the pillion, arms at full-stretch, right hand could only hold throttle in one position - wide open - and left couldn't reach the clutch lever. Basically holding on with the last knuckle of my fingers. All this in a milisecond. I don't have any idea how I recovered and regained control of the thing but my heart was in my throat and it stayed there for about 2 hours. Scared me shitless. I didn't let on (always in control) but someone even asked me 1/2 hr later why I looked so white and freaked out. In conclusion, I would have to agree, not a great beginner bike the R6, and for some beginners their 1st and last.

[exess4]

Bloody hell, that was a long post!!!

As if that reply wasn't long enough . .

My friend with the 87 Hurricane, btw, let another beginner borrow his bike with a passenger. They missed a curve and the psgr was killed.

My first bike experience wasn't without incident (accident, but sounds better). A late Saturday night I was riding around with a girl (17) just cruising about the town. Her sister caught up to inform us that her mother wanted her home and was mad as hell. I took her home but the mean ol' mom was already out and on the hunt. She found me, we spoke briefly, her cussing me out so I rode off. She started chasing after me and we were approaching a red light. I breezed through the light then went through the gears, gone! Funny, about 80-100 yards from that intersection is a small uphill and by the time she crested the hill (I later enjoyed being told about in court) she couldn't even see me in the distance. So no problem. Then grabbed the stoppers from 130+ MPH to a near stop to make a simple 90 degree right turn at 10 or 15 MPH tops. Adrenalin still gong apparently, making this slow little turn, while still at a lean I got on the throttle, the tire spun, the bike hinged off to the left under me then caught and I highsided being flung over the top, bike landing on its left side.

I had merely a fractured arm, no helmet. Very slow-speed wreck. The bike had minmal damage but was PLENTY spendy to fix (without labor).

Less than a year later, after 4 1/2 years old, I let 'er go.

I knew the bike and it's intricacies, mannerisms, weaknesses, strengths etc. I rode it from Minnesota to Texas and back. Same with other 600 mile trips to Milwaukee or other places and so on. But I never did any track time. If I got another sportbike, even with DTC, ABS, et. al, first destination would be the track.

If you go with the R6 I'd say that should be the priority and first on your biking agenda - to know the bikes limitations and to know YOUR limitations in a controlled setting. In "sticking to your limits" you have to know your limits. I thought I did. (i'm a born again beginner myself). That's all. (I still love the FZX).

[Welshy81]

Thanks for the replies. Having looked around on the net about the matter there seems to be a mixed bag really, a 50/50 split either way. As stupid as this sounds I really aint looking at a R6 because of its immense power but because of its styling and looks. I can honestly say that 'racing' and trying to 'keep up' with mates on other bikes really does not interest me and if I am a few minutes behind them getting somewhere then so be it.

I have the up most respect for the r6 and know my own limitations and just because it can achieve silly speeds does not mean I would take it anywhere near that. For instance I already have a hot hatch which is easily capable of 150mph but its gone no where near that top end, I simply prefer to enjoy the car for what it is and would have the same attitude towards a bike.

Any how I have to pass my test first and still got some serious thinking to do about the matter!

[Cynic]

Thanks for the replies. Having looked around on the net about the matter there seems to be a mixed bag really, a 50/50 split either way. As stupid as this sounds I really aint looking at a R6 because of its immense power but because of its styling and looks. I can honestly say that 'racing' and trying to 'keep up' with mates on other bikes really does not interest me and if I am a few minutes behind them getting somewhere then so be it.

I have the up most respect for the r6 and know my own limitations and just because it can achieve silly speeds does not mean I would take it anywhere near that. For instance I already have a hot hatch which is easily capable of 150mph but its gone no where near that top end, I simply prefer to enjoy the car for what it is and would have the same attitude towards a bike.

Any how I have to pass my test first and still got some serious thinking to do about the matter!

The important difference with the hot hatch is that it is still comfortable and well mannerd at low speeds (mine was) an R6 isn't. You will be cramped, uncomfortable and cussing the clutch slip needed at every set of lights.

Back to back if what you are saying about your riding and attitude then an R1 would in all likelyhood be better as that at least has a modicum of low range torque. Don't forget you will be a target for every wannabe racer ihe land to boot. And a primary speed gun/officer target.

[exess4]

Full-faired sporting looks + rideable + manageable + sensible + affordable(bonus) =

[exess4]

Thanks for the replies. Having looked around on the net about the matter there seems to be a mixed bag really, a 50/50 split either way.

Doesn't seem that way.

becuase of my advanced observations/anticipation.

I have the up most respect

We are hoping so.

I really aint looking at a R6 because of its immense power but because of its styling and looks.

This doesn't look bad

I can honestly say that 'racing' and trying to 'keep up' with mates on other bikes really does not interest me and if I am a few minutes behind them getting somewhere then so be it.

Then Yamaha has the perfect bike for you.

XJ6 Diversion F

Euro version of FZ6R

Not too bad on looks

And eventually the R6 backmarkers can watch you do this

[Cynic]

big +1

[barkwindjammer]

The XJ6 (FZ6R to give it its european/USA tag) is being sold with 0% finance, its been stickered as a 'diversion' which it is nothing at all like (I have the old Diversion and the new XJ6) the new XJ6(FZ6R-there is a clue with this tag) is a de-tuned Fazer !, is an excellent beginners bike, extremely easy to handle, very agile, has a 'screamer engine' which means it settles nicely and is comfortable above 5000rpm a lot lighter than the older 'Diversion', and has good enough power and acceleration for the road, wont challenge much on a track-but how often are you likely to be on a track? its cheap and cheerfull

[Welshy81]

Well after much thought and countless conversations with other bikers and a lot of mixed opinions I have decided!! I have passed my mod 2 test with only 2 minors and decided the only way I could make my mind up was to go test ride an r6. Went to a local dealership (I know the staff quite well) and was given the key to a r6 and told to go off for an hour on a test ride to see what I think. One hour later I came back with a huge smile on my face!!

Yes this is an extremely powerful bike, no two ways about it but I rode it to my own ability and did not try and be clever with it by throwing it about and I managed the bike comfortably. The only dis-advantage is my palms of my hands were aching (I'm a big lad anyhow) a bit, buts that's to be expected with any sports bike.

So I pick up the bike today!! whilst I am grateful to all the advice given to me only I know the way which I will ride it and I know that I WILL stay within my own skills/abilities because

1)I value my life too much

2)I ain't a hot blooded 21 year old who's just passed their test (I'm almost 30)

3)I cant afford to lose my licence.

Think I have been well and truly bitten by the biking bug!!

[Gas up - Let's Go!]

The only dis-advantage is my palms of my hands were aching (I'm a big lad anyhow) a bit, buts that's to be expected with any sports bike.

I know the horse has well and truly left,

But there are other bikes with just the same 'go' in them, that won't destroy your body

Christ, I wish I'd seen this earlier....

You say 'ride within your limits', you should have tried the new Multistrada, as quick as any sportsbikes in average hands but without all the discomfort.

Never mind, I hope you enjoy your new steed,

stay safe.

[Ttaskmaster]

Congratulations chap!!!

Hope you enjoy many years of decent riding.

Now, do me two favours...

1/. Read and study the Roadcraft book - The police riders' handbook.

2/. Once you have a couple of years riding, look into an Advanced Riders course.