Retro ish Bike, beginners question, what to choose

how long is a long trip?

gsxr is a bit uncomfortable, but dead strong, great brakes and gear change and easy engine swaps for more power. feels long and heavy on the move.
cbr (i have 2) is a fine road bike, not the greatest brakes or gear change but mine has gone 70,000 miles with out a major service.
Ninja, don't know much, which one are you looking at?
yzf, better then the cbr, but weak clutch and get a low mileage one.

RGV/RS250 are awesome bike's driving one is like having the throttle wired directly to the happy centre of your brain. but since you are a learner I'd avoid, you need a bag full of tricks and razor sharp reactions to keep em shiny side up, the low polar momentum makes them great but is a two edged blade.

500km? then it's a toss up between the cbr and the zzr, 250's are great buty only up to 160km, pure torure after that.

zzr's have soggy supension elastic throttle control and the brakes are in the same league as a cbr6 f2, haven't heard any horror stories about the engine's (unlike the zzr1100). they do have the most wonderful airbox growl when caned.

heart says zzr
head says cbr
smart man says cbr6 f3 (much better brakes)

I checked the availability of the yzf 600 here in holland but that's not too great.. also the price is too high..

FZR600 is a better option price wize....




found this bit of info too:
The FZR was considered by many to be the best 600 available when it was introduced in 1989. There have been no major revisions to the FZR's design with the exception of substituting a single headlight in the '91 and '92 years and adding 4 pot brake calipers, a spin on type oil filter and a bit wider rear tire after '89.

The key features of the FZR600 is the Deltabox frame. Although made of heavy steel, it is a frame design that evenly distributes the weight of the bike giving it incredible handling characteristics, now heavily copied by every other sportbike manufacturer. Some FZR600's, and all those sold in California, USA, have an EXUP valve. The EXUP maintains high back pressure at low RPM's and opens fully at high RPM's yielding excellent midrange and no loss of top end, most exhaust tuners find the Yamaha EXUP valve design "hard to beat." Therefor it is recommended to only add a full exhaust system on a 49 state FZR600 as it requires you to lose the EXUP valve (just get a good slip-on).

The only problem with the stock FZR for performance riding is the under dampened rear shock and soft fork springs. Ohlins and FOX both make replacements for the rear that make a world of difference and Race Tech springs for the front are the preferred choice.

The FZR is an excellent machine that will run circles around inexpensive Ninja's, Katana's, and the like. The popularity of this bike makes it easy to find parts and used ones between $2000-$4000. Reliablity is excellent under normal riding, but the weak Yamaha clutch and tranny does not take kindly to abuse, repair work should you destroy yours is aprox. $1000.

I'm afraid a 400 would lose my interest after a year or two.. maybe they don't depreciate that much, but I know I'll want it to be perfect so it will cost me a lot and afteer two years I'll decide to trade it in for a 600 or 750..

a fazer is easier to ride than a fzr? so maybe better to begin with..
I recon they have the same gearbox issues?
only a fzr looks a lot better and is a lot cheaper
how 's the predecessor of the fazer called? found some TDM's but they're only available in 850cc and that's a bit too big too start with

I'd go for a ZXR750H1 or H2, they are quite cheap, easy to ride and I did 1000 miles in a day on my old one once (I'm 6'2") and had no aches the next day! It also never broke down in my few years ownership (technically it broke down once, but I threw it down the road at 80mph, so it's to be expected! lol)

Plus, you can't beat riding a bogey

the gsxr isnt a 600, its a 750. and eitherway, if you go with the attitude that a 400 will bore you, and your a new biker, you will kill yourself on a 600. still fast enough to kill you..

i know this is true, but in the wrong time, wrong part of a corner wet lines/drainhole etc, inexperienced throttle usage equals world of pain.
i was the only person i knew who passed myvfull test at 17 and bought a 125, rode it full power legally. i had a lot of fun in them times, now sometimes i yearn to have a 125 back... i think smaller cheaper bikes are way forwards until road sense is learned

haven't had a bike before.. and a lot of comments get me onto doing some research in the 400 and 500 (the latter being 2 cylinders) ..

maybe better to start with a cb500 which is able to look great too..

ok it's a 750 but you get the idea


this is a 500..


but a vfr400 may also be a good idea..?

more upright position
link.marktplaats.nl/260330748

check the decals!
link.marktplaats.nl/260791044

another GPZ, pretty cheap option, but I fear it's for a good reason.. frames don't seem as rigid as a bandit (see next ad)
link.marktplaats.nl/260748100
link.marktplaats.nl/260426189
ads are taken from a local ads website btw...