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Hey there, My namd is Brandon. I'm a college student going to SUNY Cortland in upstate NY. Don't have a bike at the moment, but I have this awesome plan to buy one and by next spring I am going to be the owner of a new ZX-6R. Well, I hope I can learn a thing or two from all of you. Have a blessed day.
-Brandon-

Brandon,

The first thing I hope you learn is that you should get yourself into an MSF course, then buy a cheap used bike with much less power than a ZX 6R to learn on before you get the 6R. That's no beginner bike there, my friend. They're nice rides, and seriously fast. Build up your skills, then go for the back-road burner.

Hi Brandon Welcome to TMW!

Is this ZX-6R going to be your...what 2nd, 3rd...bike??

Cheers!

Welcome aboard! I'm with Toyuzu and Oz in hoping that you'll take it just a tad bit slower. I'm assuming that you're around 20, right? I started riding 18 months ago at the age of 36. Believe me, you've got plenty of time to work up to your big ride - it happens sooner than you can imagine. But you want it to be after you've strengthened many skills.

Glad you've come to check us out. Hope you enjoy the forums.

Cheers,
Loonette

can only agree with whats been said.take it steady,take that msf course and work up to the zx.it,ll be a lot more fun when you know how to handle it.xjrjohn

B, welcome! Please listen to these people. “My” first bike was an R6, but I used to ride my Dad’s 250 a lot, and while I didn’t have any serious issues with it, I am the exception and could have easily made myself dead. I consider it Irish luck, but it was mostly just a mistake on my part! I misread a quote in the book Motorcycleing for Dummy’s where the guy had one rocket recommended for a good first bike and that was the YZF600R, but I read the YZF R6 and that justified it in my head that it was a good first bike.
Only now after 21/2 years of riding am I bringing my bike to some of it’s potential. If I could go backwards, and done more homework I hope I would have done things differently.
I was 28 when I bought it and I think that helped a lot, because I was more cautious then the average beginner at 16-24. I was comfortable knowing the speed was there and didn’t feel the need to display it in city traffic, and I got all my stunting out of the way on the 250, so I no longer play in that park.

And to further make a point…chicks dig all motorcycles as long as it does not look like something off of Sanford and Son.

My quote down at the bottom has never applied more it is Latin for Control is an illusion. Remember that always, when riding.

To put some perspective on it here is an article from the Anchorage Daily news from 07MAY05 …


”A motorcyclist was in critical condition Friday after he lost control of his bike going more than 85 mph the day before and crashed into a Glenn Highway light pole near Muldoon Road -- the same light pole that claimed the life of another speeding motorcyclist almost a year ago.
The man involved in Thursday's accident was on a motorcycle he bought that day and was on his way to Ace Hardware for riding gloves. He then planned to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to register the bike…” (you have to pay for the rest of the article.)

Enough said… he was 20, no MSF, and bought a CBR600R ’05 not 10 miles down the road, so at 85 MPH, he had been on the bike about 7 minutes, including red lights and now he has no legs, and is in a coma.

What ever you decide please be careful,