Tips for someone getting their first motorcyle (VaGixxer, Dirty i think, Ben Baller)

[wildkycat]

i believe you guys are experienced riders...anything, anything at all you would like to pass on?

it's that time of year again when i get the itch, i've never been on one before, but if the $$ gets right...i'm getting one this year. i'mpretty sold on exactly what bike i would get:

2006 GSX-R 600:

same color too.

who makes the best gear/helmets as far as money/quality goes?

i've found this jacket on ebay for about $250:

i'll be going to motorcyle school as well. how much would i expect to pay for insurance? i'm 26, will be 27 in june. i'm assuming it's bestto get covered by the same company that covers my auto insurance.

also, if you don't mind saying, how long you been riding, what kind of bike, and how many times you been down?

 

[mlaurente]

nice choice....that's the exact bike i was looking on moving up to next year. This is my first season, and i started officially riding about a month and ahalf ago. Experience is key, so i'm not tryna sound like a professional, just want to give you some good and life saving advice. Definitely go the correctroute, by first taking the novice riders course. It's pretty koo to be honest, you ride on these little 250cc's for about 4 hours, after 4 hours in aclassroom. My class was only 2 days, but definitely worth it. They pretty much teach you how to turn/brake/swirv/and not kill yourself on the road. I currentlyride a 2008 ninja 250r. Love it. 250cc's aren't as bad as people make them out to be. WELL ATLEAST the 2008 ninja 250r. But one of the things i kepttelling myself was "I'd rather drop a $3,500 bike, then a $10,000+ bike." I get a lot of complements and neck brakers on the freeway. They looklike 600's to most people, cuz it's the first year of the sport body style.I get about 60 miles to the gallon. IN WASHINGTON STATE, insurance is notrequired for a bike. But i go on a kawasaki forum, and people said insurance is like $20-$30 a month NO JOKE. It's my commuter/learner bike. It can get uppretty fast, not like a 600cc, but if you plan on "cruising" fast, it's perfect. I don't feel comfortable doing any weaving through trafficyet. I do a lot of freeway riding, and city driving so i'm pretty comfortable riding by now. I was a good driver, before i became a rider, so if youaren't a dumb %%% in ur car, you'll be fine on the bike. BEST ADVICE to you. Get on a bike that you are 100% comfortable with. like i said, THE 06gixxer 600 white/black/silver was my EXACT CHOICE, so i give you props for having good taste, but the biggest factor to my decision was the ride height,weight, and last was the looks. I'm 5'7 about 170lbs, and i can plant 85% of both feet on the ground with the gixxers. I got on the R6, cbr600rr, andsome other ones, but they sit a little higher, but that little bit makes a huge difference in your ability to control the bike on the road. The riders courseain't SH** compared to the streets. Practice on hills too, balancing a 350lb bike while slightly rolling down on a hill is not easy. but when you get useto it, you'll learn how to just take off right when you let off that brake. it's like driving a manual, for the first week you're super focused,probably stall here and there. Second