[bigguybbr]

I keep mine under the passenger seat in a zip top bag to keep it dry. I keep my proof of insurance in there with it. That way there is no way of leaving home without it.

But that is since I have a sport bike that has a compartment under the seat which it doesn’t look like you have. The boss keeps hers in the small compartment that houses her tool kit on the S40.

[bigguybbr]

Form and function go hand in hand. I think thats why ducati is so damn sexy. It works and thats what makes it beautiful.

If I make a comment about my taste in women it would only be digging a hole for my gf to bury me in, so I’ll let that dog lie, wait I said dog, crap! I’m in trouble now.

[bigguybbr]

adjustable suspension is, in my opinion, absolutely necessary for making a bike beginner friendly. a 300 lb rider won’t enjoy the same settings as a 140 lb rider, nor will the 200 lb 6 foot guy in between them. in this day an age, there is NO excuse for a sportbike not having fully adjustable suspension.

So adjustable seat height, adjustable handle bar position, and adjustable rear suspension preload do nothing to help adjust to a rider if you don’t have adjustable front forks????

“”say it before say it again’ blah blah blah, could you be any more ignorant than bringing up something like this? it’s descriptive writing, they teach that in most highschools……”
Maybe you meant said it before, as in the past tense. Verb tense is taught in most good elementary schools, along with manners and etiquette.

how can you say that power/weight ratio means a damn thing? power is simply a function of torque…

Power to weight ratio is more demonstrative of the performance of a vehicle as a whole rather than just a single aspect. Torque is a measure of rotational force, and is only a contributing factor that could cause a rear tire to break away (which you contend is the greatest problem facing beginning sport bike riders). If torque was the only factor in traction loss, tractor trailers would be the kings of doing burn outs. They apply huge amounts of torque at low rpms and yet they don’t fly out of control doing doughnuts. Why? Gear ratios, the friction coefficient of the tires, wheel mass, drive system (chain, belt, or shaft drive) etc. all have their part to play in at what point your rear tire breaks away. Now is the single biggest danger to a new rider on a sport bike truely the rear wheel breaking free from excessive low rpm torque? I really doubt it .

When you look at power to weight ratio you are getting a more complete picture of the capabilities of the vehicle by adding in weight and speed as factors.

Since this is a beginner forum, here is a slightly over simplified analogy in lay persons terms to get a basic understanding of horsepower and torque
Low torque, low horsepower: A weak person on a bicycle in a low gear – he can’t pull much and he can’t go fast.
Low torque, high horsepower: A weak person on a bicycle in high gear – he can’t pull much, but he can go fast.
High torque, low horsepower: A strong person on a bicycle in low gear – he can pull a bunch, but he can’t go fast.
High torque, high horsepower: A strong person on a bicycle in high gear – he can pull something fast.

I’m glad you have a deep love of your 600R. It’s your bike so i would hope you love it. And i’m sorry for you that Yamaha decided there was no longer enough of a market to produce the 6 00R and discontinued it. But the only people who seem to hate the FZ6R, are people on forums who have never ridden it, and already wish it was something else.

For a real review of the bike from someone who has ridden it, go to
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/269/2520/Motorcycle-Article/2009-Yamaha-FZ6R-First-Ride.aspx

[bigguybbr]

Try again, the ’07 600r is 417 dry, 490lbs wet weight
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yzf600r

“as much as i like what the FZ6R is, a great beginner bike, it CERTAINLY isn’t the YZF600R replacement that yamaha said that it would be.
the R6S is about as close to filling the 600R’s void as yamaha will get.
that being said, if you feel you’re ready for a 600 class bike, check into the 600R.”…

So you recommended a bike that has slightly more torque and with quite a bit of extra HP in leiu of a bike with slightly less? We are in the bestbeginnermotorcycles.com forum right?

“yet a bike that makes LESS LOW RPM TORQUE would be a better bike for a beginner.”

Torque really isn’t good as a sole determinant of what is a good beginner bike as it doesn’t paint a complete picture, as we discussed in another thread, power to weight ratio is probably a better determinant.

“not to mention not having fully adjustable suspension……that in itself is ridiculous. and a tube frame….why?”
No adjustable preload on the front forks is not such a big deal if your primary goal isn’t a track day, which for most beginners it won’t be (like the ninja 250 thats gets recommended like crazy on this site has no adjustable preload). And beleive it or not the tubular steel frame using the engine as a stressed member is capable and comfortable as it helps keep the seat lower to make it available to a wider range of riders.

“i’ll say it before”
Are you going back in time?
“and i’ll say it again”
So say it all you like, it won’t necessarily make it true…

“the R6, R6S, 600R, FZ6, and FZ6R are none better or worse than the other for a ‘beginner’ bike, none of them are beginner bikes as they all make similar torque numbers.”

Didn’t you start out by saying “…i like what the FZ6R is, a great beginner bike…” ??

So the FZ6R is not a good replacement for the 600R, the R6S, the space shuttle discovery, etc. It’s not as sporty as your beloved 600r, it won’t approach a top speed of 150mph. They made changes to make a bike that is more appealing to a larger demographic, so they can *GASP* sell more bikes! It makes a great comfortable inexpensive commuter bike for a market that didn’t really offer much for that niche.

