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

[DarkLord]

Hehe....I'm sure the store would be delighted if I came back with a smashed up R1 and said "nah it's a bit too big for me at the moment ay, thanks for the test ride though!"

[EJK]

R1:

• 177Kg
• 112Nm
• 180hp

GT250R:

• 146Kg
• 22.68Nm
• 28hp

R1: 1.01hp/kg, close to a 1:1 ratio.
GT250R: 0.19hp/kg.

According to the calculation, it's basically 5 times more powerful.

You'll feel some difference

TBH, its your choice not mine follow your heart(?)

[Ragingrob]

You have a good point, onearmedbandit.

I certainly want to be riding the bike to its full potential and don't want to be terrified every time I get on! My plan is to stick with the Whoflung at least until I get my full licence which is probably 18 months away or more anyway.

I've heard stories about people touching the throttle on a thou or something and having the thing take off like a ballistic missile. No doubt it would take a lot of getting used to especially seeing as I have to open the throttle right up on the Whoflung just to pass someone.

The idea of an R6 first or a Ninja or something seems to make more and more sense.

If you rode a litre bike to it's full potential... ummm... , yeah I'm pretty sure there's no point. You could ride from Auck to Welly on an R1 in bloody 1st gear if you really wanted.

Get a 600, at least for a bit. Many people never bother to step up from that anyway.

Litre bike don't really appreciate speed limits if you wanna use them properly!

[DarkLord]

Whoa. The R1's only slightly heavier than the GT250, yet is nearly 5 times as powerful.

I see. I did not know that.

[YellowDog]

Hi Gazza,
To make such a large biking power jump, as you allude to in your initial post, IMO would be suicide.

If you were to trade in your 250cc on Monday afternoon and ride home on a CBR1000 in the evening, subject to a Post Mortem being required, you could be 2m underground by Thursday afternoon.

On the other hand, if you intent introducing yourself to such powerful beasts on a gradual basis; paticpating in Track days and also take some instruction, then you really will not have a problem. Your choice on the type of 600cc or 1000cc bike would also be a big factor in how much training you would need.

Take care and you will accomplish your ambitions.

'bon chance'

[McJim]

There are very few people out there who can actually use more than 60-70% of their litre sportsbikes. I've heard many litre bike riders talk of selling them for something smaller coz they can't really use what they've got on the open road or they're afraid they're going to lose their licence.

The big question is why do you want to move to a litre bike? In the context of the open road what are you going to do on it that you couldn't do on a 600 or even a 1000cc twin?

Once you answer that question honestly to yourself I think you'll see what your options are.

Enjoy whatever you do though.

[DarkLord]

So you think that even doing a track day on the Hyosung would help me handle a bigger bike better?

[tide]

So you think that even doing a track day on the Hyosung would help me handle a bigger bike better?

hell yeah... any time on the track will help... I did a track day on my hyobag... has made a huge difference...

[NOMIS]

Hey,

A friend of mine had his cbr 250 stolen from westgate he got payed out insurance and went and got a r1 and has had no problems, Me myself I dont think I would be able to handel the power around town and i mainly ride my bike to work and back everyday in traffic I wouldnt wana do this on something with the power of a r1. a r6 maybe :-)

[jrandom]

Don't get a modern thousand-cc sportbike.

You'll be all "WHOOOOAHHH!" for a bit, then you'll be WHOOOOAHHHH! some more, then you'll realise that basically, on such a bike, it's a choice between one or more of:

A. Getting far too cocky far too quickly, ending up in all sorts of trouble at something over 200 kilometres an hour and dying horribly;

B. Riding like a complete nana everywhere, never learning to go around corners properly, and being shit-scared of opening the throttle in case the thing goes sideways and wraps you around a tree;

C. The best option, mastering the bike after plenty of practice, which really should be on a track, and then spending a lot of your riding time feeling slightly frustrated because, frankly, riding a bike that's pretty much designed as a base machine for good lap times on international GP circuits on NZ roads can be... frustrating.

And don't forget that at some point during all of the above, you're probably going to lose your licence.

I'd say, once you can, just test ride everything, make sure you try riding styles of motorcycle other than 1000cc and 600cc production racebikes - after all, that's only a small (albeit popular) segment of the two-wheeled world.

Above all, have fun!

[DarkLord]

True that...I should get myself to a track day sometime. When I'm not quite as broke as I am right now!

I think the main reason I would consider a bigger bike, like a thou or something is because of my flatmates Bandit 1200 which just has torque and acceleration to boot in practically any gear (I know as I've been on it many times and that thing can go!) which is something that I'd really like to have on a bike, is just that buttload of power, right there whenever I need it.

Correct me if I'm wrong but from what I hear it's a bit different at least with my flatmates R6 as he has to drop gears and rev really high to get the power as the bike is apparently a bit gutless at lower revs. I guess I could get used to that but the idea of having all of that torque and acceleration right there is an attractive one.

[hurricane_r]

simple master 250----> goto 600
master 600 (good luck) go to thou


no point upgrading from a 250 if you cant
thrash the maximum tits off it,

[Steam]

no point upgrading from a 250 if you cant
thrash the maximum tits off it,

Certainly there is. If you want to tour around comfortably at 100kph and not hold up traffic on the uphill or into a headwind, then more than 250 is pretty much necessary. You don't need to be able to thrash the tits off a 250 to benefit from a bit more horsepower on the open road.

[tide]

I think the main reason I would consider a bigger bike, like a thou or something is because of my flatmates Bandit 1200 which just has torque and acceleration to boot in practically any gear (I know as I've been on it many times and that thing can go!) which is something that I'd really like to have on a bike, is just that buttload of power, right there whenever I need it.

Correct me if I'm wrong but from what I hear it's a bit different at least with my flatmates R6 as he has to drop gears and rev really high to get the power as the bike is apparently a bit gutless at lower revs. I guess I could get used to that but the idea of having all of that torque and acceleration right there is an attractive one.

mmm you are comparing a Bandit to a R6??? two completely different class of bikes... like comparing apples to oranges... mmm both fruit... simplistic but think you get the point...

you are currently on a lazy v-twin... very different to highly stressed inline-4

My first bike was the Hyobag... have upgraded to the ER-6N... awesome bike the ER is... but even on that have twisted the wrist a little hard and have gone oh shit... but managed...

I have also had the pleasure of riding jrandoms betty... mmm now that is a 1400 and a very nice bike to ride... comfy and sit in any gear, want to accelerate twist grip... but even that would scare the shit out of me if I was not careful...

test ride and enjoy...

[jrandom]

... because of my flatmates Bandit 1200 which just has torque and acceleration to boot in practically any gear (I know as I've been on it many times and that thing can go!) which is something that I'd really like to have on a bike, is just that buttload of power, right there whenever I need it.

That's why I ride a GSX1400. Significantly more torque than a Bandit 1200 (or even the new 1250), and extraordinary levels of comfort for all-day touring at mildly illegal speeds.

Such bikes are great, but their main drawback is the fact that they're big and heavy and it takes a little bit of practice and skill to maneuver them around. Riding them also requires a fair degree of both commitment and restraint; you can't quickly correct for misjudgements like you can on a nimble sportbike.

There are plenty of bikes that you could look at that have better low-down pull than the new 600s. The current R6 is an extreme example; it's a bike that's really just designed for the track, with a very peaky engine, to all accounts.

Just try everything out there and see what you like, really. Don't get blinkered into thinking that your options are limited to folding your knees around your ears on a something-600 or a something-thou.