first bike list.

so i was reading the sticky on first bikes and was thinking what if we just put up a list of great recommended first sport bikes and bikes to avoid.
ill start with the ones that i have heard recommended the most.
good choices:
suzuki
gs 500
sv 650
katana 600
bandit 600

buell
blast

honda
cbr 600f3 f2
hawk 650 gt
599

kawasaki
ninja 500 250

yamaha
seca ii 600
yzf 600r not r6
and most old 80s cruisers under 750
this all i have so far feel free to add.and most old 80s cruisers
what do you all think about this idea? :2cents:

Well my first question would be, do you even like any of those bikes or are you just getting one because of what you have heard? Or is it money?

If you really want one of those bikes get the one you want. Out of that list theres only a few bikes worth buying. An older CBR f3 or even f4 would be good and somewhat cheap bikes. And if your planing to get one of those you may as well jump to a f4i but thats just my opinion. And the YZF 600 is nice but again, you may as well just jump to the R6. The difference between the 2 is not enough to save only about 800 bucks. The YZF 600s are rare because they made them so close to the R6 that there is no question to just pay a little more for the R6. Thats why nobody bought them. See theres a big difference between the ninja 250 and ninja zx6 so thats why the ninja sold so well.

So if you have to pick one of those on the list I would say the YZF 600 or the older CBR would be the way to go. Im not a big fan of any of other bikes listed.

It depends....

Having ridden many dirt bikes, a few Hoggs, and a 'rocket or two; IMO the best "beginner" bikes don't follow into any of those. A "good old" standard would be best.

When I decided to buy (my father in-law has about 13), I rode pretty much everything I could first. I decided on a Honda CB 750 NightHawk. Damned nice bike! Smooth, great mileage, comfortable even on LONG (500 mile +) rides.

Yeah, I looked at a Honda 650 for my second bike, but decided that with my riding experience I wouldn't be too happy... Granted, I'm still not "happy" with my Seca II (would be better as an "experienced beginner's" bike) but the older cruiser-y bikes tend to be much more forgiving than sportbikes. Heck, my first street bike was a Suzuki GS500. Actually, I first rode a BMW F650GS Dakar, which was only bad in that it is REALLY tall (even for 5'10").

Oh, and the Suzuki GSX600F is the Katana and the GSF600 is the Bandit, so there's no need to list "600f" under Suzuki. :)


I'm rambling, I'll stop now.