Help in buying an R6

I started on a used bmw f650gs dakar (enduro bike) my father handed down, rode that from age 16 to 22, then bought a used yamaha r6s (rode that for 2 years), then this year bought a new daytona 675 (at age 24). The 675 has won the 600cc superbike of the year the past 4 years, it's a true track machine. My point is, work you way up. don't kill yourself thinking you can handle a 600 superbike right out of the gate, you can't. They are track bikes with blinkers. I have about a dozen buddies who have thought they could handle them, against the advise of others, and they've all wrecked them. All my friends who purchased enduros or ninja 250s to start on all have superbikes now and have never been down.

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Read this:
http://shift518.com/showthread.php?t=141
Not my post but very good info here.

Found an old post of mine on another forum, kinda repeated with the other one but is also different so I figured I'd post this too

Now this question comes up again and again, and over the years I've came up with my own conclusions.

There are three types of riders
The ones that
Will go out and buy a bike without ANY research
Will do research and buy the bike they want, instead of the bike they need, ignoring everybody.
Will do the research, listen to smarter riders, go and buy a bike that they CAN learn on

The first type, has a VERY slim chance of living long, or staying in one piece, seriously.
The second type, has a VERY slow learning curve, an unstreetable bike, which is most likely new, that they drop and spend thousands on repairing
The third, takes it smart, buys the gear, older used bike to learn on, learn REALLY quick, ride safer and BETTER then the first two types, passes them (#1 and 2 type) in the corners, on a SLOWER bike even though they (#1, 2) have "pretty, new machines"; then in a season or two buy the bike they really want and ride happily ever after.

Decide what type you are now.

If you are reading this you most likely are not #1, if you're #2 and not going to listen to me, dont bother reading the rest, just go out and buy that pretty new bike you had your eyes on. If your #3, I invite you to read on, you've made a wise choice.

First set your budget.
You will need about 5 or 5.5 thousand dollars to start on a "Decent" bike. Lets see, buy a 4K$ bike, pay insurance, pay tax (about 400$ tax ALONE), buy gear, (You will want gear, helmet at least) is another 500$ +
So plan accordingly.

Secondly, time to chose the bike you will get.

For starters, remember all those pretty new 600CC bikes all your friends just got? Forget them completely. They are NOT beginner bikes. They are race machines with blinkers. This is NOT the safe/smart way to start off. Would you want a Formula 1 car as your first car? NO! Why? It's rough, you cant ride long distances, its noisy, its very expensive, its not safe, it has WAY too much power then you can handle, its cramped, you're afraid of messing it up. Guess what, this applies to bikes as well.
Yes there are people that "can get away" with starting on a new 600cc bike, and "survive". But the odds are against you, and you should know not to play against the odds. For every one that gets away with it, there are 12 in hospital beds. If I could put money on people who get those bikes, that they will drop it and or injure themselves, I would do it EVERY time.

So new 600's are out of the question. If your in #3 type, you will listen to me, if your in #2 type and for some reason still reading on, at this point you will be thinking that I'm an idiot, I do not know you, you're thinking that you can easily handle a 600cc bike, and you will go buy one. Good, now stop reading.

#3 still there? Allright.

Back to the bikes. There is a simple major difference between bikes. There are Inline 4's, or "I4", which are the noisy little things you hear everywhere, and there are V2, or "twins" as they are called. 2 cylinder bikes, like harleys and some tourers. (I am excluding Goldwings (v6) and Boss Hoss's (v8).

The difference? Twins are tourqy, make a very well respected "muscle car" sound (comparatively), lighter, and make a bike more balanced. I4's do not make any power untill you are at about 8K RPM depending on the bike.

If you want a real cheap first bike then a ninja 250 would be perfect for you. They are about 2.5K brand new, and even cheaper used. They are "perfect" begginner bikes, and the ONLY reason people do not buy them is because they "do not look cool", yes they are somewhat dated in looks. But if your in this sport for looks alone, step away now, you will hurt yourself showing off.

If you do not like the 250 because of its lack of power (250's will still beat nearly every car on the road), there is identical looking ninja 500, with more power.

A more "modern" looking street bike that would be a good starter is a Suzuki Kanatune AKA Can-o-tuna, as they are sometimes refered to. They are on the heavy side, but have a bit of balanced power and good starters.

If you want to go honda, CBR F2, and F3 are your friends. F4 falls into a "new 600cc" category... not friendly. The F3 and F2 were top of the class bikes back in the 90's. They were THE machines to have, there was nothing faster, so don't be fooled by them being older, they are still 11 second OR faster machines. (1/4 mile wise).

