I feel conflicted! Help!
I'm shopping for a new bike for the street [here we go again]. I've spent a lot street/track of time on 250s and while I'm not intimidated by a 600 I have to wonder: are they really useable off a racetrack? On the one hand, you can break every speed limit in second gear, there's little riding that gets up to requiring-knee-down speeds in your favorite canyon and more cylinders + more power = higher operating costs. On the flip side, inline fours stir the soul in a way that parallel twins really can't. Add to this that $4k can net you a good used 600...
A 250-500cc bike seems to touch all the logical bases (I'm very short, light, slow AND cheap) but I love supersport engines and I am over cleaning/syncing carburetors (but I'm so damn CHEAP!). For some perspective, I liked fairly tight roads when I was riding street: Morrison, Deer Creek, Squaw Pass. I like pushing a bike near its limits. My girlfriend also cannot ride so if we go 2-up, some extra go would probably help. And I've managed to keep a clean license in my wallet - a trend I'd like to continue but I'm not sure I can with triple-digit power.
The new Ninja 300 and CBR500r seem expensive to me given the price of used supersports. That said, they seem to suit my style.
Thank you!