too big or not

[matt11583]

ive been lookin at a bike to buy for my first bike...i saw teh suzuki gs500f and the ninja 500r....i like the bikes n ive heard good things aobut htem...i can find one used around here for about 3500-4000..but i want to kon from more expeirenced riders if a 500cm bike is goin to be to big for my first bike....wat do u thnk aobut me gettin one of the for my first one....ps i read the sticky aoubt it, i jus wanted to ask more specific on these to...

[BP2K2Max]

my 636 is my first bike. if you can exhibit self control and are willing to take msf you should be just fine.

[Z_Fanatic]

Actually, I will commend your choice on picking Ninja 500 or GS500F. When you're ready, and you'll know by yourself, you can move up to a more serious machine. Not only will it save your life (since I have no clue about your self control) but in the long run, it'll make you a better rider. Like Deal'sGap said previously, lot of riders compensate for their mistake with more throttle, learn the technique first and speed will take care of itself automaticly.

Here's an example, grab gobs of throttle on a 500 and you'll move so far and probably scare yourself if you're a newbie or shrug it off. Do that on a 600, and it'll take off like a rocket.

[fallingrock71]

I'm with Z. I mean it's good to hear someone ask if a 500 is too big for a first bike instead of is it too small or will I outgrow it in a week. It very well could be too big! I just don't think that sub 600cc bikes get enough respect. I'll tell ya a little story about 500's as a first bike. In 1991 two buddies of mine both bought matching suzuki gs500's. It was for both their first street bikes. Both had a fair amount of time on dirt bikes. Naturally, I took the opportunity to ride both. At the time, I was 6'4" 265(not fat) and those great little bikes would haul my big ass up past 120mph with no problem and in pretty short order. They ain't no toys! To make a long story short, both of my buddies totaled their bikes on separate occasions within about a year of drivin them off the showroom floor. Luckily, both are still alive and well. One of them got off with a pretty bad case of road rash. The other broke an arm, got a concusion, and of course a nice case of road rash. I don't know what kind of experience you have with cycles or even what size you are, but any newer 500 is as big as you would want to consider. Personally, I'm thinkin maybe 250-400ish. I wouldn't try to talk you out of a 500 by any means, just be damn careful. And with any bike, watch out for all the idiots out there. I always ride like everyone on the road is trying to kill me. Good luck, have fun and be safe!

[-> Mason <-]

start with a 250 sportbike IMO....i started with a 250 and didn't get sick of it EVER, and drove it everywhere....i love that thing, even though i've gone to bigger and WAY faster things, that 250 is still nice to ride without having to be sensitive on the throttle....

[-> Mason <-]

plus my friends would try to race me on the little thing and i could beat them going 3/4 throttle.....their cars weren't fast but still those little 250s are kind of impressing....

If you REALLY want to stay on the safe side, start off with a hayabusa...they only have 190+hp and are nice and heavy so you won't blow in the wind and possibly get out of control....

[Kurtdg19]

Originally Posted by -> Mason <-

plus my friends would try to race me on the little thing and i could beat them going 3/4 throttle.....their cars weren't fast but still those little 250s are kind of impressing....

If you REALLY want to stay on the safe side, start off with a hayabusa...they only have 190+hp and are nice and heavy so you won't blow in the wind and possibly get out of control....

. I've started off with a 93 CBR 600 and its got lots of power (cars = nothing). A new 500 IMO would be perfect as long as you can inhibit self control over the bike. First gear on my bike isn't even usable in the city (its way to rev happy... it pulls to hard). I guarantee your mouth will still drop from excitement when you slam on the throttle. Granted the CBR I have has had a few thing done to it, but still, nonetheless; a 500 will provide the same result . Plus the lightweight of a 500 will make it a very good handling bike. Now don't go off trying to flick it like your in motogp, only experience will allow to do that. Start off with a sound head (which it sounds like your already on a good track).

Good luck!

[Z_Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Kurtdg19

. I've started off with a 93 CBR 600 and its got lots of power (cars = nothing). A new 500 IMO would be perfect as long as you can inhibit self control over the bike. First gear on my bike isn't even usable in the city (its way to rev happy... it pulls to hard). I guarantee your mouth will still drop from excitement when you slam on the throttle. Granted the CBR I have has had a few thing done to it, but still, nonetheless; a 500 will provide the same result . Plus the lightweight of a 500 will make it a very good handling bike. Now don't go off trying to flick it like your in motogp, only experience will allow to do that. Start off with a sound head (which it sounds like your already on a good track).

