Total Motorcycle Community Forums

So you want to learn to ride a motorcycle on a 600cc race replica. Your in the Air Force. Do they train pilots in a F-22?

Johnj wrote:So you want to learn to ride a motorcycle on a 600cc race replica. Your in the Air Force. Do they train pilots in a F-22?

i meant to type gsxr 600. yes i want a 600 for a first bike.. considering the fact that i plan on keeping it for a while. i asked for suggestions.. not smart "O Ring" remarks.

lcurtis19 wrote:

Johnj wrote:So you want to learn to ride a motorcycle on a 600cc race replica. Your in the Air Force. Do they train pilots in a F-22?

i meant to type gsxr 600. yes i want a 600 for a first bike.. considering the fact that i plan on keeping it for a while. i asked for suggestions.. not smart "O Ring" remarks.

No one here is gong to agree with your choice of selecting a 600RR as a learner bike and will strongly recommend against it for numerous reasons. If you want a sport style bike to learn on, then look for a Ninja 250.

ceemes wrote:

lcurtis19 wrote:

Johnj wrote:So you want to learn to ride a motorcycle on a 600cc race replica. Your in the Air Force. Do they train pilots in a F-22?

i meant to type gsxr 600. yes i want a 600 for a first bike.. considering the fact that i plan on keeping it for a while. i asked for suggestions.. not smart "O Ring" remarks.

No one here is gong to agree with your choice of selecting a 600RR as a learner bike and will strongly recommend against it for numerous reasons. If you want a sport style bike to learn on, then look for a Ninja 250.

i do comepletely understand where you are coming from ( both of you ). i guess what im failing to keep in mind is the fact that it is a first bike..i guess after i get comfortable with riding i can eventually upgrade. thanks for the advice tho!

Strongly suggest you do NOT start out with a top-line inline-4 600cc race replica sportbike. The Ninja 250 is a plausible suggestion, because the bike will help you actually learn how to ride. Assuming you're more interested in "go" than "show"? (The fringe benefit is late-model Ninja 250's look great too.)

If the thought of learning to ride a small-displacement bike to near it's limits .......just doesn't appeal to you, consider one of the 650 twins, e.g. Suzuki SV650. Their peak horsepower is lower, and the power delivery is much more linear (hence easier for a noob to control) than an inline-4.

lcurtis19 wrote:

Johnj wrote:So you want to learn to ride a motorcycle on a 600cc race replica. Your in the Air Force. Do they train pilots in a F-22?

i meant to type gsxr 600. yes i want a 600 for a first bike.. considering the fact that i plan on keeping it for a while. i asked for suggestions.. not smart "O Ring" remarks.

It wasn't a smart remark. It was a remark intended to keep your a$$ in one piece. Consider a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. That paper represents everything John knows about motorcycles. Take a pencil and make the tiniest dot possible on that paper. That dot represents everything you know. Nobody's putting you down, nobody called you an idiot. But you don't know what you don't know.

jstark47 wrote:Strongly suggest you do NOT start out with a top-line inline-4 600cc race replica sportbike. The Ninja 250 is a plausible suggestion, because the bike will help you actually learn how to ride. Assuming you're more interested in "go" than "show"? (The fringe benefit is late-model Ninja 250's look great too.)

If the thought of learning to ride a small-displacement bike to near it's limits .......just doesn't appeal to you, consider one of the 650 twins, e.g. Suzuki SV650. Their peak horsepower is lower, and the power delivery is much more linear (hence easier for a noob to control) than an inline-4.

lcurtis19 wrote:

Johnj wrote:So you want to learn to ride a motorcycle on a 600cc race replica. Your in the Air Force. Do they train pilots in a F-22?

i meant to type gsxr 600. yes i want a 600 for a first bike.. considering the fact that i plan on keeping it for a while. i asked for suggestions.. not smart "O Ring" remarks.

It wasn't a smart remark. It was a remark intended to keep your a$$ in one piece. Consider a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. That paper represents everything John knows about motorcycles. Take a pencil and make the tiniest dot possible on that paper. That dot represents everything you know. Nobody's putting you down, nobody called you an idiot. But you don't know what you don't know.

i understand what your saying.

I've got a good buddy that just joined the AF, he's looking at getting his second bike as a ZX-6R. His first was a 600RR and he is about your size. He said it scared the living crap out of him, only put 2000 mi on it before he sold it. This is a guy with a 340 WHP Cobalt SS and who just picked up a 400 AWHP Eclipse.
And yes I completely understand the mentality of the military guys who might tease you about a 250 or a 500. I'm actually sitting on an Air Force base right now working security (boy do I work hard or what? haha). Don't worry about them. I know for a fact a 250 or a 500 will outrun a 600 on a tight track with equal riders, and that 250 and 500 learner guys tend to be able to smoke other 600 riders when they move up to them.
Anyway I would also suggest the MSF course (I think you're required to take it but I might be wrong on that.) And get yourself a Ninja 500 or a GS500. Trust me they're fun as-is (300 lbs and I've gotten pulled over doing over 100 on a 500).

Oh and just so you know, my sister has an 08 Ninja 250 with no performance mods. She is about your weight, and got it up to over 100 as well. Plus with how small the bike is, how well it turns, and the tires on it, she can keep up through the mountains even with the supersports around here.

Certainly, buying too small a first bike can be a pain. If you want something that will be big enough to enjoy for a while, and you really want something in the 600cc class, look closely at the 650 twins from Kaw and Suzi. Far more comfortable to ride, and easier to learn on. If it really must be a 4-cyclinder, look at the retuned 600s. such as the FZ6, CB600F, etc. They tend to have the look of the race replicas, but with and easier power delivery and more comfortable seating position.

For a first timer looking for a sportbike, I usually recommend the Suzuki GS500F. It's got all the sportbike looks, along with an engine that has the kind of throttle response suitable for learning how to ride. The bike has plenty of power for the street and the highway, but not so much that it will easily get away from a newbie rider.

http://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/mot ... 45565.html

JohnJ really hit the nail on the head when he compared learning on a 600 race bike with learning to fly in an F-22. While it may not kill you, it's going to make it very difficult to learn the basics of riding.