My first REAL bike

[vegan_virgin]

not sure i'll be so daring as to go from my gn250 to something so ferocious! its one nice looking bike, congrats

[Old Steve]

Geez, you go off some people! That looks the works, yeah it's going mach 1 just sitting there on it's stand. And red is a much better colour too.

Jealous Old Steve - stuck on a 250 for another 9 months

[Houseman]

I agree going from cold to GN250 to 1000cc would be risky but I have ridden bikes most of my life, admitedly dirt bikes. Is way more than I can handle at the moment whcih is why I bought heading into winter... lots of slow boring riding getting used to the wet etc before stretching its legs in spring. I am also 6'3" 90kg so good sized bike for me compated to 600cc sports (which incendently would be just as fast/dangerous as this bike IMO)

[McWild]

Thanks for all the comments guys. Had a GN250 for a while just to get my licence. Nothing against it, was a great bike, I just mean this one is for keeps.

Cool, I think you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it, you sound like you have the right head for it which is more important than anything else.

Just keep taking it easy and ride to your ability, not to someone else's.

[98tls]

Good for you,great bikes enjoy.

[banditrider]

You're gonna love it for sure! Enjoy but take care! Love my little red beastie...

[R-Soul]

I agree going from cold to GN250 to 1000cc would be risky but I have ridden bikes most of my life, admitedly dirt bikes. Is way more than I can handle at the moment whcih is why I bought heading into winter... lots of slow boring riding getting used to the wet etc before stretching its legs in spring. I am also 6'3" 90kg so good sized bike for me compated to 600cc sports (which incendently would be just as fast/dangerous as this bike IMO)

Great choice of bikes there - I love my VTR. They are MASSIVE amounts of fun. I also have a red one.
They have superb handling and power (for the price). And after the last ART day at Pukekohe track, they should NOT be underestimated. My speedo only went to 190 (imported) but the needle went waaay past that - prolly 220-230 - and it was still pulling hard before I chickened out. They are reasonably heavy though, and you should learn as much about cornering technique as you can to handle her better. it was probably teh most overrepresented bike at ART day. I counted four or five of them there - which says something about their capabilities.

They are very forgiving and you only get as much power as you twist the throttle for - nice and linear, which makes it a lot easier to ride than an equivalently powered 600 for a beginner. With a shedload more torque. You probably will take many months to finally have the guts to open the throttle full. Yes its that scary....
It will rasie its front wheel at full throttle, and gets light pretty quickly without trying much.

The range sucks, and the fuel consumption does too. But WHO CARES? Its becue you just cannot stay off the throtttle long enough to conserve anything. I got the same fuel consumption on the track that I do commuting normally. I dunno if that says anything about my normal commuting...


They are also great reliable machines, and cheap to service.
Enjoy!!

[Mudfart]

yeah im watching them, and the value for money seems really good.

[Houseman]

Thanks for the comments.

I just took it for its first decent ride this weekend AKL, ROTORUA, TAURANGA, AKL. 500km and I think I am in love. Agree completely about having to get used to the power. It gives me the shits every time I hit 5th gear, already doing 140 and you know there is so much more to come. Got comfortable crusing at 120kmh which is as fast as I need on the road. The torque for overtaking is brilliant. Will def go to a track day to get better at cornering as I am not confident at higher speeds as yet but had heaps of fun crusing through the twisties in the Waioweka gorge today (65-85km/h).

On first name terms with just about every gas station attendant between here and Rotorua though, shes def thirsty! The other great thing I never realised is how many people turn and look when they hear you coming. Heaps of thumbs up from other bikers as I cruised through small towns was really cool.

[Mudfart]

out of 20 riders at work, only two have the same make/model of bike and they are.....vtr1000 firestorms!.

[R-Soul]

Thanks for the comments.

I just took it for its first decent ride this weekend AKL, ROTORUA, TAURANGA, AKL. 500km and I think I am in love. Agree completely about having to get used to the power. It gives me the shits every time I hit 5th gear, already doing 140 and you know there is so much more to come. Got comfortable crusing at 120kmh which is as fast as I need on the road. The torque for overtaking is brilliant. Will def go to a track day to get better at cornering as I am not confident at higher speeds as yet but had heaps of fun crusing through the twisties in the Waioweka gorge today (65-85km/h).

On first name terms with just about every gas station attendant between here and Rotorua though, shes def thirsty! The other great thing I never realised is how many people turn and look when they hear you coming. Heaps of thumbs up from other bikers as I cruised through small towns was really cool.

Yeah you gotta love that sound - especially if you have aftermarket pipes. But even standard ones are lovely.

Just be careful - you almost get disadinful of cars because you can pass them so easily. But be aware that you need to have the space and capabilities of getting BACK onto the lane after passing. Getting past the car is not an issue- its the ability to get out of the away of oncoming traffic on blind bends or over crests of hills after you have passed the car(s), and find yourself at 160kph going too fast for your capabilities thats the problem. Remember passing is a two stage process-1) having space for passing, and 2) rejoining the lane at speed over cats eyes, paint, etc. Plan passing properly.


Dont get too greedy passing cars, and dont ride with ego.

And do a bit of reading and ask questions about good cornering technique.

[The Pastor]

bro, so you have gone from a gn250 to a 1000cc? Im sitting my full soon, and im curious if its ok to go straight to a big bike.
I was looking at going to a 6-800 cc.

nah u will die instantly. You have to be a man to handle the extreeeeeme power of anything bigger than a 250cc...............

[R-Soul]

out of 20 riders at work, only two have the same make/model of bike and they are.....vtr1000 firestorms!.

Well you can pick up an older model with about 30000 km's on it for about $5-6k. That is the best value for money that I have seen anywhere for what you get performance wise.

It is alos a great bike to transition from 250's on, since it has such linear power delivery. And because its a 1000, its got enough grunt so that you dont have to upgrade again (eg if you buy 400/600) for a long time (its 0-100 times are similar to the new R1's, and when it came out (1997), it was regarded by one of the big bike magazines as being the fastest accelerating bike (0-100) in the world.

In first gear, its geared for 10km/hr per 1000 rpm, and redlines at 9500rpm. So you can hit 100km/hr in first if you push it just past the redline. Its definitelya beast, but its a tame beast that won't bite your bum when you arent looking...

[kiwifruit]

Cool beans!

[R-Soul]

bro, so you have gone from a GN250 to a 1000cc? Im sitting my full soon, and Im curious if its ok to go straight to a big bike.
I was looking at going to a 6-800 cc.

Besides being a real man, you also need to have a controllable right hand. After all, if it is not being twisted hard, it cant really bite you that badly can it? Of course some bikes tend to bite harder than others. I would say that two stroke type bikes or bikes that have more pronounced power bands are less controllable for people who are not used to high power.

The step is made easiere with a good choice of bike with nice controllable linear power delivery (like a V-twin), and judicious use of your right hand. What you twist is what you get all through the rev range - not what you twist up to 8000rpm is tame, and after 8000rpm explodes....
I reckon going straight to a manic beast like a Busa, you could get into serious trouble because even a small mistake in thottle usage could mean losing traction - especially on greasy corners.