My friend wants a sport bike...

[gsus]

Hi guys,

My friend is now trying to get a motorcycle finally, however he prefers crotch rockets. I myself was/am more into cruisers, until recently, were I may be getting a VFR800 if my insurance totals out my 96 Magna. Anyway, I've been trying to get him to look at Ninja 500 & 650R's, Suzuki GS500's and I think a Katana 600.

Anyway, he doesn't like the fit or look of the 500's, the 650r is out of his price range ($3000 & bellow) and the Katana just doesn't tickle his bubble. I've tried getting him on an SV650 as well, but he prefers a full faired bike. What other beginner sport bikes are out there?

Now let's just say I can't talk him out of getting a 600cc crotch rocket, Are the older crotch rockets any better as a first bike versus the newer ones? Which of the 600cc sport bikes do you guys think would be best for him to get if i can't talk him down to a lower HP bike.

Thanks for your time guys!

[dean owens]

if he won't listen to advice then personally i wouldn't give any. i would just tell him he's making a DUMB decision and leave it at that. if he can't realize that it's his first bike and that you don't always get what you want for your first bike then he's not really going to listen to anything else.

i went through this with my brother-in-law. i went through everything with him. he's yet to take the brc. he has dropped his bike. he has had it at a dangerous speed. blah blah blah. he's told me i was right. but it didn't stop him from getting a brand new cbr600rr. if someone's willing to listen i'll help all i can. but if they won't listen then i'll shake the dust off my feet and move on to the next town.

[Wrider]

My friend was absolutely convinced on getting a ZX-6R but I ended up convincing him to get a ZZR600. 10 year old ZX technoloy. Still not what I recommend, but it was better than nothing. Also, you can get aftermarket full fairings for the SV650. Most of them around here have them on. I think the price is still under the price of a base 600RR
Wrider

[matthew5656]

Yes, both the ZZR and the newer, fully faired SV650S would be safer options for your friend instead of any CBR/YZF/ZXR/GSXR blah blah blah. I wouldn't recommend a GSX Katana, as they're moderately powerful but unusually heavy...depending on how big your friend is, bike weight is just as essential of an issue as motor HP.

But if he chooses not to listen, I would ask him to find a different riding buddy because it wouldn't be safe for you or him to ride together while a novice is operating a race ready machine. This may persuade him into a safer decision, but if you truly think about it, would you want to ride with a complete newb on such a powerful bike? I'd be wary of him wheeling or endoing into me... Or any mistakes may occur with any bike like target fixation or loss of control at low speeds. But I'd feel much safer riding with a newbie on a tame, underpowered standard bike than with somebody on a crotch rocket.

Whenever I see a couple of sportbikers riding together, I can always spot the newb or less experienced of the two. They tend to weave around more, improper throttle control, sketchy clutch control while shifting, over or underestimated stopping distances, or they simply make the most random traffic mistakes because they probably aren't paying enough attention. So I try to play keep away from those guys...

[gsus]

Thanks for the input guys, I have two other friends that do ride crotch rockets. One of them is going to let him test ride it, to show him how powerful the bikes are. However we are going to check out a 91 VFR750 today... We'll see what happens after his test ride (which will take place in a few minutes)

[Dragonhawk]

Ninja 250.

If he insists on something bigger, have him get a good life insurance policy with you as the sole benificiary.

[gsus]

Well, He test rode my friends 07 CBR600RR and was excited by it... so we proceeded to check out the VFR. While the VFR is a nice bike and my friend like it, it was not worth what the seller was asking for, so we walked.

Anyway about 3 hours after we got back I get a text from my friend saying that he is going to reconsider and look for a bike that is better suited for a beginner! He's looking at getting either a new 08 Ninja 250 or one of the bikes I recommended above:

Ninja 650R, 500
Suzuki GS500 or SV650
MAYBE a cruiser....

Im glad he pulled around and realized that those sport bikes may not be the right bike for him at this point in his new biking career!

[Brackstone]

Glad to hear it gsus.

[dean owens]

ahh, maybe i gave up too soon. good to hear/read.