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

[lostinflyz]

if you are into hoofing it take small steps. I got a 400 and nearly off'd myself on it for the first few rides. my flatmate had a '00 CBR and that is a whole other story.

if you cruisy and into slowly getting used to things a 600's the way to go. but if u like to give it a bit of a go, take smaller steps.

the biggest issues ive found on all my bikes is when you twist your wrist, u get there alot quicker. thats a problem when you going 100 into 35's.

but its all about discipline. and not being a fuckwit. like me

[jrandom]

anyone... telling you otherwise is... scared based on there own... experiences.

It's odd how with the drivel cut out, you sound like you're arguing against yourself.

[boomer]

It's odd how with the drivel cut out, you sound like you're arguing against yourself.

i'm sorry Dan, did i take up space on your interdweeb site?

My bad; as you were.

[jrandom]

i'm sorry Dan, did i take up space on your interdweeb site?

My bad; as you were.

C'mon, you know what I'm saying.

The folk who are twitchy about a n00b on a litrebike are twitchy with good reason and often from personal experience.

[Mort]

I agree with building up to a big sports bike.... But I totally disagree that 1000cc sports bikes are too much for the road. If you ride any bike (over 250 say) flat-stick your risking your licence and yourself. Road riding is not (all) about riding as fast as the bike will go....its about you getting what you want out of riding that bike.

In the end its about whether you like the experience of riding that bike. I like my CBR1000RR because its as light as a 600, has more punch throughout the rev range and when you do hit the gas its awesome. I seriously object to people saying to me its too much because in any given situation (Including the track) , it gives as much as I ask it for and (and there's no getting away from this)....I love riding it.

If your dream is to ride an R1, work on your skills, build up to it and get one. It won't disappoint performance-wise. But if you enjoy getting the maximum from a bike I would say a) stick to small bikes or b)start track riding.

One final point. Nothing will improve your skills like track riding and a 250 will do just fine for starters.

[slopster]

If you can ride a 250 confidently you can ride a modern 1000 confidently. Thats half the problem they are that easy to ride if you take it easy. The difference is that the 1000 will get you to warp speed in a few seconds if you open it up. You don't need to be experienced you just need to be sensible - probably for quite a while if your used to a 250. The new 1000's weigh about 2kg more then the 600's and probably no more then the old 250s.

[kermit63]

Just my 2 worth.

I had an XR200 25 years ago and got back onto a Daytona 675 just over a year ago. From what I've read, you're young, light, live on a steep drive and want a quick bike with lots of torque. I originally wanted an R6, but heard about the high revving and not being much fun around town, which too be honest is where I do most of my riding.

When the 675 came out, it seemed the perfect solution - speed with low down torque. Having owned it for a year, the riding position is fine, but low speed manouvering into parks with its reduced steering lock took a bit of getting used to. It will however chug along in the traffic at 3,000 revs no problems whatsoever.

Since then, the street triple (naked bike with same engine) has come out with it's more upright riding position and more low down torque. Also probably better for manouverability, so you might want to think about something like that.

Having said all that, i really, really, really wanted a sports bike so would have gone for the Daytona anyway. I didn't have the balls for a thou (it happens when you get older), so a 600ish was (and probably always will be) more than enough for me. So do what your heart really tells you, but as others have said small steps are also fun, and there is life after (pick an age that feels old) and you can still be riding a bike when you are (pick an age when you think you should have popped off), so there's plenty of time.

Good luck.

[YellowDog]

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

I would suggest that you would hire/borrow a bigger bike for a track day. You could then get a good feel for how a bigger bike handles around different corner types, without their being any oncoming traffic to potentially cream you.

[YellowDog]

Just a bit concerned about the 1000cc status thingy!

As has been already been stated, it is not the engine size that will be your problem. All bike types have specific handling and performance capabilities. Going from a 250cc Hyo to an R1 would be suicide. Going from a Hyo 250 to a 1200 Bandit would be less challenging (but still a big step).

