S1000RR for a first time rider

[07D675CO]

If he allows it to, 100hp will kill him just as fast as 193 will. Harley riders die every day with just 60hp.

Your first sentence is a bit disingenuous. There is a very large difference between 200hp and 100hp. Both allow one to get in over their head but 200hp in a bike is beyond overkill for anything other than the track. Harley riders die not because of hp but for lack of skill. They also have poor choice in motorcycles. One can kill oneself on anything with a lack of skill. It is just far less likely on a smaller bike than a bigger one due to getting in over your head.

[Drano]

Mine definitely wasn't setup perfect for me, but there was more than just damping compression and rebound that made that bike not work for me. But that's the great thing about having hundreds of different bikes, somewhere out there is the one that fits your specific body, riding style, and desires. For me it's the BMW.

I don't disagree. Believe me, the first time I rode the S1000RR I felt right at home on it, despite being intimidated by the power it makes. The only point I'm trying to make is that you bought a used, 2003 SV1000S, and rode it, and didn't feel comfortable pushing it, because you didn't feel confident on it. However, you failed to take the next step: which is find out what can be done to make it better! The point is that there was a great deal of easy, inexpensive adjustments you could have made to address your concerns. What did you do? Nothing. So, your bike failed to meet your expectations, but you didn't do anything to fix it. Sorry, pal, but this makes it extremely difficult to take any of your criticisms of the SV seriously.

Would it ever have been S1000RR good? Probably not, but the point is you didn't even try to find a solution. Instead, you talk about how poorly the SV handled in comparison to the S1000RR in order to justify your position: that you would much rather have started on the BMW rather than the Suzuki. Point-in-fact, you've done the exact same thing with your S1000RR. You bought it, and you ride it. Aside from a few aesthetic, and a couple of transmission and ergo changes, you've done nothing to improve feel. This you justify because it already feels right to you. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with liking the way it currently rides, but what strikes me as questionable is the lack of drive to see if it could even be slightly improved. This challenges your credibility to make any assertions regarding whether the S1000RR is a better starting bike than another.

Let's put this in another context, shall we? A man asks on a home improvement forum what would be better, a pre-built shed, or a DIY shed. Aaron responds, "My first shed sucked! It was a DIY and I never took it out of the box, so my lawnmower got ruined and my tools got rusted. But now I own a pre-built shed and man, what a difference it makes! I'd totally recommend a pre-built shed to anyone!"

There are plenty of riders who buy a bike and ride it, as is. Usually it's because they don't know enough to know better. That said, bikes aren't cars. You can't just jump on one and expect it to be all that you want. Those that do either get really lucky, or they learn the hard way.

[BikesRider777]

Tell your friend what mine told me...

They told me that if I got an S1000rr and they were still faster than me in the canyons, that I was going to suffer ridicule forever. I knew they weren't bullshitting.
So I got a 600cc (I'd been riding FZ1's and other big boy bikes but not full on race replicas) on their advice, and it's the best thing I ever did.

I honestly don't understand now why 600cc's aren't selling anymore supposedly. I mean, I get that some people say they don't like to have to rev them out to get to the power, but for real I absolutely love railing that bike at 14K RPM all damn day!

You just gotta find a picture of an idiot on an S1000rr getting smoked by a guy on a Ninja 650. That'll do the trick.

[bulldog]

I don't disagree. Believe me, the first time I rode the S1000RR I felt right at home on it, despite being intimidated by the power it makes. The only point I'm trying to make is that you bought a used, 2003 SV1000S, and rode it, and didn't feel comfortable pushing it, because you didn't feel confident on it. However, you failed to take the next step: which is find out what can be done to make it better! The point is that there was a great deal of easy, inexpensive adjustments you could have made to address your concerns. What did you do? Nothing. So, your bike failed to meet your expectations, but you didn't do anything to fix it. Sorry, pal, but this makes it extremely difficult to take any of your criticisms of the SV seriously.

Would it ever have been S1000RR good? Probably not, but the point is you didn't even try to find a solution. Instead, you talk about poorly the SV handled in comparison to the S1000RR in order to justify your position: that you would much rather have started on the BMW rather than the Suzuki. Point-in-fact, you've done the exact same thing with your S1000RR. You bought it, and you ride it. Aside from a few aesthetic, and a couple of transmission and ergo changes, you've done nothing to improve feel. This you justify because it already feels right to you. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with liking the way it currently rides, but what strikes me as questionable is the lack of drive to see if it could even be slightly improved. This challenges your credibility to make any assertions regarding whether the S1000RR is a better starting bike than another.

Let's put this in another context, shall we? A man asks on a home improvement forum what would be better, a pre-built shed, or a DIY shed. Aaron responds, "My first shed sucked! It was a DIY and I never took it out of the box, so my lawnmower got ruined and my tools got rusted. But now I own a pre-built shed and man, what a difference it makes! I'd totally recommend a pre-built shed to anyone!"