Good luck!

I take the CBR at 8K in 1st gear, really there's no point running the 1st gear any longer, I boot it a lot of the times, not exactly scary... on turns and around cars is a different story. I'll never run 1st gear on a curve in the street, as getting into powerband is too tempting, and when the bike is leaned over, lot of things can happen to the rear tire. I heard a guy going 50 in 1st gear and hit a gravel on his rear and spun the tire, resulting high side - bike was totalled.

Mostly I shift it up to 2nd, and by the time it reaches powerband, I am already running above 70. So in every sense, I don't ever get to use the real power of the 600 on the streets. . Third gear requires a lot of coercing on my part, I have downshift and immediately roll on it to get any thrust. 4...5... 6... relatively no power. But shifting is part of the charm of riding 600.

500 would be great at 1st gear. What I love about this Honda is somehow they managed to give it decent midrange, still retaining peaky top-end but smooth delivery and very low engine braking like 2-strokes. It makes downshifting extremely easy, the engine does most of the work w/o blipping.

With some experience, 600s are extremely fun.

[Kurtdg19]

Originally Posted by Z_Fanatic

I take the CBR at 8K in 1st gear, really there's no point running the 1st gear any longer, I boot it a lot of the times, not exactly scary... on turns and around cars is a different story. I'll never run 1st gear on a curve in the street, as getting into powerband is too tempting, and when the bike is leaned over, lot of things can happen to the rear tire. I heard a guy going 50 in 1st gear and hit a gravel on his rear and spun the tire, resulting high side - bike was totalled.

Mostly I shift it up to 2nd, and by the time it reaches powerband, I am already running above 70. So in every sense, I don't ever get to use the real power of the 600 on the streets. . Third gear requires a lot of coercing on my part, I have downshift and immediately roll on it to get any thrust. 4...5... 6... relatively no power. But shifting is part of the charm of riding 600.

500 would be great at 1st gear. What I love about this Honda is somehow they managed to give it decent midrange, still retaining peaky top-end but smooth delivery and very low engine braking like 2-strokes. It makes downshifting extremely easy, the engine does most of the work w/o blipping.

With some experience, 600s are extremely fun.

Yea I've ridden some other 600s, and their 1st gear isn't all that bad, but mine has been sprocketed front and rear. I find myself constantly shifting through town, but it makes the whole ride that more fun . 1st gear isn't that bad until about 5k. After that, any bit of throttle is just to jerky and impractical in traffic. I usually cruise in 6th gear even in 35mph zones due to the sprockets while still maintaining 50mpg. And I know what you mean about rapping on the throttle in a midturn .

[Z_Fanatic]

geez, that's over 200 miles per tanks. I am lucky to get it above 100 before the reserve kicks in. I just changed the air filter, oil filter, and engine oil, and mileage improved slightly. but I never get that sort of number. I mostly run the bike at 4th gear when cruising. I put it in 5th/6th in 2 miles stretch. and 3rd gear through out small section of curves. I punch it sometimes 60-70% throttle, but that should affect only little. all my riding is in town with plenty of signals. My front rotor(s) might be warped, but asides from that, I have no idea why my cbr is sucking more gas, I run 89. everything seems stock, so I have no way of telling if the sprockets have been changed, but probably isn't.

[Kurtdg19]

Originally Posted by Z_Fanatic

geez, that's over 200 miles per tanks. I am lucky to get it above 100 before the reserve kicks in. I just changed the air filter, oil filter, and engine oil, and mileage improved slightly. but I never get that sort of number. I mostly run the bike at 4th gear when cruising. I put it in 5th/6th in 2 miles stretch. and 3rd gear through out small section of curves. I punch it sometimes 60-70% throttle, but that should affect only little. all my riding is in town with plenty of signals. My front rotor(s) might be warped, but asides from that, I have no idea why my cbr is sucking more gas, I run 89. everything seems stock, so I have no way of telling if the sprockets have been changed, but probably isn't.