[MSTRS:Me]

Will this help to put things into perspective?....
What's the top speed on your Hyobag? 140 - 150kph?
My 750 will beat that in 1st gear....and it's a slug compared to an R1.
If you want useable power/weight/size, then you should be looking at SV650/ER6.

[DarkLord]

Yeah top speed is about 150 or so, 160 but that'd be pushing it...

From everyone's replies the better idea seems to be taking steps towards it, perhaps getting a 600cc first once I've had the Whoflung for a year or 2, and after that perhaps look at a thou. Time will tell, I suppose.

[Phurrball]

250 to a 1000? Maybe try a v-twin... less aggressive than the super sports bikes with in-line fours which have loads more HP.

I found the Honda Firestorm a good stepping stone from the GSX 250. More grunt but nothing too outrageous until the skill level catches up with the desire.

What Toaster says is true: I made the jump from a Bandit 250 - the Firestorm is probably the least agressive of the big twins, and you can make such a jump IF you are by nature a cautious and level-headed person not prone to rash decisions.

I think I'm a relatively cautious rider (I hope I'm accurate in that assessment) I'm almost 30 and the voices of reason are louder these days if considering a potentially risky move (It'll hurt, be expensive, a pain in the arse etc if it goes pear-shaped).

I've yet to explore the potential of my bike to 100% (maybe 85% so far) and yet it's still given me a few scary reminders that I'm on a large (relatively) powerful bike - back end jumping sideways after downchanges, spinning up the back or hoisting the front when you weren't expeciting or desiring it. This from a bike heavier and less powerful than a modern supersport 600, and nowhere NEAR the fearsome power of a modern thou. My 'storm still feels to me like it spits the world out behind you if you crack the throttle...It's probably too much, but I'm growing into it by keeping my throttle hand in check.

What has been said about big bikes being HEAVY is also true - I'm nearly 100kg and 5'11" ish, yet the weight of the 'storm has caught me out a few times in slow manoeuvres (2 gentle lie-downs at the top of our gravel drive where it just went past the point of no return)

I regularly ride our VTR250 too - and it's so much fun! (in a different way to the 'storm) So light and easy to corner and manoeuvre - and so much cheaper to run! Tyres, fuel, chains/sprockets, insurance etc - there's a price to be paid to own a big bike...

Don't be in too much of a hurry to make the biggest leap of all...250s and other smaller bikes are great fun!

[CookMySock]

if you still really like your GT250R, and you ride around town mostly, then you must spend a morning caning a GT650R around town. They are a blast in traffic, with soo little gearchanging and sooo much torque, and that fat vtwin crackle behind you.. and so cheap!

I can't imagine I will ever want much more "bike" than an R1, but I worry that around town it just wont be fun any more. A step backwards even ?

DB

[Yanosh]

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!

Great post mate - had me laughing out loud and wondering why I have an R1?!

I started on a Bandit 250, took it to the track and rode it hard for 1 summer before owning a cbr600f for a couple of months - Now I have an R1 and I love it but the thoughts posted above are very true!

(I had an oversea's unrestricted licence from the start)

[cowboyz]

the whole problem with the "should I go from 250 to 1000?" threads is (to be frank) you simply have no idea. The figures are impressive but they are just numbers.
I had a 250. Went for a 600 when I got my full. In the first few days I owned it I was following my wife out of town. We both pulled up to a give way. I was behind her. I thought I would be cheeky and pulled out past her as she took off. Wound on 1st gear to find a cop come round the corner. I only JUST passed my wife when I saw the cop and jumped on the brakes. Nabbed at 81km/hr. Took some talking to get out of that one (and that was just with the wife, cop didnt let me off). and I didnt get out of first gear.
I changed to the 9 for 2up riding because Mrs C didnt like the 6. (that and power wheelies)... I now consider the 6 was really tame.
In a couple of years it will all fall into place. Dont be in a rush to upgrade. It is really hard to go backwards. Power is addictive.