hello! i just got my learners permit and have only been riding for about a month now. i plan to register for a motorcycle saftey course and then get my license by march/april of 2005. this obviously would be my first bike and i don't know which one would be best for a beginner and which bike would be the best for the price. i've searched out all bikes that interest me and i've narrowed it down to either the r6 or the r750 by suzuki. any opinions or suggestions?? thanks! :lol:

The R6 is very powerful. It's ok to begin on i geuss. I didnt have much trouble riding it. you just got to take it easy at first and learn to control it before trying anything special. It is a beast and can turn on you if you take it for granted. just a peice of advice.

i think the r-6 is the smoothest bike i have ever ridin and thats not because i own one eaither...

bike for a beginner based on price....would be the ninja250, great bike for a beginner plus it's really cheap to maintain...best bike for the price and beginner.

I gotta say i think the R6 is one of the most pleasing bikes to be riding on, thats why i bought it. My friend who has a honda 954RR even says my R6 is much more pleasing to ride than his

Ninja 250? sorry that bike is for people who have no idea how to ride, and are priced limited, or maybe a 16 yr old, just my opinion

Yeah, a Ninja 250 is pretty small and if you have been riding a little, then you will be pretty upset that you bought that bike pretty quick. I would suggest the new GSX500 as a good starter bike for a female or a smaller built male. The new ones have a full fairing and don't look too bad at all. Plus it is a good bike to learn on, it is always a good idea to start small, be safe and progress. Some people may not agree with me on that, but some of the newer bikes are geared for people who know what they are doing. I see guys out all the time who get big first bikes and usually they go down on them in the first month or so.....if they are lucky, it is just a major insurance claim, a lot of times it can be much worse. Be careful and choose wisely.

yeah I agree with you that if you have been riding short while or have any riding experience you would be disappointed at the ninja 250. But this guy has only been riding for one month and has not yet taken the MSF course. With that little amount of time on a motorcycle he's bound to twist the throttle by mistake or take a turn faster than he thinks on an r6. The 250 will be by far be more forgiving if he accidently forgets what gear he's in and downshifts and twists that throttle. For someone who has never been on a bike might not fully understand throttle control. Not saying that he will go down but if he goes down, based on price also, a 250 is cheaper to bang up than an r6. i would say start with a 250, (i know a few ppl who bout a 250 for 2100 or so and sold it for 2000 3 months later) then upgrade to an r6 once you have a bit of skill and confidence... just my opinion.

well price really isn't the issue for me, i'm looking to spend 10,000 at the max, so anything around there and under is fine for me. i want a bike that looks sweet and is a good building block for being able to add modifications. i'm obviously not gonna go crazy when i'm riding since i will be a beginner, i'll save the crazy riding for when i become a little more experienced :lol: :roll: :wink: i know a friend of mine who had no experience on a bike before, started riding, took the saftey course, got his license and bought the gsxr750. unfortunately, he is my ex boyfriend so i'm not gonna go talk to him about it, but i know that the bike is definately sweet looking and is pretty quick. i don't want to get a slow bike just because it's my first one and in a couple years wish i had something faster. anyway, i love the way the bike looks and was pretty set on purchasing the 2005 in spring of 2005...then i started reading up about the r6 and really love the way it looks and it's cheaper than the 750. i found a website that showed quarter mile times of all sport bikes and both of them were compatible with one another. i guess because the r6 weighs a little less than the 750, it makes up for having a smaller engine?

If you bought the new 05 R6 i really dont think that you will be dissappointed, I bought mine for 7700 with a jacket and a helmet, and 2000 miles later i am in love with it, there are definatly a lot of mods you can do like the headlight fix (www.highbimmin.com) exhaust (only do slip on and power commander, otherwise you run into problems) steering dampener, and really how ever far you want to go, and how much you are willing to spend...anyhow best of luck and again i dont think you will be dissappointed in the R6, and if you are gonna upgrade in 2 or 3 yrs you should be ready for the R1 by then :wink:

but you do think that it's not too powerful for a beginner? i need something that's strong enough to keep me happy but not too strong that i can't handle it since i'm a newbie :) i've been reading on some other forums that the gsxr750 is a beast and definately not a good beginner bike. i don't want to get too much power that i would be scared to ride it lol

haha ok, i can help you with this....drop me an e-mail at NTFireFighter@yahoo.com and if you have AOL instant messenger or something give me that allright?

:lol: sorry i'm being so difficult. i just want to make sure i'm doing the smart and right thing! i emailed you :wink:

girlracer i am too a newbie and my first bike was the 04 flamed r6. I was scared at first but now i love it. i have put 3500 miles on it in like 2 months. there is so many modifications you can do, it is awesome. but from experience this is what i will tell you.

Get what you want.....................that is the most important advice anyone has ever given me.

yeah i have no idea which bike i'm gonna get :lol: :roll: either one seems pretty good to me and they both are pretty compatible. :wink:

After some thought I changed my mind on my last post above. If you have the cash, which it sounds like you have plenty for what you want, go with the R6 as a starter. As some of the above posts have mentioned, you can add mods as you increase with skill. I have had everything from a Ninja 250 all the way up to a pretty tricked out R1, and I recently bought a 2003 Liquid Silver and Black R6, and I really love it....it is not as fast as I would like top end, but it is a great bike for pure sportbike riding.
Back to you, get the R6, keep it stock for a season or half the season if you ride a lot, then you can get a pipe, p/c, change the gearing, etc. Another bike that is pretty sweet in the 600 class is the new Kawasaki 636....however, I have been pretty sold on Yamaha products for awhile. :twisted:

Is the GSX500 a 250cc?

First, R6fan420, no the gsx500 is not a 250cc, it's a 500cc, hence the name gsx500.

Second, Girlracer, I had about 250 miles under my belt before I bought my R6 new. It's an '02 I bought it off the showroom APR '02. Riding it home I realized this thing was gonna kill me. So I took some time and patience and learned what it and I were capable of doing. I also rode every chance I got, rode to work, joy rides on my day off, ride to dinner instead of taking the truck, you get the picture.
Know I'm not sure where in MD you are but if you're D.C. and west you should check out track days at Summit Point. The track is in Charles Town WVA, it's off 340 just inside WVA. My brother lives outside Frederick and shortly after buying my bike he paid for me to go to the track. No place better to learn then on the track, where everybody is going the same direction, there is no traffic, and there are people there much better than you to ask questions and show you some pointers. There is a local dealership in VA. called Loudon Motorsports, they run a couple of track days at summit but they're a little pricey. Also check out
www.teampromotion.com they're out of philly. They have track events all over the Mid Atlantic.
From experience I can say this, before I did a track day I was always the slowest and least confident riding in my group. I couldn't even began to trust me or my machine. Until I went out and rode in the beginner class and rode with an instructed who showed me this thing could do anything I asked. I've put 22k miles on since. And through the learning curve of an R6 I've gone from making a set of D207s last to smoking SuperCorsa in a morning.
To sum it up, an R6 is a great bike to start with, if you are SMART about it.