week, everything is second nature. Learn throttle control most importantly, specially if you are jumping straight to a600cc, with a flick on that throttle, your'e gonna go forward pretty fast. Insurance for the 600cc's gets pretty high, a lot has to do with yourinsurance company, and record, but i've heard ridiculous quotes from other people. Some guy said $500/month. I'm just very fortunate WA doesn'trequire it. ****When you first buy your bike. GET A TANK PROTECTOR!!, made that mistake when i first got my bike. tank is pretty scratched in the middle JUSTFROM THE RIDE HOME. Then get some SLIDERS!!!, YOU WILL DROP YOUR BIKE!!. TRUST ME, if you don't drop it, some hater in the parking lot will!! specially aclean white gixxer like the one in the pic, someone will. I prefer a www.freestyleingenuity.com CAGE, they protect the bike from drops and mid speed crashes.check em out. cage is like $250 i think, but without it. you lookin at $1000+ worth on repairs by just dropping the bike on one side. I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE!!.i dropped a friends ninja 6r at like 7mph, i ended up coughing up $1600 total for repairs. ANYTHING you get after that, are just for performance enhancementsor looks. But those are what you NEED! ***GEAR*** Shoei, Arai, Suomy, are some of the big names in QUALITY. They get up there with the price. Veterans told methat $500 is a small price to pay for your life. So your definitely getting your moneys worth. They just have a lot of advanced protection technology in boththe material, shape, and overall look of the helmet. I currently use a ICON helmet, so it's in between, not a cheepo, but not top of the line. The ICONjacket you have in the pic is pretty sick too. I would get it, if i was getting that white gixxer. But leather gets pretty hot in the sun, if you're gonnabe doing a lot of city riding, where you constantly stop and go through lights and signs. But freeway driving, it's nice, it blocks the wind from piercingthrough your jacket. I currently have a TEXTILE super vent TEKNIC jacket. Light weight, so it's not hard to move my arms, but i do get cold though.Definitely get some good gloves, I have a JOE ROCKET JORDAN 2k7 pair of gloves. Pretty sick when you see the JUMPAN on motorcycle gear. JUST DO SOME RESEARCH.As you can tell, i did a little bit myself before I even thought about getting one. It took me 3 years to feel comfortable getting one, but ask local bikers.Seems you're into appearance, and looking cool. I am too, who isn't?. but honestly when it comes to bikes, it's not the same game, like getting inthe shoe game. anyone can cough up some bread and snipe some heat, and be cool. but with bikes, you're just dime a dozen. LEARN THE GAME FIRST, just likeOG sneakerheads did, you get more respect from other people. Next time you see someone with biker gear on, just ask em what they ride, then ask em for advice.I'm not trying to write you a story, but I love bikes, just as much as I do shoes, and the sneaker culture. Becuase bikes and riders is a culture init's own. And it's pretty cool to see an NT'er share the same interest. The feeling on a bike going like 80mph, and leaning into a sharp turn islike none other man. GOOD LUCK with your bike, and RIDE SAFE. PM for any advice or info.

