QuestionHI, I'm Gregorio, I'm 17 and i want to get a sport bike and I was wonderin if either the Suzuki GSX-R750 or the GSX-R600 are a good beginners bike or any other sports bike are good for me?
AnswerNo, neither of those bikes are good beginner bikes. They are fantastic bikes, I wish I owned one, but you need several years of experience to be adept at controlling them!
Below is information from my book, "How to Ride a Motorcycle." I recommend you buy and read that book before you even go and start LOOKING at motorcycles.
From the book:
The most important thing at this point is to find a bike that’s the right size for you, physically. Buy a bike too big for you and you look like a little kid riding an oversized Big Wheel. Buy a bike too small and you look like a gorilla riding a toaster. You should be able to plant your feet flat on the ground while sitting on the bike, and you should be able to pick it up if it falls over. “Bike size” is closely related to engine size, so you can narrow your selection criteria down to a few tantalizing choices based solely on displacement (normally measured in cubic centimeters, or “cc”). Ideally, set a limit of 500 cc for a four-cylinder engine or 700 cc for a two-cylinder engine. Anything greater than that can get unwieldy and make it difficult for you to learn.
I recommend you look at these bikes:
Aprilia RS 50
Buell Blast 500
Ducati Monster 600, 620
Honda Interceptor 250, 500; Hawk 650
Kawasaki Ninja 250, 500; EX 500; KZ 550; 650R
Suzuki GS500; SV 650
What People Say and What People Mean #2: “Start Small”
If you’re going approach motorcycling from a holistic perspective, your first real act of intelligence will be what you choose for your first bike.
When experienced riders tell you to start small, they don’t exactly mean that you should start on a little bike, (though as a rule of thumb, it’s not bad advice.) What they mean is that you should start on a bike that you’ll be able to handle physically, financially, and psychologically. The bike you’re lusting after is almost always NOT the right bike to learn on.
This means start on a bike that’s size and power won’t immediately overwhelm you while you’re still learning to keep it balanced and work the controls. It’s hard enough to get basic motorcycle handling mastered without trying to rein in a bike that wants to continually leap from your grasp or crush you in your garage when you forget to put the sidestand down. Buying an older used bike means when you tip it over or crash it (and you will), the repair bills won’t cost you more than your first car did. Most importantly, starting small means your focus is still on you—your priority is not what bike you own, but learning how to ride. A state-of-the-art machine will whisper to you to do things you’re not ready to do yet. A big, expensive bike will make you look and feel like a better rider than you are, and you absolutely do not need that sort of distraction this early in the ballgame.
Too many riders make the mistake of buying the bike they’re in love with for their first bike. These bikes will typically answer the question, “What is the best bike?” when what a beginner really wants to know is, “What is the best bike for me?” It is only with heroic self-restraint that most new riders can commit to buying a bike they know they’ll outgrow in a year or two. But the riders who do are rewarded with a quicker learning curve and low cost, which leaves lots of room to practice, experiment, and have fun.
