buying my first bike

i'll make this short as i can. i learned to ride on a honda rebel 250. that's all i've ever ridden. i want a sport bike. i've read lots of comments on here and am trying to do research to find the best first bike. i don't want to get a bike that i will be bored with soon or outgrow too fast. i read on the kawasaki web site that the new zzr600 is a bike aimed to appeal to new riders. would this be a bad bike to start with?  

Since you've ridden a 250 for a little bit, you may want to consider a Ninja 500 or so.  The ZZR-600 has a lot more ponies than the Honda Rebel 250 (and likely the 500R), and could easily give you trouble.  How long have you ridden the Rebel?  I learned a bit on an '82 Virago XV750, but I'm stupid and lucky.  And it was also riding in a field.  I'm actually considering a 250R or a 500R.  

Insurance on a ZZR is likely to be high.  Definately find an insurance company and compare quotes.  I've been looking through Geico and BikeLine.  

thank you for your response. i was actually looking at the ninja 500 as well. i also was considering the suzuki gs500f. so far the only big difference i can see in the two bikes is that the ninja is liquid cooled and the suzuki is air cooled. is that a major diff? is one better than the other?  

There's a bit of difference between the two. The Ninja has more power than the Suzuki, but Suzuki has more modern looks.  I found this on the web, but couldn't find the source.  

http://www.uvm.edu/~jminer/images/NinjaGScomparo07a.pdf  

thanks for the info. do u think that one of the engines is better? liquid cooled or air cooled.  

Liquid cooled engines last longer than air cooled.  I owned a 1989 Yamaha XT600 with an air cooled engine and it started burning oil at about 28,000 miles.  I owned a 1993 Kawasaki ZX6 and it did not start to burn oil until over 58,000 miles and I did not take it easy on that bike. I used ride very agressively and pegged the revs close to redline to get all the performance I can from the 600cc engine.  I did not do that type of riding on the streets though, only on the track.  

I'll second that.  Liquid cooled engines have a much longer lifespan than air-cooled engines.  If you sit around in traffic idling, an air-cooled engine tends to get quite hot, which sometimes prompts you to shut 'er down if you are in a heavy jam (in VT you can't lane split, though traffic jams almost never get bad).  

well, that ZZR is a just a 2002 ZX6r, after kawasaki was getting its ass kicked by Yamaha and Suzuki they made the 636. Instead of *** the ZX6r, they re-named it the ZZR and priced it down. Yes, it doesnt have all the horsepower as the latest and greatest 600 its not all that far off and can post some decent 1/4 mile numbers with a few up grades.

anywho, I would say get the ZZR...great price, reliable, plenty of power to grow into. I have one, full coverage insurance is $850 a year (and I have a terrible record)

cheers  

thank you guys for your imput. i think i've made my decision on a first bike. i think i'm going to go with the ninja 500. seems to me from all the research i've done and the comments i've heard on here that this bike is the better sport bike to start out on. however, i do think i will buy a new one instead of used like most of you suggest. mainly for the realiabilty factor. when you buy used you never know what you're getting into. i figure i can buy a new one and it should not have any of the problems that a used bike has. and i plan on taking care of it so if they hold their value as much as you all say they do then it won't be a problem for me to re-sell it when i decide to upgrade. just have to get the money now and remember to be patient.  

I'm planning on buying new, even if I take the loss when it comes to resell time.  With any luck I won't be selling it for some time, so I won't be too bad off.  

justin and Josh,

There are advantages and disadvantages in buying new.  The advantage is you will likely to have fewer mechanical problems because buying a used bike is "like a box of chocolates"....per Mr Gump.  The disadvantage is the value of your new bike drops like a rock once you ride it out of the dealership gate.  But if you plan to keep it for a long time, it should not matter.  But don't expect to get a high resale price when you decide to trade up. Especially on the lower cc learner bikes.  Even the motorcycle thiefs do not target these bikes.  Plus if that new bike will be your first bike, I think it will be pretty scratched up by the time you're ready for an upgrade.(You will know what I mean after a couple of thousand miles. )  Just beware when you do choose to trade up, heed some of my advise on my thread in general discussions I want to take a Poll.  
Have fun learning to ride and ride defensively at all times.  

Thanks for the advice.  It is something that I have thought of from time to time, to get a fairly recent used bike.  I've had wretched luck with used cars in the past, so I would like to avoid that in my bike.  Also, it'd be more "mine" if I bought it new, I suppose.  Once spring approaches, I'll see what the dealerships can offer me for my trade and getting a 250 or 500.  Currently, I have an '82 Yamaha Virago XV750 that I learned on, going to either try and sell it come mid March or use it as a trade.  

Why don't you keep the Virago XV750 and learn all the basics on that bike.  It's air cooled motor does not rev high, so the performance on that bike should be managable for you as long as you are not hamfisted with the throttle.  Once you are comfortable with all the basics and have 20,000 to 30,000 miles under your belt then you can trade up to a super sport 600.  You will probably save enough money by then to purchase the super sport 600, buy a Lojack system and full coverage insurance.  Just be aware thiefs love to steel super sport 600 bikes.  You may want to go over to your local police station to check the motorcycle theft reports just to see what you are getting yourself into and how bad the problem is in your neck of the woods.  It's out of control here in California.  

Anyways just my 2 cents....  

You should seriously buy used if your going to buy that 250 or 500..like exsportbiker said, as soon as you ride that bike off the lot your looking at 35% loss in value..you will most like put up $8000 or so out the door and wouldnt be able to get $2500 for it when you sell.

If your buying a bike to learn on, why not buy it used?? there are so many of those 250's and 500's on craiglist, dealers, etc.. that it wouldnt be smart to spend up to $8000 just to turn it around and sell it.

spend your money on that nice new 600 in a few years when your ready.  

a new 2007 ninja 500 has msrp of only 5000. the used bikes i've seen round here sell for about 2000-3000 depending on the year, miles etc. i live in ohio. who knows. i may be able to find a leftover '04 or '05 still new at the dealership. i have had friends who have had that luck as well. just have to see what happens when the time comes.