[WeaponZero]

The gloves are to help you keep grip on the handlebars for extended periods of time and to protect your hands in the event of a getoff. Not for comfort

[Tara]

I’ve mostly thought gloves would be for my hands not getting cold from wind-chill

Maybe I just haven’t ridden for extended periods of time, so I wouldn’t have known.

[brickerenator]

http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/mcy/1456792160.html

http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/mcy/1456713271.html

http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/mcy/1456658435.html <---- I'd buy this one right now if I didn't live so far away

[LuxMundi]

Do this, and send me a picture of you on your Ninja:

Write out your goal in the present tense: i.e. I ride a plasma blue 2nd-gen Ninja.
Post this where you will see it: on your bathroom mirror, on a 3×5 card you carry around, on your laptop screen-saver. Ignore anyone who thinks this is dumb. This is your Ninja we’re talking about; it has nothing to do with them.

Now you are reading this multiple times a day, and your lifestyle will come into line with your vision. I.e. when everyone else is ordering a $4 latte, you will skip it; carry your own water instead of buy bottled; pick up an extra shift at work; babysit kids; sell old books and electronics you have at home, etc etc etc.

Now turn off the internet, and get busy! Why are you still reading this???? GO!!!! LM

[Tara]

Awesome tip. I think I’ll do that on my bathroom mirror in marker

[WeaponZero]

One thing I just HAVE to know. Why a sportbike? I know they look cool and all but living where you live there are no roads anywhere within like 2 hours ride that have curves. Its just a big grid with straight lines. Sportbikes don’t really perform well under those circumstances because you can’t make use of their fantastic handling, which is the primary focus of the bike, even above speed.

Now I’m a fan of sportbikes too, and I love them and own an SV650, but living in a place where all the roads are straight and flat I don’t know why I would even bother with anything but a cruiser or a motard because you can’t do anything with that sportbike that you wouldn’t be able to do on a cruiser in more comfort.

Not trying to dissuade you, just curious is all.

[eternal05]

..which is NOT a sportbike in any sense but aesthetics. It’s a sheep in wolf’s clothing, a standard dressed like a sportbike.

[irenco]

it’s true what you’re saying about florida because i live in miami, but the extreme leaning angles are for the track. besides, what if you like speed? anyway, the street is just to go places not to drag the knee or trying to maximize your leaning. I own a gsxr 600 and I love it. like Bad Company song says “i can’t get enough…” even though I’m full of sh*t because I ride it hard, I’m always thinking what I said. hopefully, I will be hitting the track soon.

[WeaponZero]

If going fast in a straight line is what you want to do then you’ll find there are many bikes out there that can do it with far more comfort and practicality than a track-focused sportbike. Suzuki B-King? Kawasaki Z1000?

All I’m saying is that track-focused sportbikes make a lot of sacrifices in the name of performance and handling, and if your riding environment doesn’t allow you to take advantage of that performance and handling, then really, why make those sacrifices in the first place when you can get the same straight line speed you crave from much more comfortable bikes?

I’m going to be brutally honest here. Buying a supersport bike if you don’t plan on doing any track riding or have access to roads that can take advantage of the awesome handling capabilities of a supersport, then buying one is just outright stupidity. Why? Because a bike such as my SV650 can do everything you would ask of a sportbike outside of those scenarios, and getting much better gas mileage and being much more comfortable in the process. It can also keep up with a GSXR on a tighter windy road.

There’s an old saying that you’re probably familiar with if you’ve ever had to work with tools, and that is “use the right tool for the right job.” Motorcycles are tools, designed for different jobs. Pick your bike based on the job you intend on doing with it, not because of how sexy it looks in the photographs or because it was featured in your favorite motorcycle movie, or even because it has a rich racing heritage. And the only situation where a supersport would ever be the right tool is if you have access to lots of winding roads or plan on doing lots of track days. This is a big portion of why I’m trading in my SV650 for a DR-Z400SM at the end of winter, because SM-style bikes are the ultimate “urban assault vehicles” when it comes to motorcycling. They turn urban riding environments that are normally nightmares for bikes into playgrounds.

