SQUID, NEED YOU HELP!!!

[Woodsy]

I have a friend, probably the best friend i have had all my life, and he is taking the MSF this weekend. now he is a well off guy and he has the means to buy a nicky hayden special edition ducati 848 as a first bike. keep in mind he has NEVER thrown a leg over a bike and he is buying it because he thinks it is sexy. I am telling him it is crazy and he should get a cheap jap bike (he is dead set on getting something new) like a 500 suzuki or something similar. i am going to forward him this tread so please keep it on topic as i am trying to keep this guy alive. what would you recommend, should he get the ducati (my feelings aside)? also he really likes ducati and wants nothing else. he is willing to *settle* for a monster 648 dark but i think that is even a bit too much. Input?

[schleppy]

Tell him to keep in mind that he WILL drop his first bike at some point. Dropping a shiny new Ducati is going to hurt, even if he's got the money to fix it.

If he has the means he should get a used monster 620 AND the 848. Ride the 620 for a year or so, take the MSF, do some track days, then move up to the 848.

You have to learn to walk before you run...

[FlynGSXR1k]

Damn.... Let's start by first reassuring him he's doing the right thing by taking the MSF Course... WAYYYY too many first timers count on 'I'll figure it out' so to him for that.
I'll preface this with what you already know... I'm your self proclaimed ½ squid.

Fact: even on a cheap jap 600, he'll like NEVER use all the juice it has to offer
Fact: If he is concerned about outgrowing the 600, a powerful 750 will last a lifetime, and still cost a fraction of the Duc
Fact: First time riders are likely to 'damage' their bikes in some way in the first 2 years (be it a dump, slip off the stand, traffic accident whatever).. Better to pop the damage cherry on a cheap jap bike than a pristine Duc

If the new 848's are as tourquey (sp?) as the Duc's of the past are, it's likely a death trap for a first timer.

Highly recommend nothing bigger than a 750 to get started on. They are cheap, can be resold a couple years down the road when the rider really knows what he's looking for in a bike. You learn so much in your first couple of years, IMO it's not worth the money and chances for a first bike...

Just my 2 cents

[R7]

Tell him to keep in mind that he WILL drop his first bike at some point. Dropping a shiny new Ducati is going to hurt, even if he's got the money to fix it.
.

Meh, can't say I agree. I didn't drop my first bike and at the time, it was the latest and greatest 600 sportbike. My first time ever tossing a leg over a two wheeled toy with a motor was the day I showed up for my MSF Advanced class. Never forget that day when the instructor looked me in the eye and told me I was going to die on a motorcycle within the first year, as he handed me my new permit.

I think the more important thing with a new rider is who he/she rides with for the first few times, rather than what bike. Seems most new riders crash/fall while trying to keep up with others. Spend the first few days riding with your friend and his new bike at a slow safe pace.

I'm not one for talking someone out of getting a bike they want, and wouldn't want someone telling me what bike I should and shouldn't get. IMO if that's the bike he wants, go get it

[dingley00]

tell him to get something with about 60hp regardless of engine size.

[naked-daytrader]

Live and let live....tell em to get a busa with turbo.

Leave him the fuck alone, who are we to judge?

[JSXR]

tell him to get something with about 60hp regardless of engine size.

Or at the very least something that doesn't have over 70 ft-lbs of torque...it's easy enough to get the front wheel up on a Jap 600 let alone the Nicky Hayden. I'd have to think this bike would be too much for a noob. Just my 2 cents

[Ninjajim]

He should get an sv 650 to start. Even a 600 4cylinder is too much. I learned the hard way by crashing my 636 twice. I have never droped my 14.

Start small

[DucDave]

A Monster 696 would be a great choice...both as a first bike and as a keeper. I'd have one just for the sheer fun of it...

In addition to taking the MSF course, encourage him to join NESR...and to hook up with some of the more experienced riders on the forum. We'd be happy to take him out, set a good example, and teach him a thing or two about how to stay safe AND have fun. (BTW...IMHO the right gear is an important factor...)

Remember, 'Experience is what you get right AFTER you could have really used it..."! Let us have done some of the stupid things so he doesn't have to!

[Ninjajim]

tell him to get something with about 60hp regardless of engine size.

[Jim]

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Let him buy whatever the fuck he wants. When he drops it, make sure to let me know when there's a crashed 848 selling for track use.

[DucDave]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry Giggity: BlackBerry8330/4.5.0.160 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

Let him buy whatever the fuck he wants. When he drops it, make sure to let me know when there's a crashed 848 selling for track use.

Cheesh Jim....you can't just put this out there like that in the wide open. Now there will be a lot of competetion when it could have been just you and me...

[Doc]

I think the more important thing with a new rider is who he/she rides with for the first few times, rather than what bike. Seems most new riders crash/fall while trying to keep up with others. Spend the first few days riding with your friend and his new bike at a slow safe pace.

Woodsy you're the only one here that knows him, so what kind of rider do you think he'll be? The answer to that is the only thing that really matters, and has very little to do with what he gets for his first bike.

