Ninja 650R

[jazzymusicman]

Hey guys,

I've been planning on buying a new Ninja 500R as my first bike for a month or two now. Today I was on the kawasaki home page and I saw the 2009 version and decided to go on over to the nearest dealer and find out when they would be in stock. Alas, he said probably not until 2009. I know theres no changes, but I really don't like the red striping on the 2008s.

Anyways, as I was looking around, I saw the 650R and fell in love. Now I am know that getting a 600cc sport bike as my first bike is suicide, but its so good looking =). Anyways, I'm sticking to my guns and not buying the 650 for health reasons (breathing is kinda fun). The sales guy caught me looking at it and was like "well, why don't you get the 650?" I told him that I was going to be a first time rider and blah blah blah. He then tells me, well this 650 isn't really like a 600cc sport bike, its much more tame, you could probably handle it.

Now...I know better than to trust him, the caring salesguy, but it makes me wonder if there is any truth to his statement, which leaves wondering, how can a 650cc standard bike be tamer than a 600cc sport bike. I realize there is a difference when it comes to cruisers and sport/standards due to weight, but between a standard and a sport??

Please enlighten me. =)

[flynrider]

Now...I know better than to trust him, the caring salesguy, but it makes me wonder if there is any truth to his statement, which leaves wondering, how can a 650cc standard bike be tamer than a 600cc sport bike. I realize there is a difference when it comes to cruisers and sport/standards due to weight, but between a standard and a sport??

Please enlighten me. =)

There is some truth to what the salesguy says. The CCs don't tell the whole story. The 650R is more of an upgraded 500R. The typical 600cc sportbike is designed for racing and carries an inline 4 cyl. engine that puts out 100+ horsepower. The 650R, on the other hand, has a 2 cyl. engine that generates around 65 hp.

I've ridden the '07 650R and it will definitely get up and go. This one is a judgement call. Ideally, you'd want something a bit tamer and lighter for a first bike, but it's not the worst bike you could pick.

[Nalian]

Surprisingly, he didn't lie to you. Yes it's a bit of a grey-area bike, but it is not an inline 4 600 CC sportbike. Folks can start on a 650r and be alright.

[jazzymusicman]

Now you have me thinking whether I should jump into this gray area. I really do like how that 650 looks. BTW, I took an optional "get acquainted" pre-BRC course with the people that do the MSF down here and really enjoyed it. I fully intend on taking the full course before i get any bike.

[Brackstone]

I started on a Ninja 250 and I'm glad I did. I made lots of mistakes that I was able to learn from where if I did the same thing on a bigger I would've been hurt or have seriously damaged the bike.

It's all about eliminating risk. If you want to add risk then go get the 650R otherwise start on something smaller. There is always time to upgrade later.

I'm 5'8" and 165 lbs and the 250 moved me just fine. I also had no problem selling the bike I got lots of offers on it right away and sold it in under a month.

[Ninja Geoff]

The 650R is my first road bike. THough I was on an XR200R for a couple of years. Though it's doable as a first bike, and has a pretty strong aftermarket for both sport/track riding AND distance touring riding. It's a really flexible bike.

[Erg0n]

I have a 650r and it is a good novice/intermediate bike

Its fun to ride, riding position is not aggressive,its forgiving on mistakes, good on MPG and its more power than I ever need

I'd consider that or the SV650 as a first bike if you want something a bit more bigger than a 250cc

However, if your brand new to the bike world i'd go with something smaller. But the 650R is a good bike to learn on

[RhadamYgg]

I like the 650R as well, but to me it crosses a line - over 50 hp. Some of the situations I've been in on my Ninja 250, with the sloppy throttle, I think would have been dangerous on the 650.

But it might be my next bike, who knows?

RhadamYgg

[green meenie]

The 650R sould be fine providing it's size & weight doesn't intimidate you and you are a responsible person with some reasonable degree of self control. If not - start smaller & work up to it as a second bike.

[jazzymusicman]

I put the picture of one on my desktop, and I started thinking of the usual mantra:

There are two types of bikers, ones who have fallen and those who will.

And I started thinking of how much it would suck to drop it and be left with a brand new scratched up bike so as much as I want one, and as much as I figure I've become responsible (used to get all kinds of crazy tickets [and even an arrest for wreckless], and its been 3 years with zero incidents despite a 60 mile roundtrip daily commute), I'm looking to buy an old used 250 to ride for a few months.

Thx for all the info guys.