Yea my bike is a freak of nature . You run 89? I know that my CBR recommends at least 91, but I put 93 in it 95% of the time (a few stations premium is only 92). It has a yosh exhaust, k&n air filter, and jetted, but I doubt that is what makes the 50mpg. I bet it was my $1.25 autolite plugs that I used to replace my NGK-Rs . The weird thing is, when I replaced the plugs, I didn't even notice any power difference. I bet it is mainly due to my driving style. I usually won't rev it past 5k in town ever which does amount to a lot of shifting, but hey, its fun . Unless im riding with my friends (which on an occasion, ends up being a who has the biggest pennis contest ), I'm usually pretty conservative. I guess thats what happends when you have a bunch of 21 year olds driving fast sports bikes .

[-> Mason <-]

no offense kurt (because my next bike is going to be a honda CBR 1000RR.......hopefully)....but your bike is starting to become ancient, i mean it's 15 years old...pretty soon you can slap some collector plates on there....lol just givin ya crap bro....i used to have an F2, loved it to death....

[Kurtdg19]

Originally Posted by -> Mason <-

no offense kurt (because my next bike is going to be a honda CBR 1000RR.......hopefully)....but your bike is starting to become ancient, i mean it's 15 years old...pretty soon you can slap some collector plates on there....lol just givin ya crap bro....i used to have an F2, loved it to death....

No offense taken . Yea it is pretty dang old (its a 93), but it still runs strong. The odometer reads just a tad over 20k, and I suspect that it could easily go another 20k maintence free miles (expection of regular maintence). The compression is great in every cylinder which makes me feel good about the overall mechanical condition of the bike. The cam tensioner needs to be re-adjusted, but from what I heard, is a common thing on the F2 (plan on doing it next weekend). I've put over 2k miles on it, and feel more and more confident every day. What can I say, its a great starter bike for the mentally sound rider.

This is my first bike and I didn't want to spend a lot of $$ with zero experience. I can safely say this is the best bike I've bought . A good friend of mine actually has an 05 1000RR. He says its satan on wheels , but an overall great bike. Its not as wheelie happy as the yamaha Rs, but its balance is superior. Glad to hear your sticking with the family! Good luck on the hopeful! As soon as I get out of school and am making some real money, I'll definately be in the market for a new one.

[Z_Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Kurtdg19

Yea my bike is a freak of nature . You run 89? I know that my CBR recommends at least 91, but I put 93 in it 95% of the time (a few stations premium is only 92). It has a yosh exhaust, k&n air filter, and jetted, but I doubt that is what makes the 50mpg. I bet it was my $1.25 autolite plugs that I used to replace my NGK-Rs . The weird thing is, when I replaced the plugs, I didn't even notice any power difference. I bet it is mainly due to my driving style. I usually won't rev it past 5k in town ever which does amount to a lot of shifting, but hey, its fun . Unless im riding with my friends (which on an occasion, ends up being a who has the biggest pennis contest ), I'm usually pretty conservative. I guess thats what happends when you have a bunch of 21 year olds driving fast sports bikes .

the manual recommends over 87 for F4, here regular is 89 and premium is 93-97. I used to run premium, but since the bike now sucks up gas like my car and with gas prices up as it is, had to switch to regular. after a few more maintenance, I'll see if I can pinch out more miles per gallon. after the 1st gear and into 2nd and 3rd, I'll run it deep before it hits 70 mph, I suppose it's probably because I hardly ever go to 5th or 6th.

so far I've gone riding with a friend once, and that was a very short ride. I feel for my age (21 too) and lack of experience, I might do something stupid(er) just to keep up. besides, there's only one road with two short curves near me, so whenever I see sportbikers around here, they're mostly speeding through because they seem bored. I don't practice extreme speeding through traffic. there's this bike hang out, but the timing is such that I can't make it. it would be great to meet riders with same interest as me looking for fast and tighter back-roads.

btw, you can run that F2 engine over 100K, no problem.

[deadring]

matt, first of all there not obligation in getting a new bike for the first one..


my first one was a1984 CB650 SC and as a newbie,it scared the sh!t out of me for the first summer... then it got... too predictable and i sold it for bigger..i bought a 92 gixxer 1127 with a stage 3 dynojey, 5 tooth less in the rear sprocket, and a dyna2000 ignition box... this was a beast.. and till the end i respected it...or would face destrcution since those trains don't turn. the third one is a 00' kawa ZX-9 which i love for confort and speed and is less violent than my gixxer bure more usable on the streets...

the pojnt is, since this is your first bike get yerslef something that pulls ok but no new and dont spend a fortune coze in a year or so you'll be selling it for more power... were all like that.