Will he be a risky rider? Take chances? Not listen to experience? He is taking an MSF course so that is a damn good start.

Live and let live....tell em to get a busa with turbo.

Leave him the fuck alone, who are we to judge?

Natural selection.


If he HAS to have a Ducati I think the 696 (:WTF: ia a 648?) is a good choice.

He might also look for an older 750ss... Still a little big but

If he buys the Nicky Hayden replica my bet is on him dropping it in the first 7 times he uses it or wrecking it all together. How would that make him feel?

[Ninjajim]

A Monster 696 would be a great choice...both as a first bike and as a keeper. I'd have one just for the sheer fun of it...

In addition to taking the MSF course, encourage him to join NESR...and to hook up with some of the more experienced riders on the forum. We'd be happy to take him out, set a good example, and teach him a thing or two about how to stay safe AND have fun. (BTW...IMHO the right gear is an important factor...)

Remember, 'Experience is what you get right AFTER you could have really used it..."! Let us have done some of the stupid things so he doesn't have to!

Nesr does seem to have a good influence. They use very well rounded peer pressure to insure proper riding. I think we even have Leaf keeping his helmet on now, but I digress a good example in riding is more important than the size of his bike.

[Doc]

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Let him buy whatever the fuck he wants. When he drops it, make sure to let me know when there's a crashed 848 selling for track use.

Cheesh Jim....you can't just put this out there like that in the wide open. Now there will be a lot of competetion when it could have been just you and me...

[600rr0504]

Meh, can't say I agree. I didn't drop my first bike and at the time, it was the latest and greatest 600 sportbike. My first time ever tossing a leg over a two wheeled toy with a motor was the day I showed up for my MSF Advanced class. Never forget that day when the instructor looked me in the eye and told me I was going to die on a motorcycle within the first year, as he handed me my new permit.

I think the more important thing with a new rider is who he/she rides with for the first few times, rather than what bike. Seems most new riders crash/fall while trying to keep up with others. Spend the first few days riding with your friend and his new bike at a slow safe pace.

I'm not one for talking someone out of getting a bike they want, and wouldn't want someone telling me what bike I should and shouldn't get. IMO if that's the bike he wants, go get it

I agree the first time I ever rode was on a year old cbr600 rr and I just taught myself in the parking lot of ironicly a funeral home. My buddies first bike was a Ducati 999. Neither one of us has had any drops or issues (knock on wood). I'm deffinatly not the greatest rider I just don't go nuts and things have worked out.

[Hauptman]

I don't want him to get a Hayden 848 because I'm an asshole and jealous. Plus he'll highside and tackle us in corners. But really, you can put any bike down. Hell I lit up the rear on my SV laying it over on a cold morning. What I was glad about was that I only had to spend @ $800 fixing it (that was at about 15mph too). If he's set on Ducati I would have to cast my vote for the Monster. The ergos are just better and if he's not at the track it'll probably be more fun on the street.

[kbroderick]

My opinion: to really learn how to ride a high-performance bike, you need to be willing to push your limits when it's at least somewhat reasonable to do so (eg on the track). That process is likely to involve finding those limits and quite possibly exceeding them.

A smaller, cheaper bike is likely to make such an event less painful physically, emotionally, and economically.

Then again, I'm biased, as I've just been at NHMS for two days enjoying riding the heck out of a bike with less value than plastics for a new Duc.

[BLACK SQUIRREL]

If he wants a Hayden He should buy the Hayden. For evrybody that gets a 600 as a first bike and hurts themselves, there are 50 people that buy a 600 as there first bike and become good riders.

[Danz19899]

Hey to each his own. Before April 5 this year i'd never riden any bike. . . ever. I took MSF for my B-day then got my brand new 600 a month later. A LOT of people told me not to start on a 600. But I did and i just was responsible with it while. now i've had it for 3 months and have 6000miles. I have Dropped it twice literally not moving. just dumb shit but its got a couple scratches.

Dude if your that loaded pick up a used older 600 and learn on that. I cant blame you for not starting on a 500 or something, they are ugly and slow. But please get something used to start and dont trash a ducati. That bike is my dream bike but i still dont think i have enough experience for it. my bike has 40 something Ft lbs of torque and its almost gotten away from me a few times with over 70 you are FAR more likely to break traction

Just my 2cents

[Pittenger5]

It is sexy.

[naked-daytrader]

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Let him buy whatever the fuck he wants. When he drops it, make sure to let me know when there's a crashed 848 selling for track use.

pwahahahahaha

[Jaynnus]

So....where is he taking the MSF?

[scubasteveRR]

I say live and let live.

It sucks but no matter how hard you try to tell someone something they are not goin to listen to a damn word you say. They are going to just do what they want anyways.

I'd say start out on the smaller less expensive bike and move up in a couple years and make the 600 your track bike. Thats what i plan on doing.

But like i said above, it's just a waste or breath, can't wait to check out your new duc

[obsolete]

I'll think he's dumb but who the fuck cares what I think. He doesn't suck my dick or pay my bills so he's not that important to me. :shrug: