Anyone ride motorcycles?

[North East Goon]

I am looking at purchasing a Kawasaki Ninja 650R as a beginner bike. Is thise wise, overpriced too much power? You are dealing with a raw rookie here, so any advice would be great.

[Tailspin]

Originally Posted by North East Goon

I am looking at purchasing a Kawasaki Ninja 650R as a beginner bike. Is thise wise, overpriced too much power? You are dealing with a raw rookie here, so any advice would be great.

I have a couple of friends that had a 650R as a first bike and it worked out well. The nice thing is that you wont out grow it as fast as you will a 500. Its a little bigger than the 500 and works better on the highway IMO

[Vulcan]

Personally, I would start with a used 500. It's cheaper and will give you an idea what kind of bike you like. The Ninja 500 is well regarded and I don't think getting your first bike is a time to let your ego get in the way. Used bikes seem to hold their price pretty well so getting rid of a 500 or 600 for that matter shouldn't be hard if you set your sites on another bike in the future. When I started back in the neolithic age I only had an 80CC and a 350 was considered big. I now ride a Honda VFR 800 CC but it's probably not as fast as most 600s. Some think it's a good idea to start on a standard bike because you won't be damaging bodywork. Here's a site where you can get some advice and other info. Have fun and take a riding course. Sign up now for spring as they get filled and don't forget to have some money for a helmet, jacket, gloves and boots.

http://www.cmgonline.com/

Safety course at

http://www.calgarysafetycouncil.com/

Hope this helps.

[MoneyGuy]

I ride a Gold Wing and a Honda Shadow and am yearning for spring as I speak...err, type. Zoom, zoom.

[pope04]

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gal...a%20CJ360T.jpg

Meet my first love, a 1977 Honda CJ360T. If you can believe it, I rode it over the Rocky Mountains to go to the Okanagan in '82 as a 17-year-old kid.

Good advice in this thread. A 500-650cc cycle'd be a good starter bike.

[skins]

My first bike was a Ninja 500 and it was a perfect beginner bike. I kept it for two summers, then sold it and got a 750 gixer (that was a huge transition). The Ninja was good because it was comfortable to ride and it had enough juice that you could have fun on it, but not kill yourself.

Just don't be one of those idiots who goes out and buys a brand new 1000cc bike, and then crashes it a week later. Those big bikes are lots of fun, but it's hard to respect how much power they really have. 0-60mph in less than 4 seconds (and in first gear) is great, but you can get in trouble quick if you aren't in control (speaking from personal experience).

[HelloHockeyFans]

Originally Posted by North East Goon

I am looking at purchasing a Kawasaki Ninja 650R as a beginner bike. Is thise wise, overpriced too much power? You are dealing with a raw rookie here, so any advice would be great.

I ride a yellow 600 GSX-R.

The power depends on your weight. Don't get anything too powerful if you're not super heavy... the best advice I think is for you to take riding lessons from a good instructor.

[skins]

Originally Posted by North East Goon

I am looking at purchasing a Kawasaki Ninja 650R as a beginner bike. Is thise wise, overpriced too much power? You are dealing with a raw rookie here, so any advice would be great.

are you buying a brand new bike? I would advise against that too. as a novice rider, you're almost guaranteed to drop it or tip it once or twice, so it's better to start with a slightly used bike.

although those new 650R look pretty sexy. especially in black with the dark red frame. ouch! that is hot!
http://www.kawasaki.ca/street_touring/650R/

[Sample00]

personally, I am not much of a fan of the crotch rockets, but having said that, it sounds like about the right size of bike. I would stick with used to start with and then go from there.
I started with a Yamaha 920 Virago, then a 1200 Venture and now ride a HD Heritage Softail. The cruiser bikes just seem more of a comfortable ride to me. But again thats just choice.
as a new rider. TAKE THE FREAKING COURSE!!! twice if necessary and for God;s sake, dont cheap out on the riding accessories. Boots, Helmuts, riding gear and most of all gloves. spend the good dollar and by that stuff, new!!. spend the used dollars on the bike and work on your skills first, then move up to bigger stronger faster

[Red]

