UCP opinion on two wheels

[LeonOfTheDead]

I find bikes like the R6 a bit of an overkill for a daily use, or even for whatever isn't driving to the local track and back home.

[jump15vc]

My best friend has a Ducati S4R Monster, absolutely gorgeous naked bike. he also has a 911 C4S but the Monster is much faster. 20K vs 100 haha

[TVRs4eva]

I'm on a Yamaha FZ1 for about 40 miles each day, been riding different bikes for about 8 years (I'm 20 now) and I've never experienced a better machine. I absolutely love motorcycles, but it always sucks to see some jackass giving us younger bikers a bad name.

We've all seen the squids in shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals weaving through traffic doing 100+, and it's those images that stick in car drivers' heads more than the safe riders they see every day. At the same time, I can't count the number of times some douche in an EVO or Corvette has pulled up next to me wanting to race, just because I'm on a liter bike.

There's idiots in both genres, bikes and cars. Nuff said.

[Type17]

I find bikes like the R6 a bit of an overkill for a daily use, or even for whatever isn't driving to the local track and back home.

I'd use an R6 daily, they're very controllable though you have to be responsible with it because it's a lot of bike.

I've been considering getting a GSX-R600 either next year or the year after (insurance is far too high right now) and most people I've talked to said it does have a steep learning curve but they also said that if I respect the bike and control myself I'll have no issues.

I was considering a Suzuki SV650S V-Twin bike as my 1st bike but it's the same as the super sports bikes in low end torque, it just tops out way earlier, so I think I'll skip the SV650 and go straight to a gixxer. Gixxers aren't my favourite, but there are so many in my area that parts are easily available and they're cheap to buy used. I can't afford to spend a lot on my 1st bike, especially since most people say that sooner or later I'm gonna drop my 1st bike.

[f6fhellcat13]

I love the simplicity of bikes in an age of more and more complex cars.
I do look forward to the new releases, but as Kitdy can tell you, I am pretty picky about bikes. I love me most Ducs and other Italian bikes. As a bit of a chauvinist I also am intrigued by the very very few American sportbikes that there have been. I don't particularly like Harleys so that's the most of the rest of American bikes gone. Modern Japcrap doesn't really excite me all that much with a few notable excptions, but I do find their older stuff much more interesting. German bikes also don't really work for me from any era. The Brits have some good stuff, but, aside from the 675 Daytona, none of their current bikes excite me all that much, either.
As for MotoGP; I watch it on and off and usually like what I see.

[clutch-monkey]

i like bikes, i like seeing them on the road, how some of them look etc. but i don't like to ride them especially if the weather is cold/bad haha

[2ndclasscitizen]

I'd use an R6 daily, they're very controllable though you have to be responsible with it because it's a lot of bike.

It's not a lot of bike at all, the R6 is the most gutless of all the 600s, but is also the most track-focused.

I was considering a Suzuki SV650S V-Twin bike as my 1st bike but it's the same as the super sports bikes in low end torque, it just tops out way earlier, so I think I'll skip the SV650 and go straight to a gixxer. Gixxers aren't my favourite, but there are so many in my area that parts are easily available and they're cheap to buy used. I can't afford to spend a lot on my 1st bike, especially since most people say that sooner or later I'm gonna drop my 1st bike.

Buy the SV, drop $2-300 bucks on suspension internals and learn to ride the wheels off it.

[NSXType-R]

What exactly to you drive? It has to be quite the car to take down a sport bike. I mean, the new R6s with a good driver get in the 10s in the quarter mile and Yamaha has always been a handling bike...

No, I didn't mean it in the sense of taking one down. I mean that I am infinitely more safe in a car, so if anyone on a bike was stupid enough to mess with me, I run them off the road, that's all.

