Going from a 250 to a thou....too much of a jump?

[Dealer]

Being a big man, i decided to take the big leap.
I went from my lil zzr 250 to a 1300 hayabusa.
3 weeks later i binned it.
i learned from that, and when i got my bike back, my riding improved dramatically.
For anyone considering the leap, remember this. You cant just throw a big bike into the corners, you have to work out your entry and exit strategy at every corner, more so than a smaller bike. And also, a bike that can go faster, takes longer to stop too.
Ultimately though, it is your choice to make.

[CookMySock]

Going from a 250cc Hyo to an R1 would be suicide.

What am I not getting ? Does an R1 throttle only have two settings ? off and on ? I'm not being argumentative - I would really like to get a used R1 this coming summer.

My 15 y/o learner kid can get in a $60,000 holden V8 and drive it quite successfully without all this 300kph talk.. Why can someone who has 12 months and 25,000km recent experience on a large(physical size) sport bike, not safely pootle around on an R1 ?

An R1 is not going to bite your arm off just by walking past it. So really, what am I missing ?


DB

[rogson]

Being a big man, i decided to take the big leap.
I went from my lil zzr 250 to a 1300 hayabusa.
3 weeks later i binned it.
i learned from that, and when i got my bike back, my riding improved dramatically.
For anyone considering the leap, remember this. You cant just throw a big bike into the corners, you have to work out your entry and exit strategy at every corner, more so than a smaller bike. And also, a bike that can go faster, takes longer to stop too.
Ultimately though, it is your choice to make.

Very true, and it doesn't apply only to new licence holders.

I have a number of "back-to-biking" mates who got their licences when a powerful bike had 50HP. They all went out and bought 100hp+ bikes because.......it stroked their ego. Everyone of them has had a major scare (and some major injuries) due to being seduced by the power/pick-up of the bike and not having the skills/confidence to deal with the consequences.

[cowboyz]

what you are missing is this.

Lets take a very basic example.

On a 250. You take off from some lights in a hurry. By the time you come to your senses you are doing 100k and slow down.

on a R1. You take off from some lights in a hurry. Front lifts. Little panic. Front hits the ground crossed up. Tank slapper. By the time you come to your senses you are doing 150k/hr.

And R1s dont do 'pootle'.

[kiwifruit]

R1s dont do 'pootle'.

of course they do

[cowboyz]

ok. put an R1 in the hands of a kwaka rider and it might 'feel' like pootle but really. R1s dont pootle.

[CookMySock]

On a 250. You take off from some lights in a hurry. By the time you come to your senses you are doing 100k and slow down.

on a R1. You take off from some lights in a hurry. Front lifts. Little panic. Front hits the ground crossed up. Tank slapper. By the time you come to your senses you are doing 150k/hr.

see this just adds to my confusion. You speak like I have absolutely no fucking idea whatsoever.

I take off on a 250 and by the time I come to my senses I'm doing 100 clicks ? That is complete bullshit. I could make a cup of fucken tea and roll a smoke one-handed in that time, AND talk on the phone at the same time. Not really, but it's equally exaggerated as your description.

Sure, If I dial an R1 harrrrd in a low gear its gunna bite me. Do that in a hot V8 and it will bite you too. So don't.

If I dial it harrrd in ANY gear I had better have my fucking brain switched on or face impending doom. Why is this not clear to anyone ? Maybe when they bought it they thought it was a 125cc scooter ? I don't think so.

Ok, I do get it, that I might not enjoy it because, a. I'm too scared of it, b. it's too much work to ride, c. it's too much hassle around town, d. it will make me shake like a leaf after my first big scare - and then I'll sell it.

Case in point - my wifes' GT250R is much easier to corner than my GT650R. Really, it is - hers flows around corners - mine, you get it right or you go wide.

DB

[Ragingrob]

Bastard : The thing is, with R1's you don't need to do anything "harrrd" in order for it to bite you. A small flick of your wrist and BOOM.

[Cr1MiNaL]

JediMaster you have much to learn, like I've said (without meaning to put you down) you are perhaps 5% of the way there to being a competent rider, and thats on the 250. 600'ds and 1000's are a different ball game altogether.

Using Gordons example is very misleading, as others have pointed out. CC ratings are just numbers and although G's 2nd bike was on old 1000cc bike, it perhaps had little more than 70 hp and was 3ce as heavy as I am.Stepping up to an R1 you are more than doubling that figure.

