What size bike should I get?

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Twotons said:
.....this is total BS...skip the 250cc and get the 600cc if you can afford the insurance. I agree that the weight and bar position might be a little more difficult to deal with at the beginning especially practicing at slow speed in a parking lot but otherwise, after a month of riding you'll have more fun on the 600cc. I am so glad I ignored all these Mommy posts the other year when I was shopping for my first ride. Just stay away from group rides for a couple months and you will be fine.

Edit: but if your looking to go big just get the turbo Busa bc I'm bored and I need to see new Ghost Rider video...or get the snowmobile and take a spin down yonge street. Lol.
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chicken strips speak louder than words
 
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cycling said:
That is correct. Guns do.However, you can get away faster on a litre bike. Lol.
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Ok now I'm worried. There's a sentient gun out there that can just kill people with no one using it? That's not good.

Twotons said:
.....this is total BS...skip the 250cc and get the 600cc if you can afford the insurance. I agree that the weight and bar position might be a little more difficult to deal with at the beginning especially practicing at slow speed in a parking lot but otherwise, after a month of riding you'll have more fun on the 600cc. I am so glad I ignored all these Mommy posts the other year when I was shopping for my first ride. Just stay away from group rides for a couple months and you will be fine.

Edit: but if your looking to go big just get the turbo Busa bc I'm bored and I need to see new Ghost Rider video...or get the snowmobile and take a spin down yonge street. Lol.
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Agreed. If you can handle the 600, go for it. My friend actually talked me OUT of a 250...he just kept saying man, get a 600!! You're going to outgrow the 250 in the first month... and granted, for that first month a 250 would have been safer because the temptation isn't there to go beyond your skill level, but I'm 31 years old, I have driving experience and I know how to read the road and other drivers that is a definite advantage from a 16 year old who has no experience with others on the road. I can agree that a 250 or 300 would be a better learning bike for someone who has never been on the road before, but if you have driving experience there is absolutely nothing wrong with starting off on a 600.
 
600 or 1000cc SS can be overtaken by pedal bicycles in rush hour downtown Toronto traffic.

I take the train to work. Even if I have a 1800cc monster I question whether it would be worth riding it into the city. Why? So I can enjoy traffic on the 401 and DVP in both directions? With the train you don't have parking or traffic.
 
DDean said:
First bike?

Pull out a ruler and measure your wang in inches. That length is X.

Y= The size of your first bike.

Solve for Y:

Y=(2000/X)
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According to your formula, I should've bought a 212.12 cc bike...

I2NRjTd.png
 
DDean said:
First bike?

Pull out a ruler and measure your wang in inches. That length is X.

Y= The size of your first bike.

Solve for Y:

Y=(2000/X)
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Is 2000 a constant?
Brian P said:
After years of riding, I find the smallest and lightest bikes to be the most entertaining street bikes.
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That's because you've ridden lots of fast bikes before
 
Twotons said:
.....this is total BS...skip the 250cc and get the 600cc if you can afford the insurance. I agree that the weight and bar position might be a little more difficult to deal with at the beginning especially practicing at slow speed in a parking lot but otherwise, after a month of riding you'll have more fun on the 600cc. I am so glad I ignored all these Mommy posts the other year when I was shopping for my first ride. Just stay away from group rides for a couple months and you will be fine.

Edit: but if your looking to go big just get the turbo Busa bc I'm bored and I need to see new Ghost Rider video...or get the snowmobile and take a spin down yonge street. Lol.
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its not total bs.

there is merit to what I said, and there is merit to what you said as well.

I agree if you are around 30 years old, or over, with a lot of driving experience, sure, you are probably going to be able to handle a 600 because you can control your temptations etc. I have a friend who got his first bike at 35, he was fine. but he has had a long history of owning high hp cars.

But the early to mid 20 year olds I talk to, have no idea. they have no idea what these bikes are capable of. and at this age its very difficult to ignore the temptation.

again, i said, SOME will be able to handle it, but most cant, so im not totally disregarding that.

rye said:
Agreed. If you can handle the 600, go for it. My friend actually talked me OUT of a 250...he just kept saying man, get a 600!! You're going to outgrow the 250 in the first month... and granted, for that first month a 250 would have been safer because the temptation isn't there to go beyond your skill level, but I'm 31 years old, I have driving experience and I know how to read the road and other drivers that is a definite advantage from a 16 year old who has no experience with others on the road. I can agree that a 250 or 300 would be a better learning bike for someone who has never been on the road before, but if you have driving experience there is absolutely nothing wrong with starting off on a 600.
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Yep, your age definitely helped. and your driving experience.

I think Id now say the younger you are, the safer it would be for you to start off smaller. you can 100% get the 600 or more, but your risk is higher.

The older and more mature/experienced you are, the more probable it is for you to be able to handle that 600 due to the maturity/experience advantage.
 