[NSXType-R]

I love the simplicity of bikes in an age of more and more complex cars.
I do look forward to the new releases, but as Kitdy can tell you, I am pretty picky about bikes. I love me most Ducs and other Italian bikes. As a bit of a chauvinist I also am intrigued by the very very few American sportbikes that there have been. I don't particularly like Harleys so that's the most of the rest of American bikes gone. Modern Japcrap doesn't really excite me all that much with a few notable excptions, but I do find their older stuff much more interesting. German bikes also don't really work for me from any era. The Brits have some good stuff, but, aside from the 675 Daytona, none of their current bikes excite me all that much, either.
As for MotoGP; I watch it on and off and usually like what I see.

I'd go Vincent Black Shadow.

I like motorcycles for the fact that they're the simplest way to go fast. I mean, you can't get any more stripped down than that. I appreciate them for that, but I still think they're dangerous in the fact that you have no metal around you. You have to be that much more aware of everything when you drive one. Other than that, there's really nothing wrong with them.

I do like Buell motorcycles- they're probably the more sport oriented American bikes made today. Of course, they're sort of rare. I think a stripped out Harley would be more direct. There's too much chrome on them now for it to relate to the first Harleys that were made around WWII.

[DesmoRob]

No, I didn't mean it in the sense of taking one down. I mean that I am infinitely more safe in a car, so if anyone on a bike was stupid enough to mess with me, I run them off the road, that's all.

lmfao . There I was, scrolling so eagerly to find out what sort of speed machine NSX drives haha.

[2ndclasscitizen]

You have to be that much more aware of everything when you drive one.

No more aware than you should be when driving. You become a much better driver after starting to ride.

I do like Buell motorcycles- they're probably the more sport oriented American bikes made today. Of course, they're sort of rare. I think a stripped out Harley would be more direct. There's too much chrome on them now for it to relate to the first Harleys that were made around WWII.

There's very little in common between Buells and Hardleys. Even the Evo-powered XB models have had the engines modified into Buell's own spec. The new 1125 models have gone for a far, far more superior Rotax motor. Far more superior.

[pimento]

I like bikes well enough, I ride one and all, I think they make a lot of sense as commuter vehicles (if it's raining, take the bus..) but if I was going to get a track toy it'd be a Caterham type dealie.

[Badsight]

bikes dont stirr the emotions like cars do . they dont have the lines & curves

but motorbikes are far faster on the open road . cars can only compete when its hosing down with rain or when its very cold

[Badsight]

most people say that sooner or later I'm gonna drop my 1st bike.

i was a complete hooligan on motorcycles . if the cops had ever caught me (& they tried) i would have been banned from owning them

the most dangerous time for a learning road rider is their second year - this is because they have growen in experience & the confidence has risen

if i was in power , no one would be allowed to buy a road bike without having spent a year of dirtbike riding first

[DesmoRob]

I can't afford to spend a lot on my 1st bike, especially since most people say that sooner or later I'm gonna drop my 1st bike.

People say a lot of stupid things. You don't drop your bike unless you're being careless. It also has a lot to do with what kind of bike you own. For example, a cheap old Asian bike you may get lazy on and not watch yourself while you lose your center of gravity, but not on a Ducati. I protected that thing with my life. I mean, I wasn't exactly brand new to 2 wheeling on public streets, as I've had multiple years of scooter experience, but a Duc weighs significantly more. There are no set rules when it comes to this sort of thing. People told me a lot of things to discourage me from attaining my dream. They also said that a 749 was much too big a bike for me, and that I should consider getting something much smaller to start off with. Apparently I would "kill" myself, or "lose control", or that I "wouldn't be able to handle it." All of this and plenty more garbage came out of peoples' mouths when I went into buying that bike. None of it applied to me. I can probably accredit that to my cautious nature, but you are in control of how you treat your motorcycle, not this fate crap that everyone dictates will happen to ALL first time riders. I may have only rode for one season, but in that season I put a solid 4000 km on that bike, and by the end of it I had a lot of what those same nay sayers would call "confidence." Its up to you, man.

the most dangerous time for a learning road rider is their second year - this is because they have growen in experience & the confidence has risen

if i was in power , no one would be allowed to buy a road bike without having spent a year of dirtbike riding first

Both very true. Especially with the dirt biking thing. A full day on a dirt bike is equivalent to weeks of street riding as far as experience gained is concerned.