Treat me like Verm and flame away!

[BigChickenStrips]

3 sylables for you

In - Shur - Ance

you look liek a younger guy (i am too) and you will end up paying 1/2 what the bike is worth every year in insurance, you'll be hoping to wreck the bike just to get your money back from te insurance people.

i agree with most of the people on here.. this is your first bike not your last and if you are going to be joining the armed forces (congrats on that btw) when will you have time to ride? no sence in dropping that kind of coin on a garage-space-taker-upper.

i know you are going to do what seems right to you, but i hope you'll think abotu this from all angles not just how cool all of us (esp. verm) look or would look riding gixxers.

good luck whatever you decide, we will all still be freinds here. ride safe.

[TechTMW]

The only reason im being somewhat adamant on the gixxer must be impatience of youth.. i know i should just go out and find a good used POS and ride that around for a season.. I prolly will.. but i need to grab it when i am in my skills training, cause if i get out this fall with my sign on bonus, its gonna be tough not to go buy a new gixxer.. lol

The services are experiencing a much higher than average motorcycle fatality rate the past few years - It's not difficult to see why, judging by your post. I KNOW that it's REALLY tough thing to do , but you'd be better off getting the used bike and saving your bonus for your gixxer after a year or so.

Military members (correct me if you are not in the military) have safety pounded into their heads 24/7 but still manage to get into a high percentage of speed related single person accidents (many fatal.) More than most, military members are supposed to understand the safety implications of their actions, but the rate of m/c accidents in the military suggests that alot of people simply aren't paying attention. And these are the people responsible for 'safeguarding our democracy?'

You are going to skills training - - - to learn the skills you need to survive in the work/fighting force. It's such an easy parallel - Motorcycles are no different. You need to learn the skills before you go out and ride something like a gixxer, because on a motorcycle streets are just as dangerous as a war zone, except it's inattentive drivers who are trying to kill you - and there are a hell of alot more of them than enemy snipers.

As for being stupid because you want the bike so bad - hell that's not stupid, it's normal. What would be stupid is to actually get it without having the skills to properly control it.

[Jthmeffy]

maybe i should buy the gixxer, a used 90* v-twin from some used and wrecked gs500f, take it to a custom mechanic and say, make it work and make it so i can put the 4cyl back in someday... lol, i only it were that easy!
but yah, looking at it after a nights sleep, im more level headed.. i wont get the gixxer right after i get out of all my training (which will be oct anyway).. I admit i made this thread kind of as an attention grabber.. i think i was hoping someone would rationalise getting a gixxer, even tho i knew no one would.. its refreshing tho, to get all this advice directly instead of reading.. thanx

i'll just see if i can find something old, used, and abused but still running good enough to last me 6 month.. i might see if i can get a 'new' gixxer (see if anyone has any leftover 2005 or even 2004 modes to save some cash) in Jan or Feb and start riding it after April or so... i plan to ride winters a good amount (gotta get some nice damn heated gear) so i hope i can get my riding skill up enough to be able to adequetely handle the beast.

What are some helmets u guys prefer? I've hear HJC is a great bang for the buck, but they felt odd on my weirdly shaped head... The icon helmets fit great and the Shoei were good.. any other advice?

Also, would those boots and gloves be total overkill for a beginner, or would they just add to the safety of regular leather gloves/boots?

And what do u guys where for riding pants?

Well, i'm off to take my test with the guard..

[DivideOverflow]

Dude, you want the gixxer based on looks. That is understandable, but do the smart thing and get a beginner bike for a season.

You will learn slower, and have a much harder time getting the real skills down on a bigger bike because there are a lot more things you have to worry about. You won't be able to drive the bike to its potential, and that will really handicap you as a rider.

Pick up a cheap used bike that you can sell for the same price after a year (or less if you feel comfortable).

I started on a GV250 with 30hp, then moved to a 79 KZ650 with 50hp (after about a year), and then I also picked up an 84 Interceptor with 70-80hp. I can't imagine jumping straight to the Interceptor as my first bike! I probably would have dropped it. (I have yet to drop any bike, knock on wood)

I am very very glad I did it in this order! I lost a little money on the 250 when I sold it, because I made the mistake of buying it new. But here is a tip: My two older bikes, even though they are much bigger, are cheaper both to buy and for insurance, then the new 250 was by itself.

I paid $2500 total for both the KZ and the Interceptor together, and the insurance is cheaper for both of them put together than just on the newer bike. (which is partially due to my age, 22)

Make sure to check insurance prices on the bikes you look at! They can be quite steep.

It sounds like you are going to make the right decision. Also, I have an icon helmet, and I really like it. Good air flow, very comfy for me to wear all day.

[Dichotomous]

you think the gs500 was more upright that the sv650s? I could say maybe the non S version of the sv.... my buddy has a gs500 and I have the svs, I am WAY more leaned over on the SVS, and I am 6'-2". are you sure it wasnt the SV650 (naked) without the windsheild and such?

[Dash Riproc]

...about that Shoei RF-1000...




It's very light weight and I'm not fighting to keep it from buffetting in the wind.
I have the matte black and would have no other helmet. I put some retro-reflective stickers that REALLY increase visibility.
The shape of the Shoei, on the inside, is very different from Arai and Icon...so much depends on how warped the shape of your head is!
Apparently, I have a Shoei warp...

[Kal]

a handlebar swap is pretty much as simple as it gets modwise but totally changes the ergos of the bike...

If you want to be more upright a higher set of bars, croached over a lower set... Easiest thing in the world...

[CNF2002]

Dash no more pics of the Nighthawk750! Its just too pretty and to think that Honda no longer makes it causes me to cry

[cinder88]

Hey
Did you just sit on these bikes or did you actually drive them ??????
I have the same dimensions as your self and I have been riding my 03 sv650s for 3 years......,
I found it to be the most comfortable bike I "TEST DROVE"....

I do almost 100% city driving, and like the torque better then a high reving I4 600's.
And the exhaust sound of the v-twin really rocks......

Sitting and driving are two different feelings...., go take a few of those bikes for a RIP....., and maybe take thr MSF course while you are at it...

and I started on a ex500 kawi...... great learner bike...., I sold it after 1 year , 2 days after the add went up.....

what ever you buy , be safe. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dash Riproc]

Dash no more pics of the Nighthawk750! Its just too pretty and to think that Honda no longer makes it causes me to cry

Thanks for the complement! I just can't get enough of that bike...OK, OK, just one more:



If your ever in Georgia I will let you...(umm...hmmm...wait...let me think...Oh yea), I will let you watch me ride it around the parking lot!



All joking aside, I'm very fortunate to have it as my own; thanks.