sounds like an even better case for a twin then.....with a 4 cylinder in traffic you have to do tons of shifting. The torque band in twins lets you stay in one gear for much larger variations of speed. A used (99' or so) SV with the carbs gives those benefits along with nice smooth carbed fuel delivery.....it would be perfect for those conditions. Also good for tall guys.....I'm 6'7 and it's more manageable than most.

 

Or you can just do what I did, buy a cruiser. :P Been driving for 3 years, two bikes, never put either of them down and with only 4 gears and a monster twin under my seat, you never have to shift. Plus even my bike gets double the miles per gallon of my evo.

 

Crzylizard - I'll add another echo for the SV650. Great bike, good power, reasonable price, lots of them around if you need extra parts...

I learned on a Suz Bandit 400 (great learner bike, but not much torque - didn't start waking up 'till around 8000 rpm!!). In between was a Bandit 1200, now I have the 'Busa, but have to REALLY respect the throttle - 100+ comes REAL quick.

I've ridden a friend's SV650, It's surprisingly good... and the SV1000 would be the natural progression once you've gotten some miles in...

"Keep the rubber side down"

 

Get whatever you want dude, I agree with all the people on here about 600s and they are by no means one of the best bikes to learn to ride on. The SV is also a great bike, I have never owned one, but have rented one and took it on the track. So i guess my thoughts are get what you want (can afford), but leave enough money for some leathers, and a good helmet. Again get the gear, and weat it, even if its hot. just my 02.

 

I am selling my 2002 Ducati 750SS. It has 1100 miles on it and has never been dropped! It has been babied and garage kept ever since I got it (bought brand new). It is absolutely immaculate and has never even seen rain!

I am a mature rider (31 years old) and believe this bike to be a descent compromise between sport and daily riding. It is a v-twin with lots of torque and can be tuned if need be. Also, it is a Ducati, which means it will hold a good resale value.

Oh, and it handles great! Brembo brake, nice suspension to boot. A classy motorcycle I am parting with because I am going to buy a house.

Let me know if you are interested, I am located in CT.

 

I'd say forget starting small. Get yourself a bike that you'll be happy with down the road too... like a Yam R-1 or a hayabusa. Everyone I know that starts on a 600 grows out of it way too fast. A big bike may be a little harder to learn on, but if you take it easy you'll do fine.

Its kinda like the lancer....Sure learning to drive in an evo would be a little harder, but once you got the hang of it, you'd be glad you weren't stuck in my slow @$$ OZ.

 

Im not concerned with growing out of it, much less, I don't want to even know about the power availiblity of a liter+ bike. Tahnks for the input though. Id rather buy me a nice 600 that I can ride for a year or two and grduate to a bigger bike after i am throughly satisfied with my skills on the 600.

 

You will never really outgrow a 600, you may think that you have, but not really. I have been riding for 13 + years now and I am much quicker on a 600 than I am on my modded 1000. In the real world, unless your dragging, average riders including myself cannot ride none of these newer 600s near their full potential.

 

lol......anyone who outgrows a 600 needs to have their head examined. Those bikes weigh about 400lbs, have over 100hp, and can do 150+ without breaking a sweat....not to mention they do a 1/4 mile in the 10's.....and that's stock. Anyone who really says they NEED more than that is nuts......now WANT....yeah, I can see that......I'm guilty of that myself. But telling a noob to get a 170hp superbike that does 9's in stock form is suicide......it's like teaching a kid how to drive by putting him in an F1 car (and power-to-weight ratio-wise that's a pretty accurate comparison).

 

exactly!

I thought I was pretty quick on my R6 on the track until I had a 13 year old kid pass me on an Aprilia RS250

If you truly think your riding skill has outgrown a 600 then you should be riding for a living.

 

definately don't listen to this guy. a 600 is MORE than enough for the street. The problem is that most people don't know what bikes are really capable of because the manufacturers don't tell the compelte truth. If suzuki was to come out and say exactly what the new gixxer600 could do, people would be horrified. On public roads, I doubt you will ever be able to use a 600 to it's full potential. The inline 4's are much more torquey than a v-twin also. Their power is like an off and on switch. It all of the sudden 'wakes up' after 6k. I've seen guys come around a corner spinning the back tire a little, then it hooks and the bike flips cuz there is so much power. (that was a gsxr 1000 though). Also, as far as speed. most 600's are within a few tenths of a second of each other in performance categories. And 1000's are not that much faster until you get past 150. If you're riding above 150mph enough to justify buying a 1000c bike, then you're crazy anyway. The sv650 is THE beginner bike to get. like loj68 said, the torque band is much more usable. It may not looks as good since its a naked bike, but it's not too bad. It's lightweight and easy to control also. Any rider will tell you, it's better to be able to ride a slow bike fast, than to buy a fast bike and only be able to ride it slowly. Also, anything with a 'R' in it is a track bike. 600RR, R6, gsxR600. All very stiff suspension, with an aggresive riding stance. These bikes are less forgiving is you make a mistake. Stick with a f4, yzf, katana, or something like that if you want an inline 4. you'll be much happier i think. if you take it to the track, you'll do better with a bike you feel comfortable on. If you rode a sv650, and then a gsxr600 on the same track, back to back, i garauntee you would put faster overall lap times with the sv650. A professional rider would turn better times with the gixxer, but that's only because he really knows what he's doing. hope this helps

 

loj68, so I'm taking it you fir pretty well on your SV. I'm 6'5 220 and I was not comfortable on my FZR600. The top of my legs were almost even with the top of the tank and didn't fit into the grooves and upshifting was a pain in the ***.

 

yeah, I fit just right on it.....I have the "S" model so the footpegs are higher and guys with longer legs may have issues. The standard model SV has lower pegs and may fit longer legged guys better. Even though I'm really tall I only have a 34" inseam so my legs fit pretty good. For the SV they also have these things called "Nates Plates" which easily allow you to relocate your footpegs and controls lower too.