 

[mlaurente]

nice choice....that's the exact bike i was looking on moving up to next year. This is my first season, and i started officially riding about a month and ahalf ago. Experience is key, so i'm not tryna sound like a professional, just want to give you some good and life saving advice. Definitely go the correctroute, by first taking the novice riders course. It's pretty koo to be honest, you ride on these little 250cc's for about 4 hours, after 4 hours in aclassroom. My class was only 2 days, but definitely worth it. They pretty much teach you how to turn/brake/swirv/and not kill yourself on the road. I currentlyride a 2008 ninja 250r. Love it. 250cc's aren't as bad as people make them out to be. WELL ATLEAST the 2008 ninja 250r. But one of the things i kepttelling myself was "I'd rather drop a $3,500 bike, then a $10,000+ bike." I get a lot of complements and neck brakers on the freeway. They looklike 600's to most people, cuz it's the first year of the sport body style.I get about 60 miles to the gallon. IN WASHINGTON STATE, insurance is notrequired for a bike. But i go on a kawasaki forum, and people said insurance is like $20-$30 a month NO JOKE. It's my commuter/learner bike. It can get uppretty fast, not like a 600cc, but if you plan on "cruising" fast, it's perfect. I don't feel comfortable doing any weaving through trafficyet. I do a lot of freeway riding, and city driving so i'm pretty comfortable riding by now. I was a good driver, before i became a rider, so if youaren't a dumb *#$ in ur car, you'll be fine on the bike. BEST ADVICE to you. Get on a bike that you are 100% comfortable with. like i said, THE 06gixxer 600 white/black/silver was my EXACT CHOICE, so i give you props for having good taste, but the biggest factor to my decision was the ride height,weight, and last was the looks. I'm 5'7 about 170lbs, and i can plant 85% of both feet on the ground with the gixxers. I got on the R6, cbr600rr, andsome other ones, but they sit a little higher, but that little bit makes a huge difference in your ability to control the bike on the road. The riders courseain't SH** compared to the streets. Practice on hills too, balancing a 350lb bike while slightly rolling down on a hill is not easy. but when you get useto it, you'll learn how to just take off right when you let off that brake. it's like driving a manual, for the first week you're super focused,probably stall here and there. Second week, everything is second nature. Learn throttle control most importantly, specially if you are jumping straight to a600cc, with a flick on that throttle, your'e gonna go forward pretty fast. Insurance for the 600cc's gets pretty high, a lot has to do with yourinsurance company, and record, but i've heard ridiculous quotes from other people. Some guy said $500/month. I'm just very fortunate WA doesn'trequire it. ****When you first buy your bike. GET A TANK PROTECTOR!!, made that mistake when i first got my bike. tank is pretty scratched in the middle JUSTFROM THE RIDE HOME. Then get some SLIDERS!!!, YOU WILL DROP YOUR BIKE!!. TRUST ME, if you don't drop it, some hater in the parking lot will!! specially aclean white gixxer like the one in the pic, someone will. I prefer a www.freestyleingenuity.com CAGE, they protect the bike from drops and mid speed crashes.check em out. cage is like $250 i think, but without it. you lookin at $1000+ worth on repairs by just dropping the bike on one side. I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE!!.i dropped a friends ninja 6r at like 7mph, i ended up coughing up $1600 total for repairs. ANYTHING you get after that, are just for performance enhancementsor looks. But those are what you NEED! ***GEAR*** Shoei, Arai, Suomy, are some of the big names in QUALITY. They get up there with the price. Veterans told methat $500 is a small price to pay for your life. So your definitely getting your moneys worth. They just have a lot of advanced protection technology in boththe material, shape, and overall look of the helmet. I currently use a ICON helmet, so it's in between, not a cheepo, but not top of the line. The ICONjacket you have in the pic is pretty sick too. I would get it, if i was getting that white gixxer. But leather gets pretty hot in the sun, if you're gonnabe doing a lot of city riding, where you constantly stop and go through lights and signs. But freeway driving, it's nice, it blocks the wind from piercingthrough your jacket. I currently have a TEXTILE super vent TEKNIC jacket. Light weight, so it's not hard to move my arms, but i do get cold though.Definitely get some good gloves, I have a JOE ROCKET JORDAN 2k7 pair of gloves. Pretty sick when you see the JUMPAN on motorcycle gear. JUST DO SOME RESEARCH.As you can tell, i did a little bit myself before I even thought about getting one. It took me 3 years to feel comfortable getting one, but ask local bikers.Seems you're into appearance, and looking cool. I am too, who isn't?. but honestly when it comes to bikes, it's not the same game, like getting inthe shoe game. anyone can cough up some bread and snipe some heat, and be cool. but with bikes, you're just dime a dozen. LEARN THE GAME FIRST, just likeOG sneakerheads did, you get more respect from other people. Next time you see someone with biker gear on, just ask em what they ride, then ask em for advice.I'm not trying to write you a story, but I love bikes, just as much as I do shoes, and the sneaker culture. Becuase bikes and riders is a culture init's own. And it's pretty cool to see an NT'er share the same interest. The feeling on a bike going like 80mph, and leaning into a sharp turn islike none other man. GOOD LUCK with your bike, and RIDE SAFE. PM for any advice or info.

 

[frank quarry]

http://niketalk.com/topic/61001

 

[Pedro Navaja]

dam, dude write a dissertation

 

[mplsdunk]

i've decided i am gonna get an sv650, most likely after i get the stimulus check so i wont feel so bad about taking out another loan.

 

[fraij da 5 11]

Thats a lot of bike for a beginner... new 600's are crazy...

 

[tmay407]

I've been thinking about getting a bike lately.

I always see dudes on campus just parking 'em wherever and I get jealous. I have to park like a quarter of a mile from my dorm, I wanna park up closedamnit!