Originally Posted by Sample00

personally, I am not much of a fan of the crotch rockets, but having said that, it sounds like about the right size of bike. I would stick with used to start with and then go from there.
I started with a Yamaha 920 Virago, then a 1200 Venture and now ride a HD Heritage Softail. The cruiser bikes just seem more of a comfortable ride to me. But again thats just choice.
as a new rider. TAKE THE FREAKING COURSE!!! twice if necessary and for God;s sake, dont cheap out on the riding accessories. Boots, Helmuts, riding gear and most of all gloves. spend the good dollar and by that stuff, new!!. spend the used dollars on the bike and work on your skills first, then move up to bigger stronger faster

How's the Heritage treating you? Love the bike, but may opt out for the Street Bob, a tad more rebelish looks :-)

[skins]

Originally Posted by Sample00

...TAKE THE FREAKING COURSE!!! twice if necessary and for God;s sake, dont cheap out on the riding accessories. Boots, Helmuts, riding gear and most of all gloves. spend the good dollar and by that stuff, new!!. spend the used dollars on the bike and work on your skills first, then move up to bigger stronger faster

quoted for truth.

if it's too hot to wear gear, then it's too hot to ride.

[pope04]

Originally Posted by skins

if it's too hot to wear gear, then it's too hot to ride.

I hate it when I see guys wearing nothing but a helmet, cutoffs and runners. One spill and it's roadrash time...........

[Red]

Originally Posted by pope04

I hate it when I see guys wearing nothing but a helmet, cutoffs and runners. One spill and it's roadrash time...........

But the heavy gear takes away from the experience.

I dress up for longer trips, but if I am just going for a short city ride it's a hoodie and jeans and boots.

I do ride a cruiser though so it's slow rides for me :-)

[pope04]

Originally Posted by Red

....if I am just going for a short city ride it's a hoodie and jeans and boots.

This is sensible attire. It's the guys that feel the need to work on their tan while riding that get me.

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by Red

How's the Heritage treating you? Love the bike, but may opt out for the Street Bob, a tad more rebelish looks :-)

love my Heritage..wouldnt want any other ride. I have done some customizing on it and am quite happy with the performance, ride and sound.

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by skins

quoted for truth.

if it's too hot to wear gear, then it's too hot to ride.

never too hot to ride in Alberta!!!!

[Red]

Originally Posted by Sample00

love my Heritage..wouldnt want any other ride. I have done some customizing on it and am quite happy with the performance, ride and sound.

Sweet ride. You're very lucky :-)

[skins]

Originally Posted by Sample00

love my Heritage..wouldnt want any other ride. I have done some customizing on it and am quite happy with the performance, ride and sound.

this is one of the funnest things when it comes to the whole biking culture. I was pretty upset when I parted with my gixer. it had so many extras plus a custom paint job that was lots of fun to design. best $1100 I've ever spent:



the decals are done with photoshop, cause I never got around to having it done.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

I'll add my two cents but only because I've actually ridden this bike.
My buddy's wife has one, and it's a great bike to start on. I'm a big guy (200 lbs) and it was still plenty fast with me on it, I've never tried so I don't know if it'd do one with me on it, but I've seen her accidnetally do a wheelie so there's plenty of oompff to it. (I usually ride a 750 shadow, so I may have a skewed perception of fast).

That all being said, I'd like to reiterate what everyone said about.

1) buy a used bike to start. I bought a new bike for my first one and I sometimes wish I hadn't, not because I'm sick of it, or becasue I wrecked it, but becasue the depreciation is a lot worse, and if you want to upgrade you end up kicking yourself for spending the extra dough.
2) BUY THE BEST HELMET, AND JACKET YOU CAN. I'd say pants to but that would make me a hypocrite, safety gear is no where to cheap out. As far as helmets go, remember, just becasue they are SNELL approed doesn't mean they are all made equal, look for the european crash rating (can't remember what it is) as this is done on crash test dummies, instead of just an impact test (breadbowls can pass DOT tests, and contrary to popular belief SNELL isn't much better), I suggest Shark helmets, as I know they have the European rating.
3) When buying a helemt, remember that fancy paint job does not equal safer. Most of the time you can buy the same helmet for a couple hundred bucks cheaper if you just get the simple paing job.
4) TAKE THE COURSE. best $400 bucks I ever spend, and book early (when I did it, I booked in November for the following spring) the earlier you book the sooner you can get on your bike. I did mine through Too Cool Motorcycle School, they were great, but I've heard great thins about the others as well.

That is all.
Once you get on your bike, you'll never want to get off.

[Vulcan]

I found this report on the 650 Ninja. Sounds like a fine bike that can give you a few years enjoyment.

http://www.cmgonline.com/bikes/artic...50R/index.html