For the Twin fans, there is the SV series from Suzuki, and one of the TOP picks for the first beginner bike. They look modern and they are modern. The 1st gen, has more of a "curvy" style to it, the 2nd gen is more of an "angled" type. They both come in naked and the half faired "S" verison. For both there is additional lower fairins that you can buy that will make it look like just like any new sport bike out there. These bikes are cheaper, easier to ride, still have the balls (will keep up with most 600cc bikes untill you get into triple digits) but since they are twins they have less power, but more torque, and a much better power delievery curve.

That is all I can think of for now, if somebody wants to add stuff or provide picture examples of some of the bikes I listed I'd greatly appreciate it. I'd upload them but I am on 56k, thats all i got for now.

 

All my friends who purchased enduros or ninja 250s to start on all have superbikes now and have never been down.

Not going down is not necessarily skill. Part of it is the rest is luck. You could be a new rider on a 40cc scooter and grab a fist full of brakes and go down.. or you could(and i dont recomend this) get a busa and not go down for years. Eventually whether your fault or not its going to happen. Its the risk you take every time you get on a bike. I do agree about the gear part of your post though. I dont know what it is about people that buy what ever type of bike they choose then go and get the cheapest helmet they can. The only thing saving ur life if and when you go down is that helmet. Do you want to trust it in a helmet you bought from wallmart for $25.

 

I have gone to plenty bike shops. However I do not want to order new. I can get the Ninja 650 I want for around 8k new, however it would be foolish of me to buy a new buy which will probably get damaged at some point.

I am not buying an R6 anymore.

Thank you very very very much for all that info. I am glad to tell you that I think I fit in category #3, which is the safest and most prudent one I would think. I however cannot buy a 250cc bike, because here in PR 250cc bikes cannot get in highways, and here in PR I need to be able to use highways, which are almost identical to big avenues. They are not like US highways.

Also, I cannot get insurance for a bike in PR, I can thank all the scooter mania idiots for that, since they are the ones who made insurance agencies drop that area.

Thank you all for all your help. My search continues and I will keep on riding 250cc and V2 600,s that I have been learning on while I get my personal bike. It has been a pretty fast learning experience and I think with all that you all have posted I will be able to make a wise buy.

 

I know you said that you wrote this a while ago but have you seen the new Ninja 250R's? They look just as good as big brother.

 

NOT true. I had a 2002 R-6 with over 23,000 miles in just a little over a year and a half. No problems with the tranny at all. One thing to know about most bikes is the clutch and tranny is lubed by the engine oil. With the proper maintenance the first gen r6s will last just as long as any other bike. The people who had problems with “2nd gear” probably didn’t take care of the bike or dogged the crap out of it.

Yamaha makes a great product. Durable, long lasting, great performance etc. Any motorcycle is too fast. Just don’t be a dumb ass and ride past your skill level. I would get acquainted with the local motorcycle community in your area and ride and learn with some veteran riders. I think a 600 is a good starting platform.

 

I personally think that you should go with a 600. My first bike was a 2003 GSXR 600. Loved it. Had never ridden a bike before. Taught myself how to ride in the parking lot at my apartment. I think you will be highly disappointed if you go less than a 600. Yes, it is a fast, and very powerful. But within a year, you will be bored to death with anything less. After a year, I bought a ZX7R Ninja and 6 months later bought a 2004 GSXR 1000. I still enjoy my GSXR 600 the most out of all of them. And again, in my opinion, I prefer Suzuki over Yamaha. GSXR is more comfortable and I like the look better. But the R6 is still a baaaaad bike! Point is, get a 600. GSXR or R6, you will be very happy. Good luck!

 

It's always more fun to ride a slow bike fast, then a fast bike slow...

What are you going to be using the bike for mainly? Are you looking to actually ride or just go fast in a straight line? Learn all the ins and outs of a slower bike at its limits and you will be a much better rider than someone that "respects the power" of a straight line rocket.

Ever though about a supermoto? aprilia sxv 550, ktm 690sm, drz400sm, wr250x... all in your price range and about 5x more fun than any sport bike and just as quick up to around 70mph. Cause honestly why do you ever need to go over 120mph? You are either going to end up dead or in jail.

I just couldn't imagine not being able to hop any curb, ride up some stairs and then wheelie away whenever I felt like it.

 

I will be using the bike for daily driving. Between my Tacoma and my Jeep, it is getting a pain in the ass to drive them when I am going to meet with someone or going to someone's house. The Tacoma is usually loaded and unloading it can get annoying, also traffic in PR is crazy many times, and in my work I drive a lot, so I am very tired of always being in a decent sized truck. Also, when I have to go to the different banks or to meet with a client it is very unnecessary to use any of my trucks.