Twotons said:
.....this is total BS...skip the 250cc and get the 600cc if you can afford the insurance. I agree that the weight and bar position might be a little more difficult to deal with at the beginning especially practicing at slow speed in a parking lot but otherwise, after a month of riding you'll have more fun on the 600cc. I am so glad I ignored all these Mommy posts the other year when I was shopping for my first ride. Just stay away from group rides for a couple months and you will be fine.

Edit: but if your looking to go big just get the turbo Busa bc I'm bored and I need to see new Ghost Rider video...or get the snowmobile and take a spin down yonge street. Lol.
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If you never rode the 250 etc first how can you compare? As far as I'm concerned you are the same type of person muay_thai_dan is talking about...
 
Twotons said:
IMO, if you started riding on something less than a 600cc then I don't think you can relate to ppl who started on a 600cc with no experience. I'm not saying veteran riders don't have valid experiences worth sharing, hell, I appreciate all the input I receive from racers/track riders to my questions. But, when this topic comes up it's usually those who started on a 250cc or 125cc trying to scare off ppl looking at a 600cc. IMO and from my experience, or lack thereof when I started, it's not that hard to learn on a 600cc and after a few weeks under your belt...it's way more fun winding up the 600cc then a 250cc. If your a noob trying to keep pace with experienced riders..be prepared for gravel and guard rails..regardless of the bike you decide to learn on.
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And since you never learned on a 250 why are you so easy to dismiss it? Maybe you'd be an even better rider had you started on one.
 
Twotons said:
IMO, if you started riding on something less than a 600cc then I don't think you can relate to ppl who started on a 600cc with no experience. I'm not saying veteran riders don't have valid experiences worth sharing, hell, I appreciate all the input I receive from racers/track riders to my questions. But, when this topic comes up it's usually those who started on a 250cc or 125cc trying to scare off ppl looking at a 600cc. IMO and from my experience, or lack thereof when I started, it's not that hard to learn on a 600cc and after a few weeks under your belt...it's way more fun winding up the 600cc then a 250cc. If your a noob trying to keep pace with experienced riders..be prepared for gravel and guard rails..regardless of the bike you decide to learn on.
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Two old farts myself and Brian P would disagree with your statement about a 600 being more fun winding up than a 250.

Sure 10 years ago riding a 600 was a treat not anymore though with these laws.

*edit for penis sizing I have a 250 and a 1000 in the garage.

Start small, you'll learn quicker

Nothing worse than seeing a 600 taking corners uptight, should be demerit points issued.
 
Jayv said:
Two old farts myself and Brian P would disagree with your statement about a 600 being more fun winding up than a 250.

Sure 10 years ago riding a 600 was a treat not anymore though with these laws.

*edit for penis sizing I have a 250 and a 1000 in the garage.

Start small, you'll learn quicker

Nothing worse than seeing a 600 taking corners uptight, should be demerit points issued.
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i giggle when I see that.
 
I have been driving since pretty much everyday since I turned 16, I've always had my own car. Fast-forward a few years to when I got my first motorcycle at 40. I started on a new 2012 Ninja 250 and I do agree with most that you feel like you out grow that size of bike very quickly. Even though I felt like I had outgrown the bike I know I was still not riding anywhere close to it's potential when it comes to cornering and manoeuvrability but that didn't stop be from upgrading last spring to a new 2012 ZX6r.

After riding around the 600 after a day or so I am 100% sure I could have started on this class of bike. With that said I was also 100% sure the learning mistakes I made on my 250 would have caused me some issues on the 600. Like others have mentioned, when you make a mistake on a 600 or 1000 they are not as forgiving as a smaller bike. From a $$$ point of view I wish I would have just started on a 600 but the other side of me that likes to be alive is glad I took the extra time to learn on a less aggressive bike.

Even now with just 2 season under my belt I have it in my mind that I want to upgrade to a litre bike LOL which won't happen for quite some time. I plan to ride my ZX6r for a number of years. Just can't justify the money on a litre bike upgrade just quite yet. I am sure my next bike will be 1000cc but I will take my time to get there.
 
Paul1000RR said:
BTW had a friend who wanted to start riding a couple years ago. He wanted a 1000cc supersport. I told him you're bananas and have no idea what you're getting into. He recycled the usual excuses and i managed to talk him down to a 600cc, not the greatest idea but a long way from a 1000cc.

He wrecked his bike the first year going into a corner too fast, panicking, taget fixating and eventually going off road and ****ing up his bike, all his gear. Luckily he was relatively ok, but it cost him thousands of dollars and could have ended a whole lot worse.

The whole thing happened when he cranked it trying to catch up to another rider, now had he been on a 1000cc he would have been able to pick up a LOT more speed before that corner...
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So what you are saying is that he since he crashed the 600 he may as well have been on a 1000 because the smaller bike didn't prevent him from crashing.

I agree!
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