First bike! FZ6 or CBR600F4i??

[Hellgate]

If you are a new rider I'd suggest buying a used 500 or smaller to learning on. You can find something for less than $1,500, ride it for 6 months to a year; fall over a few times, figure out riding and then sell it for what you paid for it. Now that you've got the crashes out of your system buy the bike you really want.

The first bike I rode was an old POS Honda XL250, then I bought another old POS, a Yamaha TX500, crashed a couple of times, fell over a trafic lights. Then I bought a nice new Yamaha Vision 550, crashed that one too but that is beside the point...

Point being the first two bikes were cheap, old and slow. In fact crashing gave them character. I think they liked being crashed actually.

 

[fzme]

Sorry to beat a dead horse here...but you should just get the FZ.

My first bike was an F4i. I came to like it a lot, but probably shouldn't have started out on it. Like others have said, you will have the thing on its side (not on purpose) several times whether the wind blows it over, or some kids knock it over, or your Mom backs her car into it. Maybe you'll pull your bike on top of yourself trying to loosen the oil pan bolt. (Anyone else done that?) Get the FZ6, get some frame sliders, and get to the MSF class.

 

[PB Hand]

Prior to buying my FZ6, I was looking at a Kawasaki ZX9. I surfed the web for hours, looking for the best deal, since I was on a limited budget. I finally found one about 1 1/2 hours away that I absolutely loved. I took a Saturday morning, drove the hour and a half to the dealer, and walked the showroom floor drooling over the bike. Then, I sat on it.

My love affair with the bike ended in less than 2 seconds. Reaching over to grab the handlebars meant that I was now looking at the front tire, which I knew would get old after awhile. I got off that bike, then reluctantly sat on the 'tiny' 600cc FZ6 (my current bike at the time was a 1989 BMW R100RT - 1000cc bike). As fast as I fell out of love with the ZX9, I had fallen in love with the FZ6. From that point on, I was on the search for a FZ6.

So, my recommendation to you would be to go to a dealer that handles both bikes you're looking at, and sit on them. Then, picture yourself sitting in each position for a couple hundred miles, and I think that the decision will become clear. :thumbup:

 

[Chris]

If you are a new rider I'd suggest buying a used 500 or smaller to learning on. You can find something for less than $1,500, ride it for 6 months to a year; fall over a few times, figure out riding and then sell it for what you paid for it. Now that you've got the crashes out of your system buy the bike you really want.

The first bike I rode was an old POS Honda XL250, then I bought another old POS, a Yamaha TX500, crashed a couple of times, fell over a trafic lights. Then I bought a nice new Yamaha Vision 550, crashed that one too but that is beside the point...

Point being the first two bikes were cheap, old and slow. In fact crashing gave them character. I think they liked being crashed actually.

Stop crashing so much!:spank: