S1000RR for a first time rider

[teamextreme]

Personally, for ME, the BMW is a better starting bike than my SV1000S was. The S1000RR is not only better and sharper in every way, but it's also much more forgiving, and feels much more natural to me.

Dammit, now I have to sell my SV1k! Thankfully that BMW is way pricier than I'm willing to spend, so I guess I'm sticking with the SV, for now.

On topic, I agree getting any type of sport bike, liter or 600, for a first timer is insane. Mine was a first street bike, but I also have been riding dirt bikes all my life. I agree with what someone else said, riding on dirt first is an excellent way to teach bike handling, throttle control etc. It's also cheap and fairly forgiving of mistakes, which isn't the case on the street.

[Drano]

Personally, for ME, the BMW is a better starting bike than my SV1000S was. The S1000RR is not only better and sharper in every way, but it's also much more forgiving, and feels much more natural to me. I never felt good on my Suzuki. I'd be riding an average pace and it felt like the bike was right at the edge. That's not good for a rider, it destroys your confidence in the bike. Whereas the BMW, the day I sat on it it felt like I'd been riding it for 10 years. At that same average pace, I can truly feel the bike not breaking a sweat, and if some ting unexpected happens the bike has so much left in every way to cope with it.

No disrespect intended, but as far as I recall your SV was pretty much stock and I'm quite sure it was never even close to properly set up, suspension-wise. Not that the SV1k's stock suspension is anything to write home to mom about, but riding any bike that isn't properly set up is a quick way to lose confidence. Although it's too little, too late now, had you taken the time and invested some money to make sure your suspension was sprung and valved correctly, and using the right weight of fluid, you might have discovered a night-to-day difference in feel, and found a big boost in confidence for the machine that you claim felt like it was on the edge. I hate to break it to you, but that was more your fault than it was the bike's. The amount of effort, and the care you put into your bike almost always translates to a ride that you can know and trust to perform the way you want it to. I doubt you ever gave your SV a chance to show you what it could really do.

No bike comes off the showroom floor perfectly set up for the owner. You may think that your S1000RR did, but I think you'd still be pleasantly surprised by just how much improvement can be made by reading up and making adjustments, or with one quick trip to a professional suspension tuner like Dave at STM.

Back to the topic:

I do think the rider aids that exist on modern bikes can make a huge difference to safety. They can help to mitigate certain issues that, on an older bike, would have resulted in a crash. That said, riders that rely on electronics rather than on developing and using their own skills are setting themselves up for a cataclysmic failure.

I agree that it really does come down to, as Bueller has said, the nut behind the bars. Any bike can prove deadly to the rider if they don't have the sense to ride within their limits. As a noob I overcooked a couple corners on my SV and was lucky I didn't have oncoming traffic bringing me to an abrupt stop. After my near-death experience I began taking advice from anybody who was willing to offer it. I read books like "Total Control" and "A Twist of the Wrist" in order to increase my knowledge-base. I still plan on taking advanced courses, and getting proper track-day instruction once I have another bike, and the money to do so. I think a high-powered machine is just trouble waiting to happen when it's in the wrong hands. I'm glad I started on my SV650. I still miss her sometimes.

[mdub]

That's two bottles of NOS, and he'll need them by tonight

Gotta fucking live life while you still have the ability. Then let your ass wiping man nurse take care of u....

[bulldog]

Had same issue years back....tried to talk my newb friend out of the fast sportbike for his first one. In end he did not listen to me and bought it. Three weeks later he wrecked badly on 285 breaking his back; saw it happen. Months of rehab and is now never allowed to ride again unless he wants to risk being paralyzed; he was lucky he walked again! Sucks people think this is a game where we get multiple lives. Sportbikes are extremely dangerous and the best defense it to become a great rider and there is no point in rushing it!

As Bueller said, it is the rider and not the bike that makes it fast! Been proven so many times.....

[07D675CO]

There really is no logical reason to start on a big bike or a supersport. There is always time for that later. The best riders in the world didn't start on superstreets. They started small, very small. I started on an old Ninja 250 and man was it slow but I learned how to ride without the threat of getting in over my head. Now that I have been riding for a long time I actually want another small bike like that just to toss around and have fun on. Aids don't make you better, they make you softer. Why learn how much brake to grab when you can just grab it all and ABS saves your hide. Why learn how to modulate throttle when you can just grab a handful and the aids will sort it out.

[Generic]

Beyond right wrist control, there's also the weight factor and maneuverability. I think everyone would agree a supersport isn't exactly easy to maneuver around a parking lot. Additionally the weight is harder for some people to manage when starting off. There's something to be said for flinging around an SV650 or a 250/300 bike (available with ABS mind you)

An in my opinion I always see people say "If you can control your wrist you'll be fine on a 600/1000 etc" Except as a new rider you pretty much can't. The problem isn't when they are on a straight road or a gentle curve, it's when the unexpected happens and they death grip the bars and give it more throttle than they ever intended. On smaller bike this might be recoverable, on a bigger bike bad things happen.

[FZRguy]

Got a perfectly good running old school 600 for sale for a mere $2k. When he can ride my old FZR quickly with confidence thru the canyon, he'll be ready for a new supersport.

[Grant H.]

