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Originally Posted by HighwayUFO
Trust me, I have been thinking this over for the past few weeks. My plan is to get and park the thing over the winter, take the classes, and ride happy all summer next year. I have been riding dirt bikes since I was old enough to keep the bike right side up at a standstill.
I have ridden a few R6's in my time and have yet to ride a GSX-R. I definately don't want anything over a 600cc. I have my limitations you know. Anything over 100 on two wheels just doesn't sit well as I have experienced it a few times. Maybe just my comfort level.
If I have to, I will wait until next year to purchase and save all winter so payments are very few in number, plus the '06 GSX-R600 looks sweet.
Keith
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It's good to see you're being sensible about this. Apologies somewhat for my immediate reactions here on the forum, but I have way too many friends who have recently decided they just have to get a bike... mostly driven by high gas prices. Very few of them seem to realize what they're really talking about. Personally, I got my bike because (a) I wanted to, and (b) I wanted to. The good gas mileage was simply a fringe benefit that ended up being NO benefit for the first month as I put almost 1500 miles on my bike just because I enjoyed riding the thing so damned much
I agree that the R600 is a sweet looking bike. However, some of my advice still holds. Although you can rarely "test drive" a bike like you can a car, it still would be a good idea to go up to the dealer and ask to sit on them. Make sure they don't bug you for at least 10 or 15 minutes per bike... see how the seat feels after a few minutes of your weight on it. Also, try lifting each leg to the pegs in turn and see how you "fold" on the bike.
My experience is that even similar looking bikes feel very different. To be honest I didn't much like the Nighthawk at first; too heavy at the top compared to my last bike (a Ninja 250 I owned almost 10 years ago) and I didn't much like the seat. However, a couple hundred bucks to Corbin and 4500 miles later I'm really happy that I bought this bike. I still have a bad habit of occasionally flooding it in the morning while trying to get it started... but the weight ended up being a good thing in crosswinds.
Be careful out there. Oh, and here's a list I posted to my blog yesterday as I was actually thinking about this thread on the way home from work;
Anyway, some thoughts on using a motorcycle as a daily "driver";
# Be prepared to be consistently 10 minutes late for work because you're (a) donning safety equipment, (b) flooded the bike or (c) (more likely) you decided that "the twisty route might be quicker."
# When you're on a bike, you're part of the environment. You're a piece of the world that is travelling through it. Your vision is unsurpassed. Be prepared for other bits of the environment to become one with you... like flies, mosquitos and occasionally (painfully) june bugs.
# On your commute to work, pass cattle trucks at least two lanes over. Failure to do so will add another piece of the environment to the above list.
# Prepare your co-workers for the fact that most days you'll come to work smelling of exhaust fumes, oil, gasoline and chain lube. Failure to do so may limit future advancement prospects.
# Be prepared to explain the other smell caused by... ahem... environmental factors (see above)
# Trust me, other people don't drive like you're invisible. You are.
# Have fun! You're combining a fun and absorbing hobby with work. After work you can look forward to doing it again. Most of your co-workers can't do this and only have their cars to return in. If your co-workers drive a Porsche they might know a little about the exhileration you feel... but they'll also know a lot more than you about expensive repair bills.