 

[krazyg]

I had a 2003 Gsx-R 600 as my first bike. I had that exact jacket as well. Both good choices. The 600 might be too much for SOME people. It depends on you andhow well you adjust to having that much power between your legs. As long as you take it slow, you should be fine. Definitely take the MSF safety course. Pick agood helmet as well such as an Arai or Shoei. If you take it slow and have self control, you should be fine. I highly advise against getting a brand new bikeas your first one. You're very likely to mess it up a little. PM me if you have any questions. I plan on getting a Gsx-R 750 this summer as well.

 

[youngtriz]

damnm dude typed up a mini story.... the is a enter button you know... ask one of your friends to teach you.. dotn sit on the bike with him and hold hiswaist..

 

[ajchick23]

Originally Posted by Mlaurente

nice choice....that's the exact bike i was looking on moving up to next year. This is my first season, and i started officially riding about a month and a half ago. Experience is key, so i'm not tryna sound like a professional, just want to give you some good and life saving advice. Definitely go the correct route, by first taking the novice riders course. It's pretty koo to be honest, you ride on these little 250cc's for about 4 hours, after 4 hours in a classroom. My class was only 2 days, but definitely worth it. They pretty much teach you how to turn/brake/swirv/and not kill yourself on the road. I currently ride a 2008 ninja 250r. Love it. 250cc's aren't as bad as people make them out to be. WELL ATLEAST the 2008 ninja 250r. But one of the things i kept telling myself was "I'd rather drop a $3,500 bike, then a $10,000+ bike." I get a lot of complements and neck brakers on the freeway. They look like 600's to most people, cuz it's the first year of the sport body style.I get about 60 miles to the gallon. IN WASHINGTON STATE, insurance is not required for a bike. But i go on a kawasaki forum, and people said insurance is like $20-$30 a month NO JOKE. It's my commuter/learner bike. It can get up pretty fast, not like a 600cc, but if you plan on "cruising" fast, it's perfect. I don't feel comfortable doing any weaving through traffic yet. I do a lot of freeway riding, and city driving so i'm pretty comfortable riding by now. I was a good driver, before i became a rider, so if you aren't a dumb %%% in ur car, you'll be fine on the bike. BEST ADVICE to you. Get on a bike that you are 100% comfortable with. like i said, THE 06 gixxer 600 white/black/silver was my EXACT CHOICE, so i give you props for having good taste, but the biggest factor to my decision was the ride height, weight, and last was the looks. I'm 5'7 about 170lbs, and i can plant 85% of both feet on the ground with the gixxers. I got on the R6, cbr600rr, and some other ones, but they sit a little higher, but that little bit makes a huge difference in your ability to control the bike on the road. The riders course ain't SH** compared to the streets. Practice on hills too, balancing a 350lb bike while slightly rolling down on a hill is not easy. but when you get use to it, you'll learn how to just take off right when you let off that brake. it's like driving a manual, for the first week you're super focused, probably stall here and there. Second week, everything is second nature. Learn throttle control most importantly, specially if you are jumping straight to a 600cc, with a flick on that throttle, your'e gonna go forward pretty fast. Insurance for the 600cc's gets pretty high, a lot has to do with your insurance company, and record, but i've heard ridiculous quotes from other people. Some guy said $500/month. I'm just very fortunate WA doesn't require it. ****When you first buy your bike. GET A TANK PROTECTOR!!, made that mistake when i first got my bike. tank is pretty scratched in the middle JUST FROM THE RIDE HOME. Then get some SLIDERS!!!, YOU WILL DROP YOUR BIKE!!. TRUST ME, if you don't drop it, some hater in the parking lot will!! specially a clean white gixxer like the one in the pic, someone will. I prefer a www.freestyleingenuity.com CAGE, they protect the bike from drops and mid speed crashes. check em out. cage is like $250 i think, but without it. you lookin at $1000+ worth on repairs by just dropping the bike on one side. I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE!!. i dropped a friends ninja 6r at like 7mph, i ended up coughing up $1600 total for repairs. ANYTHING you get after that, are just for performance enhancements or looks. But those are what you NEED! ***GEAR*** Shoei, Arai, Suomy, are some of the big names in QUALITY. They get up there with the price. Veterans told me that $500 is a small price to pay for your life. So your definitely getting your moneys worth. They just have a lot of advanced protection technology in both the material, shape, and overall look of the helmet. I currently use a ICON helmet, so it's in between, not a cheepo, but not top of the line. The ICON jacket you have in the pic is pretty sick too. I would get it, if i was getting that white gixxer. But leather gets pretty hot in the sun, if you're gonna be doing a lot of city riding, where you constantly stop and go through lights and signs. But freeway driving, it's nice, it blocks the wind from piercing through your jacket. I currently have a TEXTILE super vent TEKNIC jacket. Light weight, so it's not hard to move my arms, but i do get cold though. Definitely get some good gloves, I have a JOE ROCKET JORDAN 2k7 pair of gloves. Pretty sick when you see the JUMPAN on motorcycle gear. JUST DO SOME RESEARCH. As you can tell, i did a little bit myself before I even thought about getting one. It took me 3 years to feel comfortable getting one, but ask local bikers. Seems you're into appearance, and looking cool. I am too, who isn't?. but honestly when it comes to bikes, it's not the same game, like getting in the shoe game. anyone can cough up some bread and snipe some heat, and be cool. but with bikes, you're just dime a dozen. LEARN THE GAME FIRST, just like OG sneakerheads did, you get more respect from other people. Next time you see someone with biker gear on, just ask em what they ride, then ask em for advice. I'm not trying to write you a story, but I love bikes, just as much as I do shoes, and the sneaker culture. Becuase bikes and riders is a culture in it's own. And it's pretty cool to see an NT'er share the same interest. The feeling on a bike going like 80mph, and leaning into a sharp turn is like none other man. GOOD LUCK with your bike, and RIDE SAFE. PM for any advice or info.

