The 1st bike debate.

[Doc]

Let's have a civil discussion on the most appropriate bike to purchase as a first STREET bike.

(I realize not everyone fits the same mold and won't fit the same bike.)

Why did you choose the bike you got as a first bike?

Because it was sensible?
Because it was "the hotness"?
Because it was what you could afford?

Would you do it differently now that you have some experience?

What advice do you have for someone who has no experience and wants to get an old clapped out POS?

What advice do you have for someone that wants to get a new 1000 superbike?

There are generally 2 sides of this discussion.

1. Get a smaller, lighter easier to control and learn fundamentals type bike

or

2. Get the bike you WANT and just be careful.

[Chippertheripper]

My first bike was a z50 at age 4. It was a hand-me-down from my uncle. My first streetbike was a monster750. I rode it like a dirtbike and almost killed myself a few times.
My honest answer is: get the bike you want. Just make sure you get the appropriate training. Had someone showed me how to ride a streetbike like a streetbike, I'd have been much better off.

[redwinger]

I took all of those things that you mentioned into consideration. I could afford it. I thought it was pretty hot. I thought it was sensible. I bought an SV650s for my 1st bike.

8K miles then got a 600 that I'm still riding 25k miles later.

I would get a 1000 and be careful long before I would get an old POS, but that is because I don't like doing maintenance and dealing with issues while far away from my house (also don't know anyone with a truck to save my ass if the POS breaks down.)

my 2 cents.

[redwinger]

Oh yeah, and I had experience from dirt bikes and mopeds growing up...that didn't really help me out much.

["Dangerous" Dan K]

Stretched busa with NOS. Someone had to say it...

6 is in for hawk or R1

[600rr0504]

FIrst bike was a 03 600RR. I bought it because I got a great deal. New it was $8,400 I bought it a year old with 2k miles on it for $5,000 (guys wife made him sell it). Eveyone said it was to fast etc but I learned fine on it and never had a problem. I would do the same thing if I had to do it all over again.

I have a buddy that bought a Duc 999 as a first bike and he never had any issues. I guess I am on the dark side when I say as long as you have your head on straight buy whatever bike you like and just take it easy. It really comes down each individual persons mentality and maturity.

[ultrabaka]

First motorcycle I rode: early 90s Yamaha Seca II

first motorcycle I rode with proper instructions: Ninja 250

first motorcycle I owned: Suzuki GS500

[yesterdayze]

I chose what I could get. I borrowed a 250 for about a year and a half or so after having played around with a zx6e briefly and deciding it would be good to be a better rider first. When I bought my first bike I was drinking and playing cards with a very good friend of mine who offered me a deal on his 98 GSXR SRAD I couldn't refuse. I'd been oogling his bike for awhile, so that was that. The bike was older, but I liked that. In my mind it was the good older that I saw as a challenge to build back up and as less common. I also liked that it is not nearly as light weight and narrow as many of the new bikes. Call me crazy but I have ridden the new ones, I like the weight and the heft of the bike under me.

If you get a clapped out POS, GREAT!!! Learn all you can about it. Tear into it, learn how it works, why it rides the way it does, how to fix it, how to maintain it, how to tune it. Have fun with it. You aren't going to hurt it, so go for it. The more you learn about how it works the more that will be an advantage not only to how much money you can save and that feeling of accomplishment, but believe it or not as you start to understand stuff it can improve how you ride, how you react and much more.

If you want a 1000cc+ super bike and are a new rider sit down and figure out if you 1.) can really call that a wise financial move right off the bat? 2.) are you just choosing the bike to be cool which just means you'll probably squid around and may hurt yourself. 3.) are compensating and should maybe just get a haircut and some acne cream instead - Just kidding....jesh.... seriously though if you start small you have a few HUGE advantages.

1.) Cheaper...duh
2.) Less of a heartbreaker if you drop the bike
3.) SOME, not all, new riders can be clumsy at the lowspeed stuff and can tend to drop the bike; Easier to keep a small one held up by if you slop it.
4.) You get a LOT better feel for how bikes react and I have seen as a general rule that people who start on smaller bikes handle larger bikes better. They learn finesse not just brute force.
5.) Resale value on those stupid little 250's is great. Hell, think of it as a way to ride while you save up the difference between what you will sell that for and the one you want without having to worry about scratching your dream bike when you get it.
6.) Frankly, for those who get on a bike and just wanna be cool, a small bike teaches you self control and helps temper your pride about.
7.) If you're on a small bike and doof it up and other bikers are around then guess what, they were there at one point too and didn't ride well. You're on a small bike, they probably will realize you're new to it. May get razzed some, but not as bad. That and when you are better and switch to a new big bike they won't recognize you instantly as the squid who can't ride because they remember that sweet bike you didn't know how to ride.
8.) You have more time to see all the other bikes and figure out if your dream bike really is your dreambike

Just my two cents.

