[WeaponZero]

as Ben said the Kawasaki ZZR600 is the previous generation ZX6R Ninja. Since the early ’90s Kawasaki has kept up a tradition of keeping the previous generation 600 Ninja in their lineup everytime it went through a major redesign and calling it the ZZR600. While there are people who have started out on 600cc bikes and been fine, it’s really not a good idea in most cases (aside from the 650cc twins and various older model bikes such as the 650 Nighthawk from the ’80s).

Bottom line is that they are bikes that are bred for the racetrack and have racetrack style powerbands, meaning that there’s a sudden almost uncontrollable rush of acceleration that happens more than halfway thru the RPM range and below that (the “street” side of the powerband) they pretty much run like crap. While there are exceptions to this rule such as the Bandit 600 and Katana 600 (discontinued suzuki models that used older style air-cooled 600cc four cylinders tuned for midrange rather than top end power) four cylinder bikes in general are most definately not beginner bikes.

If ergonomics are an issue then you must know that when it comes to supersport style motorcycles the ergos are generally VERY unfriendly taller/heavier riders, especially in the middleweight class. It isnt until you venture into the 1000+cc “hypertourer” class (Hayabusa, ZX-14, ZX-11, Honda CBR1100XX) that you really find sportbikes with ergos made for larger riders. The Ninja 250 really is an oddbal ergonomically speaking as it is a 250 with ergos that really are “one size fits all”. Most other 250s would be cramped, however. You really should be starting on a standard-style motorcycle. They’re comfortable, practical, and can handle like sportbikes.

[WeaponZero]

I use an HJC CL-15 because it was the only helmet that fit my head comfortably, though i havent tried on a shark yet

[WeaponZero]

Well, my main reason for wanting to upgrade to a VFR is because i mainly want a sport touring bike, and an SV650 no matter how you mod it will never be a great sport tourer. Unfortunately there are no real sport touring oriented beginner bikes on the market. Sure, they can pull it off, but it’ll never be able to do it like a bike that’s purpose-built for it, no matter how you upgrade/mod it. I’m fairly certain there’s a reason that only large displacement bikes are made into sport tourers.

[WeaponZero]

I haven’t thought of a name for my bike, but a while back a friend of mine started assigning all of his vehicles, as well as mine and 2 other friends of ours numbers beginning with DR (for Dark Rider-not sure why). My old Camaro Z28 was DR-86, his cavalier was DR-42, my friend Justin’s jeep was DR-70, and my friend Jamal’s Suzuki Katana 600 was DR-14. No clue where he got the numbers from, but my camaro happened to be a 1986 model so its possibly he got the 86 from 1986.

Also, I’ve owned 5 cars in my life and all my cars had names that were synonyms for “Anger”. My first camaro was “Rage”, my second one was “Wrath”, my Taurus SHO was “Blind Vengeance”, etc

If I were to name my SV I think I’ll stick with that naming theme. I’m not sure what I’ll call it but Fury is the name I’ve been reserving for the bike I eventually upgrade to from the SV when it’s time to move on to a bigger bike. A Honda VFR Interceptor is and always has been my dream bike, and I do plan on eventually trading in the SV for one if I can’t afford to own both.

[WeaponZero]

I wear an HJC CL-15 Helmet, Joe Rocket Atomic 3.0 Jacket, River Road riding gloves, and Tourmaster Solution Waterproof boots whenever im on my bike, even if it’s just to go to the Wendy’s down the road to grab something to eat. I don’t yet own a pair of suitable riding pants, but that’s because I’ve been on a diet recently and my pants size has been . . . well, fluctuating, so I’m not going to invest $150+ in a pair of pants that’ll be way too big for me in a month or so. Once I get to a pants size that I’m going to be hovering at for a good while, I’ll start buying pairs of Draggin’ Jeans (kevlar reinforced riding jeans that go for roughly $100 per pair-www.dragginjeans.com)

And yes, it does bug me when I see people who look like they’re barely old enough to have a drivers’ license riding around on GSXRs with less protective clothing than me. It bugs me a lot. Yesterday I passed a guy who was wearing shorts, sneakers, a t-shirt, and a button-up shirt unbuttoned on top, wearing sunglasses with his HELMET on the BACK of his blue/whiteGSXR600. I repeat, he was riding with his helmet not on his head but on the BACK of his bike. WTF?

