Wookie, the SV650 is an excellent bike. Honda also makes a "naked" bike called a 919, if you dont like the Suzukis.

 

And damn fun to ride too. I am toying with the idea of getting one to cruise around on. My ZX6R is a fantastic bike, but in town it is only good for posin' on. No one in their right mind would even attempt 1/2 of what it could do on the street.

 

I sold my 2001SV650S last year. It was a great bike. At 6' 2" 210 lbs the seating position was a bit cramped for me, but it had more than enough power.

Grim

 

kc-10 fe & all,

i started riding in the 80's on a new kawasaki gpz550 and held onto that bike for many years (around 40,000 miles when i sold it i believe). even took it on a few road trips (new jersey to athens georgia, and up the blue ridge highway for a bit). it was a great bike, fun to learn on, and it never got boring.

the gpz was a great one up bike to ride.


now, i have a 2005 harley sportster 1200 conversion (bought new for 6700.00 out the door). the only times its been to the shop are for work i choose to have done to it (like the conversion, pipes, & air intake). i have around 6000 miles on this bike and have never had a stitch of problems with it either. it is also a joy to ride.

i dont want to drag my knees around turns any longer. i dont care to go 0-60 in 4.0 seconds, and its been my experience that when you are on the 'rocket type' bikes, they call you to ride them like they were designed to be used.

the sporster shifts nice, accelerates well, and is comfortable & dependable, its an excercise in simpicity, and i think it has a classic beauty to it. i also have a couple of co-workers that have the sporty and have ridden with them some too. neither one of their bikes have been laid up due to poor quality issues either.

it is insane when you go to the dealership and see all the $14,000.00 plus bikes, and to be honest i have no idea who the hell is buying and riding them but thats not for me either. the sporty is a good dependable bike (and i think beautiful) that doesnt push you to ride beyond your limits.

 

Man can't believe I'm late to this thread! My $0.02:

If your looking at sport bikes the Ninja 500R would be a great start. I completely agree with the "Don't go over a 600cc I4 for your first sport bike" as they are not forgiving at all. Get the lower powered beater.

If you want to seperate yourself from the heard, that R1200ST that was suggested is a great bike. Hellova lot more cash though... maybe you can find a nice used R1150R to toy with. I've got a R1200RT and love it. My first real bike... though I did spend a few hours learning on a Yamaha V-star 650. Anywho, BMW's kick ****. Don't be a lemming...

 

Finally an ally!! Dont get me wrong, the VFR is a great bike, but it's also a valuable bike, and probably a little much for a starter (I know, it's a V-4, not I-4). A 500 will eventually teach you to be a better rider, you will learn technique, and not just throttle. If you are worried about keeping up with your buddies, it's the rider, not the bike. I could probably take a Ninja 500 and outride most guys on literbikes. And anyone who looks down on you for having a 500 is a poser, not a rider.

 

Hey Stealth - welcome to the world of motorcycles!! I'm 47 now and have been riding since high school and while it can be a dangerous hobby there are many things you can do to improve your chances of remaining safe.

First off the bike.....I started my sport bike riding on a '98 Honda SuperHawk (1000cc V-Twin) and it was a fun and very forgiving bike. I then purchased a new '02 VFR (Interceptor) and that was almost the perfect balance of being able to ride the canyons and take longer trips (like overnight trips through Yosemite,etc.) which is the true fun of motorcycling for me. I have since traded to an '04 CBR1000RR and like the bike a lot. It's great for canyon riding on the weekends with my friends...but is not very comfortable on longer trips. I may end up going back to a more VFR like bike as that seems to be the best comfort/sport combo for me. For your 1st bike, I'd get a nice used one as you need to get some miles under your belt and ride to find really what kind of bike you are going to need. The current crop of 1K cc superbikes are a real handful and I probably would not start my riding career on one of those. See if you can find a nice used VFR, or other similar bike to start on.

When beginning to ride, the kind of friends you ride with are pretty critical since you will be learning technique, picking up good/bad habits from them, etc. When I was starting to ride I had two different groups of friends I would ride with, the "mellow group" and the Kamakatze Group. Fortunately, I had the sense to ride mostly with the former - until I developed my skills and learned about street/canyon riding. The latter group was fun to ride with but I found that I sometimes would be pulled in over my head and tend to ride a bit too far above my level which is dangerous. Always try and remember that riding the streets is not a competition and to leave the ego at home. Before leaving on a ride - make sure the group discusses the route and places to stop and regroup so no one has to worry about being left behind/getting lost. Then ride, talk to your friends that ride and have fun learning....whatever 1st bike you get really isn't going to make or break your experience as what you really want to do is to learn/develop your style then in a couple of years - you will finally get that perfect "dream' bike.

Welcome to the sport!!

 

Very well said in regards to what others think of your ride...what matters is doing it right and being around to learn and work your way up to the litre class bikes (If that's your desire). However, the VFR can be a very good starter bike as it is very forgiving, has great low end torque with the V4 (which means you don't have to stay in the upper RPM band - which can easly get ot of control) (hugh advantage over an 600cc I4 for a beginning rider) and it has things like the linked braking system which can make it a bit easier to ride for a beginner and you can pick up a 2 or 3 year old VFR for a pretty decent price. The BMW's are nice bikes but (I have only ridden a couple of my friends BMW's) they tend to be heavier and are much more $$ than most of the Japanese bikes. Whichever bike you choose - it's not really the bike - but the rider....just when I think I'm about the best guy out there a grandma on a pink Vespa laps me and brings me back down to reality

 

This is my starter bike, a Victory Hammer. 100ci motor, 1634cc, 6 speed. 250mm rear tire. In my opinion, Victory's are the best looking bikes. However, I have nothing against Harley, Honda, or any other make. Everybody has their own likes and dislikes. I would probably be riding a Harley if my cousin didn't work for Polaris (the manufacturer of Victory motorcycles). I got over $7000 off MSRP.

