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Old Jan 10, 2004 | 07:42 AM
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tampamax
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Default Re: i need some help.

Originally posted by chrisateckerd
im looking to purchase a bike that would be good for a beginner. the problem is that im six foot eight and the only bikes ive ever felt comfortable sitting on are ones that are way to fast to learn on. i havent looked at alot of bikes so if you guys got any ideas it would be much appreciated.
Sorry bro but your going to have to compromise somewhere. If you want a bike to fit on then you will probably being looking at a cruiser of somesorts with a low cc. The other alternative is to get a 600cc sport bike, but you already said they were to small. You can not even think about a full litre bike if you are new to bikes, that is unless you don't care to live very long. If you've never riden bikes you need to shy away from the larger ones till you get the hang of the smaller ones.
Here's a few reasons....
I'm not saying that one could not start riding on a larger bike, but with that comes a few problems. One is that as a new rider you should be on a smaller bike to become familiar with not only how the bike reacts to you but how you react to your surroundings. It is much easier to avoid serious harm on a smaller bike than a larger one. You need to get comfortable and learn the skills it takes to drive very defensively, because every rider knows that hardly anyone sees you on the road. You need to master this skill before moving up to the bigger bikes.
Another reason to start small is that things tend to happen soooo much faster on a larger litre bike. What i mean by that is the bike is obviously much faster, but the part people don't think about is the bike doesn't respond as quickly nor is it as nimble as a smaller bike. Things just happen much faster on the bigger bikes and unless you have developed the skills mentioned above about riding in traffic the larger bike will end up allowing you to hurt yourself much easier.
Then there is the whole power thing. For a beginner it is hard enough to learn how to keep the throttle under control on a small bike. Hell, i have 6's and 1litre bikes and i still have the utmost respect for the 6's. If the power on a 6 is tough to learn just imagine how many times one could multiply their problems by starting on a bike that has way more power, is heavier and doesn't respond as quickly.
Lastly, the price difference. Would you really want to start on an expensive bike only to lay it down while your driving out of the parking lot of the dealership or someone driveway? Your pride will be hurt, but it will heal. It just takes much longer to heal when you realize you did 3k worth of damage going 5mph. Try to get into a not so exspensive bike. Like 8-9K is just rediculous for a first bike in my opinion.
Here's a thought. A friend of mine(he's about '6"4) started out on a yzf600. Now he looked to big for the bike and sometimes looked funny riding it. However i think this was the best thing for him. He was comfortable so he didn't have to worry about anything bothering him, and all he had to do was concetrate on learning about riding a bike and his surroundings(traffic). He road that for about 6 months until he felt he had mastered that bike and wanted to grow into a lrager cc bike. He now owns a zx-12 and seems to like it very much. Hope some of this helps ya.

Last edited by tampamax; Jan 10, 2004 at 07:45 AM.
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