600 or 1000?

[Vapor]

Hi Guys,

This is one of those questions, probably been answered before but would like some input as to the differences in power and ridability between a 600 class bike and the thous.

I am 28 and like to consider myself extremely cautious when riding. I will have my full license in about 4 months, and have been riding a CBR250rr.

I am going to buy brand new when I get my full license, and was potentially looking at something along the lines of either
1. Triumph Daytona 675
2. GSXR-600 or R6

Then, I thought to myself, well if I am buying a brand new bike that I will want to hang onto for years to come.. is the possibility of being able to jump on a 1000 realistic? Or am I just asking for trouble.

So, am I better to go for a 600 class bike and then move up later, or do you think I should be ok jumping on the 1000 straight away?

I would appreciated any comments regarding handling and weight etc too. As I am not a huge guy at 68kg and about 5ft8.

Thanks in advance.

Vapor

[jrandom]

You already know the answer to the question.

Buy the 600.

It's not that you can't ride the thou, it's that you'll have more fun and become a better rider on the 600. You may not even want to 'upgrade'.

[kiwifruit]

My advice would be to go for a 600, it will be less likely to bite you. You'll have alot of fun on a 600 and the power will still be amazing compared to your 250.

Have you riden a modern thou? By all means test ride one, they are incredibly easy to ride but also fairly easy to get into trouble on.

[SimJen]

Been answered many times on here before.
A 600 is more than capable of getting you in trouble if you don't respect it.
I had a modified NSR250SP then went the GSX-R 600 route, and found I was wringing its neck all the time. Got bored of the 600 and got an 01 GSX-R1000 and found I was still riding at the same speeds, but obviously had a heap more power in reserve. As the 1000 revs less you get better gas mileage too, with the odd third gear power wheelie thrown in for good measure.
Then went up to a 05 1000 and probably will never go back.
If I was you i'd get a gun metal 675.....sweet looking bikes and not as common as the others.......

[Edbear]

...is the possibility of being able to jump on a 1000 realistic? Or am I just asking for trouble.

Yo' askin' fer trouble... A new 600 will be greased lightning compared to the old CBR and a thou will kill you before your brain has registered the take-off!

Take it in steps. Even my old GSX-F600 would top 190km/h so quick it seemed like I was stabbing furiously at the gearlever in an attempt to keep up with the revs!

When you read comments from experienced testers or riders of the capability of Frosty, or OAB, et al. remember they could probably ride rings around us mere mortals if we were on a thou and they were on a 250!

[ManDownUnder]

You already know the answer to the question.

Buy the 600.

It's not that you can't ride the thou, it's that you'll have more fun and become a better rider on the 600. You may not even want to 'upgrade'.

Agreed... and how it hurts!

As a crass comparison... the 600 will work harder to find 240 but fly around corners, the thou will fly to 240 and work harder around corners.

If you want fun handling and a great all round machine go for the 600 and if/when you get to the point where you ride the pants off it, step up. If you want point and squirt on a machine that takes a little more (experience) to goad around the twisties, go for the thou.

I'm 99% sure you'd be happier on the 600.

edit - considering your height and weight... 600 all the way dude. You'll be sweet

[imdying]

The 600s are incredibly fun to thrash, it'd be a shame to miss out on that. The thous build up speed incredibly quick, and just when you think they're really pulling hard, they really start to pull. I don't anybody here could in good conscience can recommend a thou as a good step up... even a 600 will require a lot of respect... I could name a few on here that have put those into places they shouldn't

[Cajun]

Hi vapor i am same age as you

i have a 04 gsxr600 i brought brand new, and honstly i don't plan on upgrading to a bigger cc racerep bike, and i sorta dont' see the point in some of the big cc bikes on nz roads as a whole
I previously had a gsxr1100 before i got the 600, wife had a gsxr 1000 same time i had the 600, and i much pefer the 600 over the 1000.

They are the same weight, (give or take few kgs) the 1000cc just have another 50-60 hp on the 600, which can come back and bite you on the ass, but even due to weight being same it does not account for turning, a 600cc will turn better than a 1000 (due to science and curifual force of the bigger cc motor). I perfer the 600/750 size bikes due to you can thrash them a easyer and they not gonna come along and bite you on the ass as a 1000cc.

Or another opintion is go for best of both worlds and get a gsxr 750.

[Sparky Bills]

Go 600. Although there are lots of riders on here with thou's, Most have been riding for a very long time, and know what they can do, and thier limits. (I HOPE...?)
You will have sooooo much fun on a 600. But as others have said.. IT WILL STILL GET YOU IN TROUBLE.

[avgas]

The key to the matter is how cocky are you on a 250?
very cocky on a 600 means your dead
very cocky on a 1000 means your a puddle with teeth.
Also depends on the bike, 1000cc doesnt mean jack - hell buy a gsx1400
but say we are talking R1/ZX10R/GSXRK/Blade etc.....its a whole different ball park.
How fast do you realistically want to go?

[terbang]

It depends a lot on what sort of use you expect out of the bike. Sport riding, commuting, touring, track, 2 up or a combination?

[jrandom]

Sport riding, commuting, touring, track, 2 up or a combination?

For Vapor, a 600 would do a better job than a thou at any of the above, apart from the fact that nobody likes riding pillion on a modern sprotbike of any size. If he was planning on a lot of 2-up riding he'd be looking for something quite different, I'm sure.

[Toaster]

At your size, my farts would blow you over... dude I recommend a 600cc. Peppy little bikes them 600cc's and a sensible move up from a 250cc.

[SimJen]

Nothing wrong with a 600, they are wicked fun.
Thou's cost more to run, you end up chewing tyres and chains a little quicker and insurance is a lot higher.
Maybe you will end up getting a thou, but Im a fan of the three step program (250, 600, 1000) Worked for me.

[Pussy]

Got to agree with Cajun, Vapor. I've been riding for more years than I care to remember. I have owned four GSX-R1000s. Last November my wife bought a new GSX-R750, and a week later so did I. I personally find the 750 a whole lot nicer to ride than the 1000, still got enough grunt for me, with far superior handling, with the added bonus of being able to cruise at sensible type speeds without the bike complaining. I took a K7 1000 for a test ride last week, then immediately test rode a K7 750 with a pipe and power commander. It reinforced my decision to change to the 750. I reckon if you got a 750, you wouldn't need to upgrade in the future