Bike to get after getting a full licence: Top powered or upgrade gradually?

[ural]

Hi everyone,

I'm getting my full licence in a couple of months and I'm a bit bewildered. I like that awe factor that a bike which is more powerful than your previous one can deliver. While on my learners/restricted I rode a couple of top powered bikes in LAMS category, they were around 50bhp. And that felt like a huge step up from a 250cc. On the other hand I'd love to have as much power as I can get and tame.

So, two options exist: upgrade gradually, e.g., 50bhp->75->100->150->more, if that's not enough? Or get smth that feels like your dream bike straight away, just because you can!

I understand safety concerns.. the question is more around how not to get bored of a bike too quickly and have fun.

I use my bike almost every day to commute. Another thing is that I won't be keeping my bikes for more than a year, more realistically I'm looking at changing my bikes every 6 months. I just want to try as many as I can as I started riding pretty late, so heaps of stuff to discover.

Well... I think that I may have already answered my question while writing this post. Gradually upgrading should be my thing... or not?

Nevertheless, you can share your stories!

- What was your first full powered bike?
- Which bike have you learnt on?
- Have you upgraded gradually?
- Have you ever sold your big-engine bike and returned back to less powered 600-ish? Why?
- Have you tried different types of bikes (sport, tourers, supermotos etc) or you initially got stuck to one type/model?
- Have you found your dream bike already?

[EJK]

If power is what you are after, why settle for less?

Get a busa.

[Swoop]

It all comes down to your personal ability to control your right wrist.

Any bike (getting a bigger one, OR even a smaller one) can bite. It is nice to have sufficient power to get out of situations though.

[5150]

I think any late model Cross-plane R1 or Busa will do to start with. After all, you want to ease in gradually

[Big Dog]

Inpossible to say without seeing you ride... but I don't see any value to being gradual up to 600cc. Beyond that type of bike will be a bigger factor than cc.

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[Big Dog]

E.g going from a 600cc r6 to a 883 sportster will not get you in add much trouble as going from a 650cc er6f to a 500cc 2 smoke R.

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[baffa]

If you use the bike regularly, and dont view it as a simple crappy appliance, you'll get bored and want to chop and change.
Ride something fun.

My first big boy bike was a fireblade, but I had experience on 600s etc.

Go for something that makes you happy, as long as you feel comfortable.

Falling off your cool looking sports bike because your feet cant touch the ground doesnt make you cool, it makes you an idiot.

Go ride some stuff

[TheDemonLord]

I went from a 250 to a 650 Lams, which I then derestricted to a full power 650, and am now on a 'Busa. The biggest jump was from the 250 to the 650, once you get used to a bigger capacity bike, the transition is easier.

[00quattro00]

1200 bandit

[neels]

I knocked around on an old 250 for a while, then upsized to an oldish 600, now I'm on a 83hp ducati. One of these days I'll go and buy myself a 'full' powered bike

Also, engine hp is not the only thing to consider.....

[EJK]

Jokes aside, if you are considering to replace bikes every 6 months then I guess graduating in terms of cc and riding style would be much more fun.

Honestly tho, if you have tried a 50hp bike then you don't have to be so scared of 100+ ponies bikes. Most of the horsepower don't come alive until over half of the rpm range anyways. Back in the days when learners/ restricted were limited to 250 we were dealing with going from 20hp to 100hp bikes!

Try a nimble vacuum cleaner sound Triumph Street Triple, then something like a high revving Japanese engineered Yamaha R6, then a torquey twin like a sexy Italian Ducati 848 or a power-house Yamaha MT-09... oh what a joy! Too bad I don't have the luxury of replacing bikes so often, so have to stick to just S1000RR.

[OddDuck]

You could have loads of fun going through the steps. There are heaps of great bikes out there at the moment, why not try a few different things and see what works for you?

[Jin]

What kind of bike do you want? If you like the MT07 get an MT09. Same bike just faster. Lots of fun.

[zmlam]

Hi everyone,

I'm getting my full licence in a couple of months and I'm a bit bewildered. I like that awe factor that a bike which is more powerful than your previous one can deliver. While on my learners/restricted I rode a couple of top powered bikes in LAMS category, they were around 50bhp. And that felt like a huge step up from a 250cc. On the other hand I'd love to have as much power as I can get and tame.

So, two options exist: upgrade gradually, e.g., 50bhp->75->100->150->more, if that's not enough? Or get smth that feels like your dream bike straight away, just because you can!

I understand safety concerns.. the question is more around how not to get bored of a bike too quickly and have fun.

I use my bike almost every day to commute. Another thing is that I won't be keeping my bikes for more than a year, more realistically I'm looking at changing my bikes every 6 months. I just want to try as many as I can as I started riding pretty late, so heaps of stuff to discover.

Well... I think that I may have already answered my question while writing this post. Gradually upgrading should be my thing... or not?

Nevertheless, you can share your stories!

- What was your first full powered bike?
- Which bike have you learnt on?
- Have you upgraded gradually?
- Have you ever sold your big-engine bike and returned back to less powered 600-ish? Why?
- Have you tried different types of bikes (sport, tourers, supermotos etc) or you initially got stuck to one type/model?
- Have you found your dream bike already?

- SV1000s
- VTR250
- No
- Sold the bike as I rarely used it, used to do more daily long distance but then change in work meant that I could walk to work instead and found town commuting - big bike wasn't the most practical. If I were to buy a bike for my current needs (mostly town riding) - I'm considering the Honda MX125 - sounds like a blast to ride despite being much smaller in capacity.
- Had a sports bike then a sport/tourer - CB919. Found a big difference in posture, wind protection in both styles.
- No

There's a post here in these forums about going from 250 to thou. Has great points in them (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...much-of-a-jump)

Personally think anything over 600cc's is more than enough for me (I don't do tracks). I too had an awe for big bikes. After owning a few bikes - I found its then what features I preferred - Vtwin, 4 cyclinder, pannier options, 2-up riding friendly, posture, wind protection, looks, do you like riding hard, does it suit my kind of travelling that I do mostly, costs of refilling/tank capacity, etc. Also a trip to cambodia and renting a 125cc scooter and the joy of riding on two wheels really highlighted really why riding was fun without the need of a big engine.

Enjoy your transition(s) and keep safe - lucky that you can afford to change rides every 6 months!

[Gremlin]

Generally speaking, making a large jump is not a smart move. Sure, some handle it, but most don't.

Put at the simplest, the bike can accelerate faster than you can think when you're a learner, and that's mostly where all the issues occur. By taking intermediate steps you can slowly get used to it. On the flip side, plenty that have gone up, come back down as they realise they don't need all the power.

Personally, I went Kwaka ZZR250 to Kwaka ZX7R (big jump and plenty had bets I wouldn't make it) to Kwaka ZX10R (lost my licence) to KTM 990 Supermoto (same capacity but 2/3 of the power) to BMW R1200GSA (about the same power as the KTM).

Biggest thing I learnt is that if you're chasing speed and power, it's like a drug. You'll need more and more to get the same feeling and it mostly ends one way. Badly. You need to get enjoyment from motorcycling in other ways...