I'm looking into getting my first bike and was planning to get a CBR600RR


I keep reading advice to get a 250 as a first bike.





I'm confused why a 600 can't be a bike I can learn on.





I was planning to take the 600 to a parking lot and learn the bike?


Also cant I just accelerate slowly until I get the hang of it?





Has anyone started on a 600?


Was it that difficult?





Did you start on a 250?


Did you think it was worth it?





This 'one size fits all' approach to recommending a 250 as a first bike seems a bit overblown.



Response on Page 6

My first bike was a 700. I never wrecked it or killed myself. Don't ride like an idiot and you won't die like one.

 
Get a 250. You'll probably lay it down once before you are ready for a bigger bike.

I think it's more about a self control and learning to handle it.  
You can learn to shoot with a .577 T-Rex but it is probably a bad idea.

I heard that same stupid shit, I'm 6'2...a 250 would be harder to ride than a 650.  My first street bike was a 650, had dirtbikes as a kid.

While I don't ride, my buddies first bike was a 1000cc Honda Superhawk.  He did just fine.  

 

250's also change hands a lot meaning you can buy it (even new) and drive it to get comforable and know if a motorcycle is for you and sell it and not lose much on the sale.

My friend bought his wife a little honda 250 so she could learn and pass her test on it.
She had an 883 sportster but she damn near crashed it twice before he got her the 250. She stayed off the Harley for a few months then sold the Honda when she was comfortable on the Harley.

I ignored that advice and learned on my Harley Iron 883
No issues at all.  Ride smart, keep your situational awareness up, try to have escape routes if people around you do something stupid.

When I was flirting with the idea of getting a bike right after highschool, went into the local big shop to see what was up.  Started looking at 250's because they were cheap, and I'd heard the whole "get a 250" thing as well.  

 

Salsebro look one look at me and said "You're going to physically outgrow that bike in less that 9 months, and it won't have enough power to get you out of trouble when you outgrow it in skill."



Then started looking at 600's.  Didn't pull the trigger because I was more into cars at the time (Was real close to getting a Triumph 600RR)

FWIW, "Get a 250" is outdated advice.

The new beginner market has stuff like the 320cc R3 and the KTM Duke 390 and RC390.

Learning to ride on a heavy assed Harley is quite different from a 600+ sportbike

I sat on a 250 in the showroom, and looked like a freakin' Shriner.

first bike = used bike



next bike = nice bike





get enough engine to move you on the interstate/freeway/whatever you got.



My first ride was on a 125 in a parking lot, it was fine. i didn't even want to do 50mph on surface streeets with it.



I have an old 350cc 2stroke, i rode it a lot. I learned a lot. I made a lot of smoke.



Then i got a 600cc, and I'm wishing I did the 800-900cc size instead.

They only go as fast as you twist them.






That being said, I rode as a kid starting on Suzuki RM80, and moving up to a YZ250.  My first street bike was a Honda 929.  I loved that bike.  Current bike is a Triumph 650 rigid bobber.






With that being said, I want to get back into a track/street bike.  I want an YZF-R25, if it every hits the US.









 
 

Oh good one "power to get you out of trouble"



OP, get whatever you want.  Hopping on top of a 600cc sport bike as your first bike and "learning in the parking lot" won't result in a skilled rider.  Either you will always be afraid of the bike, or worse, you'll actually think you know what you're doing.  In the end it's your choice, and I know several people who "just went down the road" to try out their new sport bike and came home pushing the bike because they binned it three blocks away, or had to leave it in a ditch.  But, in the end it was their choice, and they went out the manly way.  Make sure to come up with a cool story when you go to the parts dept. and get a new engine cover that you destroyed when you low sided and spilled your oil all over the road.  The best one is that you had to "lay it down" because of some idiot cager.  That story is always believable.  If you get lucky and never crash, have fun never being able to keep up with people who know how to ride. It doesn't matter, cause you'll look badass.  In fact it's better to get a liter bike in that case so you look super badass when you're all hanging out.

Also, even though all sport bikes are essentially too fast for public streets, make sure you find the one that has the absolute best 0-60 time and/or top speed, cause that's *super* important on the street.  All the good street riders are obsessed with getting the fastest bike they can, especially as their first bike.  

(FWIW, I've owned a Ninja 250, Ninja ZX-6, Ninja ZX-6R, had some time on some Suzukis and Ducatis).

