- This topic has 4 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 8 months ago by eternal05.
GSX-R400 as a beginner’s bike?
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July 11, 2009 at 7:11 am #3128SafetyFirstParticipant
Can I find anyone who agrees with me the GSX-R400 would make a great beginner bike?
OK, maybe not great, but an idea for guys who have friends with 600s and liter sportbikes and doesn’t want to feel left out in a Pre-08 Ninja with it’s less-than-ideal sporty look, but are still on a budget.
Bad thing is, they were discontinued in 1999. So finding one might be tougher than finding a Ninja 250.
July 11, 2009 at 4:29 pm #20495eonParticipantI do not know anything about that bike so cannot comment but I am concerned over your desire to move up due to peer pressure. You have only recently started riding and obviously still have a lot to learn. Trying to keep up with your friends at this stage could get you into serious trouble. Having a ‘beginners’ bike beneath you is important but pales into insignificance compared to what’s between your ears. From your recent posts it appears that image is more important to you than safety. I ain’t your mother so I’m not going to tell you not to do it but you should at least be honest with yourself at your ability to ride within your limits. If your friends are racing into corners will you have the self control to ride at your own speed?
Be safe.
July 12, 2009 at 4:58 am #20513SafetyFirstParticipantI think you guys got the wrong end of what I was sayin’.
I don’t even know anyone, friends or family, who rides. That’s probably what made the decision to ride blew a lot of family and friends minds. So, there’s nobody daring me to take the curve with pegs scraping. And nobody calling me a wuss for having a 250.
And anyone who calls the 250 slow needs to actually ride one. Once you figure out where the powerband is, it’ll keep up with traffic at any legal speed. Unless you have land-speed records to break somewhere, IMHO any sporty over 600 is just overkill.
July 12, 2009 at 8:50 am #20519EliasParticipantGSX-R400 as a beginner’s bike?
Yes…
Especially after riding your 250 for awhile. It’s an upgrade in engine size though, don’t underestimate the difference between your P-Twin and that I-4 398cc 59hp suzuki. I would place it in the higher limits of beginner bikes, for more “advanced beginners.”
I’m coining that oxymoron term. TM, bitches…
July 12, 2009 at 8:52 pm #20536eternal05ParticipantAnd vote no. Just like I think we’re ok with somebody starting on an SV650 SOMETIMES, I think SOMEBODY might be well-suited to this bike. As I’ve said before, however, the hardest thing to manage about the GSX-Rs is not their power. In fact, I find the throttle on mine to be the easiest control to tame. Granted, without basic motorcycle skills, this would not be the case, and there is no doubt that power yields accidents for many beginners. Moreover, the capabilities that a sport bike has tend to attract the more reckless riders, yielding more accidents still.
That said, I personally find the difficult part of race bikes to be the riding position, suspension, clutch, brakes, handling, top-heaviness, etc. They all conspire to make it difficult to ride IF you haven’t completely cemented in the fundamentals of sport-biking and if you don’t have confidence in your abilities. In particular, if you don’t have decently strong legs and back muscles and aren’t consciously trying to keep weight off your arms while riding, you will have a great deal of trouble getting the bike to do what you want, both in terms of throttle and steering inputs.
Put more generally, most sportbikes are incredibly responsive to your every input. What this means for beginners is that they punish mistakes more than any other type of bike.
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