2nd bike can't make a decision

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Rimbambito said:
"push that 125 closer to its limits before upgrading"

LOL
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I know a few riders that can outride people with 600s using 250s and 125s. While this isn't completely true, but if a 125 or 250 still has massive chicken strips...you know they're doing it wrong and not ready to upgrade unless all they give two ***** about is straight line acceleration.

OP: I would STRONGLY suggest that you take an honest look at your tires and see how much of the sides you haven't used. SS bikes amplify your mistakes, sometimes in very unforgiving ways. Upgrading to a 250, 500, or 650 would be a great idea but I would recommend you stay away from an SS. But again, if all you care about is being able to go really quick in a straight line...then go get a 1000 lol
 
It's not all about chicken strips though. Proper braking, shifting, passing etc technique is very important. I see a lot of riders that pilot their bikes like they probably drive.. Like the clowns we always are complaining about

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So fun!, I am in a similar situation, except got a offer on a 600RR that couldn't pass on so sold the 250R or else I would of just kept riding on that thing for another season, I was pretty comfortable on the 250R so when I pick up the 600RR I will have to be super careful on what I do until i get comfortable with the bike other than that, take what you feel comfortable one and take it easy from there, good luck have fun and ride safe. =)
 
OP you're 6'1! You can fit on any bike you want. Saying that, the 650's are a good choice and generally look better than the gs500s (if that matters to you). Doubt you would feel comfortable on a 250 or 300 without clipon or rear set modification. Best time to buy is now. Maybe keep the 125 as well for a little longer (you wont get much for in in resale) then ride both?
 
OP, have you looked into the Monsters or Triumph Speed or Street Triples? Both don't have an aggressive riding position and have ample power to allow you to grow with it for a few seasons.
 
MacDoc said:
Thought he wanted sport seating and after a couple of long weekend 1800k trips learned he wanted a sport tourer instead.
He was fortunate that it only cost him about $3k to move up to a newer and powerful machine with the seating he likes.
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It is pretty trivial to upgrade a bike with different bars and seat cushions, even peg positions.
 
油井緋色;2080000 said:
OP: I would STRONGLY suggest that you take an honest look at your tires and see how much of the sides you haven't used. SS bikes amplify your mistakes, sometimes in very unforgiving ways. Upgrading to a 250, 500, or 650 would be a great idea but I would recommend you stay away from an SS. But again, if all you care about is being able to go really quick in a straight line...then go get a 1000 lol
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Bigger bikes are not always better. Small bikes are fun, easy to handle, easy to stop, cheap to run. This idea that progression to larger displacements if the norm makes no sense. I went from a 400 to a 750...loved the engine, but hated the weight.

Modern 250-300s are NICE bikes... why feed the insurance parasites?
 
As others have said, if you are concerned about an aggressive riding position you may want to consider one of the naked bikes. The riding position is much more relaxed and many don't put out the HP their sport bike siblings do. They may also be less $ to insure. I'd highly recommend that Triumph Street Triple. The new Yamaha FZ-09 sounds interesting. Go sit on a few and see what feels comfortable and what appeals to you. Be sure to check out the various insurance costs BEFORE you buy.
 
CafeRay said:
1000kms on a 125 ....to a Triumph Street Triple? Insane. 15 hp (maybe) to 110hp.
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It might be insane to you (and other slow moving grannies). If you're not a hothead and take things at your own pace, then moving to the Striple isn't dangerous or difficult. Riding a motorcycle isn't rocket science. :rolleyes:
 
Princess's Man said:
It might be insane to you (and other slow moving grannies). If you're not a hothead and take things at your own pace, then moving to the Striple isn't dangerous or difficult. Riding a motorcycle isn't rocket science. :rolleyes:
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Sorry, But accident stats prove that wrong. You put a kid with 1000kms experience on a 100hp SS bike, and you will kill him.
There are good reasons why insurance companies don't insure this type of rider.