[DB Duramax]

Lots of guys around here have to buy 1000's for their first bike, funny thing is they aren't comfortable on them and it shows. Most of them usually find excuses not to ride it or just sell it.

Don't buy a bike because you want everyone else to see how cool you are, buy a bike that suits you and you can enjoy.

[black]

fist bike was a zx6e 1994... I promptly dumped it3 seconds into owning it..

[DucDave]

I think my first bike was a 1968 or 69 Suzuki 125...something like this



And I bought it because it was cheap. Maybe $100.00

I beat the piss out of it. Rode on the street without a license. In the woods and fields. Tore the rear brake lever and eventually the whole linkage off in brambles. Kept riding until some electrical gremlin well beyone my troubleshooting ability took its toll. My brother actually got it running again at some point. I took it back!

Ended up giving it to someone who was doing some construction for my parents.

[DesmoTull]

My first was a '02 Triumph Bonneville Black. It was a great bike to learn on. A little heavy, but good all around.

Had it for a few months, then traded for a 620 Monster.

[jamesbernatchez]

First bike last October was '09 Ninja 250. I rode it for almost 1,200 miles and then I found a good deal on my GSXR 600 from a local forum member that I couldn't pass up over the winter. Sold the 250 a month or so ago and haven't looked back. It was a fun bike, but I do like the 600 more. Definitely more usable power, stable at speed, and fits me better. It can still get me in trouble and I try not to forgot that every time I swing my leg over it.

[obsolete]

Is it possible to kill yourself on any bike, sure.

Does everyone have the inherent control needed to ride, nope.

Does owning a bigger bike as your first increase the risk of dumping, never seen stats but I would think so.

Are you more likely to drop, dump or wreck your first bike, once again haven't seen stats but I would think so.

Are newer bigger bikes more money, yes.


The way I see it is, rationally it makes a more sound decision financially and safety wise to buy an older smaller bike first. Then when you get some fundamentals down upgrade to a harder to control more powerful machine. I guess it comes down to a risk assessment, the same thing we do every time we decide to wear gear. From my point of view the small bike route just seems a little more rational and thought out. I will always recommend a smaller bike for a first bike, but it comes down to the person and they can do what they want. Just as I wouldn’t recommend a corvette for a kid just getting their license. Everything is dangerous in this world but there certainly rational things that can be done to mitigate risk, unfortunately I think it’s an ego issue that this argument even exists. This isn’t to say that people can’t hop on a super sport learn to ride and ride damn good because it happens all the time, I just see this as a risk assessment and what’s acceptable for that rider.

[scr1be]

i got a cbr600 as my first bike.

i told myself i wouldn't get it unless i was confident i'd be decent on a bike. you know the type of person you are. if you have a pristine driving record and you're a good driver, you can tell you won't be reckless.

anyway, i also told myself it depended on how i did at MSF. turned out i did really well. only point taken off was for going to far for the emergency stop. i did everything else really easily and finished 2nd in the class. a bunch of kids were all... squirrelly and just... awful. but they passed. amazing. half of them couldn't do the figure 8 on their first try.

but yeah, after passing the course and feeling comfortable, i decided i can go for a 600. i got a cbr600rr because research told me it was the most comfortable for city riding. plus i fell in love with the white 2007 model. deal came up so i took it.

[duganc1717]

Driving home from the Nudie bar and stopped @ Motorsports International and they were having a annual spring sale, they unload all the trades from the winter. It was the cheapest thing they had.

[DuncanMoto]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.297 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

I learned to ride at 16 because a cute girl wanted to teach me on her father's Moto Guzzi.
I then found a 3 year old GPZ550 for $1,000 and rode it about 20,000 miles over 3 years.
I rode in rain, snow, freezing rain, had it stolen and found,m rode it more and finaly Sold it for a truck, went with a car for 2 years then bought a ZX6 which almost killed me at 21, but I quickly learned to respect the power.

