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Dchi0175 wrote:I began riding on a '99 Ninja 250. It has been a little over a year since I first began riding. I am beginning to feel that my bike is a too small for me. I have been told that jumping into a bigger bike(I am looking at a 600) too soon or off the bat can be dangerous. I am wanting to know if it is the right time for me to upgrade or do I need more time? I enjoy riding alot and do not want to jump into anything that I wouldn't be able to control.

Since we don't know you, it would be rather hard to say. Did you ride your 250 once every other month in the past year, or every day?

When I get asked this question, I usually respond with a question of my own. Do you still have to think about what you're doing when you take off from a stop, shift, or come to a stop? If so, then a little more time on the small bike might be appropriate. If you ride without having to concentrate on shifting, clutch and braking (i.e. you just do it naturally), then you should be fine.

Most of the risk involved in moving up to a high performance bike involves mishandling of the controls. The increased response in throttle, clutch and brakes are less tolerant of ham-fisted mistakes.

I think if I were you I might also consider an intermediate step between your 250 and a 600 supersport. That's a big jump, and there's a loot of room for increased performance in between. What about an SV650 or ninja 650R, bandit 600, GS500 perhaps...you get the idea.

Hey,
I just did the upgrade move.
Definitely more throttle/clutch control needed with a more
powerful bike. Just start carefully.
I have learned a lot from it. Broadening your riding experience is good,
and it stops you from getting complacent; you quickly realise how much
more there is to learn. (And how much fun it is doing it).
Good luck.

anarchy wrote:

Nalian wrote:

anarchy wrote:again, he'll know when he's ready - he won't need to ask other people if he's ready...

Or he's a cautious guy and is looking to others to see if he needs a reality check rather than just going off all bullheaded. It can be flipped either way.

maybe if he's looking to others to see if he needs a reality check, then he should ask people that know him in reality - not on some forum on the internet. how can we evaluate his abilities and tell him he's ready to upgrade??

i don't know him personally - i don't have any clue as to his riding abilities... he's asking if he is ready to upgrade his ride... by asking the question, he's showing, or at least i'm interpreting, that he's not 100% confident in his riding ability. based on that little information, i would rather err on the side of telling him that he's not ready...

im sure there are ppl who have been riding a ninjette 250 for a total of 3 months, about 2k miles, and they KNOW they are ready for that brand new zx-6r they want...

the dude just wants someone else's experience/opinion on the matter.. maybe he doesnt have any friends (that ride) that he feels comfortable asking... dont be so quick to judge just because he asked a question

anarchy wrote:maybe if he's looking to others to see if he needs a reality check, then he should ask people that know him in reality - not on some forum on the internet. how can we evaluate his abilities and tell him he's ready to upgrade??

i don't know him personally - i don't have any clue as to his riding abilities... he's asking if he is ready to upgrade his ride... by asking the question, he's showing, or at least i'm interpreting, that he's not 100% confident in his riding ability. based on that little information, i would rather err on the side of telling him that he's not ready...

I think we'll have to agree to disagree. Often when I know I want something I realize I can become unreasonable because I'm too excited about the prospect of something new. When I see that in myself I try to go somewhere for a reality check. I'm fortunate in that I have a lot of friends who ride to bounce things off of. Given what a generally friendly community we have here, I could see someone who maybe doesn't have those resources IRL checking here. Kind of a "is it totally insane I'm feeling this way?" sort of thing.

Sounds like just differing philosophies in dealing with people.

Jthmeffy wrote:dont be so quick to judge just because he asked a question

i haven't been the one quick to judge...

Dchi0175 wrote:I am wanting to know if it is the right time for me to upgrade or do I need more time?

i was answering his original question...

Jthmeffy wrote:the dude just wants someone else's experience/opinion on the matter..

if he wanted people's experience/opinions, maybe he should have phrased his question better. besides, wasn't that what i was doing - giving him my opinion?? i think in all fairness to the dude, and not knowing him at all, i would rather give him advice on the cautious side.

Nalian wrote:

anarchy wrote:maybe if he's looking to others to see if he needs a reality check, then he should ask people that know him in reality - not on some forum on the internet. how can we evaluate his abilities and tell him he's ready to upgrade??

i don't know him personally - i don't have any clue as to his riding abilities... he's asking if he is ready to upgrade his ride... by asking the question, he's showing, or at least i'm interpreting, that he's not 100% confident in his riding ability. based on that little information, i would rather err on the side of telling him that he's not ready...

I think we'll have to agree to disagree. Often when I know I want something I realize I can become unreasonable because I'm too excited about the prospect of something new. When I see that in myself I try to go somewhere for a reality check. I'm fortunate in that I have a lot of friends who ride to bounce things off of. Given what a generally friendly community we have here, I could see someone who maybe doesn't have those resources IRL checking here. Kind of a "is it totally insane I'm feeling this way?" sort of thing.

Sounds like just differing philosophies in dealing with people.

i don't think there's much to disagree on... he asked if he was ready to upgrade. based on him asking the question, and not knowing for himself that he's ready to upgrade, my opinion is that he isn't ready...

if he is looking for a reality check, whether in real life or on some internet forum, to determine if he's ready to upgrade or not, then maybe his question should have been along the lines of "i think i'm ready to upgrade, but i want to know, how did you know when you were ready to upgrade?"

anarchy wrote:i don't think there's much to disagree on... he asked if he was ready to upgrade. based on him asking the question, and not knowing for himself that he's ready to upgrade, my opinion is that he isn't ready...

if he is looking for a reality check, whether in real life or on some internet forum, to determine if he's ready to upgrade or not, then maybe his question should have been along the lines of "i think i'm ready to upgrade, but i want to know, how did you know when you were ready to upgrade?"

Surely you jest right? I disagree with your opinion! That's what we're disagreeing about. Geez!

Nalian wrote: Surely you jest right? I disagree with your opinion! That's what we're disagreeing about. Geez!

my opinion is that because he's asking the question, i don't think he's ready to upgrade... he'll know when he's ready to upgrade. you disagree with that... does that mean you think he's ready to upgrade?? since you haven't really stated it yet, what is your opinion??

Try looking at a Ninja 650R or SV650. Those would be great second bikes, and will be a lot better on the street than a 600 supersport.