sportbike, any suggestions?

You left off BMW and Aprilla.

Rap

What size?
600, 750, 900, 1000, 1100?

These days the 600's have got all the performance you'll ever need riding on the road. The only reason I can think of for going bigger is if you're either a particularly big guy, or you'd be carrying a pillion passenger a lot.

On pure performance, the Yamaha's have been on top for a few years with the R6 and R1. When it comes to build quality and reliability, you can't go past Honda. Kawasaki has generally been several years behind the development curve for at least the last 15 years, so I'd stay away from them. The Suzuki GSXR range have always been good performers, but have a general reputation for being uncomfortable to ride for any length of time. I had a Honda CBR600 for 10 years. It was a gem of a bike.

Don't fall for the fallacy that a Ducati holds value. You service a Japanese bike to keep it running at peak performance. You service a Ducati to keep it running....period. And a Ducati service will cost anywhere up to 4 times the price of a comparable Japanese bike. You could be talking anything up to $800 for a service every 5000km, without which the bike won't run at all. So by the time you sell it at a similar price to purchase, what you lose in value on the Japanese bike, you've spent keeping that temperamental piece of Italian crap on the road.

Aprilla.....read Ducati.
BMW aren't exactly big on the sports side of riding. Some nice bikes, but not the first to come to mind when thinking about throwing a bike from side to side on some tight mountain bends.
Triumph have joined the sports market in recent years, but I don't know much about them.

suzuki gsx-r 600 or kawasaki ninja -6 is what im lookin at so far.


the 600 cc ish or maybe 800 cc ish.


9.399 dollars for either of them. hard choice ...

Last summer when I was on top of Mt Evans (Colorado) where you can see the road for miles from the parking lot I watch some club riders pressing their mounts through the curves. All but two were on Triumphs, the others were on Buells. When they got to the top, I asked them of the advantages and one of the Buell riders simply responded torque. Although the Buells were bigger (1200 cc) then the Triumphs (900cc) they had more torque and didn't require as much shifting.

Now I'm not really a sport bike rider--I'm more into sport touring so to me I'm willing to sacrifice a little speed for storage and comfort (you can't ride a sportbike 500 miles today and 500 miles tomorrow), but if you've got some money to spend, the ST1300 is pretty impressive, altough it is closer to an Acura than a Honda.

Rap

gsx r 600 it is. thanks for the help guys

Obviously you've got to make you're own decision, but those two would be last on my list. The GSX-R's make the rider lean forward, hence put a lot of pressure on the wrists. They're notorious for being extremely uncomfortable in normal traffic conditions. The Kwaka is about 3 years behind the rest.

now i have a reason to get a camera, i should do payments, i wanted to buy it straight out but i think payments is better for now. err i dont know.

i want whatever is gonna help my credit the most.. :/

might i add im going to doing stunts with my friends? my dads old girl's son has a group and he lets me ride a few times but it ferels lame scavenging and i love it.


hooray for wheelies!

triumph? never heard of it.

oh triumph does have sportbikes, they have a lame selector that takes foever to turn. bleh..

yeah that daytona is looking good, theres even a 08 special edition.

hrm i figure if i wait a little while towards October--December ish he price will drop maybe i should wait and buy some tools first. yeah and then i can focus on coming up with a down payment for a house...

and maybe ill have a job by then at 200 a day.. well maybe my friend offered but i just started at 7-11 and yeah ill wait on that for a few months and then ill get the bike when (or if) i start the other job cause its far as hell. good plan if i say so myself..

I used to be a member of a sportbike club so I've had the opportunity to ride a bunch.... but of course, my opinion is just that - opinion. Every rider wants a different set of attributes.

Having said that, I personally chose a Yamaha R6. I preferred the riding style, and it has one of the more comfy saddles for longer rides. The electronics are bulletproof, the engine is an engineering masterpiece, and the handling is razor sharp. I found myself a little faster on a GSXR 600, but it wasn't as comfortable or forgiving as my R6 in my opinion. Its just not quite as refined as the R in many of categories.

I also chose against the bigger engines. I'm 250 lbs, but the 600 was still way overkill. Even if I'd lay my weight over the tank as far as I could, the front still came off the ground in first. The larger displacements counteract their power with pretty insanely high gearing and sprockets. I got so frustrated on an R1 and a 'Busa trying to get started from a light. High-revving, low torque engine coupled with high gearing = frustrating on the street. Its just like a Corvette. You can get them with 600 hp, but they have a 2.73 rear gear so that people don't kill themselves. I'd rather have enough power and the streetability to go with it. R6 for me. More than enough power, great street manners, killer ride.

Get an 04 or later bike; the earlier ones had gearbox troubles. In first and second they would skip a tooth every once in a while. Not good exiting a turn when the rear end kicks out on you

thank u for the informed post, i will def look into the r6.

Wait dude....have you owned a motorcycle before???

If you haven't, don't buy a new 600, it's NOT a good first bike. It's not just the fact they now have 120-130hp and are just as quick as the 1000cc's from 10-15 years ago, it's the sharp handling, the very, very sensitive brakes, throttle, ect.

I know it doesn't fit in with your stunta' friends, but you're better off getting something like a Ninja 250 or 500, or the Suzuki GS500F. Also check out the Suzuki SV650S. They look the part of a sport bike(but not quite as pretty as the new 600's), but are much more manageable, and forgiving of mistakes....which is the big thing...you're going to make mistakes when you learn anything new....a supersport is going to toss you on your ass when you make a mistake much quicker than a tamer bike.

You could even go to an early 90's Honda CBR 600...still a fast bike by the way, just not as crazy as the new ones. And if you're learning how to wheelie, you don't want to pay for, or feel bad about banging up your shiny new bike. Other than looking like a tool riding on a new 600 you have zero clue how to ride.

Either way, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda....they're all excellent brands, you can't go wrong with any. Comes down to personal preference if you're comparing their 600cc sportbikes.

BTW, I have an '08 Triumph Daytona 675 Special Edition. I can't come close to tapping this bike's full potential. Taking it to it's first track day in a few weeks, and there will be guys on 500cc bikes who can spank me in the corners. And this is my 4th motorcycle...it's a lot of bike.

10 to 15 years ago they were an excellent first bike. But the growth in the Supersport class has seen significant development investment, resulting in the wild machines that Slappy describes.

I've had all sorts of cars and motorcycles.

Last motorcycle was a Triumph Daytona 1000. But I got rid of it several years ago. Completely impractical. Almost unuseable in fact.

Without doubt the best "sports" bike I ever bought and still use every day is a Sentiero. Cheap to buy and run. Keeps me fit. Had some real fun out of it!

Because its a bicycle.

Save your money. Save the planet maybe save your life...buy a bicycle.

Thanks for the waste of time.

If you think its a waste of time saving your life or your planet...well that up to you my friend.

Actually its not, i dont give a flying **** about the planet, but I do care about you.