Sport Bikes?
08-13-2003, 04:01 PM
#21
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,985
lol, I think I may pick up a tiny cheap bike to learn on, then move into a real machine.. i don't wanna kill myself immediately
edit: someone suggest a good learner bike now.. I heard an old FZR, do we have a concensus that this is a good trainer?
edit: someone suggest a good learner bike now.. I heard an old FZR, do we have a concensus that this is a good trainer?
08-13-2003, 04:34 PM
#23
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 2
Sinful7
I got a FZR 600 as a beginner sport bike but I have been riding motorcycles for almost 10 years. (half my life) Many sportbike forums recommend that if you have never ridden a motorcycle before a sportbike should not be your first.
Let me put it this way, most sport bikes are basically race bikes with turn signals. Now if you were going to learn how to drive a car, would you jump in an f-1 car and try to drive it on the street. It's unrealistic. That example is a little bit more extreme than trying to learn to ride on a sportbike but you get the point.
The reason most people believe starting on a sportbike is dangerous is because they are touchy and very responsive. The slightest user input can change things very quickly. Basically you can get yourself into a lot of trouble a lot faster on a sportbike.
However, I am not your mother and you can do whatever you want. Just do some research and some reading then make your decision. go to www.gixxer.com and go to there forum for newbies, one of the stickies is all about what bike to have for your first.
Good Luck
I got a FZR 600 as a beginner sport bike but I have been riding motorcycles for almost 10 years. (half my life) Many sportbike forums recommend that if you have never ridden a motorcycle before a sportbike should not be your first.
Let me put it this way, most sport bikes are basically race bikes with turn signals. Now if you were going to learn how to drive a car, would you jump in an f-1 car and try to drive it on the street. It's unrealistic. That example is a little bit more extreme than trying to learn to ride on a sportbike but you get the point.
The reason most people believe starting on a sportbike is dangerous is because they are touchy and very responsive. The slightest user input can change things very quickly. Basically you can get yourself into a lot of trouble a lot faster on a sportbike.
However, I am not your mother and you can do whatever you want. Just do some research and some reading then make your decision. go to www.gixxer.com and go to there forum for newbies, one of the stickies is all about what bike to have for your first.
Good Luck
08-13-2003, 04:34 PM
#24
Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 35
I actually had a Yamaha YZF600R for quite a while. I'm 6'4" and 220lbs. and it was a really good fit. While there's been mention of frame problems, I never was aware of a problem and I rode that bike constantly. It's a great bike not only as a starter, but as a permanent bike too. I'd weekend ride with a group of others who had the high-strung R6s, GSXRs, etc. and at the end of every ride, I'd hear complaints from everyone of those guys about sore backs, butts and wrists. I never had that problem...the YZF600R's geometry is a bit less aggressive so it's quite a bit more suitable for street riding. The thing is, I could easily hang with those guys because I was a better rider and a lot of them were just squids. So, yeah, they had the blingiest bikes out there, but they couldn't enjoy the full potential of them due to their inexperience or stupidity. I took a few long-distance trip too and it was a pleasure on that bike.
Why don't I have it anymore? Because, a Lincoln Towncar swerved behind me to make his freeway exit and hit me. It's bad enough that the bike was totalled (I loved that thing), but I got hammered too. Week-long coma, punctured lung, shattered right foot, shattered left ribs (all of them), fractured left clavicle, road-rash like you wouldn't believe and the icing on the cake...amputated left leg below the knee. I guess I wouldn't be typing this had I not been wearing a helmet, boots, Kevlar gloves and full leathers.
Bikes really are great, but a bike mishap is more likely to be devastating that in one with a car. No matter what you wear and no matter how many safety courses you take, you're gonna be the loser out on the street.
You know what the worst thing was? Putting my family and fiancee through the idea that I may die. What profound agony it must have been for them.
If you feel like you really need a bike, get a YZF600R. If you're smart, though, you'll put that money into your car.
Why don't I have it anymore? Because, a Lincoln Towncar swerved behind me to make his freeway exit and hit me. It's bad enough that the bike was totalled (I loved that thing), but I got hammered too. Week-long coma, punctured lung, shattered right foot, shattered left ribs (all of them), fractured left clavicle, road-rash like you wouldn't believe and the icing on the cake...amputated left leg below the knee. I guess I wouldn't be typing this had I not been wearing a helmet, boots, Kevlar gloves and full leathers.
Bikes really are great, but a bike mishap is more likely to be devastating that in one with a car. No matter what you wear and no matter how many safety courses you take, you're gonna be the loser out on the street.
You know what the worst thing was? Putting my family and fiancee through the idea that I may die. What profound agony it must have been for them.
If you feel like you really need a bike, get a YZF600R. If you're smart, though, you'll put that money into your car.
08-15-2003, 05:57 PM
#28
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: IL
Posts: 2,930
Originally Posted by 75 Repu' date='Aug 13 2003, 08:03 PM
Splain Lucy..
If you've ever played with a gyroscope, you'll remember that pushing forward on the left end of the axle didn't result in the wheel turning to the right. Instead, thanks to a force called gyroscopic precession which redirects the force 90 degrees in the direction of rotation, the wheel actually leaned to the left, rotating on an axis around the center of the wheel. Your motorcycle works the same way. By turning the handlebars to the right, you are effectively inputting the same force we used in our example. Trying to push the spinning wheel to the right causes the wheel, and the rest of the bike attached to it, to lean to the left. This is called counter-steering. Turn the bars right, and you lean left. It is the only way a motorcycle steers at any speed above walking speeds. Those of you saying "No way, dude, I never do it that way," are wrong. And this is why so many motorcyclists actually steer into and accident -- they try and turn right to avoid an incident by turning the front wheel to point to the right. This, in turn, steers them left, straight into the accident. So whether you realize it or not, you are doing "it," better known as counter-steering.
from:
URL=http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcnews/safe2.html]http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcnews/safe2.html[/URL]
08-15-2003, 10:32 PM
#30
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,784
I wanted one but when it comes down to it. No matter what precautions or how good you get there are always ******** out there in cars who WILL hit you and then you pretty much get your *** handed to you. I'm even more reluctant now especially due to the large *** amount of SUVS emerging.