This discussion has gotten really off point. The question was if it was decent beginner bike for commuting. So lets try and be helpful in answereing the post originators questions rather than turning this into a pissing contest.

[bigguybbr]

I’m not sure it was ever designed to be a replacement, as I think it was forums not yamaha that said that it would.

So sure it’s a little lighter than the 490lb wet weight at 467lbs, and it has 12 less horse power at 78hp, and doesn’t have monoblock calipers, yet it still retains the upright posture, a lower revving and higher torque motor, and a price point of around 7k USD. So i figure it fits the same general appeal as it’s role as a sport styled commuter bike, they just gear it towards beginners more.

The r6s maintains a delta box frame, but thats really where the similarity ends. It’s higher revving, way more power, 80lbs lighter, completely different posture… not really something we would recommend in this forum.

[bigguybbr]

or maybe even

[bigguybbr]

This reminds me of my ride the other day. On my ride home there is a spot where the right lane is a turn only lane and the left is to go straight only. Well what happens all the time is someone pulls into the right hand lane because they don’t feel like waiting in line to go straight, then they gun it and try and cut infront of everyone else. On the particular day in question that someone happened to be in a 99 Mustang GT Cobra, and I happened to be in the particular mood to oblige their bad behavior.

So when the lady behind the wheel tried to launch cut everyone off, I was easily keeping pace with her and not allowing her to cut over (although I did had escape routes planned out the whole time just incase she tried to run me off the road). The best was that I could see her angry and cursing as she was forced to turn down a street she wasn’t intending.

So was this dangerous and unadvisable, of course it was, and I wouldn’t advise anyone to do the same. What got me that day was I know that a bike is faster than most cars out there, but I just had no idea how much faster. To be truthful, I was a little suprised how slow the car was, or at least seemed.

[bigguybbr]

Did you list it in New London or Hartford county?

And i didn’t know you could donate bikes to charity…

[bigguybbr]

Good to know and congrats.

As an aside, I remember seeing this one girl in my BRC with a really nice complete Alpine Star get up , full leather everything, and was accompanied by absolutly no ability to ride a motorcycle. The instructor let her retake the test 2 additional times, and even still she could not pass. It was sentiment like ‘Wow, you spent at least a grand on gear only to find out you suck at this, really really badly suck’ It’s just sad to see someone spend a ton of money only to find out it’s not for them. Another example which must be even worse is a lady where work who was selling her 2008 Yamaha FZ6 with only 74 miles on it. It only took her that long after going through the course to come to the conclusion that she didn’t like riding.

But alas good for you, enjoy the ride (when you get it)

[bigguybbr]

WhoooHoooo CT Bike. I’m in CT myself.

I would really just suggest you slap it on craigslist. There is a really active motorcycle for sale page there for our area. You’ll get calls in no time just be sure to have some pictures.

[bigguybbr]

A similar thing happened to my uncle. He was backing his pick up truck out of his driveway and a guy on a bike doing 65 in a 25 zone ran a stop sign and struck the rear of the truck. The rider ended up a paralyzed from the neck down and even though it was determined by police that my uncle was not at fault, the guy sued my uncle, who had to declare bankrupcy in order to keep from losing his house. Wasn’t a pretty sight.

[bigguybbr]

I dunno about cruisers being more show than go. They’ll get up and out of their own way in a hurry. The one aspect that might be a little alien to you is the riding posturegoing from MX to a cruiser. The best advice for anyone is throw a leg over as many as you can and see whats comfortable.

[bigguybbr]

I’ve never really had problems in dealerships because I understand there are 2 forces at work:

1) The dealership is a business, not a non-profit or a charity. They are in business to make money. We are American, we are capitalist, we want to be rewarded for working hard, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I don’t worry about about the salesman who is trying to strike up a dialog with me, aslong as he is honest, and it’s upto the buyer to know if he/she is.

2) Being a hard working American, I’m not willing to part with that hard earned money so easily. I want the best value for my dollar. In order to get the best value, I must make sure I have done my homework and know all about what I’m wanting to buy. It’s hard to be taken advantage of when you are well informed.

Now here’s my game plan that I have used everytime I’ve bought a new vehicle. Now be fore-warned that this only works for an item where supply and demand are in balance. You have no bargaining power when demand far out strips supply, and there are many who are knowlingly willing pay a premium.

To start, I am very frank with the dealer, and only go through one negotiation, no bluffing, no games. I tell them I’m willing to offer them their cost for the bike or car, plus 5% profit. There are almost no dealers out there that will turn down that deal, and for every one that does, there are three others that will take it. It covers their advertising exoenses and commissions and allows them to be profitable. If a dealer can’t operate on 5% profit margin then they have a real problem with their business model, and bad business practice is not something I’m willing to pay for.

[bigguybbr]

Yeah my money at the moment is better spent on buying a new house and selling the old one than on tickets because i decided to be fashionable.

[bigguybbr]

Well of course she likes the white one. If you watch the video, they explain that the white one was specifically designed for women, thus the pink decal.

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