I remember buying my first motorcycle last year, i spent a good month going through forums, trying to figure out if i should get a Gsxr600 or an R6. after sorting through most of the crap and asking which one was faster, most of the responses i got were like this: "those are not beginner bikes", "Thats too much bike for a beginner" "youll kill yourself etc." and "they are both so close to eachother that you should just get whichever one looks cooler to you".

Well ive had my bike for almost a year now and i fell i should dispel some of these myths for new bike buyers and hopefully save some people a bunch of heartache. so, first:

1. a 600 is not too much bike for a beginner, in fact, ive had mine less than a year and im trying to sell it and get a 1000.

2. to the people who say " theres only a handful of people that can ride an r6 to its limit anyway, so dont worry about getting a 1000" well yeah thats probably sage advice IF you happen to drive across a track on the way to work. If your a normal person and dont intend on dragging knee when your riding around town or the freeway then the only performance aspect your interested in is acceleration. and let me make this very clear: The R6 is faster than the GSXR600. If someone had given me an honest answer before i bought the bike, i would have bought the r6, but since there are so many morons out there giving out bad advice, i had to find out when my friend bought one. Rode it a few times, the difference was very noticable. The R6 is the faster bike. period. to all the people on the forums who told me differently: thanks for nothing.

3. "you will drop your bike within the first 6 months". Yes you will. If your a complete moron. I havent dropped my bike yet. I havent even come close. Look, a GSXR600 is so intuitive and riding a motorcycle is just easy to figure out. Anyone who tells you that you will drop your bike within the first few months is a complete and total jackass and probably dropped their first bike several times. Its not true. Just dont be an idiot and your bike will stay on 2 wheels.

4. Trust me on this: you WILL get bored of a 600cc bike in your first year. Its gonna happen. Theyre fast, but they are no where near as fast as a 1000. Once you get the basics down and get comfortable then theres only so fast you can go on one of those. Again, if your a moron and you cant figure out how to ride a motorcycle then maybe you should just kill yourself becasue i dont know why you bought a bike in the first place.

5. Im not 5 years old (im assuming your not either). I know that if i grab the brake too hard that the back wheel will come up and dump me on my face. THATS WHY IM CAREFUL. even my first day riding i was very aware of all the controls. I made perfectly sure that i didnt rev the throttle too hard, or pull the brake too hard. ALOT OF THE ADVICE GIVEN OUT HERE IS TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THAT YOU PROBABLY HAVE THE MENTAL CAPACITY OF A 5 YEAR OLD AND WILL PROBABLY ROLL THE THROTTLE TOO HARD AND EAT ****. If your a complete jackass, yes you will probably kill yourself on a 600cc bike. If you can trust yourself to not overinput on any control your fine getting a 600 for your first bike. In fact, if you cant be trusted to not over throttle or overbrake then there is no way you should get a bike at all in the first place. Dont get a car either. Or a girlfriend. In fact just go kill yourself because you will likely fail miserably at anything you try to do.

With that being said, i will boil this down into a few consice points:

an R6 is a perfect first bike, Unless you are an idiot

The R6 IS in fact faster than the GSXR600. Do not believe the lies that they are too close to compare. The difference is pretty noticeable.

You may drop your first bike, but dont count on it.

I may be the exception to the rule, but looking back, you would have to be retarded to drop your bike/kill yourself.

I agree with a lot of your post. I am new to bikes....only been riding for a little over a month. I feel very comfortable on my 2004 R6. Yes, I do not drive the bike to even close to it's potential.......this is probably why I haven't dropped it. I heard all the same rumors....."You will drop it!!!"......Funny thing is they all came from people that have never even been on a street bike (only dirt bikes). I think as long as you are mature...you could probably even learn on a 1000cc. However, the extra power might be a little much if you do happen to jerk the throttle too much. In any case, I am sure there are factors that an experienced rider can overcome better than a noob. I still find it hard to do sharp 90 degree turns......This I am sure comes with time and practice. Long story short is accidents happen (no matter the experience level). Just take it slow and learn at your own pace. Take it easy and keep the rubber down!!!

I remember buying my first motorcycle last year, i spent a good month going through forums, trying to figure out if i should get a Gsxr600 or an R6. after sorting through most of the crap and asking which one was faster, most of the responses i got were like this: "those are not beginner bikes", "Thats too much bike for a beginner" "youll kill yourself etc." and "they are both so close to eachother that you should just get whichever one looks cooler to you".

Well ive had my bike for almost a year now and i fell i should dispel some of these myths for new bike buyers and hopefully save some people a bunch of heartache. so, first:

1. a 600 is not too much bike for a beginner, in fact, ive had mine less than a year and im trying to sell it and get a 1000.

