Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
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From: chrispi@microsoft.com (Chris Pirih)
Subject: Re: First Bike??
Message-ID: <1993Apr22.092146.17994@microsoft.com>
Date: 22 Apr 93 09:21:46 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corporation
References: <cforrzy00iUzIAToNn@andrew.cmu.edu>
Lines: 39

In rec.motorcycles James Leo Belliveau <jbc9+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
;    I am a serious motorcycle enthusiast without a motorcycle, and to
;put it bluntly, it sucks.  I really would like some advice on what would
;be a good starter bike for me.  I do know one thing however, I need to
;make my first bike a good one, because buying a second any time soon is
;out of the question.  I am specifically interested in racing bikes, (CBR
;600 F2, GSX-R 750).  I know that this may sound kind of crazy
;considering that I've never had a bike before, but I am responsible, a
;fast learner, and in love.  

Responsible and in love?  I believe that's a contradiction
in terms.

Unless you're really brave (read: "reckless") a 500cc sport
bike will go way faster than you dare for at least your first
year of riding.  Getting more than that really is overkill,
as you'll never even want to use it.  The following bikes
can be bought (and repaired!) cheaply, are easy for a novice
to manage, and are plenty high performance:
    Kawasaki EX-500
    Honda VF-500 "Interceptor"
    Suzuki GS-550E

The 0-100mph time of the EX-500 at full throttle is "way
sooner than you're ready for it".  :-)  With something
as small as a 250, you'd probably be wishing for more
power pretty quickly (unless it's a TZR or RGV :).

Now, I'm not saying that you're 100% certain to kill
yourself immediately with a 600f2 or a GSXR-750.  Plenty
of people have started riding on those bikes and done
just fine.  What I am saying is that it's a waste of
money, and a waste of perfectly good plastic when you
drop the thing learning how to balance while stopping.
You'll never get the throttle more than half open
anyway, so why spend the extra 2000 bucks?

---
chris