Also, yes, the remark about the 250R being a standard not a sportbike is correct. So that one makes sense.

[Tara]

I absolutely see your point. But like the previous poster said, it’s basically a standard dressed like a sportbike.

But in your argument you’re addressing buying a super-sport, which we can all agree that a 250R is NOT. I’m not a speed-demon, since that’s just asking to get in an accident, but I like zipping out of a turn and accelerating from a red light quickly. The 250 can handle that well enough for me, so I like that. It’s pretty comfortable in my opinion, but I’ve never taken a 250 on a longer ride (over an hour). The most I’ve ridden a 250 for was about 30 minutes.

But I must admit that one of the bigger reasons of my attraction to the 250 is its styling. It’s really nice. Most people wouldn’t be able to tell if it’s a 600 or a 1000. But it’s not like I’m gonna act like it’s a liter bike.

[WeaponZero]

I’ll concede that the 250R is a standard and not a sportbike so my earlier remarks about it not being suitable for your intentions were incorrect. But I still stand by what I said about supersports being stupid and pointless for anyone who doesn’t take them onto curvy roads or the track.

[eternal05]

Now here we have to draw a line: stupidity is an unfair charge for the use of a supersport on the street, even in the absence of twisties. While it is clearly arguable that there are substantial and objective reasons to go with a different type of bike for that sort of riding, having personal taste in vehicles is not the same as being “stupid.” Especially given the dramatic aesthetic differences between supersports and other types of bikes, it’s easy to see why somebody would want to own such a bike. Like Tara, I was original drawn to sportbikes largely for aesthetics (since that’s what somebody who hasn’t ridden a motorcycle before will pay attention to). Your comment was concerned with function above all else, ignoring the very visceral aspects of motorcycle riding and ownership.

On the other hand, do I agree with you that it doesn’t make much sense? Absolutely. While I have ridden plenty of street miles on my gixxer, I’m getting to the end of my need to do that. With more and more access to the track, I can keep my enjoyment of that beast where it belongs, and avoid uncomfortable rides to work. As Ben says in his articles around the site, these bikes were not meant for 20-40mph operation. Nor were they meant to be straight up-and-down all the time. Nor were they meant to make tight slow-speed maneuvers in parking lots or out of driveways. They are track animals. Other bikes (most notably standard/naked/streetfighter types) give 90% of the street performance with 10% of the comfort issues.

In fact, you and I might have very similar taste and opinions about bikes given what you said above and have said in the past. My GSX-R is getting the track bike conversion (i.e. will not be street legal) in a month or two. I’m selling my Ninja 250R to replace it with a DR-Z400sm within the next 6 months, and I’m going to have to try really hard to avoid owning a Triumph Speed Triple at some point. I think we see eye-to-eye on that

[WeaponZero]

Personally I think the Street Triple R would be way more fun than the Speed Triple

[eternal05]

Yeah…it’s just that damn single-sided swingarm. If the street triple had that I wouldn’t even think twice. It’s so darn cool! Then again the normal swingarm is probably way more practical.

[Tara]

So yesterday I visited my dad, and luckily it’s almost my birthday. I talked to him and gave him my best bambi eyes ever and after about an hour of serious talking, I convinced him of paying half of my 250R!!!

Good thing, cuz I JUST got a fat paycheck that will let me pay for the other half. I can’t express how excittedd I am!!! Ah!

Okay, I’m collected now. Hopefully I can get a green one with a white racing stripe. But I could care less what color it is right now, as long as its MINE!

Haha, thanks for your help boys! I’ll see if I can post some experiences of me first owning it soon. We should be heading to the dealer next week sometime (maybe Monday).

[Author]

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