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Just wondering if the powers that be.... (no offense) think that a 599 would be suitable as a first bike? I just love that bike. I am returning to riding after 25+ yrs and have taken the msf course, is it too powerful?

An article comparing the 599 to some other "borderline beginner bikes" i think the 599 gets 2nd place of six bikes.

http://www.cycleworld.com/article.asp?s ... cle_id=265

Its a great looking bike and should serve anyone well for a long time but because its built in Italy and currency exchange rates and all that it comes out a bit pricey in NA. If you aren't a value shopper, its a fine machine. IMO, the H means something and may be worth a few extra bucks.

I'm no expert though, you know better than anyone here if you will do dumb stuff on it and hurt yourself. I imagine its powerful enough to punish stupidity.

edit: yeah, great was too strong a word. I should say the article some info about and some quotes from random moto journalists and Jay Leno voicing opinions about six bikes and a lot of junk about stuff they did in LA

That's a surprisingly bad article. No offense to you.

DEKKER wrote:Just wondering if the powers that be.... (no offense) think that a 599 would be suitable as a first bike? I just love that bike. I am returning to riding after 25+ yrs and have taken the msf course, is it too powerful?

I say there are better choices for a person in your situation because: the 599 is more expensive than other bikes in its class, the 599 does have quite a bit of power, the 599 is heavier than other "learner-approved" bikes and the motor is a bit weak at lower RPMs (easy to stall).

Just my opinions from riding my '04 599 and comparing it to a slew of other bikes I've put miles on.

i dunno, the less torque at lower a lower RPM might be a good thing... less twitchy. It was hard to keep the throttle smooth when i first started out on my SV (first bike).

I agree Sev, terrible article.. they barely even compared the damn bikes. And the SV usually wins the shootouts because of bang for the buck, and where the vtwin makes its power. If i was into a naked right now, i'd really go for a '04 599 tho.

Jthmeffy wrote:i dunno, the less torque at lower a lower RPM might be a good thing... less twitchy. It was hard to keep the throttle smooth when i first started out on my SV (first bike).

Issue on the 599 is the surge at 5000rpm, and the bigger one once you top 10k. It also carries its weight higher then the SV650, and is a fair bit wider. Not to mention more expensive if you tip it. LoL.

Thanks for the input . I sort of felt it may be a bit more than I am ready for . I"ll keep looking around for my ride. Hopefully a used 500 - 650 range will pop up,

Go for a Ducati Monster 620!

...or not. Thats what I would get if I wanted something a couple years old, <650 cc, and was spending your money. The maintenance on Duc's isn't as bad as some say. I'm pretty sure they had slipper clutches too, so it would be forgiving to newbie transmission errors.

Sev wrote:That's a surprisingly bad article. No offense to you.

You're just mad because they picked the SV

gitarjunky wrote:

Sev wrote:That's a surprisingly bad article. No offense to you.

You're just mad because they picked the SV

Yes that is it. I'm not annoyed that they spent more time talking about random crap then the bikes, that the info was delivered is a laissez faire manner, and had next to nothing to back it up.

I'm jealous because that bike I bought (that next to no one else in North America seems like) didn't stack up in the eyes of some random reviewers. It's too bad the only reason I bought a bike is to impress people, not to make myself happy. *GASP* I think I'll go kill myself now.