Wow you need to learn how to space out your comments into sections so its easier to read for future posts..
You did a good job in explaining it though..

WildKYcat, I guess you're sold on a gixxer 600. Everybody drops their first bike..like Mlaurente said so if you do get this gixxer get a crash cage.
And well if you reconsider and think about a 250 go read this thread http://niketalk.com/topic/61001

As for gear...Arai, Suomy, and Shoei are really nice but theyre on the high end in price..but they're usually reported as hella comfortable.. the bestbang for your buck would be a helmet by HJC though if you dont have 300+ to drop on a helmet at the moment.
And for jackets pretty much everybody loves Alpinestars..that'll be my first jacket brand. Like Mlaurente said..Joe Rocket is good too and they make Jordan jackets that look so nice

I've also heard good things about Icon..that jacket you posted is nice..hopeyou can keep that white clean!!


Insurance depends on your automobile accident/ticket history. And it's not always thecheapest to go with the same company that insures your car..shop around..get quotes.

 

[mrboss2you]

on a side note anyone listen to sky ballas new CD? He makes a shout out to Ben Baller.

 

[jdub1]

r6!

250 you out grow easily.
500 pretty much the bike you wanna get
600 might be a little out of your league but you'll get the hang of it...just be careful and get a dropped bike
1000 - STEP AWAY! TOO MUCH BIKE FOR YOU

if i were you, get any used 600 bike that has been dropped before. 250 might even be suitable for you but you will easily out grow it and want more power.

 

[wildkycat]

all the info in here is appreciated.

Mlaurente - that was hard to read, but appreciated.

I'm not trying to write you a story

and for what it's worth, i'm 6'1" 190lbs. one speeding ticket and one accident (not my fault, nothing major, just got bumped from behind at alight) 9 years ago when i was 17. i'm not even a speed demon or big thrill seeker. i got a buddy of mine who's very experienced, used toprofessionally race, who says i'd be fine with a 600. he's also trying to get me to buy his Ducati

. he's giving me a lot of advice as well.

but why do you guys say get a bike that's been dropped?

and the only reason i kinda like that icon gear is because i watch Superbikes on the speed channel with Jason Britton all the time.

for you guys that do ride, how many times you been down?

