Please Help

[ildrukentiger]

i want to buy a bike. I would be my first one. i was told i should stick with something under 80hp, something like the kawasaki ZZR600. but when i go to specs for the bikes im looking at, it dosent say how much horsepower. what the hell is CC, like 800 cc. Can someone help me understand how to read and understand bikes. as much as i love my car, i always wanted a bike, but i dont want to walk into a bike store and ask something like this, looking like jurkass and like i was just born yesterday.

[speediva]

CC are "cubic centimeters", which is the displacement of the engine. Most cars today are measured in liters. To give you a comparison, 1000cc = 1 liter. Thus a 2.0 liter car has 2000cc of displacement. On the other hand, numbers less than 1000 are smaller than a liter. An 800cc bike is .8 liters.

Instead of shopping for "horsepower", consider shopping by engine size. Older bikes at 600cc and smaller (500, 400, 250) will be under that 80hp number you were talking about. Look at USED early-mid90s bikes, and try reading the "stickies" at the top of the forum for more "newbie" advice. If you have any other questions after that, come back and ask.

[ildrukentiger]

thanks alot, so do you suggest i start with used. and or is it a whatever you perfer type of thing? and if you do suggest used, where is a good source to look. please dont say ebay!

Originally Posted by saturntangerine

CC are "cubic centimeters", which is the displacement of the engine. Most cars today are measured in liters. To give you a comparison, 1000cc = 1 liter. Thus a 2.0 liter car has 2000cc of displacement. On the other hand, numbers less than 1000 are smaller than a liter. An 800cc bike is .8 liters.

Instead of shopping for "horsepower", consider shopping by engine size. Older bikes at 600cc and smaller (500, 400, 250) will be under that 80hp number you were talking about. Look at USED early-mid90s bikes, and try reading the "stickies" at the top of the forum for more "newbie" advice. If you have any other questions after that, come back and ask.

[Jonesy4x4]

Personally i would like to start with a used bike that way if i drop it at a stop light or something then i won't worry as much about getting a scratch on it. If you want a new bike then by all means get one. As for finding a used bike i would look at the local cycle trader, or go to www.cycletrader.com to get an idea of what the price range would be and some pics of the bikes.

good luck and always wear your brain bucket

Jonesy