HELP... /cry

[Kaan]

I can NEVER decide what bike to buy. And when i do own one... I act like RJ does with cars... and get in the nasty habbit of "buy and sell."

I have owned:
2x R6
1x F4i
1x 900 Ninja

I'm not sure what i want to own. I want something that wont bore me. I've been riding since i was 10 years old... and i was always swapping bikes even back then.

I want a "sport" bike. Full fairing or Naked... no SV650s half ass crap. I know the 600s of this year have even "more power"... fine... i cant rule out a 600, but i'd like a 750. but really you are stuck with the same old bikes... sure they are "new"... but still... Ninja, GSXR, YZF, 748, etc.

I'll go to coleman and sit on them... they are all comfortable in one way or the other. I'm bound and determined NOT to lower my new bike... my short legs will have to just deal with one legging it. I doubt i'll buy brand new... but maybe... throw out some ideas! whats worth riding these days?

[Mike]

gixxer was most comfy for me, but you and i have exact opposite body types.. it really isn't the same old bikes, they just use the same names, ya know? if you head out to coleman, lemme know, i like visiting.

[Kaan]

i live 5 min from coleman! my old roomate had a 2002 600 GSXR... he now has a 2004 750 GSXR... they both feel "the same" to me. Even when i took them out and about... there isnt that much that "feels" different.

they were a little more exciting than my old R6 from high school... and i never really rode the R6 i bascially flipped for an extra $2k.

I am leaning toward the GSXR line... but i've also been eyeing the aprilia's and the ducati's. but i've been riding a long time, i've never dumped the bike... and i'm due... and i REALLY dont want to do that to a bike that costs a grand to put new plastics on

[Sijray21]

go with something you think you'd really enjoy. Hell if i could convince myself that i could afford the maintenance on a 748 i'd be looking for that. I love the Ducati 748, but i do wish i could ride it (as well as alot of bikes so that i know what they feel like).

[.RJ]

600RR, or maybe a Monster S2

The guy I talked with at Coleman said to run away from an Aprilia - parts are next to impossible to get from Aprilia, takes forever and holds up service.

Sitting on the bikes at the show, the F4i and 600RR were the most comfortable, the Duc 999 and Aprilia RSV 1000 were italian torture racks with the GSXR750 not too far behind. The GSXR600 was slightly better, but not much. R6/R1 was better than the 'zuke but not as good as the honda.

[Kaan]

see i LOVE how the gsxr feels. its not uncomfortable to me. the F4i is WAY more comfortable to me than the RR... but the RR is... well the RR lol. the wider RR seat (v. the F4) makes it harder to one leg like i'm going to need to do.

[G.Irish]

Buy one of the Gixxer's then. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the power. The all new R6 might be worth a look too.

[Ginger]

The gixxer went under the redesign knife this year, so it's a little better (and I think they did cool fun stuff like radial brakes & lever)... and even the 750 got the treatment. I was eyeing them gixxers, myself. And I'm with G that the new R6 is nicer than I thought it would be when I finally saw it (welcome to the bandwagon).

Realistically, you've been riding since you were 10 and a liter bike isn't out of your league if you really want it. You know how to be smart, and it won't let you down in the excitement factor - ever. The 1000RR is worth a look in that case, as it's supposed to be the easiest liter bike to ride (and it lost around 10 pounds for '06), the R1, too, it's supposed to be incredibly friendly. I have an article on the new ZX10R that looks like, after a quick overview, said it tamed up a bit, too, but I haven't read it yet.

I've become partial to the completely nakd, totally fighter style lately, though, for the street. Abbreviate the seat, put high, wide bars on it, make it loud, badass, and black, and you can't go wrong. There's an R1 on ebay in that style that I like right now (can't get you the link here at work). Look up "street fighter" (two separate words) on ebay motors and it should be the highest priced listing... <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bladerod.com">www.bladerod.com</a><!-- w --> also gets the tip of my hat.

I'd love to come with when you go to coleman... tommorrow maybe?