2. to the people who say " theres only a handful of people that can ride an r6 to its limit anyway, so dont worry about getting a 1000" well yeah thats probably sage advice IF you happen to drive across a track on the way to work. If your a normal person and dont intend on dragging knee when your riding around town or the freeway then the only performance aspect your interested in is acceleration. and let me make this very clear: The R6 is faster than the GSXR600. If someone had given me an honest answer before i bought the bike, i would have bought the r6, but since there are so many morons out there giving out bad advice, i had to find out when my friend bought one. Rode it a few times, the difference was very noticable. The R6 is the faster bike. period. to all the people on the forums who told me differently: thanks for nothing.

3. "you will drop your bike within the first 6 months". Yes you will. If your a complete moron. I havent dropped my bike yet. I havent even come close. Look, a GSXR600 is so intuitive and riding a motorcycle is just easy to figure out. Anyone who tells you that you will drop your bike within the first few months is a complete and total jackass and probably dropped their first bike several times. Its not true. Just dont be an idiot and your bike will stay on 2 wheels.

4. Trust me on this: you WILL get bored of a 600cc bike in your first year. Its gonna happen. Theyre fast, but they are no where near as fast as a 1000. Once you get the basics down and get comfortable then theres only so fast you can go on one of those. Again, if your a moron and you cant figure out how to ride a motorcycle then maybe you should just kill yourself becasue i dont know why you bought a bike in the first place.

5. Im not 5 years old (im assuming your not either). I know that if i grab the brake too hard that the back wheel will come up and dump me on my face. THATS WHY IM CAREFUL. even my first day riding i was very aware of all the controls. I made perfectly sure that i didnt rev the throttle too hard, or pull the brake too hard. ALOT OF THE ADVICE GIVEN OUT HERE IS TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THAT YOU PROBABLY HAVE THE MENTAL CAPACITY OF A 5 YEAR OLD AND WILL PROBABLY ROLL THE THROTTLE TOO HARD AND EAT ****. If your a complete jackass, yes you will probably kill yourself on a 600cc bike. If you can trust yourself to not overinput on any control your fine getting a 600 for your first bike. In fact, if you cant be trusted to not over throttle or overbrake then there is no way you should get a bike at all in the first place. Dont get a car either. Or a girlfriend. In fact just go kill yourself because you will likely fail miserably at anything you try to do.

With that being said, i will boil this down into a few consice points:

an R6 is a perfect first bike, Unless you are an idiot

The R6 IS in fact faster than the GSXR600. Do not believe the lies that they are too close to compare. The difference is pretty noticeable.

You may drop your first bike, but dont count on it.

I may be the exception to the rule, but looking back, you would have to be retarded to drop your bike/kill yourself.


I argee with most of your post. You said you havent even come close to laying your bike down ? then your not riding it near its potential, because if you were you would have a few close calls. THE PROS CRASH DUDE.

The fact you want a 1000 when you havent even come close to mastering your 600 makes no sense to me. You must just be pointing your bike straight for balls out speed ? 160mph isnt fast enough ?.

I think a 600 is to much bike for a TOTAL beginner, if you have been on bikes before and are somewhat familiar then a 600 would be ok, but for a total noobie and 600 is asking for trouble in my opinion. Just my 2 cents.

I argee with most of your post. You said you havent even come close to laying your bike down ? then your not riding it near its potential, because if you were you would have a few close calls. THE PROS CRASH DUDE.

The fact you want a 1000 when you havent even come close to mastering your 600 makes no sense to me. You must just be pointing your bike straight for balls out speed ? 160mph isnt fast enough ?.

I think a 600 is to much bike for a TOTAL beginner, if you have been on bikes before and are somewhat familiar then a 600 would be ok, but for a total noobie and 600 is asking for trouble in my opinion. Just my 2 cents.

Of course im not riding it near its potential, that was the whole point of my post. Unless you are going to ride across a track on your way to work everyday then WHEN WOULD YOU EVER DRAG KNEE? The only thing a normal person needs the power for is for a little fun here and there smoking people from stoplights. THATS IT. in fact im willing to bet most members on this forum have never even been to a track.

Another thing is this obsession of yours with top speed. Who the hell enjoys going over 100mph... I certainly dont. I rarely go over 85. The fun, you see, is how fast you get there. its acceleration that really gets me going, not top speed. Theres nothing sweeter than feeling the pull from 30mph to 80mph and getting there in a split second. Thats tight.

So if your talking about riding a bike to its "limits" then i have. and i do all the time. I crank the throttle open as far as it will go and stay in a straight line and thats the fastest the machine can possibly go. If your talking about hitting twisties and whatnot you are a fool and didnt really read my post.

Let me just say, i started as a "total newbie" on a 600. No dirtbikes or anything. I never even sat on one. And it was fine for my first bike. Not even fine, i would say PERFECT. if i did something stupid like get a 250 or an SV or something i would have gotten bored with it very quickly.

Last week i sold my GSXR and bought an R1. These things are scary fast. but once again, using caution and a bit of common sense, i doubt i will ever drop it. I havent really tapped it out, but ive rolled on the throttle pretty good a few times and it scared the sh** out of me.

