beginners bike?

[FZ6PURPLE]

I am real and I am sorry I have not been able to be on the site and post pics but my dad had a heart attack, he just got out of the hospital today . I would never start with a fz6 I cannot even move it from one spot to another. I will try a smaller bike hopefully soon since my priority right now is my father, but I will try to go to the yamaha store again and take a pic with the bikes the sales person suggested (Honda CBR250 even though it is still a little tall and heavy for me and the Rebel CMX250 this is a better fit for me I think). I will keep in touch and hopefully with a pic

 

[Grodd70]

I think an honest approach to the definition of "beginner" is required. I started riding two half years ago and started on a Ducati baby monster 695. Then a Ninja 650...now to the Fz. I think all are fine for a mature (I'm 42) person with basic skills on two wheels dirt bikes and lots of time just on bicycles.

Take my significant other...she isn't comfortable on a mountain bike...i wouldn't feel great with her on a Ninja 250... Much less a Ninja 650 SV650 or even a Ninja 500...she would be a true beginner...some skills I'd say novice. For a true beginner I'd say a 250 Rebel type bike...even a little Ninja 250 can take you from 0 to ouch very quick.

People who are used to cars have no concept how quick bikes are. take the ugly but awsome Ninja 500 it runs 1/4 miles in the mid low 13's...or an SV650 or Ninja 650 those accelerate at about same speed as an original AC COBRA...beginner bikes...slower in the two wheel world of zx14's but still really quick in practical terms.

 

[Ssky0078]

I just want to throw it out there that sometimes in fact many times it is not the bike but the rider. I'm a new rider, I'm 34, I'm an old athlete, I ride a mountain bike around town and have been behind the wheel of a number of fast cars in sketchy situationsj and somehow always got out of it safely, no damage to car or others.

With that in mind I bought an Fz6 and had an accident in 2 weeks. Long thread on the whole topic but it was mostly my fault in a lack of skill in situational awareness and how to correct a bad situation with road conditions.

I got a new bike Fz1 and within 24 hours crashed again. This time my fault, I was riding like a complete a-hole and just froze rather than trusting the bike and even beginning to explore the abilities.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfaoOPJX1QE]Motorcycle Crash: How to Ride Like a Squid - YouTube[/ame]

The point of all that is that in both situations it was not the bike that caused the problem, rather the guy with his hand on the throttle. The only difference between the two situations I felt is that on the Fz6 I had about 1-2 seconds to react and on the Fz1 I felt like I had 0.5-1 seconds or less to react. Speed gets on you a lot faster with the bigger displacements and if not careful it will overtake ya.

I've thought bout what it would be like to have started on a crf25L or Drz-400sm because of how much more forgiving that throttle response will be. But, I tell you what after riding an Fz6 and the Fz1 I won't go to anything less on the street. I'll just learn self control and count my blessings no serious damage was done on my Fz's. Still considering a DRZ400, KLR 650 or any other dual sport to go learn how to mess around on dirt.

 

[motojoe122]

I got a new bike Fz1 and within 24 hours crashed again. This time my fault, I was riding like a complete a-hole and just froze rather than trusting the bike and even beginning to explore the abilities.

........

 

[Erci]

I got a new bike Fz1 and within 24 hours crashed again. This time my fault, I was riding like a complete a-hole and just froze rather than trusting the bike and even beginning to explore the abilities.

........

You really should put that in quotes, or people will think you're talking about yourself :BLAA:

 

[motojoe122]

You really should put that in quotes, or people will think you're talking about yourself :BLAA:

Thats true! I just wanted that part of it, didnt know how else to do it.

 

[sio]

Just my 2 cents as a newbie to the site been in a FZ6 for about a year:

Wanted to get into riding with absolutely zero/zilch/nada experience on a powered two wheeled machine. So I asked a buddy of mine who races vintage triumphs (in AHRMA) for recommendations for a beginners bike. He flat out said go find yourself a Sachs MadAss 125 and start there.

I took his recommendation and found one at a local dealer. Taught myself how to ride off of youtube videos and just messing around in my low traffic neighborhood. I slowly worked my way into bigger and bigger roads with more traffic as my confidence grew.

Fast forward 1 year. I took my MSF course. And I will agree with probably every rider that it is the best thing to do. It was also my first time on a 250 (suzuki DR250). I felt very comfortable and our instructor asked how long I had been riding since I was doing so well.

Fast forward 6 more months of riding legally (finally) and I felt it was time to step up to a big kid bike. I wanted to do a 250 Enduro like what I rode in the class, but some rider buddies of mine told me to at least find a 600. Found a used 07 FZ6 for a steal of a deal and picked it up. Scared the isht out of me the first coupe times I rode it since I was essentially going from a 125 to a 600 but after slowly working my way up on it like I did with the MadAss, in a month I was comfortable and now 1 year later I haven't looked back.

Took a bit of a risk going from a 125 to a 600 but if you're mature enough I think anyone could handle it.

Then again it's just 2 cents. Cheers!

 

[SweaterDude]

I just want to throw it out there that sometimes in fact many times it is not the bike but the rider. I'm a new rider, I'm 34, I'm an old athlete, I ride a mountain bike around town and have been behind the wheel of a number of fast cars in sketchy situationsj and somehow always got out of it safely, no damage to car or others.

With that in mind I bought an Fz6 and had an accident in 2 weeks. Long thread on the whole topic but it was mostly my fault in a lack of skill in situational awareness and how to correct a bad situation with road conditions.

I got a new bike Fz1 and within 24 hours crashed again. This time my fault, I was riding like a complete a-hole and just froze rather than trusting the bike and even beginning to explore the abilities.

Motorcycle Crash: How to Ride Like a Squid - YouTube

The point of all that is that in both situations it was not the bike that caused the problem, rather the guy with his hand on the throttle. The only difference between the two situations I felt is that on the Fz6 I had about 1-2 seconds to react and on the Fz1 I felt like I had 0.5-1 seconds or less to react. Speed gets on you a lot faster with the bigger displacements and if not careful it will overtake ya.

I've thought bout what it would be like to have started on a crf25L or Drz-400sm because of how much more forgiving that throttle response will be. But, I tell you what after riding an Fz6 and the Fz1 I won't go to anything less on the street. I'll just learn self control and count my blessings no serious damage was done on my Fz's. Still considering a DRZ400, KLR 650 or any other dual sport to go learn how to mess around on dirt.

unless you plan on getting rid of the FZ i wouldnt mess about with a dual sport. theyre really too heavy to go offroad and arent much fun on the road (Supermotos are, theyre a Spitload of fun, but DS's arent) just get a good woodsbike like a CRF-X or a WR or a Honda XR so you dont have to worry about crushing a radiator WHEN you go down.

A good day on the street: you ride and dont crash

A good day in the dirt: you ride and dont get hurt too bad

See the difference? I usually go down when i play in the dirt all day, thats why you basically wear an exoskeleton. but the crashes are usually slow and i usually get off the bike or gently lay it over without going down myself. the only thing that i think is a must is good suspension. i bottom out the outdated Forks on the XR400 even though they were tuned by RG3. the newer inverted systems are leagues ahead.

thread jack over:

yeah a supermoto would be a decent beginner bike but still a ton of power to weight. very jumpy front ends:sinister: and they slide about quite easily. but cheap to fix and not very heavy. oh and they also have tall seat heights...