[G.Irish]

Shit if you're gonna get a street fighter get a Speed Triple.

I forgot about the 06 CBR1000RR, it lost 17 lbs and gained 5 horsepower for its refresh. Unfortunately it picked up a few ugly graphics schemes (I only like the red/black, and black schemes).

The ZX-10R was actually one of the shorter bikes I sat on so maybe that'd be worth a look now that they've made it less rough around the edges.

[.RJ]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://motorcycledaily.com/23september05_triumph675.htm">http://motorcycledaily.com/23september05_triumph675.htm</a><!-- m -->

Some laps around sepang

People that have seen the bike, say it's smaller than the R6 and as narrow as a 250cc 2 stroke

[Kaan]

the reason i think i want to stay away from the liter bikes is... i'm short as hell (you guys know that) and i wana get my lean on and prep the bike to track... thats why i am looking at 2-3 year old bikes to get me through this season of riding... prep it... and get ANOTHER street bike next year.

even if i n00b it on the bike at the track... i'm slow... not low... etc. i think it can do nothing but make me a better rider. thats why i'm really thinking of sticking with the 600-750 range right now.

[Ginger]

Couple years old....

first/second year 600RR's are the win... and not too much money.

Could go the VFR route, the 97 style vintage (sorry, I don't know the generation number) 750's were some of the best all arounders ever produced. You'd get good track manners and a comfyish bike to tool around on long trips, etc. when you get a bona-fide brand new sportbike next year. The '03 ZX6R wouldn't be a bad bet, either.

I wouldn't rule out an SV, though. A full naked, standard version (the old trellis frame, though, is a seriously time tested, incredibly good platform. It would make a great candidate for anything and since you're going to get a new-new next year it would save you money (since a good example can be had for 3 easily).

[Ross.Church]

About a liter bike being too tall--that isn't necessarily the case. Most of the newer liter bikes (and some of the older ones_ are roughly the same height as 600's. For example, the CBR 1000 has the same seat height as the 600RR, 32.3 inches. The GSXR1000 is actually even shorter than either of those.

[Ginger]

They're slightly less better track candidates than the smaller bikes, though. The extra rotating mass makes them less nimble, usually a bit heavier, etc. If you wanna get your lean on but you want something you can still ride on the street safely I think a 600 is the way to go.

[G.Irish]

Eh, a lot of the 1000's are not much heavier than their 600 cc counterparts. They might be harder to turn sometimes but that could also be because you'd be going faster.

Either way all of the current 600's are plenty quick.

[Kaan]

i miss the m00gen power! i need something that can put me back in my place and scare me. the 900 didnt do it for me. though i'm thinking the newer 600s might... i'd rather get as big as i can get while it still being pretty nimble. and not brand spanking new

[Ginger]

I hear corner speed is a lot lower on the bigger bikes... I never could give an exact reason why, though

[G.Irish]

Apparently one of the reasons corner speed is lower on the big bikes is that you can get on the gas sooner without breaking traction since the liter bikes have a lot more torque and power.

Also I've read that a lot of Superbike and GP riders are trying to get the bike stood up as soon as possible (sometimes sliding the bike in the process) so they can get on the power. This is where people talk about the 'Superbike riding style' vs the '250 riding style'.

However the size and weight of the bike has to be a factor, but since the current 1000's are not much bigger/heavier than the 600's I have to think a lot of it has to do with the power/torque.

[Ginger]

That superbike riding style thing makes sense.... it was super dramatic in motogp for a while. I think they're working away from it, though, because the size and weight of them is so low that you can ride it like a much smaller bike.

I'm a little confused by what you mean about the power/torque. Is that a follow through on the slow in/fast out style of negeogiating a track? Such as, since you can get on the gas sooner you go deeper, enter in slowly, make a very tight tight radius line, and start standing the bike up to get back on the gas early with a traditional late apex line?

[Feersty]

What time frame are we looking at Kaan? One week, one month, two months?