Complete n00b buys S4R - how will it pan out?

[FJRider]

They are extremely dangerous. They even have that "I want to kill your babies" look to them.

Must be the high horse (singular) power....

[FJRider]

Noooo, that doesn't sound right at all. You obviously have no idea what you're on about.

Since when has that been a prerequisite to post on this site .....???

[Mikkel]

Nope, forbidden to drive and judge's discretion about seizing the vehicle.

Driving with an expired driver licence, or without a licence that applies to the vehicle being driven; driving contrary to the conditions of the licence; failure to produce licence to enforcement officer without delay when requested; failure to surrender driver licence when suspended, revoked, disqualified or superseded. [sect 31] A fine not exceeding $1,000

And, as far as I'm aware, at that point, you get issued with a 'forbidden to drive' notice, which means that if you get pulled over doing the same thing again, the vehicle can be impounded at the roadside.

Edit: As Jimmy Doose said, they can theoretically impound the bike as soon as he's pulled over for riding without a licence. Generally they don't for a first offence, though.

I see, it was just because I stumbled upon a ticket given for operating a vehicle without a valid license in all the junk when I took over my current office. And I just noted that it wasn't a very large amount of money and there were no demerits noted.


As for how it will go - well if your mate is equipped with a brain (circumstantial evidence so far suggest this may not be the case) he could be all right.
However, on a bike like that it only takes an instant of testosterone induce imprudence to land yourself in big trouble!
If he doesn't get any nasty surprises before he's gotten used to the bike and he's not the panicking type I wouldn't be too concerned.

However, he's taking a huge risk financially! I don't think he's any more likely to bin it than a 15 year old on a 250 ccm crotch rocket with a learners license.

[Coyote]

Must be the high horse (singular) power....

You wouldn't be yawning when riding the beast of terror that is the RG150

[chrisso]

My first real road bike was a 1000cc jap inline 4.

Whats your point.

I went from a 1976 Rd400 to a Gsx1100 - once I learnt to stop riding home pissed from the Pub I was OK.
Its all in the connection between your brain & right hand

[bladerider97]

My first road bike was a Fireblade. I was scared shitless of it for ages, but that I think was a good thing.
Quite different than riding dirtbikes.

[Maki]

His first bike was a 500 and see how he ended up:

"THIS BIKE IS NEW,THE GUY BOUGHT IT AND FELL OFF AT THE LIGHTS UP THE ROAD FROM THE BIKE SHOP,ITS DONE 90 MILES ONLY,IT HAD SLIGHT COSMETIC DAMAGE WHICH HAS BEEN REPAIRED,REVINNED AND ALREADY TO GO"

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-166316374.htm

I voted for the titanium club...

[Renegade]

i kinda met a guy once, i saw him and his mate ride into town, heard the bike coming and had a look out the window, tl1000s and another bike, watched them pull up at the cafe/bar just up the road.
hour later here them heading back out of town and didnt think much of it.
10 minutes later im looking at him, deceased, i hate seeing shit like that.
turns out plenty years mx riding, few months road, TL1000s first bike.
that ruined my day, and made me evaluate my motorcycle ownership.
i dont wish that on anyone and wish ya mate best the best of luck and safe riding.

[McJim]

Must be the high horse (singular) power....

The S4r Testastretta puts out about 128 ponies I think...which for a little bike is quite a bit....especially when the power is delivered on the back of a flat beefy torque curve.....Not to be confused with the M900 at all.

[Ixion]

Exactly.

Like I said in my first post, I'm not moralising at him.

I'm genuinely interested in how all y'all think this will go. It's a truism that learners shouldn't ride big fast bikes, but how much of a problem is that, really?



Driving with an expired driver licence, or without a licence that applies to the vehicle being driven; driving contrary to the conditions of the licence; failure to produce licence to enforcement officer without delay when requested; failure to surrender driver licence when suspended, revoked, disqualified or superseded. [sect 31] A fine not exceeding $1,000

And, as far as I'm aware, at that point, you get issued with a 'forbidden to drive' notice, which means that if you get pulled over doing the same thing again, the vehicle can be impounded at the roadside.

