Are These Good Beginner Bikes?

[tortus]

So, is the 650 a beginner bike as I've heard from magazines and other sites?

The Ninja 650R?

I owned one, for 5 days before I totaled it in a crash. It was my second bike (I am counting the spare bike of my Dad's that I road for two years as my "first" bike)

The 650R is very fast. It has over 70hp, and weighs less than 400lbs. I personally would never recommend it to anyone who's never been on a bike before. It rides very smoothly and is easy to control, so it's easy to get intoxicated by it and ride it beyond your abilities. Which is exactly how I crashed mine.

A lot of magazines and people in general tend to lump the Ninja 650 in as a beginner's bike because although it's powerful, it's nowhere near as powerful as super sport bikes with over 100hp. But, at the same time, it's way more powerful than small cruisers, the ninja 250 and 500 and the GS500F, etc etc.

So really it's a grey area/intermediate bike. Some people get them as their first bike and are ok. Most people seem to graduate to them as a second bike.

And besides, the Ninja 650 has a full fairing and will be very tough to find one for less than say $4500. If this is your first bike ever, you will drop it. Trust me. On the 650, that's potentially an expensive blunder.

[Bored]

The 650R is very fast. It has over 70hp, and weighs less than 400lbs. I personally would never recommend it to anyone who's never been on a bike before. It rides very smoothly and is easy to control, so it's easy to get intoxicated by it and ride it beyond your abilities. Which is exactly how I crashed mine.

Very well put!

[Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R]

Do scooters make good beginner bikes? If so, does it matter what displacement it has to be? I was looking at the Honda Reflex and the Suzuki Burgman.

[flynrider]

You're just all over the map, aren't you? In this thread you've pretty much covered everything with two wheels.

[matthew5656]

So, is the 650 a beginner bike as I've heard from magazines and other sites?

The 650R is very fast. It has over 70hp, and weighs less than 400lbs. I personally would never recommend it to anyone who's never been on a bike before. It rides very smoothly and is easy to control, so it's easy to get intoxicated by it and ride it beyond your abilities. Which is exactly how I crashed mine.

I know you have only put around 600 miles on your SV so far, but for what you can tell, do you think the SV is faster and has more power than the 650R? I'm sure they are completely different, because I am guessing the 650 has more high end torque when the SV obviously has more low end torque, but does one bike feel faster than the other? I bet the handling is much different too, but similarly comparable.

I'm not sure if any magazines have put these two up to the test and given them both a full comparison and review, but it would definitely be an awesome read! I would gladly take both bikes, but I love the SV! I wish kawasaki would quit expanding their 'ninja' title, it really hurts younger guys with their insurance rates.

[Nalian]

So, is the 650 a beginner bike as I've heard from magazines and other sites?

The 650R is very fast. It has over 70hp, and weighs less than 400lbs. I personally would never recommend it to anyone who's never been on a bike before. It rides very smoothly and is easy to control, so it's easy to get intoxicated by it and ride it beyond your abilities. Which is exactly how I crashed mine.

I know you have only put around 600 miles on your SV so far, but for what you can tell, do you think the SV is faster and has more power than the 650R? I'm sure they are completely different, because I am guessing the 650 has more high end torque when the SV obviously has more low end torque, but does one bike feel faster than the other? I bet the handling is much different too, but similarly comparable.

I'm not sure if any magazines have put these two up to the test and given them both a full comparison and review, but it would definitely be an awesome read! I would gladly take both bikes, but I love the SV! I wish kawasaki would quit expanding their 'ninja' title, it really hurts younger guys with their insurance rates.

viewtopic.php?t=22281 5th post down has numbers from mags doing this very review. End result seems to be that they're pretty well matched..its up to the individual rider/comfort/etc to see a difference really.

[Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R]

You're just all over the map, aren't you? In this thread you've pretty much covered everything with two wheels.

Hell yeah! I'm trying to discover all the possibilities of my options as a new rider.

[tortus]

I know you have only put around 600 miles on your SV so far, but for what you can tell, do you think the SV is faster and has more power than the 650R?

The numbers on these two bikes (0-60, quarter mile, etc) are almost identical and only differ in the tenths and hundredths place. Very comparable speed wise.

But honestly, the Ninja "feels" faster. We've talked about this on the SVRider forums a bit and I think the conclusion was that the Ninja's more upright position gives you a more "pulling" sensation as you accelerate, making it feel faster. The SV's lower, more forward riding position reduces that sensation. Is that what is really happening? I can't say for sure. But it's sort of like going 100mph in a Ford Escort feels a lot faster than 100mph in a Porsche 911 (very extreme analogy, the Ninja is not an Escort )

I'm not sure if any magazines have put these two up to the test and given them both a full comparison and review, but it would definitely be an awesome read!

SV versus Ninja 650 is a common shoot out. Here is a good one

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_P ... cleID=3250

Keep in mind that is the SV650, not SV650S, with dramatically different riding position and less aggressive gearing.

I would gladly take both bikes, but I love the SV! I wish kawasaki would quit expanding their 'ninja' title, it really hurts younger guys with their insurance rates.

The Ninja and SV both cost me exactly the same to insure. I think most insurance companies look beyond names into what the bike really is.

[matthew5656]

I would gladly take both bikes, but I love the SV! I wish kawasaki would quit expanding their 'ninja' title, it really hurts younger guys with their insurance rates.

The Ninja and SV both cost me exactly the same to insure. I think most insurance companies look beyond names into what the bike really is.

Hmm it could just be my parent's stupid insurance provider, and the state of Colorado. I emailed their insurance agent to get a quote on a 1998 EX500. The idiot replies back: "Well it looks like that bike is a 'Ninja' so the rates are pretty high'. I will have to pay $89 a month for liability and about $270 a month with full coverage!! Ridiculous!!! Sure the new 1998's are titled "Ninja 500R", but I do not consider it a ninja at all. A ninja puts out more than 100 horsepower and offers a well tuned inline four. The ex500 puts out around 63 horsepower and carries the parallel twin. Totally different bike....but they have the same title, and both come with sporty looking fairings, uh oh!!!!

But I suppose they still look fast and someone can still ride any bike aggressively, so all of them are the same to the insurance nazis.

Thanks for the review too, I'll definitely give those a read when I get more time. Funny though I was guessing the performance of the two were fairly close also, but I always assumed the SV would feel faster just because of it's lower end torque. But i'm sure the 650's riding position far outweighs a bikes gearing differences. Interesting indeed. Man I want one of those!!!!

[tortus]

Funny though I was guessing the performance of the two were fairly close also, but I always assumed the SV would feel faster just because of it's lower end torque. But i'm sure the 650's riding position far outweighs a bikes gearing differences. Interesting indeed. Man I want one of those!!!!

Today I did a little experiment. I sat up as high as I possibly could on my SV while still reaching the throttle. Then I accelerated hard, and yeah, it felt a lot like the ninja, this sensation of the bike taking off and leaving you behind

Then I got back down into position again and tried again and this time I could just feel my body going right along with the bike, and so that sensation was mostly gone.

It does make sense, I mean sport bikes don't force you down into that tight position for nothing. Sure aerodynamics are a reason, but this probably is too.