Which 600cc Sportbike?

LOL!
Nice DUKE!
I might be getting a KTM 530 to supermoto also this year, we'll see.

 

A lot of ppl have noted the R6 being tall, but I would not let that sway your choice. Yes the R6 is VERY tall, I am 5'10" and can only touch down (both sides) on my tippee-toes. That being said, I have never had a problem with it. When I am stopped, I simply lean her off to one side (usually right unless I am needing to hold rear brake) and flat foot with one foot. I am very comfortable doing this, and I am sure you will be ok with it as well.

At the end of the day, all of these bikes are technically not made for normal street riding, every one of them will exceed every aspect of street riding. (like getting a F1 car and riding it on the street....you will never hit its real potential) so if street riding is all you plan to do, any one will be great, and will always outride you on the streets.

More food for thought: if you plan on only riding on the street, maybe look for a cafe racer, dual sport, touring, etc. Having a streetbike for pure street riding is dangerous, as you will be tempted to do the things the bke is capable of on the street which will be VERY dangerous. Also, street tires will wear qucikly and cost alot. Just some food for thought. My R6 is strictly a track bike now, but I am in the market for a cafe racer for around town duty.

 

Eh, I dunno. Normally people who use race replica's for street riding don't necessarily buy Dunlop N-Tec's or Michelin Power Race tires. That kinda comes down to rider preference and the hindsight being 20/20 thing. I've seen plenty of guys riding on touring tires (if they can find them that fit), and I've sold quite a few "take-offs" locally on CL for the price of mounting to guys who, I don't know, just like the look of shagged tires.

 

hey, whatever they want to trust their life to.

 

Yeah...I agree there^. You can kill yourself or someone else and make a mighty big mess with a cafe racer or a 1300CC superbike. It's all about discipline.
And there are so many tires out there that last just fine. I'm getting to the point now that I'm thinking about swapping tires because they have been on the bike so long in time rather than miles. Only about 5K on the tires-but two and change years later...No flat spots and they feel good.

 

i love my pirellis.. depending on how i ride and where, i can get 4-6k out of some dual compound tires.. but.. ill go through three sets a year easy... i cant imagine getting a set of touring tires... theyre not meant for modern sportbikes.

you dont get into this hobby/sport to be cheap. you cut corners, youll prolly get hurt.

 

I definitely want to be able to flat foot while stopped... so it sounds like the R6 may be out of contention. I do like the GSXR but like said everyone and their mothers has one, they have a bad stigma, and get stolen A LOT. I love kawi's (I've only owned two bikes, both Kawis)... The CBR also sounds good too... I like the idea of a smaller bike since I have a small inseam and am also short.

I will ride it on the street its whole life... I'll ride it on freeways and back country roads and I plan on taking it to the coast for rides a lot. Next year when I get back the GF and I are planing on riding down HWY 1 in CA. I've done the Half Moon Bay to SLO and loved its so we want to do the northern section. We'll probably trailer the bikes to Northern Cali/sourthern Oregon then ride to SF along hwy 1.

 

keep in mind you can always lower and shave the seat. on my r6 i shaved the seat and lowered it one inch. the ride remained the same imo. btw i'm only 5'6" w/ 30 inseam. still wasnt able to flat foot but had no trouble at stop lights or angled slopes

 

any bike can be made to fit you. from adjustable rearsets to lowering links and clip on changes... why dont you just go sit on a few and see what feels the best? or ask a friend who has one of the above to take a test ride and really get the feel for it?

 

The seating difference between the R6 and the CBR is why I got the CBR. I was on the balls of my feet to my tip toes on the R6 and felt like my hips were off balance. But I can stand flat footed in bare feet on my CBR (I don't ride like that-I just walked out and checked...) I'm 5'9" and 175-180 with a 31" inseam...

 

I prefer japanese bikes. i don't care for the english and italian bikes because of higher parts costs and sometimes longer waits for them to be shipped in. i also rode a daytona 675 and i felt it underpowered.

zuks are well powered and lean well but weaker frames. not an issue if you plan on keeping it on 2 wheels. not sure about the newer engines but the ones from just a few years ago didn't respond well to wheelies due to oil starvation.

636 is one of the smoothest throttles i've ever ridden. fell in love with that bike. 05-06 has stronger fork tubes.

CBR is my fav because i own one and have a lot of experience with it. mine is super reliable.

 

why is there no love for the Kawasaki?

 

636 is a kawi. it got love

 

i personally love the kawi's.

 

just seems like no one really likes the kawis (4th place with only 10 votes)...

 

yeah, I read the other day in one of my motorcycle mags and they voted the 2003-2006 636 as the best 600cc motocycle made.

 

I agree here. I had a 2002 R6 which I loved but being short the R6 now is a much bigger bike. My choice would be the Suzuki or the Honda but again you can't go wrong with either one. In my past experience Hondas were the easiest to ride.

 

Not sure about the brand new models but my 01 r6 had a skinny tank/seat compared to my 98&03 gsxr 600s which made it easier to touch the floor. I'm only 5'8" and always 1 foot it anyway at lights and stop signs