First bike...600RR...yes you can ride it slow, yes you can learn on it. Will you ride it slow?..most likely not before your skills catch up with the capabilities of the bike...could be bad ju ju or you may get lucky. Not all 600-750 cc motorcycles are created equal, some are much more capable than others. It is not a sure thing but is very possible that you will drop your shiny new motorcycle and bikes like the RR have expensive plastic pieces that do not hold up well to such abuse. Weigh all your options, talk to people and choose wisely .

Also,


Best money spent is on rider safety courses, and Riding Schools.


http://www.superbikeschool.com/

People say that because they feel that have some expert opinion and they need to CYA.

The question is simply around your ability to control your urge to twist the throttle.

IDK sounded legit at the time.

 


Plus considering the car I was driving at the time had almost double the power to weight ratio as me on a 250, I didn't think anything of it, because I had powered out of tight spots quite often.

250cc is too small for street use IMO. You can accelerate your way out of a bad spot on a motorcycle and it's something you need to learn and be able to do. You won't learn it on a 250. It doesn't have the power when you're on a highway.

600 and 750cc bikes are fine to use to learn.

BUT

a 600cc CBR may not get up to 150 mph, but it will get up to 100 mph faster than you can control it. I don't advocate learning to ride on any sport bike because they can get away from you in a second. All it takes is a pothole and you goose the throttle. They also have a smooth ride at speed and that means that you can forget how fast you're going. It's easy to hit 70 mph in town on a sport bike. Ask me how I know.

Almost any motorcycle is faster than any car. Much faster. You have to learn to control your speed. I'll be honest. When you have a fast bike, you don't want to control your speed. I didn't. You can't prove that I was going 135.

Start with something slower and get used to the feel and the view from a bike. Especially get used to the idea that every car on the road is trying to kill you and your job as the rider is to defeat them. It helps if you pretend that you have a machine gun trigger on the handlebars and go pew-pew-pew when somebody does something stupid in front of you. It also takes a little time for you to get used to the idea that you have to watch all the drivers, all the time, five cars in front of you and three cars behind.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to talk you out of motorcycles. You'll learn that guys on motorcycles can see everything and hear everything and smell everything and enjoy everything. You'll learn where the best restaurants are because you can smell them. You'll learn that you can smell the perfume on the hot blonde in the convertible two lanes away, and then you'll learn that she's checking you out because her boyfriend is a faggot who's afraid to go over 50 in his Prius.

I'm just saying that there is a learning curve and learning to ride on a sport bike is like learning marksmanship with a machine gun.

The "Get a 250" thing is short minded.

Most of the 250's are dinky. Those that aren't, are covered in plastic.

Here's the thing.
You're going to drop the bike. You're going to drop it half a dozen times.
You're going to have stupid noob moments, of impossible awkwardness and brain lock.
You're going to have at least one low speed, turning into the parking lot/driveway low side, or front end washout.

So it makes perfect sense to drop 4-5K, on a brand new financed bike, that is wrapped in 3K worth of plastic fairing?
Nope. That would be friggin' stupid.

Find a Naked bike that fits. something in the 500-650cc range, and used.
Drop $1,500-$2,500 on it, and enjoy the lower insurance rates, as well as lower cost for repairing the piddly stuff that gets broken.
Mirrors, levers, signals...ignore the tank dent as it wont depreciate the thing much.

It's easy for Noobs to get into trouble with the power of a 600cc sportbike, because the damn things are fun as hell, and Noobs don't know their limits, or that they really can't break the laws of physics. Most Noobs and even somewhat experienced riders, can't even trust the front brake, let alone out ride a 500cc Std., so the 600cc sport bike is lost on them to start with...except twisting the throttle part.

Once you get all the wobbles, and parking lot drops, out of your system with the more forgiving naked slut bike.
Sell the damn thing the next season, for a couple hundred less that what you have in it. THEN go drop the coin, and take the 50% depreciation hit on a new bike, that has higher insurance costs, and a hyper inflated replacement fairing. By then, you will have scared some sense into yourself, and hopefully learned how to deal with the quirks of a short wheel base, and quick steering sport bike.

Compared to Std. bikes, Sport bikes are a PITA in traffic and unforgiving at low speed.
Oddly enough, it's the low speed stuff that gets the Noobs in the most trouble.

The old Suzuki GS500 was about the perfect first bike. Some are still around and cheap, because they cannot be killed without fire.
The Suzuki SV650 is another one that is about perfect, as they are forgiving despite having some good power, and thanks to a crazy aftermarket, isn't limited at all, and hard to actually outgrow.

