First time rider needs help!

After reading a lot of first time rider questions and answers. I am still not sure what type bike to get. I am 28, 6' 190 lbs. My questions are what type of bike should I consider for a starter bike? I have been told i can start off with anything from a 500 Ninja to the GSXR 1300. I have talked to probably 100 people on this matter. The bike I would like to have is the Busa. I am realy into drag racing and I live five minutes from the track. Yes I'm going to take the riding course through a local dealer. There class uses Buell Blast for the coarse. Any help an this matter would be greatly appreciated.  

Everyone with any sense will tell you, that you will learn how to ride better trying to go fast on a slow bike, then with something too powerful.  Riding a bike is no different than anythign else in life. You didnt learn the alphabet and then immediately try to read WAR and PEACE, you dont learn to ice skate, then try to play againt Gretzky. Starting on a busa is just plain dumb.  Start out small and work your way up, it will be more satisfying. You need time to learn how bikes react, respond, etc... On a slower bike there is some room for error, on something like the 'busa there isnt.  I'm 6'1 over 200lbs and i started on a ninja 500 and it was fine, just being on any motorcycle is friggin awesome, do it the right way and enjoy it, dont rush.  The fact that your taking the rider course and asking questions already means that you are smart enought to want to learn the right way.  

The busa is also over 500 lbs..It's basically the 1st or second fastest production bike out there.

If you really want to kill yourelf go ahead and get one. It's always nice to see a new squid with no head on YouTube after plowing into a car at a 160 mph.

Here's the real deal...if you want a good starter, buy a mid 90's 600..like an older gixer or a 95 cbr..that way, you get a great looking bike, but a bike you can manage.

Newer 600's have way more power compared and will get you in trouble.

EXAMPLE: my brother was dead set on a new Yamaha R6...never had ridden a sportbike before..

took his new bike for a sunday morning cruse. After charging up a hill WAY to fast, he couldnt make the left hand turn at the top in time. and since he didnt have any experience and a bike with 113hp he slammed on both brakes, locked up the tires and slammed into the curb doin about 60 mph and did a superman for about 30 feet while the bike kept going like a ghostrider..  

RLF --- These guys are dead-on right. There is probably no worse first bike ever than a Busa. I've seen more than a handful of 'em (along w/ZX-12Rs, liter bikes,etc.,) wadded up in a hurry by new riders. Hey, there's enough power there that experienced riders have to tread lightly, but if you've got no experience, it is a 99.99% certainty that things will NOT end well.

This is not to be belittling, but a lot of guys w/history w/powerful cars think that they can just hop on a mega-bike, and it just ain't the case. You are learning a whole new skill set as a motorcyclist--starting from scratch. "Oh, I can handle a Busa ---my drag car goes in the 9s" are absolutely famous last words.

Not trying to dissuade you from riding sportbikes, but heed the advice above and use your head, not your 'nads, when buying your first bike. An older middleweight may not have the street cred of a Busa, but your bones and skin will thank you!!!  

Okay since the Busa is out of the question. What would be a good starter bike? Buell Blast, Ninja 500-600-700. I kinda need specific names since I really don't know anthing about the older bikes and what would be the cut off year? Thank you for the help already.  

Kawasaki Ninja 500 or 650  the 500 has not changed at all other than colors since '94 or 95. The 650 has only been around 1-2 years.
Suzuki GS500 or SV650.

The 4 mentioned above are all twins, which have pretty newbie friendly powerbands.

Yamaha YZF600R, has been around since '96 i think. It is an inline 4 but less powerful, and heavier then the R6 which is Yamahas newest I-4 600cc.

Those are probably your best bet for a first time sportbike. I personally started out on a Ninja500, then got a YZF600R, then went back to my ninja after i learned a hard lesson regarding object fixation with the Yamaha.    The other advantage to those bikes is that new they are under $8000.  

Jude's choices are all good--you could also consider a used CBR600F4, last gen (pre'03) Ninja ZX6-R. My first recommendation is ALWAYS the SV---they new rider friendly and still tons of fun as you get more experienced. I know a bunch of guys who have liter bikes, Ducati Superbikes, Monster S4Rs, etc., that keep an SV in their garage for either street blasting or as a track bike ---best bang for your buck, IMHO.  

hey everyone. i am a new rider as well and i was thinking of getting a 2008 honda cbr 600 rr. what do you experienced riders think of that as a first bike and do you have any suggestions. any help is appreciated  

are you even being serious? you say the training class uses the buell blast then you want to get a busa. the class is good to take but its not going to prepare you for that and it doesnt teach you how to drag race.  the buell has about 30 or 40 horse power and the 1300 has about a 180. you cant compare the two and they will be different to ride. if thats what you really want to do make sure you get some life insurance so your family will be taken care of. good luck  

It would most likely be in you and your sons best interest to go read this article on this site called "Budget Beginner Blasters"  at this link:

http://www.sportrider.com/features/146_0412_budget_beginner_sport_bikes/index.html

It goes over the Suzuki SV650(s), Yamaha FZ6 and the Honda 599. These are all great bikes to start off on and at the same time have a reasonably powerful engines that I'm sure will provide the thrills for years to come.

I myself own the '07 Suzuki SV650S as my first bike. And I must say, I am very happy with my decision to this day. I have been thinking about upgrading but at the same time  have held back on doing so since I am still learning and growing so much from this bike. And it's certainly by no means a slow sports bike.

Most new bikers don't like to hear that they should start off on a 250cc - 500cc bike or equivalent. That being the fact, I think one of these three before mentioned bikes would still be a very good choice without being too powerful to handle or breaking the checkbook.


Be sure to budget for gear and accessories      

Has anyone ever wondered why motorcycle training courses like MSF do not use Busa's or ZX-14's for there classes?   Maybe because it is not a "good" beginners bike? There is a reason they use 250-500cc bikes. There forgiving....Busa's not forgiving...Your better off working your way up, at least then you will really know how to ride a bike..

Think of it like this: Have you ever heard a rookie or first year quarterback in the NFL talk about how the game is starting to slow down? They gain experience while on the field that allows them to understand game situations faster, thus making the game around them seem slower. Same thing with a bike. Everything at first seems like your doing a 100mph. The more experience you get, the faster you can analyze what is happening around you. The best example is riding on the track. You go to your first track day, and learn to ride the track. You do this several times, and get better on the track. Now you go back to the street. Street riding at posted speed limits seems boring now, because it seems slow. You can analyze situations much faster now.

Now take in effect that an NFL coach will slowly introduce a new QB to game situations. In the world of bikes, you start riding on smaller more forgiving bikes, then move on to bigger and faster bikes. Understand? I hope this helps and good luck…  

Hey
I am a new rider as well and i was thinking of getting a 2008 Honda cbr 600 rr. what do you experienced riders think of that as a first bike and do you have any suggestions.