There are plenty of riders who buy a bike and ride it, as is. Usually it's because they don't know enough to know better. That said, bikes aren't cars. You can't just jump on one and expect it to be all that you want. Those that do either get really lucky, or they learn the hard way.

Well said!

And a SV not handling well....wtf...some of the best handling bikes made! I learned this by my good buddy Hoopty who had a SV650 and would pass people on the track and canyons that were in way higher HP bikes. He taught me it was all the skill of the rider (and proper setup of bike; all the way down to tire pressure) and not the bike. He saved me learning the hard way and I stuck to a lower powered Katana as my first bike, then went to a F4I, then the 600RR. Over 15+ years and I stuck on a 600 because I never felt my skills got better than the bike; meaning that only a very skilled rider (even say pro) is going to push a bike like a 600RR to it's potential.....especially adding mods (which I did). And to put it in perspective I estimate about 80K miles I put on my 3 sportbikes.

I still trip out on guys that have to buy the newest and best bike in order to be fast! Best riders I know can jump on nearly any bike and go fast.....hence my buddy Hoopty even breaking records in modern vintage on a Honda F2 on the local tracks. To me that is way more impressive than the guy that gets the newest bike with all the assistance and HP.

[Nolan]

I started out on a bone stock sv650. It was/is cheap enough to get into. Fun enough to get a season in so that I knew what mods I could do over the winter. A trip to STM, new brake lines, and some sportier handlebars made season 2 a whole new animal. Season 3 I wanted an upgrade so I got the Triple. The good woman needed a bike so I put different handlebars on the sv so she can sit up. The SV changed into this noisy, extremely flick able, hooligan machine. It makes me smile again. The triple is a refined machine. It's not noisy (yet), vibrations are minimal, howls instead of rumbling, stops with a pinky instead of a hand. To each their own though. I'm glad I started on a less "capable" machine so that I can appreciate the good and bad of both my current bikes.

[bulldog]

I started out on a bone stock sv650. It was/is cheap enough to get into. Fun enough to get a season in so that I knew what mods I could do over the winter. A trip to STM, new brake lines, and some sportier handlebars made season 2 a whole new animal. Season 3 I wanted an upgrade so I got the Triple. The good woman needed a bike so I put different handlebars on the sv so she can sit up. The SV changed into this noisy, extremely flick able, hooligan machine. It makes me smile again. The triple is a refined machine. It's not noisy (yet), vibrations are minimal, howls instead of rumbling, stops with a pinky instead of a hand. To each their own though. I'm glad I started on a less "capable" machine so that I can appreciate the good and bad of both my current bikes.

Yeah that is how I felt about my Katana! That thing was so heavy and harder to move around, but it was all I had so I learned how to ride the shit out of it. When I moved up to the F4I it made me appreciate the upgrade! For sure I felt the struggle on the Katana made me a better rider because it had to be about my skills to keep up with the more HP bikes.

[Rabbie303]

I feel the same way about my old SV650 as I do about my SV1000...I can man handle those bikes, and flick them around like nothing else. I love them! My problem is that if I want to keep in the Liter 1000 class, I will need to someday get a new bike, and all the Vtwin classes are on pricey lines. #firstworldproblems

[Colorado S14]

Your first sentence is a bit disingenuous. There is a very large difference between 200hp and 100hp. Both allow one to get in over their head but 200hp in a bike is beyond overkill for anything other than the track. Harley riders die not because of hp but for lack of skill. They also have poor choice in motorcycles. One can kill oneself on anything with a lack of skill. It is just far less likely on a smaller bike than a bigger one due to getting in over your head.

To be sure, but go watch any of those Mulholland crash videos and there are probably more 600s low-siding on the snake than any other bike. I personally think that almost any 600cc+ sportbike is a poor choice for a first bike, the riding position is more demanding, the throttle response is more aggressive, etc.

[GMR]

I honestly don't understand now why 600cc's aren't selling anymore supposedly. I mean, I get that some people say they don't like to have to rev them out to get to the power, but for real I absolutely love railing that bike at 14K RPM all damn day!

If it weren't for riding up to 15k RPMs, I honestly don't think I'd be a rider at all. If back problems or whatever causes me to need to get off sportbikes, I'll just quit riding all together. I've never been interested in anything else. Riding is all about the audio porn I get out of the sportbike sound. I tell myself someday I'm going to get a 1000RR, but I have a hard time getting myself excited for it. I'll probably always have an R6

[Aaron]

Meet me at HPR on monday, I'll let you have a few laps. You won't want to bring it back. Trust me, 14.2 is plenty far enough when there's 193hp going there!