Is a litre bike too fast AND quick for the street?

[Coyote]

I'm worried about the 18-20ish year old young people lurking at these literbike sites(this one and others)that are thinking," Well I can ride my CBR250 or CR 250 dirt bike on the back lot pretty good, maybe I should buy a new literbike because there just so cool and boy it sure will impress my girlfriend"
They have absolutely NO idea how dangerous literbikes are without first getting the proper rider training AND learning to respect what's between there legs in so far as riding on public streets is concerned. If that same person wants a 200 horsepower 300 pound literbike just to truck to and race track day's FINE! if someone like that has a crash on a race track. they are in the wright place to do so

Haha, I'm 17 and admittedly I'm kinda like that. I'm getting tired of my 150 and how it's lacking in power and maxes out at 150k. And I want to be able to take pillion passengers without the rear end bottoming out and hitting the pegs on a slight lean. I've mentioned several times on here that I want an SP1 mainly cause they're freakin awesome, and I've made excuses like the powerband is linear and I learnt to ride on a KX80 with a lightswitch powerband, etc. I do believe I'm intelligent enough to respect the bike and not to kill myself, but I'm also smart enough to realise my primal speed freak subconcious mind will overcome my sensible side. Like today, I went 150 past a cop, he didn't come after me cause the motorway barrier was in the way I think. Even so I was pretty stupid

I'm most likely to get a Motard this year as my upgrade bike (cause it'll be possible that i can race it aswell as ride on the road with it), but if I can manage to afford a litre bike I'd be awfully tempted

[onearmedbandit]

They're just not happy at 100kmph and pootling about at legal speeds doesn't do them any good.

I'll bite as well, have you ridden a late model thou? Or are you just assuming. Ridden my thou at road legal speeds on plenty of occassions (err, all the time, honest) and she purrs in 6th gear. Need to pass someone, indicate, look, twist and go. And it gets 'tested' enough times to ensure it gets used as it should.

As for the "they go as fast as your wrist argument".....Maybe 1 in 50 riders have the self control not to go bansai with them once in a while and I'm not one of them.

Ha, these bikes teach self control, it's not an option. If you're stupid enough not to realise that, you get what you deserve. I've thrown my thou away at over 130km/h pushing it hard, but I was on the track during an open day (we have them every Tuesday and Friday down here, great to stretch the throttle cable on the thou!) so I know how hard they bite. But on the road I've had no issues, never once over stepped the limit but had the time of my life.

When I owned my GSXR750, my first decent bike after my big accident, I thought the thou's were overkill for the road, too much power and just a waste of money. My 750 was fast enough. But after spending some time on the thou I can honestly hand-on-heart say that right now I wouldn't consider going down to a smaller bike.

The thou has the ability to dop everything I want with ease, everything the 750 did. But it is a bike that has more, and requires more. And that is something I enjoy. You have to work yourself more, be mentally sharper. And that feeling gives me a rush like nothing else.

[SimJen]

I love my thou, and wouldn't/couldn't go back to a smaller bike.
Its physical size is smaller than my previous 600, and it handles/stops better.
Anyone who thinks thou's are too much on the road, can eat my shorts!
I just hope that all these peeps saying 1000's are too fast have actually ridden one for a distance, and aren't just saying it cause they got off a 250cc and scared themselves shitless on a thou - Speed is relative.
600's are generally too much for the road, as so often is a tuned 400 (ZXR etc) or even a 250 two stroke.
1000's are what makes freedom a wonderful thing and motorcycling such a great past-time.

[Coyote]

Ha, these bikes teach self control, it's not an option. If you're stupid enough not to realise that, you get what you deserve. I've thrown my thou away at over 130km/h pushing it hard, but I was on the track during an open day (we have them every Tuesday and Friday down here, great to stretch the throttle cable on the thou!) so I know how hard they bite. But on the road I've had no issues, never once over stepped the limit but had the time of my life.

When I owned my GSXR750, my first decent bike after my big accident, I thought the thou's were overkill for the road, too much power and just a waste of money. My 750 was fast enough. But after spending some time on the thou I can honestly hand-on-heart say that right now I wouldn't consider going down to a smaller bike.

So you're recommending 1000cc bikes, but maybe not to someone like myself? Or would I be fine so long as I retain my self control?

[onearmedbandit]

I'm not recommending anything to anyone off here, as I don't know their temperment, their ability, their experience etc. If you are considering a thou, think lots of power = lots of speed = things happen much quicker. More power than you know what to do with. They will teach self respect, but that's coming from a guy who hopped off a 120hp GSXR750 onto a thou, not from a 250 or similar. I still believe in baby steps on bikes, get fast on small bikes first and work your way up.

[Coyote]

Fair enough. A Motard sounds like the smartest option by far for me then

[The_Dover]

I love my small penis and will accept no other substitute or form of compensation for my sexual inadequacy.

[RM125king]

hahaha dover.

yeah i love my R6 and sometimes wonder about " what if i got the thou?''

