[Mrcs808gti]

Hey i new to the whole bike seen, but i looking at new 09… i really like the ninja 250r but everywhere i go they are sold out or not taking orders ne more…so i kinda thought about a gsxr 600 or r 6. im clueless on what i should do! ne advice ?

[Munch]

Hmmm…. aim a tad lower. I believe theres even a video on here in the vids section of a guy wiping a Gixxer in his first .10 of a mile ride. Might not even be the same bike. Alot of them look very similar to me. I do know here locally Gixxers are known as rookie wreckers, and or the motorcycle “whips”, I have seen these things stretches to the point of insane ridiculousness.
The sport bike riders will be better to chime in though. However don’t let your pride, ego or friends chose your bike for you.

[Mrcs808gti]

ninja 250 to learn on? i been looking at all bikes , and sitting on them as much as possible. i really did like the ninja 250r for my first bike as my feet touch the floor with my knees slightly bent(im 6ft) also the gsxr 600 feel really comfy and also was able the touch the floor with no prob. i think i might just go with the 250r , and next summer move up to somthing more powerful

[Munch]

That would be a better benefit to the learning curve. Not only do you need to be comfortable ON the bike, flat footing, handle bar room for slow speed turns etc. But you also need to be comfortable with the power and power delivery of your first bike.
It’s not impossible to learn on the bigger bikes, can make things on the bad side of interesting though and have more potential to spooking you to riding all together. As many on here have said…the 250’s hold their resale value very well, get atleast a minimum of a riding season under your belt to get the coordination, awareness, and overall skills you will need to prepare yourself for the bigger bikes. Its easier to adjust an acquired skill to suit the ride difference then it is to learn through an intimidated mindset.
The 250 will give you the muscle memory, not only for good shifting and turning but also to get your body adjusted to how the bike reacts under certain conditions such as a loose back end, hard front braking, counter balancing in parkinglots the timing of a mild speed turn and the time consumption that increases as your speed does in response.
Make sense?

[Brian]

Very good choice… Patience will pay dividends down the road… there is no down side to learning on a ninja 250 and then making a choice on a long term motorcycle. You may even find that a sportbike is not for you and go with a cruiser or touring bike – who knows?!?

[Matt]

On the right hand menu is a link called “Why 600cc is too much for a beginner bike” – Read it.

Both the GSX-R and R6 are dedicated experienced-rider bikes. They are designed to respond instantly and aggressively to rider inputs. As a new rider your inputs will be exaggerated at best. Think of a new driver, they have a hard time driving straight in a car because they always over correct. On a 600cc race bred bike like both the ones you mention, those over corrections can get you into very serious trouble very quickly.

If your goal is to ride a sport bike, the Ninja 250 (even a pre 08) or a Buell Blast will teach you the skills you need fastest, allowing you to get onto the meaner bikes sooner. Both are good fun bikes.

If your goal is more to simply have fun on a sexy bike and 250 is too small, look at the GS500 and Ninja500 and see if they fit your bill. They are still learner friendly, but have the get-up-and-go more associated with sport bikes (the 250 and blast aren’t slow, they’ll still out accelerate most cars- the 500s will out accelerate anything but supercars).

If you have to go bigger, the next suggestions are SV650 and Ninja 650 (they have 50 cc on the track bikes, but are much easier to ride). I am personally against starting on a bike this big unless you have taken the MSF and are exceedingly comfortable riding one of their bikes.

There are other bikes that make power similar to the two 650s (Bandit 600, Katana 600 and FZ6R specifically), but they use steel frames and weight 100 pounds more than the SV and Ninja. That 100 pounds is very significant in low speed maneuvers for a learning rider.

Lastly, regarding comfort. I’m 6 foot with a 32″ inseam. I would bet you money that you will find the GSXR uncomfortable in short order. Don’t sit on it with your feet on the ground, sit on it with feet on the pegs and your hands on the bars, trying not to support your weight in your hands (ideally your hands provide no weight support, as that limits feedback from the front wheel). If you can sit like that for 20 minutes (or however long it would take you to ride out of the city into areas where you can run at 60mph continuously) then you have core muscles I am very jealous of.

Have fun and, Ride safe

[Author]

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