[WeaponZero]

Jeremy: Kawasaki Vulcan 500 or older Yamaha Virago 535 (discontinued in 2001). The Yamaha V-Star 650 cruiser (replacement for Virago 535) MIGHT also be suitable, but not sure. I know cruisers are generally underpowered compared to standards/sportbikes so the V-Star 650 could probably do you good but it’s probably really heavy and that’s bad. I’d say go with the Kawasaki Vulcan 500 just based on the fact that it’s got a Ninja 500R engine, so you know it can zip. It’s also really light weight for a cruiser, which is a good thing for commuting (realistically what you’ll probably be doing on your bike in the beginning) and for making it easy to handle.

If i were more of a “cruiser” guy I would have searched long and hard for a good deal on a Vulcan 500 for my first bike and I wouldn’t have let a salesman talk me into anything else, except of course for the mid-80s Honda V30 Magna 500cc V-Four cruiser (assuming I could find one).

MSF Class here in PA is 4 days: 2 classroom and 2 riding. It is free here in PA and completing the MSF course is an alternative to taking the state riding test to upgrade your permit to a full Class M License, so it’s hard to get in.

[WeaponZero]

Just making a logical guess here but I would assume it comes from the fact that motorcycles are under higher stress from the riders and how we are on the throttle of a motorcycle vs a car. Not sure if compression ratio would factor in there. Compression ratio generally only tells you what octane fuel you should be running mostly.

[WeaponZero]

Nothing wrong with scooters, but the price is downright scary. I’ve never heard of one being anywhere NEAR that expensive. For that price it had better offer motocycle performance, cruise control, a cd player with 6 disc sound system, and . .i dunno, all sorts of stuff. That’s equivalent to the price of middle of the line supersport motorcycles. I would really think about it before dropping that much money on a scooter.

[WeaponZero]

Yes, mechanically its all the same and interchangeable. The fairing and some suspension components are the only things that have changed over its 20+ years of life

[WeaponZero]

Trying to find them but all I can find are articles about newer 500Rs. I know they were known for the head gaskets blowing among a few other things.

[WeaponZero]

PA and FL both have identical helmet laws: you are not required to wear a helmet provided you are not on a learner’s permit and have had your Class M license/endorsement for at least 2 years.

[WeaponZero]

The Suzuki GS500F and Kawasaki Ninja 500R are more of a standard then sportbike. If a standard is what you want, you can’t go wrong with either one of those bikes. I personally started out on a Suzuki SV650 naked/standard and haven’t had any problems with it. I would say that my bike is pretty much the highest end of the “beginner bike” spectrum and anything bigger would be a VERY bad idea for a beginner. A long time ago when I first decided on getting a bike I was looking into possibly getting a Honda VFR for my first. I probably would have killed myself/damaged the bike on it. I still do plan on getting one though one day

[WeaponZero]

The GS500F is kinda new and kinda not. Mechanically, its been the same bike since the 80s. It was originally marketed as a standard and had no fairing. In 2002 or 2003 they redesigned the tailsection to give it a sportier look, but it didn’t get the fairing until 2005 or 2006 I think. It’s still powered by the same engine it always has been though and carries over all the suspension components from back when it was a “standard”. Prior to the fairing it was the GS500E (back when it wasnt commonplace Suzuki would designate all bikes with Electric Start by slapping an E on the end).

[WeaponZero]

I live in Pittsburgh and I would say about 2/3 of the people I see riding around here are without a helmet. I’ve also noticed that it’s only other helmet-wearing riders that wave to me as they pass, the helmetless ones don’t. Any connection between courtesy and sensibility there?

[WeaponZero]

When they say that an engine has been “tuned for midrange” wouldn’t that change its characteristics to be more “twin-like” in its power delivery? I mean I’ve never ridden a bike like the original bandit that was a “race-bred” 4-cyl thats been “tuned for midrange”.

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