Beyond right wrist control, there's also the weight factor and maneuverability. I think everyone would agree a supersport isn't exactly easy to maneuver around a parking lot. Additionally the weight is harder for some people to manage when starting off. There's something to be said for flinging around an SV650 or a 250/300 bike (available with ABS mind you)

Uh, what??? My GSXR1K is only 7lbs heavier than my SV650s (wet weight to wet weight), and I wouldn't say the SV takes slow corners any better than the 1K.

An in my opinion I always see people say "If you can control your wrist you'll be fine on a 600/1000 etc" Except as a new rider you pretty much can't. The problem isn't when they are on a straight road or a gentle curve, it's when the unexpected happens and they death grip the bars and give it more throttle than they ever intended. On smaller bike this might be recoverable, on a bigger bike bad things happen.

Maybe, maybe not. I basically started on a ZX14, and the only time I had an issue was at 15mph and too much braking power... I never had an issue in a corner, because I was cautious on all corners, and have slowly built my confidence/capabilities to carry more corner speed.

Do I think someone should buy a brand new liter bike for their first bike? Nope.

Do I think that if someone does, they are as good as dead (as most on this board assume)? Nope.

Any motorcycle can get you killed as a newbie... My little 110 toy will eat you alive if you let it.

[#1Townie]

Worst I ever hurt myself was on a 50.

[Aaron]

Worst I ever hurt myself was on a Honda XR650 (Single cylinder dirt bike)

[Clovis]

I started off on a R1. A "should I get this for my first bike?" was one of my first posts on CSC way back in 07

I originally wanted to get a 600 but at the time I worked with a couple of guys who rode (squids, didn't know the difference at the time) and they insisted a 600 would be too small for me (not a terribly small guy) and I would outgrow it in a month.

So I got the R1. Purchased new and 3 months later rode the bike straight into a guardrail coming down from Bishops Castle. Too much speed, got in over my head real quick.

My injury consisted of some minor roadrash on my knee (leather everything, except jeans) and a stiff knee. To this day my knee sometimes acts up and becomes sore/stiff, usually when there's a barometric change in the atomosphere... like when a storm is rolling through.

While the R1 is in the shop I started riding a FZ6 I purchased for my wife a month after the R1 and found that while the FZ6 lacked the raw power of the R1, it was much easier to ride and I learned a great deal about speed and braking on that bike (no electronic aids).

Fast forward to today I own two bikes. a FZ1 and a FJR.

The FZ1 is my favorite for Canyon Carving but it lacks ABS... my only real complaint. The FJR on the other hand is a sport tourer and very capable of canyon carving. Despite weighing 150 pounds the FJR breaks much better with it's ABS. The FZ1 will lock up the rear and fishtail if braking too hard prior to entering a corner.

If I had to do it again, I would have just gotten a FZ6. I had zero problems keeping up in the twisties and only yearned for more power when passing groups of cars in a limited amount of distance.

[The Black Knight]

Worst I ever hurt myself was on a 50.

Worst I ever hurt myself was on a Honda XR650 (Single cylinder dirt bike)

Yeah well worst I ever hurt myself was on a bmx bike(No cylinder peddle bike)

[#1Townie]

Worst I ever hurt myself was on a Honda XR650 (Single cylinder dirt bike)

Ummmm.... Yeah... Because a 650 is known for being some sissy single piston dirt bike. Lol. Wow.

[Drano]

Ummmm.... Yeah... Because a 650 is known for being some sissy single piston dirt bike. Lol. Wow.

What got me was that he felt he needed to clarify that it was a single-piston dirt bike. Aside from a couple oddballs, I didn't know dirt bikes came in any other variant...

[FZRguy]

The FZ07 or FZ09 would make a stellar first bike if your friend has to have a brand new ride.

[Clovis]

Or better yet, how about a new Kawi H2R?? 300HP super charged bike... might finally even be enough power for Aaron!

[madvlad]

Even that FZ09 could put him on his ass quickly if he's not careful.

[#1Townie]

Or better yet, how about a new Kawi H2R?? 300HP super charged bike... might finally even be enough power for Aaron!

Needs nos.

[#1Townie]

What got me was that he felt he needed to clarify that it was a single-piston dirt bike. Aside from a couple oddballs, I didn't know dirt bikes came in any other variant...

Its only a 100 mph dirty. Not like its fast. Lol

[07D675CO]

Even that FZ09 could put him on his ass quickly if he's not careful.

It definitely would.

[The Black Knight]

Needs nos.

Two bottles of NOS

[UHATEIT]

If someone on here gets an H2, I expect to see them put a Greddy Type-S blow off valve on it and vent it to the atmosphere, then you can sound like those sexy eclipses from Fast and the Furious when you shift.

[The Black Knight]

If someone on here gets an H2, I expect to see them put a Greddy Type-S blow off valve on it and vent it to the atmosphere, then you can sound like those sexy eclipses from Fast and the Furious when you shift.

Yeah but the only way you know you're fast is when your floor pan just magically falls off during a hotly contested illegal street race for pinks.
And don't forget to make sure the exhaust blows fire from the muffler before the race.

[UHATEIT]

Yeah but the only way you know you're fast is when your floor pan just magically falls off during a hotly contested illegal street race for pinks.
And don't forget to make sure the exhaust blows fire from the muffler before the race.

Oh yes and it must take at least a full minute to run your 10 second 1/4 mile as well