Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: The power of a 600cc bike, 600, sport

Question
Dear Pat,
Im a girl, and all of my friends who ride are guys. They tell me how "easy" it is to bring the front end up on a 600cc sport bike, or how easy it is to lock both tires because of the power, basically making the 600cc class much scarier than maybe it is? I started on a ninja 250 and have rode for a year, and I have rode an R6 and loved it, slowly of course, because in the back of my head I think of what they say about the front end coming up. Im not throttle happy, and I follow the speed limits. Is a 600 as dangerous as they continue to tell me? Or can I ride it as comfortably as my ninja 250?
Thanks!

Answer
Sorry that it's taken me so long to reply. This is my busiest time of year!

Think of a 600cc motorcycle like a handgun. It's just a hunk of metal. It has no mind of its own. It does what you tell it to do. In the hands of someone who respects its power and is trained to use it, it's a useful, powerful tool. In the hands of someone who doesn't respect it and has no idea what to do with it, it's a deadly weapon.

The 600 class of sportbikes are essentially racebikes with license plates. You can only use about 1/4 of their potential on the street safely, if that. Every semi-intelligent rider would tell a new rider to avoid a 600 sportbike as a first bike--to start on something like a Ninja 250, ride it for a couple years before moving up to a bigger, faster bike.

The reason is the 600s are so capable, so agile, and so powerful, they make an inexperienced rider feel more skilled than they actually are (overconfident). This leads them to take bigger chances on the street, then when things go wrong, they don't have the skills to get themselves out of it.

If you've gotten 8000 or more local miles (not long trips) on your 250 and you're feeling confident that you can handle the 250, you're probably okay to move up to a 600--as long as you take it easy and remember you've got lots and lots to learn yet, as a second-year rider.

My advice is stick with the 250 for at least another year, get a lot of miles under your belt in different riding environments, take a safety course on your 250, then do a track school on it. You really want a good 10,000 miles or so before switching to a 600 cc sportbike. I've been riding for 20 years, with dozens of track days and training courses, and probably more than 100,000 miles, and I don't think I'm even ready for a 600.

Pat