Best option IMO is a dual sport, if you don't have to do much commuting on the freeways.
With some time spent sliding around on the dirt, you actually learn to ride, instead of simply operating the thing, and it translates over nicely to dedicated pavement scratchers.

250?
New? Hell no.
You'll take it in the shorts on depreciation a year later.

JMHO.

Choose a bike that fits you physically.  Displacement shouldn't factor into the equation.  No reason at all to be afraid of a CBR 600.  Unless you are a very small individual, skip the 250.

What style of bike are you looking to ride?  Engine displacement is a really misleading number to go by when choosing your bike.  Go by the horsepower and torque ratings instead.  The newer Honda 500 and 700 engines are pretty good for beginners.

Here's an example of the type of shit that can happen if you get over confident with a bike with power. Dude could have fucked himself up royally if he hadn't been wearing gear or spattered his head from oncoming traffic. My point? Learn to ride on a lower powered bike so you don't tell yourself you're ready to go on the highway when you're not.

It did as the R3. slightly higher displacement but the same bike.

I started off on an SV650s with no problems and am still riding it today.

Granted, though, an SV650s is a far cry from a 600rr

You will be a better rider if you start on something less powerful though.  You will learn how to truly ride a bike within, and wben necessary, up to its limits.  Then when you have mastered that its time to move those limits by getting a faster bike.

First bike was a CBR600F2, 1991, brand new.  I was 19.  I learned fast, as I drove out of the lot into busy traffic to head home.  It was intimidating and I did stupid stuff, like stall and have other minor issues.  I never crashed or dropped it, but I came close.  I was also pretty lightweight.  I don't recall how long it took to feel comfortable.  Not long.  I know it wasn't too long because I used it to pass my motorcycle endorsement.  

A 250 is way too small IMO.  A 500 or 600 is fine.  If you are able to get the hang of the clutch and breaking, it's easy.  A lot of people panic and forget where everything is and just drop the bike.  Focus on the left being the clutch and squeeze that thing if you panic, then remember the brake is on the right.  Don't even worry about the rear brake, especially at slow speeds.  Another thing, it's very easy to lock up the wheels in a panic and with two wheels you're fucked, lol.  I locked up once bad when some old lady stopped hard in front of me on my first bike.  I have no idea how I kept it upright.

I ride a GSX-R750 today.  I bought it new in 2012.  It had been a while since riding street, only dirt.  The throttle seemed way too sensitive and it took some time to get used to.  Now it seems slow unless I really get on it.  

I don't even get how he did that.  He braked so hard he locked up and went down.  Could happen on any bike.  Be familiar with the brakes and how crappy they really are.  You don't power stop a bike like a car.  I guess the newer ABS systems are nice, but I've never had a bike with one.

Learning on a slower bike is a good idea, despite all here who learned to ride on a GSX1400R and are just fine, there are also an equitable number who have messed up themselves and perfectly good bikes too.

Learning how to ride out of a tank slapper without suffering two broken wrists, or stepping off while halfway through a low side is a lot easier with a smaller bike - and you won't cry nearly as much when you scuff up the plastic on a 250cc learning machine.

 
This is what leads me to believe he wasn't ready. It's a lot better to do something stupid like grabbing the front brake like that at a slower speed, than a higher one like in the video. I should know, that's how I laid my first bike down. Luckily all I got out of my youthful stupidity was a little road rash


I just find it more sensible to learn on a 250 or something of the like. It'll still go 0-60 in 6 seconds and will be less apt to get someone in trouble while they are learning.

Go take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course in your town.  It's only a couple of days and you'll learn more than you woukd from riding with most other people.  They'll have 250s for you to practice with and that will let you see how the small bikes feel.  Personally I'd go with a mid weight standard bike over one with a bunch if fairings but that's just me.

When it's time to buy a bike remember to factor in the cost of your riding gear and the cost of ownership i.e. tires, etc.  Insurance will generally be higher on a sport bike than a naked too.

It all has less to do with the displacement of the bike and more to do with the mental capacity of the rider.

600cc sportbikes are no joke. Price insurance and replacement bodywork.

Take the MSF course or be prepared to pay the tuition of the school of hard knocks.

Be careful.

There's a difference between a 650 cruiser and a 650 sportbike.

The good thing about the little 250s is they should hold their value decently well as a starter bike. They can also get fuggin amazing gas mileage.

My first bike was a 2002 Honda CBR 600 F4i.  Took the motorcycle safety class and never dropped it.  

