Here's the thing that no bike, big or small, can account for...stupidity. You can learn to ride on damn near any bike if you're intelligent enough, mature enough, and patient enough. My story about the guy totaling his bike on day one illustrates this point beautifully. Yeah, his excuse was that he reached for the power of a NightHawk 250 and instead received the power of a whatever the hell it was. Personally, I'd have a hard time associating with the guy afterwards.
Point is, and this is where that whole lecture about accountability came from, the world is full of morons....more and more each day. From the people doing 60mph in the passing lane on the interstate to the idiots that ride behind semis for dozens of miles only to decide to pass them when you're .00000003 seconds away from passing them! If a person can't learn to ride on dirt I would tell them to go sit on bikes and pick one that they can hold up with no problem...one that allows them to place both feet flat on the ground. As long as the ergonomics are all as close to perfect as they can be, I say it's a good starter bike. If they neglect to sit and rev the engine in neutral to get aquainted with the throttle response before they nail it leaving the dealership, that's on them. I will not be party to making available any excuse for them other than impatience and stupidity.
Man, this is like the longest thread I've seen since I joined. I'd also like to say that I'm amazed it went as long as it did and stayed civil. Initially I wasn't going to touch this subject with a ten foot pole, however I've since decided I'd like to throw a few things out there.
I can definately see both sides of the argument here and I think both sides have made some decent points. However, given the anonimity of the internet, the best route to take is probably on the conservative side, i.e. start on a 250. At the same time though, I don't necessarily agree that 600's are taboo as a starter bike. Maybe it's because that's what I'm on and I'm biased. Very possible. I think it really boils down to comfort. Whatever you feel comfortable on such that you can devote your full concentration to what you're doing.
If Nurider is still reading this thread though, here's a couple of thoughts I'd like to throw out as to why the YZF600R may or may not be a good starter bike. Keep in mind I've never ridden one.
1st, is it comfortable for you? I know some people can jump on and the aggresive riding style is no big deal. Doesn't faze them. Some people can't do it at all. Most could probably adjust to it, but it would take time. The reason I bring this up is for a couple of reasons. One, I hate to see you get a bike and then realize it's not comfortable and to be stuck with it. Two, a large part of riding is mental. Initially when you're learning to ride you're trying to keep track of a lot of things. You, you're bike, traffic, weather, etc.... If you are uncomfortable, then that can be a major distraction to you.
2nd, is the bike functional for the riding you'll do. If you do a lot of city and tight space riding, maybe a smaller, lighter bike is a better option. Freeway riding it'd be fine, but again I come back to comfort. Also, are you going to do a lot of two up riding? If so is you're passenger going to be comfortable?
3rd, and this is the reason I strayed away from sportbikes as my first bike, is the fact that the YZF is a full fairing bike. As is the ninja, Katana and GS500. While I won't say you will drop your bike, you're chances of doing so however are higher being a new rider. IF you drop your bike it's going to be expensive to fix. As I was talking to the dealer while I was looking I kept asking about sportbikes and accessories and I kept hearing "anything you do to a sportbike has the potential to be very expensive" It put things into perspective for me.
4th, what's the insurance hit going to be? Being a full blown sportbike it's going to be higher than a "naked" streetbike and the naked can provide just as much performance as the YZF.
5th, and this is a question only you can answer, are you going to be content on the YZF600? You state you want to keep it for a few years, and that's cool. However, after you put on a few thousand miles are you going to want a better performing bike. Maybe an R6. Or maybe looking to go up to a 9 or 1000? I ask this only because most people don't keep their starting bike. Not trying to imply anything here, just wondering if after a season you're still going to be content with the YZF or if you'll want more. I'm one of the ones who usually wants more that's why I bring this up.
Sorry to ramble on this, just wanted to throw out a bunch of questions I was asking myself when I was looking. That was only about 6 weeks ago. Honestly, I don't know if it is or isn't a good first bike for you. However, I think if you ask and answer some of these questions you'll have a better idea about it.
