Share your fail stories of newbies starting on supersports | GTAMotorcycle.com

Share your fail stories of newbies starting on supersports

油井緋色

油井緋色

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I started riding nearly 7 years ago now. The first thing I saw, on this board and many others, was "Don't start on a supersport." Now, with 7 years of experience, starting on a GS500F, going to a GSXR750, onto the track, and now on a RSV1000, I've come to really appreciate that advice.

While I know two who started on SS bikes and became very competent riders, I've met a far more number of newbies on SS bikes that ride like they're ready to hop off at any moment. Since a ton of information exists about why newbies shouldn't start on SS bikes, lets share the hilarious (or sometimes gruesome) out comes; I've got two:

My addiction to track days started with following some guy onto a ramp and going in circles. One day, I invited two riders I had met back when I had my GS500F to come ramping. Both of them started on SS bikes. Upon the first ramp entry, one of the riders downshifted from 2nd to 1st, thinking he was going from 3rd to 2nd, to setup for the turn. He immediately lowsided and rashed up his knee so bad we saw something similar to bone. Had this been on a starter bike, the 2nd to 1st downshift would not have been anywhere near as violent and lowered the chance of a downshift acting like a massive rear brake.

Second story was at KC where a newbie, on a Hayabusa, was about to leave. I guess he was overly excited because he bounced off redline and popped the clutch. The bike looped. Hilarity ensued. While you can probably loop any bike if you tried hard enough, looping any SS Bike is not exactly hard.

Anyone else got any?
 
I started on a 600 and went a decade without incident.....and then I started riding track.

first story that come to mind tho is way back there used to be a weekly meet at Williams coffee on the Danforth, this was late in the season and a dude leaving on a shinny new gixxer (always the gixxer lol) decided he was going to impress everyone and pin the gas hard on his way out...............and go sliding sideways down Danforth, thankfully only his ego and bike were hurt
 
Dig up the old Scarborough Rides threads. Plenty of newbie crashes there.
 
I know a guy who bought a brand spanking new gixxr last week. Hes a noob rider (mature age) .
To be fair, he is taking it easy, but I still think there would have been better choices as a first bike.
I hope I'm not writing much in this thread !!
 
油井緋色;2503942 said:
I started riding nearly 7 years ago now. The first thing I saw, on this board and many others, was "Don't start on a supersport." Now, with 7 years of experience, starting on a GS500F, going to a GSXR750, onto the track, and now on a RSV1000, I've come to really appreciate that advice.

While I know two who started on SS bikes and became very competent riders, I've met a far more number of newbies on SS bikes that ride like they're ready to hop off at any moment. Since a ton of information exists about why newbies shouldn't start on SS bikes, lets share the hilarious (or sometimes gruesome) out comes; I've got two:

My addiction to track days started with following some guy onto a ramp and going in circles. One day, I invited two riders I had met back when I had my GS500F to come ramping. Both of them started on SS bikes. Upon the first ramp entry, one of the riders downshifted from 2nd to 1st, thinking he was going from 3rd to 2nd, to setup for the turn. He immediately lowsided and rashed up his knee so bad we saw something similar to bone. Had this been on a starter bike, the 2nd to 1st downshift would not have been anywhere near as violent and lowered the chance of a downshift acting like a massive rear brake.

Second story was at KC where a newbie, on a Hayabusa, was about to leave. I guess he was overly excited because he bounced off redline and popped the clutch. The bike looped. Hilarity ensued. While you can probably loop any bike if you tried hard enough, looping any SS Bike is not exactly hard.

Anyone else got any?
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Ouch...yeah i learned a while ago bikes dont like rev matching from 2nd to 1st...Also correct me if im wrong, but shouldnt you do all your shifting/braking BEFORE you enter the turn? And be in the correct gear before you even enter the corner?
 
I have a female rider friend who just traded in her trusty beginner CB500F for a brand new Yammie FZ6R a couple weeks ago and she was scared to even ride it until a couple days ago! It sat in her garage for 10 days.