[DuncanMoto]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.297 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

I learned to ride at 16 because a cute girl wanted to teach me on her father's Moto Guzzi.
I then found a 3 year old GPZ550 for $1,000 and rode it about 20,000 miles over 3 years.
I rode in rain, snow, freezing rain, had it stolen and found,m rode it more and finaly Sold it for a truck, went with only a cage for 2 years then bought a ZX6 which almost killed me at 21, but I quickly learned to respect the power.
It all depends on the person and their level of maturity.

[2v2Ducati]

My first bike was a '74 Honda CB360, i bought it was it was cheap and needed a little work, $900. Road it everywhere and showed no mercy ( i had factory bridgestone tires on it when i bought it and road on them for a bit in a spirited manor) Road it for about a year then bought my 900SS, cleaned the honda up then sold it.

I would say, buy a cheap old POS learn to ride it and when you get a newer bike you'll be in awe of disk brakes! I think my 900 is a safer bike then the Honda, though less forgiving. Honestly you need to know yourself and how you are, get what you feel comfortable riding. I'd push for small bike but alot of people don't here.

[Jim]

if you're not on a 250 or smaller for your 1st bike, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you're not on a 500 or smaller for your 2nd bike, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't take the MSF BRC before you start to ride, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't take the MSF ERC before your 2nd season, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't buy full leathers before you start to ride, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't have an Arai or Shoei helmet, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't do track days, then you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you need to lower your bike, you're a squid & will kill yourself.

think that covers up most of the bullshit that's been going on around here.

[Paul_E_D]

I think it depends what your goals are. To ride around safely, look cool, pose, or commute, you could start on anything and survive it.

To become the best rider that you can be or compete at a high level, then it makes sense to start small and only move up when you are near the top of the pile on a small HP bike. There is no way to learn the skills and instincts that you develop by trying to get the most out of a bike that is underpowered if you start on a 600/1000. This is why almost no professional racer ever starts off on big bikes, and why they continue to train on little bikes.

This tactic CAN help the street rider, but only if they approach it in a certain way. Plenty of riders might do seasons on small bikes and still suck.

[Doc]

i got a cbr600 as my first bike.

i told myself i wouldn't get it unless i was confident i'd be decent on a bike. you know the type of person you are. if you have a pristine driving record and you're a good driver, you can tell you won't be reckless.

I hear that alot. The "I think I am a good driver and mature so i will make a good rider"

You should see all the "mature" people we get in the MSF classes that are just SCARY on a 250.

[JettaJayGLS]

Good thread.

My first toy was a honda 300ex 4-wheeler my dad bought me when i was 14

From having that, I had ridden TONS of dirtbikes and other 4 wheelers and gained a lot of experience operating a clutch....not the same as driving a stick car, I mean learning how to feather it over tough stuff, knowing what gears make power, things of that like, something new riders don't understand.

From there, my friends started getting strett bikes, i road those when they gave me the chance.

2 septembers ago, I bought my first bike, 1987 cbr600 F1 hurricane for $500. Didn't buy gear, cause I'm an idiot, used an old crappy helmet, smoked a deer within a week, and somehow walked away with just rash....fixed the bike up, road it for the rest of the season.

Last may, bought an 04 CBR600rr, along with a real helmet, gloves, full length boots, and leather jacket....rode the shit out of it, put 7k miles on it that season

Last June, bought a YZ250, currently riding the shit out of that.

Still have the 600rr this season but not for long

Only thing I would have done different is buy gear FROM THE START, A leather jacket would have saved me from any rash I got in my crash.

[obsolete]

if you're not on a 250 or smaller for your 1st bike, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you're not on a 500 or smaller for your 2nd bike, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't take the MSF BRC before you start to ride, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't take the MSF ERC before your 2nd season, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't buy full leathers before you start to ride, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't have an Arai or Shoei helmet, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't do track days, then you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you need to lower your bike, you're a squid & will kill yourself.

think that covers up most of the bullshit that's been going on around here.

You're such a badass.

[Doc]

if you're not on a 250 or smaller for your 1st bike, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you're not on a 500 or smaller for your 2nd bike, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't take the MSF BRC before you start to ride, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't take the MSF ERC before your 2nd season, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't buy full leathers before you start to ride, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't have an Arai or Shoei helmet, you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you don't do track days, then you're a squid & will kill yourself.
if you need to lower your bike, you're a squid & will kill yourself.

think that covers up most of the bullshit that's been going on around here.

Wow Paul... You have issues.