But everytime i take it out i love the feeling of thrashing the fuck out of it into the corners and not have to so much worry about the front coming up at 150 km/h as you exit the corner unlike some of these thous. go the 600's. how much faster do you need to go? The 600's these days are doing 0 - 200 in 7 seconds. A 600 can almost have the same top speed as a thou just doesnt get there as quick if top speed is what your thing is. Granted the 600s lack in tourqe and you have to keep changing gear all the time but that adds to the character of the bike.

Its exactly like comparing 2 strokes vs 4 stroke moto x bikes. the 2 strokes are light and you can thrash the fuck out of them and love to rev high where as the 4's have the tourqe but dont really like to be thrashed in high rpms and dont rev as high.

it comes down to what your into and is not just a speed thing.

[Big Dog]

It is not the bikes that are too fast for the road it is the rider.
Many RR's are too aggressive for the road, but if you want liquid power, smooth delivery and a roomy seat you can't beat the 'busa.

It is however an exercise in self control.

That's ok it just means that the bike is more of a bike than I am a rider.
That just means when the chips are down there will always be something left.

[Mort]

I think 1000's are as safe or as dangerous as any other bike. Its down to the rider. Any bike on the road you need to know what you are doing and the faster you ride the better rider you need to be. Its not the bike its the rider.

After that its down to personal preference. Personally I love the absolute speed and ability of a 1000cc sports bike.... there's nothing like it. It does it for me... but if your thing is a 600 or a harley or a goldwing... good on yer.... its what does it for you that counts and nothing else.

[justsomeguy]

What we need are pictures and reviews - note some of the reviewers are relatively inexperienced riders too.

A few pics, one for you Dover.

[Mrs Busa Pete]

i think that each individual has to work up to a big bike .if you are a large unit you need a large bike for comfort and practacality .the busa is happy at 50km around town as well as 90 km to 200 km on the open road .wright you self a list of what you wan,t from the bike long distance work/2 up/
trackdays/day tripping or just for work but don,t get one to be a posser you can buy the fastest bike and the flashest gear but you cant buy natural tallent and abillity .

[crash harry]

well put bp.

IMHO, having ridden the ZX9R for a year as a commuter/tourer/go anwhere do anything bike, big litre bikes from the 90s are cool all rounders. That probably counts V twins as well, from TLs and Firestorms to SVs etc, though I haven't ridden them - similar power and weights really.

The busa is something else. I find that I have to respect the throttle so much more. It consumes a lot more of my attention. Probably something that I will eventually get used to, but things like low-speed first gear intersections are a bit harder than they are on a less powerful bike.

I think it's interesting to note the number of comments saying that thous+ are too fast for the road, coming from people on 250s. I assume that in most cases that means you're still on a learners or restricted license. So you ain't been riding all that long. So WTF would you know about it? I don't mean that as an insult, just that your perceptions will change considerably as your skill level rises.

Riding a big grunter is what life is all about at the end of the day!

[scracha]

It's about choice. Do we want restricted HP bikes in NZ like in Europe had? (they had a 100BHP rule).

I think that was just Switzerland.

What about young hoons in 250BHP Subarus etc? Should these cars be taken off the road along with all Ferraris and Porches?

Er...yeah...I think the ones who've been driving less than 4 or 5 years or who've lost their license a few times should.

[scracha]

I'll bite as well, have you ridden a late model thou? Or are you just assuming. Ridden my thou at road legal speeds on

I haven't always ridden $hite old bike's you know :-) but the fact is I find the ease of getting up to silly speeds on my SOB or a modern 600 bad enough.

Fizzy thou (ok, it's not a "late model") was a waste of time even in the UK with the 70mph speed limit (read that as "cops don't bother below 140kmph). Cousin's Thunderarse had pretty much the same engine and was just the same. RSV millievanilly thing I borrowed for a couple of days to go to Scotland:- Completely and utterly $hite below about 90kmph.....no friggin way could I see the point in owning the thing in New Zealand.

plenty of occassions (err, all the time, honest) and she purrs in 6th gear.

You're basically saying that you tend to go above legal speeds on your litre bike (or are you being sarcastic). My basical point wasn't that litre bikes were dangerous. It was just that they're a waste of time on public roads ridden at legal speeds. For sure, they're not so much of a waste of time at > 100kmph.

Ha, these bikes teach self control, it's not an option. If you're stupid enough not to realise that, you get what you deserve. I've thrown my thou away at

Quite agree on that last point. The problem is that a lot of guys/gals get litre bikes and are too stupid to realise they'll need some form of self control AT ALL TIMES on one of these things. Forget your self control on a litre bike for a few seconds and viola...you're doing 200kmph. Just look at the number of crashed "big bikes" in the breakers or read some of the "I've dropped my bike" threads on this forum.

something I enjoy. You have to work yourself more, be mentally sharper. And that feeling gives me a rush like nothing else.

Ok then. I'll say 1 in 20 riders have got the self control, reflexes and "mental sharpness" you have (no sarcasm intended). I certainly don't. I guess the proof would be with a poll such as "have you ever found yourself overtaking a line of cars doing >150kmph on your 1 litre bike?".