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One of the gearheads at a local shop suggested the Honda 599 as a possible starter bike. I raised an eyebrow at the inline four but would like to know what you guys think.

Expensive to buy, can be expensive to repair, weight is up high, especially with the headers running under the oil pan, poor low-RPM power response.

It's better than, say, a Katana, but it's still not a bike I'd give to a new rider.

+1
And if you ask Sev, he'll review his for you...
Wrider

THe 599 is excellent, but I think there are better (easier?) bikes for a first.

What's he word on that Ninja500 you were looking at? Have you thought about the gs500? A friend of mine here has one and loves it.

I missed my chance on that, unfortunately. I'm nosing around on craigslist and maybe I'll find something tasty but I'm not sure. I checked the price on insurance for the 599 but while I like the ergos it's five hundred dollars more a year for full insurance and that's not worth it. For that much more I might as well buy the ninja 500, wait a few years, sell the 500 and buy a 650.

Having trained on a CBF500 (parallel twin, 50 hp) and owned a CBR600F for a year after training in the UK, I'd guess that the 599 would be perfect.

But I guess things are different in the UK. It's hard work getting licensed there, but worth it.

Can you take some training courses on something smaller, while the 599 sits for a few weeks?

Personally, I'd say no. But it's your money.

Kitty wrote:Honda 599 too much for a new rider?

Yes.

Next question.



Seriously, the 599 is almost 100HP. Actually it's 97HP to be exact. That is too much for a beginner ... In fact, it's too much for 95% of riders on the road!

I have a 2006 599.

I started on a Honda Rebel and after only 600 miles I moved up to the 599 because my Rebel got run over when parked on the street.

I was just getting confident on the Rebel and when I got the 599. I felt like I was a total newbie again.
The bike is serious and unforgiving compared to the Rebel. Throttle and brakes are sensitive. It has more power than I will ever need and at higher RPMs it sort of howls, which is rather intimidating.

On the plus side, it does handle very smoothly at slow speeds. Not twitchy at all. And I like having that much power when I'm around a lot of traffic.
I'm not the kind of person that wants to go really fast, but I do want to be able to accelerate out in front of cars quickly, and the 599 can do that very well.

I love this bike, but it would have scared the hell out of me as a first bike.
Heck, I'm still scared if it and have a lot of work to do to grow into it.

I say get something friendlier like a Ninja 500.
You'll have enough anxiety with just being out in traffic.

Good luck
Flipper
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Thank you guys for your advice, I decided to hold off on the 599 and get a ninja 500. I'm currently in negotiations for a used 2006 and I hope to be on the road soon.