Advice for second bike

[Jave]

My apologies in advance... I know these threads pop up all the time.

So I'm just starting my second season of riding. Last year I commuted every day back and forth to work on my ninja 250 in big city traffic (Toronto) so I feel like I've gotten pretty used to riding by now. I'm no expert by any means but I feel ready to get that next bike.

I'd like something a bit faster as the Ninja 250 doesn't feel all that safe on the highway. It will get up to speed but if you need to move out of the way quickly, it doesn't quite have the power at that speed.

Will a Ninja 500 or Suzuki GS500 feel a lot different or are they just barely faster? I'm also itching for something like a 600 SS bike but I'm not sure it's wise yet.

I'm also looking at dualsports and I've always wanted a KLR 650 or Suzuki DR650 but would they have the same issue on the highway as the Ninja 250?

Any recommendations are appreciated.

[Johnj]

Did you try downshifting when you needed the extra speed, or did you just crack the throttle?

[Jave]

Downshifting to 5th helps a little but it doesn't give me much more power and the engine is screaming at that point... doesn't sound too good but I guess it's ok?

I just want to take the next step up to a bigger bike, partly for the fun factor as well. How noticeable of a jump is a 500cc bike?

[storysunfolding]

It's noticeable.

I never have an issue with my ninja 250 on the beltway. It gets blown around a bit more than my other bikes but at 80 mph on the beltway around DC she still has oomph.

It is a loud bike but it's fine to rev it all the way up till redline when needed

[camthepyro]

If you've been riding for a year or so, and you feel like you can handle a 600cc sportbike, than get one.

We recommend that newbies get little bikes, and use them for at least a season before moving up. Once you've done that (and if you commuted on it, you obviously have), you should be ready for something bigger.

I don't think anybody here thinks riders should stick to 50hp bikes their entire lives. We just don't want newbs, who have no idea what it's like to ride a bike, much less on the street, to kill themselves. Nobody, as far as I know, is saying you should stay on it for years before you can move up.

That aside, most 500s will have enough power to get on the highway, but I wouldn't say they're exactly suited to it. You'd be in top gear with the engine wide open all the time. If you don't think you're ready for a 600 sporty, I'd go with something bigger, but not a sporty. Like an SV650, a ZR7 (like I just got!), a 599, or another similar standard bike.