She's so proud she finally rode it to work this week!
 
bigpoppa said:
Ouch...yeah i learned a while ago bikes dont like rev matching from 2nd to 1st...Also correct me if im wrong, but shouldnt you do all your shifting/braking BEFORE you enter the turn? And be in the correct gear before you even enter the corner?
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Shifting, yes. Braking depends on your skill level but I can't see how anyone would aggressively trail brake on ramps without safety concerns lol
 
Comparable to beginners starting on SS bikes, I also see riders that do the obligatory season on a beginner bike and then all too quickly upgrade to something they can't handle.
 
kruzuki said:
I have a female rider friend who just traded in her trusty beginner CB500F for a brand new Yammie FZ6R a couple weeks ago and she was scared to even ride it until a couple days ago! It sat in her garage for 10 days.

She's so proud she finally rode it to work this week!
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Isn't the power difference between a CB500F and FZ6R not that big?
 
sevet said:
Isn't the power difference between a CB500F and FZ6R not that big?
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Its not, going from roughly 40ish HP to 60ish HP, its probably just a confidence thing
 
not SS, but newbs that get their dream bike or close to it instead of a learner bike and crash it making it no longer their dream bike.
 
Its subjective, my first bikes were dirt bikes as a kid, then dad let me ride the 750 shadow in high school and college,

Didn't have a bike again till i was working and made some money, bought an r6 at 22

Ive only ever owned super sports since and Im 38 now. Have I been down? yes, but who hasn't.

Who cares what you ride, life is short, buy that super sport if its what you want and makes you happy and dont give a f*ck what anyone says, its up to the rider to be responsible with the power.

Edit, Ive met more than a hand full of people, (some tiny girls) whos first bike was a SS, they are great riders, its not the bike its the brain behind the bars.
 
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Rob Star said:
Its subjective, my first bikes were dirt bikes as a kid, then dad let me ride the 750 shadow in high school and college,

Didn't have a bike again till i was working and made some money, bought an r6 at 22

Ive only ever owned super sports since and Im 38 now. Have I been down? yes, but who hasn't.

Who cares what you ride, life is short, buy that super sport if its what you want and makes you happy and dont give a f*ck what anyone says, its up to the rider to be responsible with the power.

Edit, Ive met more than a hand full of people, (some tiny girls) whos first bike was a SS, they are great riders, its not the bike its the brain behind the bars.
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Buy what makes you happy, but dont forget insurance ;)


At the end of the day, i'll be riding well into retirement, so whats the rush? Sure, you can get a SS, but ultimately you'll have plenty of time to get your 'next' bike, so why get hung up on a SS as your first bike?

More experience is never a bad thing, and neither is more money, that you'll be saving with insurance if you wait a little longer to get it
 
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I remember when motorcyclists were bada$sez.................now its all insurance talk and how much gear can I pile on myself at once without falling over.

no one guarantees you make it to retirement, or even to next week, if you want it, and can afford it then go for it, live a little
 
Fair enough, if one can comprehend, accept the risks and can afford it, get what moves you, irrespective of experience or age ;)
 
I think the issue/concern with SS bikes is that they are high performance machines and not very forgiving to rider error(s). A bit too much throttle or brakes on a Honda Shadow probably has a different outcome vs. a Honda 600 SS.
 
ReSTored said:
I think the issue/concern with SS bikes is that they are high performance machines and not very forgiving to rider error(s). A bit too much throttle or brakes on a Honda Shadow probably has a different outcome vs. a Honda 600 SS.
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I really think its that a lot of people don't want to LOOK like a Beginner. IMHO Motorcycling in America/Canada is about the "Fashion" or "Style" of it. 40+ and you grow your silver coloured goatee, get a Harley, Midlife Crisis, whatever, 20/30+ get a Big SS bike dark tinted visor, Icon Vest,.,, etc ;P Listen to "The Hip", have flannel and a ginger beard, you go cafe style.. lol.

Seriously, its a lot about style here.

With insurance being so much these days, the sub 400cc class has grown and its the insurance industry that has forced many younger new riders to smaller CC bikes in my opinion.
 
Too many 40+ been watching sons of anarchy it seems
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