If the MTO didn't have its head up its a--, we would graded licences for riders. In most of Europe, where they ride a lot more bikes, and much better trained riders and drivers, they limit power by experience.

They have four licence steps AM to A in the UK.

AM: age 16, Light motorcycle with a design speed of less than 45 Kilometres per hour.
A1: age 17, Light motorcycles with a cubic capacity not exceeding 125 cc and of a power output not exceeding 11 kW (14.6 bhp).
A2: age 19, Motorcycles up to 35 kW (47 bhp) and a power to mass ratio not exceeding 0.2 kW/kg. Motorcycle combination with a power mass ratio not exceeding 0.2 kW/kg.
A: age 24, Any size motorcycle with or without a sidecar.

You need at least two years on A2, at any age. That's smart. The way we do it just kills people and make insurance unaffordable.

[TABLE="class: wikitable"]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
Yup - same thing in Australia but there is a second test regardless of age if you want to ride anything in the open class - 650 or 47 hp plus.

So for instance a 650KLR is rated Learner but a 600SS is for advanced licence only.

As a result - liability insurance on my ST1100 is $137 a year for solo seat and $265 for dual seat.

It's one reason Japan and Aus are the only two places you can get the lovely CBR400R 4 cylinder.

honda-cbr400r-2014-10.jpg
 
It is pretty trivial to upgrade a bike with different bars and seat cushions, even peg positions.
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dumb approach and with limitations...getting a sport touring seating in the first place makes way more sense.
The Fz8 fit him like a glove...the SV650s even after some mods was a horror for him for long distance.

2005_sv650s_K5_black_500.jpg


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there is a world of difference in these seating positions - you can't make a sows ear into a silk purse. There is a reason there is a sport touring versus SS category.

The upright seating is much better for new riders - far easier to see what's going on around you.
 
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MacDoc said:
It's one reason Japan and Aus are the only two places you can get the lovely CBR400R 4 cylinder.

honda-cbr400r-2014-10.jpg
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Rumor has it Honda is thinking of importing these to Quebec and Canada, a few provinces have an insurance leap at 400CC or higher.

In most countries, they regulate by power and power/weight. This insurance grading by displacement and class in Ontario makes no sense.
 
CafeRay said:
Bigger bikes are not always better. Small bikes are fun, easy to handle, easy to stop, cheap to run. This idea that progression to larger displacements if the norm makes no sense. I went from a 400 to a 750...loved the engine, but hated the weight.

Modern 250-300s are NICE bikes... why feed the insurance parasites?
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I'm going to bold this for the OP lol

I completely agree with this. I recently took my gf's Ninja 250 out to ramp with and it actually built confidence with my GSXR750. Because the 250's throttle is so easy to control, I wasn't worried about the rear losing traction during turns. The lowered clearance (pegs will scrape much quicker than an SS based on lean angle alone) forced me to concentrate on body positioning (head out, shoulders, ***, knee, in that order), loose arms, and feet position (toe scraping is bad!).

The next day I got back onto my 750 again and the whole body positioning experienced transferred over, building much more confidence on entry speeds coupled with consistent cracking of the throttle through turns.

kiwi said:
It's not all about chicken strips though. Proper braking, shifting, passing etc technique is very important. I see a lot of riders that pilot their bikes like they probably drive.. Like the clowns we always are complaining about

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Absolutely but that has more to do with reacting to stimuli in the environment. A large majority of motorcycle accidents are solo and during turns (every accident I've seen this year, including my pinecone one, was in a turn motion). Turning a motorcycle is hard, just look at all the rnickeymouse crash videos on YouTube.
 
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While I agree with the whole point of graded lic. I still think it's not a perfect system either. For one, I don't agree and know many people personally that started riding ss bikes and are still here and riding just fine. Two, in theory everyone says 100hp bad, but going from 47 to 100hp 600 ss bike is ok? You know, there's even one similarity between the two :rolleyes:
 
The wife just bought me a 2014 honda grom, got the last one from the 1st delivery.
 
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