If you have a good head on your shoulders and care about safety you should be fine.

My first bike was a 650, but mine was made in 1979.  A modern 600 has about DOUBLE the horsepower.  

The idea behind a smaller bike, like a 250, is that you can't kill yourself with your wrist.  It's a blast to ride a bike, and new guys will push the speed before they have the skills to do it safely.  

Imagine if your first car was a 500 HP Corvette.  You know you would have floored it, and you'll use all the HP on a bigger bike as well.

Have you ridden a modern 600cc sportbike?

Same here, the SV650 is a great platform that can really do it all.

I loved mine

Just don't hammer the throttle until the bike is straightened out and if you lift the front wheel off the ground return it to the ground straight.  Leaning forward when accelerating hard will help keep the front wheel down.

As long as you keep the RPMs up that little 250 will do what you need it to do.

As for OP. get what you want but my suggestion is getting something that is comfortable for you to ride but more importantly very affordable as your first bike. because A. you may wreck the fuck out of it or B. May realize riding just isn't for you.  Its not for every one

Remember, its your first bike not your last bike.

My first sportbike was a Honda CBR900rr.  I never wished that I had less power or that any of the liter bikes were "too much." YMMV.

You do realize that a 600 jap bike is way, way faster than a 883. they're faster then any harley currently available.  But its not just the power, its also the brakes that are significantly better and brakes can bite you twice as fast as a powerful engine when your learning.

As for learning in a parking lot bull, don't do that. Go take a MSF class, they aren't that expensive and you learn a significant amount about riding it would take years and possible accidents to learn.http://www.msf-usa.org

Take your weight into consideration,  but a used 250 is in no way a bad beginning bike.who cares if people give you shit, its not they're money or life, it's yours. Plus they flip pretty easy you could probably break even after a few seasons when you're ready for a upgrade.

There's more than "don't pin the throttle and you'll be fine" to 600cc super sports.


New riders give a lot of steering input to bikes that they don't realize they're doing.  Supersports are designed to amplify those inputs.  They're twitchy, they're uncomfortable, they have narrow powerbands, and they'll amplify all of your mistakes.




The current super sports are a far cry from CBR600 F2's and stuff that were out nearly 2 decades ago that people are imagining when they started on a 600 and did "fine."




There are a plethora of good starter bikes out there.  Check out some of the 300-500cc twins or a SV650.




Even the original Ninja 250 did the quarter mile in 13 seconds and had a top speed around 115 mph.


 

Started on a brand new r6, bought frame sliders because I knew I'd drop it, nearing 2k miles now haven't killed anyone or myself. Have dropped it twice cause inexperience and they regraveled my road. Sliders saved it from damage.

Wouldn't recommend starting with a new bike, but as long as you aren't an idiot you can start on a 600 sport bike.

Take the msf course if you haven't.

And for those saying the they started on a 600+ cruiser/Harley/sv whatever, the power of an inline 4 sport bike can't be compared cc to cc. It's a whole different animal.

There are tons of reasons to start with a tamer bike before moving to an R bike... But in the end you are going to get the R anyway because it cooler or whatever... Good luck, buy good gear, you'll need it.

If by some chance you are willing to consider a "lesser" bike, I strongly recommend a 650 v twin sport bike like an sv650. The geometry is very similar to the R bikes and they have plenty of power to be lots of fun. They don't have the expensive plastics that you will break when you lay the bike down and they are much, MUCH more forgiving than even a 600R.

Also, it's not just the throttle that will get you in trouble on an R bike, so "taking it easy" really means nothing. R bikes are race bikes, they are designed to do exactly what they are told, immediately. A minor control input has large and immediate response.

When you were first learning to operate an AR I'm sure at times you fumbled with the bolt catch/release, mag release, selector etc... With practice you will become proficient, but with an R bike those little mistakes can get you in a lot of trouble, fast. Add in a stressful situation (such as traffic) and that possibility becomes much more likely. Choose wisely.

Take the Motorcycle Safety Course. You'll ride a 250 for the two days of the course..

Dibs on ammo  if   CBR600RR is the first bike you ride

Has nobody mentioned OP's screen name?

I was going to say buy what you want, but that screen name has me backtracking.

I  road a 185 (offroad .etc) for many years before getting something street legal, but my first street bike was a 600. Even with all that experience I still had a few scary hard braking events. Oh, and I've got a bunch of scars from the 185 glad I didn't start on the 600.



Also don't ride your street bike right after a hurricane, the pine straw in the parking lots is like ice lol.