Suzuki RF400 for a newbie?

**imdying** · 24th March 2011, 12:10

Bike itself is no trouble, light and easy to ride. Don't know what the maintenance is like on the REVS (or whatever those things had? maybe just the late ones?), but can't be that bad. I'd let my wife learn on one in a car park without second thoughts.

Legality as explained by the others...

**Smifffy** · 24th March 2011, 12:14

IMO, get your island licence transferred over to the correct NZ licence that you are entitled to first. Then all of the legalities as to what you are entitled to ride will become clear.

Once that is sorted you can get a bike suitable for your needs.

Some people have found that there is more to transferring an island licence to NZ than they first thought.

**Latte** · 24th March 2011, 12:14

I think you've missed that he does have a 6f(or at least he thinks he does?). Albeit he's used a loophole to get it.

The legal issue is important though.... does the Island license give you the equivalent of a 6F ?
=======================
Yes, and that's what tempts me - in a sense that I won't be seen as a n00b learner (not necessarily a good thing every time), and I won't need/want to change the bike for at least a 2-3 years.

**Smifffy** · 24th March 2011, 12:17

Originally Posted by hiss

I think you've missed that he does have a 6f(or at least he thinks he does?). Albeit he's used a loophole to get it.

Forget the island licence, show me the 6f.

Edit: Surely it's simply a matter of going into a licencing agent, paying a fee and getting the 6f if he's clearly entitled to it? If it's that simple, why doesn't he do it?

Possibly because it isn't that simple, and in reality the island licence is much like the ones that come in weet-bix packets.

Never mind, when he gets pulled over I'm sure he can pay the fine with monopoly money.

**neels** · 24th March 2011, 12:19

If you're good to go with a full bike licence, test ride it, if it fits and presses your buttons then ultimately it's your life and your decision.

There are probably some positives from starting out on a bigger bike compared to the 250 4's, at least with a bit of torque to play with you won't get in the habit of revving the snot out of it to get anywhere and then jump on a 600 and crash when old habits take over.

**Latte** · 24th March 2011, 12:25

Originally Posted by Smifffy

Forget the island licence, show me the 6f.

It's in your wallet, green thing.

According to the OP he has the right license - so legality isn't an issue. Makes the 250cc is irrelevant. We can only go off what he's stated, not what we think is more likely.

ahah, nice edit....

**Smifffy** · 24th March 2011, 12:29

Originally Posted by hiss

It's in your wallet, green thing.

According to the OP he has the right license - so legality isn't an issue. Makes the 250cc is irrelevant. We can only go off what he's stated, not what we think is more likely.

ahah, nice edit....

Yeah I got asked for it at a checkpoint in Tairua this time last week. Cop said it was nice to see someone on a full for a change. Had a reasonably good chat with him, no dramas.

**Latte** · 24th March 2011, 12:35

Originally Posted by Smifffy

Yeah I got asked for it at a checkpoint in Tairua this time last week. Cop said it was nice to see someone on a full for a change. Had a reasonably good chat with him, no dramas.

Still doing the checkpoints out that way? I've avoided it this summer for some reason (6F, wof and reg paid etc so not that).

Infact I've never had a "contact" with a police officer on my bike ..... what a waste of time getting my license was

**cowboyz** · 24th March 2011, 12:44

15HP upgrade in exchange for a $400?? ticket every time you get pulled over?? hardly seems worth it really.

**fatboy323** · 24th March 2011, 14:07

Thanks for all the answers, they have all been very constructive in their own ways

To clarify, my original question was a purely technical one: "Whether starting on a 400cc (and RF in particular) is noticeably harder/much more dangerous than on a 250cc for a person, who is psychologically developed and knows road code/behavior well?" The rest was just to give you some idea of my circumstances and to see if anyone had any info on the particular bike.

The legality part is fairly straightforward for me: if I'm not legally entitled to ride it I WON'T buy it. Straight and simple, can't enjoy the ride, having to worry about fines and debt. I have checked and to convert my island license is not straightforward and not 100% possible, but that's a completely different discussion.

hiss was onto this and saw right through to the root of the problem ... must be an engineer, or an architect

To summarize what I think of this so far:
If you're stupid no amount of restriction going to stop you from crashing.
The reverse is true to an extent.
CC rating is a flawed system to limit learners on, the coming power-to-weight is a much wiser system.

And to follow from all of the above, the RF400 is below the to-be-legal 650cc Hyosung (4.8 kg/hp vs. 3.61 kg/hp) and is slightly above currently learner CBR250RR (5.0kg/hp). (The numbers account for my weight and RF400 is 180kg 53hp bike - no rocket.) And with a little extra torque down low RF would make an OK bike to learn on.

Thanks again and keep any suggestions coming