[Elias]

Hey all!

23 year old local Phoenician here to get advice about what size bike I should start on. While this may seem black/white to some people, I have found a lot of confusing and interesting aspects related to starting on 600cc+ twins as compared to 600cc+ I4’s. So I’m here to get straightened out and become part of your community. I started a thread in the general forum about this topic, so please visit it there if you have some input (titled: 600 Is Too Much!…No It Isn’t!…Yes It Is!…No It Isn’t!)

I’m taking the MSF course at the end of the month, and hopefully I’ll be off my training wheels soon. Until then, I’ll be keeping a watchful eye out for you guys from my cage.

Ride safe

[megaspaz]

hi. welcome to the forums. lots of sane advice here. g’luck in your endevours.

[nau_lax21]

the difference between the 600 twin and 600 I4 is that the twin is a lot more consistent in power through the rpms making it easier to control. im sure someone else on the boards can explain it much better than me.

be careful out there man, phx has the some of worst drivers ive ever seen. the only time ive laid my bike down was on shea rd. (i could have avoided it if i was paying more attention)

i dont wanna come off as discouraging, just stay alert. that applies everywhere, but you cant stress that enough out where you are.

and dont forget to gear up! a lot of people seem to not even wear helmets out there. dont be one of them!

[SantaCruzRider]

In the well-defined world of broad generalities, the difference between similar size v-twins and parallel 4s is that the 4 will typically have higher top hp, be higher reving and create ever greater horsepower as revs increase.
From a dead stop, the two may not feel a lot different. But while the twin is screaming at you to shift at 8k-9k, the 4 is screaming for you to hold on as it starts to deliver it’s top hp and keeps pushing to 10k, 11k, maybe even 14k for some race-tuned 4-bangers.
Cyllinders aside, I personally think that one of the biggest differences is that 4s are more likely to be built and tuned for more squidly behavior.

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