To understand this concept better, let me share with you a small example from my University life, one that you can perhaps relate to. It is easy getting a B- B B+ and even an A-, but when you want an A or an A+ you have to be in the top 2-4 percentile of your class... similarly with speeds. When you are under 200 its all nice and gentle, 240 feels a bit intimidating at first.... and you feel every single km from then on in and the world around you changes... an R1 will take you to 300 and beyond before you can say "I would like to ride an R1 to its full potential but I'm too nub for it just yet".... and 600'ds are not far lacking in 'punish you if you so much as blink' factor either. The idea is to be smooth and therein lies the secret to speed. I shall show you when you are ready mate.

After 8 years on bikes and countless kays I am still not mentally ready for a thou... maybe thats just me but before I upgrade I always take it upon myself to master my current bike... and I am so far away from that its not even worth thinking about.

My progression has been (give or take a few) 149cc, 150cc, 150cc, 180cc, 250cc, 350cc, 450cc (motard), 600cc, 600cc... just to give you an idea.

Also dont let me mislead you when I say my bike is gutless under 9k rpm... yes it is (it has been specifically designed to be peaky, as it is a track bike first and a road bike second), but it will still blow your socks away !! Plus Gordon is a very capable rider himself and has been riding as long as me. Just like you and Josh, I dare not try learn master of puppets to begin with eh or it will just shatter my confidence in myself... I must start with nothing else matters... until you all tell me to shut it.

You have a very capable first bike, and are doing really well ... now MASTER IT

[Timber020]

Dont do it, the lesson you may learn will be the hardest and most painful one you make until you get married.

[Yanosh]

When I was at Teratonga last weekend, the slowest rider and the guy who was in my opinion the most dangerous as he had no idea of lines and the bike was clearly far too intimidating for him was riding an R1....

Learn to ride and get onto a ltr sports bike when you know what you're in for

Do not be THAT guy

[McJim]

When I was at Teratonga last weekend, the slowest rider and the guy who was in my opinion the most dangerous as he had no idea of lines and the bike was clearly far too intimidating for him was riding an R1....

Learn to ride and get onto a ltr sports bike when you know what you're in for

Do not be THAT guy

Dude - I thought I was the slowest guy at Teretonga that weekend. I lasted 3 laps before the outrageous Motard activities made me decide to forget the track and go to the Catlins and do some outrageous speeds there in relative safety. I wasn't on an R1 though.....

[FilthyLuka]

Guys, come on

I did something reasonable, i jumped from a tweaked GN250 (~35 hp) to a slightly tweaked GSXR-750 (~110 hp) and its not crazy, just different. Sure the 750 wants to rev out, doesn't like being below 5k (thanks flatslides) and takes planning to corner, but its not suicidal. A woman in some honda sushi burner pulled out infront of me leaving school, i went around and was going to rip the throttle open to get back into my lane but brain went "Don't be fucken stupid." Rolled the throttle on gently, and was on my way.

Lets be honest here, he's not going jumping onto a H2a kawasaki with no experience what-so-ever, and an R1 is refined enough to be mental, but predictably mental. It's not going to be nice and quiet untill x revs then tear his balls of through the air intake

If you want to go from a 250 to an R1, go for it, just keep your right wrist in order and your brain switched on, when you loose focus is when it will bite

(personally i think a R1 would be silly, because i don't particularly like em, the first of 'em were pretty cool, but after '04 and the underseat exhausts it just went downhill for me. Ride some 600 and 750's, you might find that you like em better... on that note also testride some busses, George Forman Grills and a GSX1400 just to have some different stuff...)

Ride Safe

[Aero165]

of course they do

I second The 'Fruit.

I own a 06 R1. I commute on it ever day with out a problem.

It'll chug along nicely at 30km, 50km or 150km!

[.produKt]

I'm in the same boat i feel, but in a more sensible fashion :P

I'm about to go from a 1990 ZXr250 (76000 kms) to a 1992 Honda nc29 (?) CBR400RR.

i thought the zxr was bloody quick, but that's mostly all down to the noise at 18,000 torqueless rpm's... lol cheeky stab at zxr owners :P.

I haven't bought it yet mind you, so what do we think? do i go for it or flag it. I'm on my restricted and from what i've read i think the new biker rules might just allow me to ride it legally. Still unsure on that.

Chur!