QuestionHi Mr. Roberson,
I am a 25 year old grad student and to reward myself when I graduate, I want to purchase a Honda CBR600 F4i. I have ridden a little tiny one with a top speed of 30 MPH once. I want to know if it’s a good idea for me to buy one. I consider myself a fairly mature individual in that when on it, I won’t be weaving in and out of traffic or doing anything to endanger me or other drivers. I plan on purchasing a helmet and a leather jacket. I’ve always wanted one and I guess I just wanted some neutral opinions since everyone has been telling me not to purchase one since they can be unsafe.
Thank you
Mike
AnswerHi Mike,
Thanks for the question.
While I'm certian you have worked hard in grad school and certainly deserve a nice bike like an F4i, I'm going to rain on your parade and say this is absolutely the wrong bike for you to get- right now.
If your last riding experience was a short spin on essentially a powered bicycle, jumping up to an F4i is going to be like dropping you into an F-16 if the only thing you've ever flown is a powered hang glider. You just do not have the skills to safely handle it.
First of all, take a rider safety course. It's gonna take a weekend, but it's worth it. Once you complete that, you'll have the basic skills you need to get started riding safey in traffic. Info at www.msf-usa.org.
Then, get yourself some beat-up, $1000, junky old 500-750cc Honda/Yamaha/Kawi/Suzuki from the 1980's and start riding it every day. Why? Because you're going to crash it. Or tip it over. Or run off into the gravel. Most ALL beginning riders do. Now think of the pain of seeing your shiny F4i sliding along the pavement because you blew a turn or locked up the back brake for too long. Hurts, right? Now, think of the same mistake with an old Honda CB750 that needed new paint anyway. Not as bad, right? That's the whole idea.
The idea here is to swallow your pride for a while and ride a beater bike for a year and/or 5000 miles before you move up to the rocketship. Your chances of survival and keeping your bike upright will have vastly improved.
Besides, the fun of a beater bike is you can trick it out and have fun with it on the cheap, and still have a blast riding it. Just take care of it.
So what everyone has been telling you is correct: if you pop for that super-cool F4i right out of the gate, you will be a danger to yourself and those around you. High-end sportbikes like the F4i are the MOST DIFFICULT bikes to ride because they require very polished skills and a lot of discipline to safely ride. You don't have them yet. I mean no disrespect, but in 25 years of riding, I've seen your situation over and over again, and the outcome is never pretty.
Go cheap to start, take the MSF course, and learn to ride. Then get your cool bike and ride with confidence, knowing you did the right thing by waiting.
Good luck, ride smart!
Bill Roberson
2005 GSX-R750