It depends on you and how well you adjust to having that much power between your legs.

it's never been a problem before. (

@ myself)

 

[hwanggsta]

i have a r6 my first bike been riding for about 6 months never been down. at your age insurance should be aboutt 400 or 500 for the whole year maybe even lessbut is 300 for me per month i learned on the r6 and it was hard cuz im 5"7 and the bike was kinda big for me. im planning on getting 07 gixxer 600 in amonth or so. if ur in socal hit me up

 

[vagixxer]

Hey, It looks like some others came in and got you covered. You can PM me if you have other questions. That's a hell of a bike your looking at there. Assoon as my insurance goes down I'll be looking to pick something else up. whenever that will be *hangs head*

You've gotten some good advice in this thread, however it's up to you to use it accordingly. 600s are DECENT first bikes for those that can controlthem. I have a 01 and the new 600s are like a 01 750. SO BE CAREFULL.

Gear is extremely important don't be CHEAP.

Understand that bike maintance if you can't do it yourself COST LIKE NO OTHER.

Multiply your STANDARD car cost by 2.

Makes sure you have funds for regular maintance and also when problems arise because they will.

I've been down once and that was about a month after I got my bike. I was riding iressponsibly and thought my skill level was much higher than it actuallywas. I had to pay out another 2500 to get the bike back on the road and get the plastics repaired. It taught me a lot about myself as a rider and made me get alot better.

They say their are two types of riders....those that have been down and those that are going down. REMEMBER THAT

when riding in groups seriously don't try to keep up with everyone stay at your pace and make sure your riding with people who respect your newb status andskill level. WE HAVE ALL BEEN THERE

The roads are dangerous so please in all cencerity(sp) be safe man.........It's hard out here for riders with these other drivers not giving a damn you gotto watch out for you.

Good Luck

 

[marleysprotege]

i want the cheapest most dependable bike to just go cruising around campus and my neigborhood ... any suggestions?

 

[fantastic4our]

www.sportbikes.net
great forums

 

[mangudai954]

Understand that bike maintance if you can do it yourself COST LIKE NO OTHER.

Multiply your STANDARD car cost by 2.
I'm surprised.

 

[mlaurente]

sorry for the double post, AND the no space. Since you have a friend who use to ride pro, I would stick to his judgement. He knows you on a more personallevel, and being 6'0, you have a huge advantage over a beginner that is a bit shorter. You'll do fine bro. Just discipline yourself from making dumbdecisions on the road. Every is KARMA, usually never worth it. Whenever I go pass 100mph, it's usually only if i can see farrrrrrr down the road, wherethere is nooooo traffic, and or cops for the most part.

BIKE forums are pretty helpful research tools. i go to a kawasaki fourm, it's like NT for bikes. But in your case, go to a gixxer forum, there's acouple of em. You get all kinds of opinions. Anywhere from verteran riders, to stunters, to those cocky speed junkies, to beginners who started on gixxer600's.

 

[vagixxer]

Gixxer.com is my fourm of choice when it comes to bikes. A lot of great info and fellow riders.

 

[lazybonejone]

I got a SV 650 and it was after a great deal of research. It's really easy to ride and because it is a standard you don't have to crotch forward. Iwas going to get a Ducati Monster, but it was out of my budget. I was thinking gixxer at some point because everyone I talked to loves Suzuki.

Another bike I looked at was the Honda F4i. It's a bit wilder and will be easier to ride. I suggest you go used. 250 is a good idea, but after a monthyou will realize how underpowered it is. Please be safe and wear your gear. I have a huge scar on my calf because I was riding in shorts. Great place forgear is www.denniskirk.com, and www.newenough.com. Go to the store and try it on and then buy online. Prices are always better if you take the time to shop.