 

What I did fail to mention before is that my riding buddies are similarly responsible, not speedfreaks or disrespectful attention ***** bikers. As you can tell, our clowning days have all but gone.

Also, if and when I do finally get a bike it will be used as a commuter vehicle as well. I have a 24 mile one way trip to work and home every day, 48 mile round trip.

Thanks, guys for all the very good advice, all of it is much appreciated.

 

I think everyone misunderstood me. I did not mean for one second that I think anyone should run right out & buy a brand new $11000 sport bike as a "Starter" bike. I even said so in my first post. I said buy something you can afford to crash. If one must get a new bike as a first bike, the best one available is a toss up between the Suzuki SV650 & the Ducati Monster 695. Both handle phenomenally & both are affordable & neither has a fairing to replace when you crash. The SV has about 77hp & the Monster has about 70hp. The only things below that HP wise are HD Sportster which I wouldn't recommend to anyone or the Kawasaki Ninja's 650, 500 or 250 & the Suzuki GS500E.

That's not to say that someone couldn't go out & buy a 1000cc sport bike & survive to tell the tale. I've seen it both ways. One kid I was stationed with in SC was a very immature punk & I told him as much. He asked what kind of bike to get & I told him a Suzuki GS500. He ended up buying a GSXR750 & never made it home from the dealer. It was a closed casket. I also know a guy at McGuire that bought a brand new CBR954 as a first bike. He had never rode anything other than Cannondales to that point. He took the MSF Beginners Class & he currently has over 25000 crash free miles. It can be done, I simply don't recommend it. It all depends on how mature the rider is. If you know you're a beginner, you have to know your limits. If you do, you can ride anything anywhere.

If I ever retire my sport bikes, this is what I'm getting, a Victory Hammer S. http://www.polarisindustries.com/en-...dels/Hammer+S/

They make HD look like the POS's that HD's are. The main reason I don't like HD is you pay in some cases up to $10000 extra & get nothing other than two words on the bike in return. Pretty much every company on the market except HD has moved forward and produced great cruisers but HD is stuck in a time warp. I'm not paying $18000 for a bike that has a 1930's tech engine.

KC-10 FE out...

 

400cc and 60+ hp is a HUGE difference on a sport bike. A 6'2" 300 lb man will be miserable on a 500cc....and not much more happy on a 600cc. You're right, there's not much difference in size, but there is a very substantial difference in power.

I totally agree with starting out on a cheaper used bike, but strongly disagree with getting a 500cc Ninja or similar.

 

The average 600cc supersport has a weight ~350lb and ~120hp at the crank, power to weight ratio of 2.9. A 1000cc supersport weighs about ~390lb and has ~180hp, power to weight ratio of 2.2. For comparison a Ferrari Enzo weighs 3009lb and has 650hp, power to weight ratio of 4.6. A Formula 1 car weighs ~1350 and has ~900hp, power to weight ratio of 1.5. Starting with a supersport bike is like learning to drive in a Formula 1 car, only more dangerous.

A 500cc-600cc bike is more than enough to move a 300lb man faster than all but the most exotic cars on the planet.

 

Exactly. I'm 6' & have a 33" inseam. I tried to learn to ride on a 1973 Honda CB360. I got the bike for free but I simply did not fit on it. I ended up selling it without ever going farther than around the block on it. I settled on a total beater 1982 CB650 Nighthawk. It was $200 & one step above the junkyard but we made sure it was roadworthy. It was a much better fit.

All my bikes have been Honda's. I've owned a 1991 Nighthawk 750 & a 88 NT650 Hawk GT. I currently own a 89 Hawk GT & my current 2000 VFR800fi. The Hawk GT's are a little on the small size for me but they are so charming & absolutely pleasant to ride I can't bring myself to part with them. The Wife loves it too so it's not going anywhere.

Bikes are super fun to ride, one of the true joys in life. Like any other thing in life if something simply does not fit, you will not like doing it. That's one of the biggest problems facing Motorcycling these days. There are only 2 or 3 bikes available for truly short (5'5" & below) people. The Buell Blast (standard) & the Honda Nighthawk (standard) & Rebel (cruiser) 250. All 3 have less HP than some riding lawnmowers. I've ridden all 3 & I GUARANTEE ANYONE would get bored with them in less than 2 weeks. There is a reason the only Nighthawk 250's you see are used as short distance commuters and MSF Class bikes.

If you are a really big person, say 6'4" & 300lbs, if you ride a Nighthawk 250, you're going to hate it, look like a F'n retard & probably lose all interest in riding altogether. A big person has no choice but to buy a bigger machine.

Now, that brings me to cruisers. Most have very low seats & are available in low HP & small CC's & are relatively affordable. The problem with cruisers is their ridiculous riding position. The feet forward reclined position is about the worst way one could sit to ride a bike. I NEVER, EVER recommend cruisers as a first bike. If a rider starts on cruiser and never rides anything but, you can almost guarantee that rider has never learned how to properly control a motorcycle. A standard (Nighthawk & such) are the best bikes to learn on. That's why you almost always see CB250's & nothing but on the MSF ranges.

KC-10 FE out...

 

Thanks guys, keep it up!