Edit: As Jimmy Doose said, they can theoretically impound the bike as soon as he's pulled over for riding without a licence. Generally they don't for a first offence, though.

No, "Forbidden to drive' is only if you don't have a valid (ie non expired etc) licence. If you have a valid licence , but the wrong class, or no required endorsement, you can get fined and demerits but no forbidden to drive. One of the effects of the fact that you only have ONE licence- the contra is the fact that if you lose it for being naughty on the bike, you lose the car bit as well. Quite a common issue in the truckie world I believe.

[Stickchick]

You know what fucks me off about this. This guy is close to my family and after my sister losing her boyfriend to a bike accident, I have had to work ULTRA hard to get my family to respect the fact that I love to ride and its my passion. He can take this away in a split second of stupidity on a bike that is WAY out of his skill zone.

[Maki]

I have a number of problems with people who get bikes that have more performance than they can handle.

1. They paid for more performance than they can use, they wasted money.

3. They are likely to bin it, sending insurance and medical costs up for everyone.

3. They would actually have more fun on a bike that they can push a little, give it full throttle, etc.

4. They would learn faster on a bike with less performance because they would not have to be so scared of the bike.

5. Their bike is usually nicer than the one I have got.

[madbikeboy]

Whats all this talk of 'lighting up the rear' on a thou?

You'd have to have a serious lack of throttle control or be riding like a complete nutter/hamfisted to 'light up the rear'. Only happened a few times to me, and everytime i've been trying to clutch it up when the road was a bit wetter than it looked - snakies arent as fun but they're fucking intense.

It's not like you get clouds of smoke and a hissing noise as the tire destroys itself, but it'll lose traction if you find a polished piece of concrete or some slipperyness. My thou often spins up on greasy roads, for example heading up the harbour bridge on wet days, if you open the throttle, meaning rolling it on, it'll hunt for traction. It's the torque that makes the difference, a 600 has similar(ish) horsepower...

And for the record, I ride like a complete Nana, even Carter could keep up with me, in fact his Nana could could keep up with me.

[madbikeboy]

You know what fucks me off about this. This guy is close to my family and after my sister losing her boyfriend to a bike accident, I have had to work ULTRA hard to get my family to respect the fact that I love to ride and its my passion. He can take this away in a split second of stupidity on a bike that is WAY out of his skill zone.

I was going to take the piss, but you summed it up well. The whole "bikes are scarey and dangerous" ammo that people seem to throw at me comes from people who have seen something like this, the resultant (inevitable) bin. I know heaps of people who are in their 50's who have ridden since birth, and they love and respect their bikes/lives/families. Each time I've heard/seen/witnessed people buying "too much" bikes, then the bike ends up getting tossed down the road with monotonous regularity. This sport is dangerous enough without adding stupidity.

[Ixion]

There are situations that may occasionally lead to a novice rider starting out on a overly-powerful bike. Great Uncle George has died, and left you his Gixxer, f'instance. In such circumstances the new rider may do well enough . He is starting out beyond his depth, but he has not chosen to do so , and realising that is the situation , may proceed with caution

But this is not such a case. Rather, it is a novice who has decided that he should not be limited by the same caution and respect with which others approach a task where the rash and foolhardy are soon eliminated

That bespeaks a confidence , indeed an arrogance, coupled with a propensity to wilfully disregard the law, which usually ends in pain.

The problem is not that he is starting out on a powerful bike. It is that he clearly does not accept his own limitations as a novice. The problem si not the bike. It is the attitude.

Perhaps Mr Rossi might have been able to climb about a Gixxer 1000 as his first ride , and survive. In reality , very few people have such extreme natural talent. The gentleman in question obviously believes he does. Others may be more doubtful. If he does not, he will undoubtedly pay the price.