I agree with a lot of your post. I am new to bikes....only been riding for a little over a month. I feel very comfortable on my 2004 R6. Yes, I do not drive the bike to even close to it's potential.......this is probably why I haven't dropped it. I heard all the same rumors....."You will drop it!!!"......Funny thing is they all came from people that have never even been on a street bike (only dirt bikes). I think as long as you are mature...you could probably even learn on a 1000cc. However, the extra power might be a little much if you do happen to jerk the throttle too much. In any case, I am sure there are factors that an experienced rider can overcome better than a noob. I still find it hard to do sharp 90 degree turns......This I am sure comes with time and practice. Long story short is accidents happen (no matter the experience level). Just take it slow and learn at your own pace. Take it easy and keep the rubber down!!!

I have to agree with you ninerider. I have been riding for a couple months now on my 03 R6, which is my first bike. Ive heard all the same things the OP posted. When I started out the amount of power from a small twist of the throttle did scare me, but it also made me respect that power and not push the bike hard. I am more comfortable riding the bike now but still don't push it that hard because I need more seat time. It just comes down to knowing your limits and not doing stupid stuff.

Well I have to agree that a R6 is a great bike for a beginner. I am also new to the riding world, but bought a 09 R6 for my first bike. The biggest thing that I see in new riders is that they want to go fast right away. I rolled on the throttle a little bit the first time riding my bike and was like wow much different than the GZ250 that I rode in the MSF course. But it made me respect the bike and not be a moron with it. You need to take your time on the bike and learn the in's and out's of the bike and make yourself aware of the reactions of what input you give it and what output comes from that. Just have fun and you will get better. I have only been on my bike for about 4 days now and still learning all about it but having fun. Later all u riders.

GXR600.....Don't let anyone tell you different. I too would love to own an R1. I am actually saving for it as we speak. I also know that again I won't even come close to riding this machine to its potential. I think it just boils down to some riders are more mature than others. Mistakes happen.....but doing twisties at 100 plus isn't for me. I enjoy the occasional thrust that the 600 gives me...and yes, it is more than enough. Everyday I ride I get a little more comfortable with the bike. I don't think it was a bad choice at all for my first. If I had the dough, I would have bought a newer R6. The 2004 was the limit my wallet could afford!!!! Glad I started with an R6 and will probably move up to an R1. Even though the CBR 1000RR Repsol has been catching my eye lately.....(not sure if I want to go to the darkside...love the yamaha)

I rode a Honda Rebel during my MSF course and that was iffy for me around the course. However, I would not feel safe at all driving that thing on the road. The R6 on the other hand had more than enough power for me and is stylish and awesome.

I was close to buying a GSXR600 but all the douches that were selling them wanted top dollar for used ones and some of them were badly maintained. After looking at 6 different bikes, one person finally sold me his R6.The best choice I ever made in regards to bikes.

The key to being safe on any bike is knowing you control the bike and not the other way around. You can own any bike if your careful. I must say 600's are so fast now you still need to be very careful especially on the street, people do strange things on the road.

Avidrider sums it all up!!! The rider is in control!!! Accidents happen on 125cc's too

I agree too. Sure i've rode like a 40 CC scooter before like 12 years ago in HS but never rode a real bike. My friend told me it was easy once you get the hang of it. So when he bought his 04 R1, i bought the guy who sold it to him; his wife's 01 R6.

Sure i was nervous about the shifting, my only hang up, but after a few days i had it down and it was pretty much like second nature. a few more weeks of respecting the bike and reading all i can about leaning, push steering, traction etc etc i feel good on it.

Sure i'm not expert and i don't drag knees nor do i fool myself. But everyday i get more comfie, and i have no qualms anymore about taking it WOT through 2 or 3 gears. Also i've come close to dropping my bike. Putting my foot down on gravel and slipping etc but i'm 6'2" and i've had no problem recovering nor have i ever came close to dropping it cause of something stupid.

R6 is a great bike to start out with, and as long as you know your limits like these other posters have said then you can grow into it just fine.

i've had it 1 month, put 2500 miles on it and can't get enough. I love riding and glad i finally took the leap after thinking about it for about 13 years.

Now about the R1, my boy's R1 has full graves exhaust, 2 more teeth on the back sprocket and power commander set to high and that thing is sick scary fast. Feels like a it just wants to be released from it's cage. Love it. One day, just not today.

The key to being safe on any bike is knowing you control the bike and not the other way around. You can own any bike if your careful. I must say 600's are so fast now you still need to be very careful especially on the street, people do strange things on the road.

Yep. By today's standards, you could go out and buy an older liter bike and have the same power that today's 600's have.

Honestly as far as a 600 for a starter bike, it all totally depends on the person. This topic (what is a good starter bike) has and will be beaten like a dead horse across multiple forum boards. Some people pick up an R1 as their first bike and they're fine, other people pick up a 250 and can't go without crashing every six months.