no you will grow out of the power too fast...i had a few friends who went that direction and sold it within a few months..600cc is a perfect bike for the beginner and advanced..and if you get the 250 and plan on ridden wit some buds, good luck n tryna keep up wit the 600cc's

 

Ive always said this, but dont know:

For dirtbikes you can add flywheel weight to prevent stalling and mellow power, can they not do this on streetbikes? They weight just screws on with a single cylinder engine, so when youre ready to go fast you just take it off in 10 minutes.

If they can, then everyone should buy a 600 thats remotely into performance riding and not just commuting.

 

I just picked up a new commuter...



I still want that Speed Triple, but this is gonna get me back on 2 wheels until I can make it happen.

 

niice..

heres my ride http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/9532/mybikevy4.jpg sorry if the pic is hella small, didnt know how to adjust it

 

Another quick point about used 'beginner' bikes:

If you buy a 4 year old 250 or 500 and ride it for a year you'll get almost all your money back - assuming you haven't bent it. I purchased my first bike for $4000 and sold it 12 months later for $3600. $400 for a year's learning and 8,000 miles motoring is a pretty inexpensive intro.

The 250s and 500s are always in demand so selling it on after 6 months to a year will be no problem at all.

 

there's actually such a high demand of ninja 250's people have no problems selling them. it's a matter of who they want to sell to..

 

im buying a ninja 250/500

Im a bigger guy so I'd prefer the 500

 

FYI last week there was still a 250 Ninja at Rider's Choice in Sunnyvale for around $2800. Santa Clara Cycle in Sunnyvale has an older black/blue Nighthawk for sale for around $1100 I think.

The bike I took a photo of above is a '92 CB750 Nighthawk and is a GREAT beginner bike. Yes, it's a 750, and no there is no way in hell it is faster than my old '92 ZX-6. It's easy to ride, docile, and not to be feared. Redline is around 8500. This is NOT a sportbike..

If you weigh over 180 or so, an older air-cooled bike is no big deal at all. I remember taking my rider's test the first time when I was 15 in Hawaii, there was a dude who rented a 250 Nighthawk for the test... a Big Guy... He couldn't take the test because the bike could not get him up to 12mph before entering the braking test................ When I rode the 250 Nighty's at the training thing, it had trouble passing 50mph on the highway. I weighed like 150lbs back then.

 

i just rode my friends Yamaha FZ750, that thing RIPS!

I was at 80 mph before i knew it, on an uphill road too!

Very easy to ride. just not too comfortable.

 

I havent seen that bike in ages!

 

Those are a lot of fun.. A friend picked up a ZX-900 somewhere around '85. It's pretty wicked. Has that funny anti-dive stuff that hardens the front shocks when you are on the front brakes.

 

^sick, i didnt know that.

yeah my friends has a tiny chain that connects to the rear shock and does something "on the fly" maybe stiffens it durring accel? sick bike, and good price compared to new

 

1000 rr and stay off the throttle... liter bikes are more comfortable cuz u can stay in 3rd going local unless u stop.. as of 600s u up n down shift more often

 

Yeah and sneakers/hoodie is also much cheaper than boots and proper gear.

WOW.

I was talking to a car dealer last week who used to sell streetbikes. He got out of it because he got so tired of seeing new riders buy a bike, and then hurt themselves - some of them crashed leaving the place on their new bikes. He said they offered free home delivery and tried really hard to get people to take it, but they would always be so excited they would get a ride and pick them up at the store...

Anyway, I finally picked up a jacket. I have been to 3 different places - didn't find anything I like. I went down to Road Rider in San Jose and finally got something. I wanted an Alpinestars jacket that I liked but one of them fit right. Finally ended up spending too much on a Dainese jacket, but it is sooooo comfortable and makes a huge difference on the commute. Like night/day as far as handling wind, noise and temperature. I was also pretty set on a Cortech jacket, but ended up really not liking them at all... The only thing weird with the Dainese is the zipper.

Been commuting for 3 weeks now, and I took the car once last week and it totally SUCKED. Loving the ability to get to work/home reliably within 25 minutes rather than wondering if it's going to be 30min or 1.5hrs. Just cruise through the whole 101/85 mess and watch it fade away. Some people in cars are really crap though. One guy this morning going 50 in the HOV lane w/ no one in front started trying to wash me with his windshield washers. Awesome!

 

Get at least a 500. My 750 is definitely not too much to handle and it weighs around 450lbs dry. I am 6'1" and 195 so there's that for perspective. Gonna take my friend's 250r for a spin this weekend, but I have ridden a few 250's and they were really frustrating above 45mph.

My CB750 will get up and flat haul *** if you shift near redline, and to be honest I believe that ability has saved my life at least once. 75mph in top gear is around 5krpm, and if I keep it below that - it is very docile.

Bike: $1700
Tires/spark plugs: $300 installed for all
Hat: $115
Jacket: $300
Gloves: $95
Boots: already had but shouldn't be more than $150
Insurance: $200/yr
MSF Course: $250
DMV Fees: forgot, let's say $15
Registration/transfer: $96

The above is all I spent and one could get by on less. Now spending $15/week instead of $65 and not putting miles on my R. I see this as the ultimate economy vehicle. In about 14 months, this whole adventure will have paid for itself, and that is just commuting - not other weekend trips and such.