Also, I will be starting with a 600, but a V2 600, not an inline 4, since I need decent power but not crazy power. If the day comes where I want to go 200 miles an hour, I will just go to the track and borrow a friend's bike or drive a dragster or something. If the times comes where I see the V2 600 is too slow, which should not be likely, I should be well polished by then and won't hesitate about getting an R6 and mod it to hell.

 

I started out on a CBR 600 rr. I am about 5'9" 150 lbs. I think you would be fine with a 600. Just be a man and don't test your limits prematurely...

P.s. I did ride motorcycles a bit in my youth so perhaps a few of those skills carried over

Good luck and have fun!

 

I started with a 08 Sv650s, I loved it!! It had the sport bike look with the Ducati sound and tons of torque. After a couple of years I decided to go big and I bought this 09 Hayabusa. Just make sure to take the motorcycle safety classes and wear your gear!! I noticed most of the mistakes I made were due to me being to cocky and confident, the bike will put you back in line real quick.

 

YES true. You are correct about the bikes being reliable, but there are known issues with the transmission on your generation of R6. My information was provided as a caution to the OP in regards to looking at different R6 model years. 1st generation R6's ('99-'02) had wimpy shift forks. If you want more facts about your bike, read on:

In many 1st generation R6's, 2nd gear would pop out into neutral at under load (full throttle) at higher revs if the shift fork was worn or bent. The factors causing the worn shift fork are:

-Rider did not regularly shift smoothly from 1st-2nd
-Rider clutchless-shifted from 1st-2nd
-Rider occasionally false neutral shifted from 5th-6th
-Rider regularly clutchless-shifted from 5th-6th

So yes, there are many 1st gen's that don't have this problem, but to know for sure, you need to take the bike out and do full-throttle pulls through the rev range in 2nd gear. If 2nd gear doesn't pop out into neutral, the shift fork is still ok. If it does pop, it's not a cheap fix unless you are comfortable enough pulling apart a transmission.

Yamaha rectified the issue with better shift forks in the 2nd generation bikes and onwards ('03+). So back to my original opinion, '03+ are the better R6's to look at. And yes, I've ridden several 1st gen's with and without the issue. Just something to keep in mind if looking at those bikes.

 

OK so I have ran into a big problem concerning me buying a bike that is more suited to me, considering all the suggestions.

Apparently, here in PR, V2 600s are not in any demand at all, unless they are more of a cruiser style bike. If I was to get one, it has to be ordering a new one and getting it shipped to me. This is a no go, I will not buy new until after at least 2 years ridings.

So a tame 600 or 650 seems like will be impossible to find here used. I have about 5 dealers looking for one used in the states and possible getting it shipped here. I do not have my hopes up, since this will probably not make them much money, so they will not look too hard. I also do not want to eBay buy it and ship it here myself, too much hassle.

So I am back to square one.

This is what I can get locally used,

Inline 4s from Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, etc.
V2 250s - This is not an option as I cannot take it to the highway.

So based on this, looks like I will have to do it the more dangerous way. I really wanted the seating position I would have had in those 650s, so that actually is a big letdown for me.

In any case, based on what I've just said, what bike would you recommend in the 600 class, that is not V2.

Going through the classifieds I see Yamaha's R6, Honda's CBR600, Suzuki's GSX R600, Kawasaki's Ninja 636 and ZX-6.

The freaking United Motorcycle keeps popping up everywhere, but it seems they are not very reliable?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

Suzuki GSX650F?
It's an inline 4 and people seem to like them for beginner bikes.

 

You mean GSX600 no? The 650 is a V2.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_GSX_650_F

 

Ahh I see. Went and searched on the most popular ads on PR and for some weird reason when I search for that bike, all I get is a Hyosung. Link

Comparing them online, they look almost identical with the mechanical exception of the Suzuki being slightly more powerful.

 

If you can get a hyo over there for cheap, go for it. They are decent bikes for the money

 

Yeah. Plenty of these in the ads that seem closer to what I was looking for. People have them listed as Suzuki or United Motorcycles... sigh... They are cheaper too, so that is a plus.

I am worried about reliability though. I can do all the mechanical stuff on my trucks, not sure if it will be the same for the bike, as I do not have much knowledge.

 

bikes are easier than trucks.

 

They do look a lot alike but all I know about Hyosungs is what I have read. Never read a horrible review but none of them have been great either.

I think this is the forum that I have seen posted before and it seemed like they had a lot of good advise you may want to check out... http://www.beginnerbikers.org/