A serious question for the more experienced riders amongst you.

[The Stranger:Me]

taking the piss aside. No. I cant. definitely not 4th. Clunky as shit and it is just turning over and if you want to zip past something it bogs down big time. 3rd. well if I had to I could. I think the stock gearing on my bike is way too high. Often thought about gearing it down but meh, I dont have to take it through town so I dont.

Straight up.
The Fazer will pull cleanly in any of the first 5 gears from 50kph.
It will of course be sluggish in 4th and more so in 5th. But the engine won't bog and won't ping.

[H00dz]

As you say - it depends on the rider more than the bike.

I moved to a 1000cc V-Strom (not the fastest in the world - but faster than a GN250) within a year of starting riding (had a licence exemption).

So far no problems at all.

I'm with Tank, i went straight to 1200cc from Learners, its a state of mind thing, style of bike etc,etc,etc

Good luck

[Gremlin]

Straight up.
The Fazer will pull cleanly in any of the first 5 gears from 50kph.
It will of course be sluggish in 4th and more so in 5th. But the engine won't bog and won't ping.

If I remember rightly, you modified the gearing on the fazer? Generally speaking, the kawasaki's don't make a lot of torque down low, or at least, are not re-knowned for it. 3rd gear on most bikes should be ok tho.

Other thing that has been touched on, but should be emphasised... depending on how you ride it, big bikes consume parts and consumables like they are going out of fashion. Tyres, chains, sprockets don't last as long as you like, and quality costs (and never lasts any longer).

Original chain and sprockets on 2005 Hornet CB900 lasted 42,000km. Original chain and sprockets on 2004 ZX10R - 17,000km (yes, it was ridden a little harder...). Both were cared for by scottoiler, but the extra horsepower simply places more strain on parts.

Me... I had a ZX10R for 18 months, fantastic fun, but couldn't justify the costs, risks (personal and license) and I was having more fun on the Hornet, with less hp, less cost, and less law breaking. Alarmingly simple.

To those questioning the SV (more so the 650 than the 1000), its a real budget bike, and you generally only understand how basic and unrefined it is when you have spent more time on better quality bikes. Easy example is the shocking front suspension. Flame me, I don't care, just my experience of having one for a few days as a loaner.

[cowboyz]

good point on running costs. my older 600 (91gsxF) was incredibly cheap to run compared to the 9. Chain last me about 25000km. tyres about 8000. Compared to the 600 (which of course was one of the tamest 600s you can buy) where tyres lasted me 12-14000km and were cheaper (being 160).

[naphazoline]

DO you think a 1000cc bike is "too much" for someone as their first "big" bike (ie, first bike on a full license)

I know it would depend partly on the attitude of the rider and where and how they ride etc. but in general terms? For a sensible rider that's been riding for a fair few years and just gotten around to getting a full. Not a child either, over 30 years of age that values their life over impressing other motorists.

to use for a daily auckland commute as well as longer weekend rides.

I spent 20 odd years not riding at all.Scored an '88 gsxr 750, and rode it for 5-6 months,then got an 06 cbr1000rr.The OLD gixxer was a good stepping stone,but in hindsight,i wished that i had gone to a late model 600-750,to follow up with.

I've had no real problems to date,but the thou' has too much power to possibly use it all on the road,and especially if you're commuting in traffic like auckland,it would be a downright waste of time.

The blade, ( an I.L.4 ) will tootle around town in traffic relatively happily,but I don't like it,as there's no fun in that.The fun is out on the open road,where it's not being held up in congested traffic,and where the twisties are.

So,i'd have to say,that the short answer is to go with a smaller CC rated bike first.
But if you're hell bent on a thou',then it doesn't have to be a suicidal move like some people make out,but you will have to pay it some major respect.

P.S.
I'm talking about sportsbikes here.

[Hans]

All about self-control imho. In other words, explore your limits one very small step at a time. If you don't overestimate your own abilities, you should be ok. Good luck.

[mowgli]

How do you think a thou' would behave as a commuter bike?

It would drink gas and chew tires

[MaxCannon]

Not sure if anyone has pointed out the weight differences of larger bikes.
I went from a GN250 > ZZR400 > Bandit 600
The ZZR taught me a lot in terms of handling the weight of a larger bike.
Power was pretty tame but learning how to control the bike at all speeds was very important.
Going on to the bandit was an easy transition. I think now after a few months of ownership I might be ready for 1000cc sports bike but my 600 does everything I need it to and is a lot cheaper to run and insure.
Going from a 250cc to a 1000cc would be a pretty huge jump - even it the 1000cc bike is in a mild state of tune.

Plenty of 600cc bikes around that provide decent thrills with less risk of a highside.
I had just as much fun on the Bandit going around Pukekohe as my mate on his ZX10. Probably more as I didn't have to worry about the bike trying to kick me off into the wall if I got on the power too early.

[Chrislost]

DO you think a 1000cc bike is "too much" for someone as their first "big" bike (ie, first bike on a full license)

I know it would depend partly on the attitude of the rider and where and how they ride etc. but in general terms? For a sensible rider that's been riding for a fair few years and just gotten around to getting a full. Not a child either, over 30 years of age that values their life over impressing other motorists.

to use for a daily auckland commute as well as longer weekend rides.

In my opinion, if you have to ask this, your not ready.

A thousand will make a excelent commuter, fishtailing between cars and wheelies at every light will brighten your day a LOT! The only downside is that you may not fit between those two cars up the other end of the road that are suddenly right in front of you...

[90s]

yes, I commute every single day to and from work through auckland traffic so it's commutability is an issue.

Definately not a wannabe anything, just a bigger guy that wants some speed in sensible situations, something larger for roadtrips without ringing the shit out of the bike and something for the occasional trackday.

Almost any 600 would give you any of that, even one such as mine (Cowboyz described in this thread as one of the "tamest" 600s you can get.)

If you are lanesplitting every day you don't want a litrebike. There's a big difference between what you need for the above, and what you just want. Even an 80bhp 600 like mine will haul my 16st. butt to 100k in 4.5 seconds. And doesn't slow much with the wife on board. Will run down to Wellington no problem. This class of "tame" 600 (CBRFs, Bandits etc) is all you need.

But if you just want a litrebike then you just want one and you have to live with the consequences. JR is right - its when things go pearshaped that the difference will show between being on a forgiving bike (of any cc) or a bitch -and most litrebikes fall into the latter category. If you do go litre there's still a world of difference between "sensible" ones and the R1s. I would NOT want to learn the finer aspects of taming an R1 on my Auckland commute.

You might not have found the threads before of people asking the same question, but there have been lots, and generally the tone has been more "when you crash it within the first few months, post again if you survived" - and sure enough a few have. Certainly probably as many as in this post have jumped from small to large and had no probs.

Finally I would investigate US crash stats. The yanks are morons when it comes to bikes. Your first bike can be any cc and litrebikes are seen as ideal first bikes to many. Lids are also not compulsary. None of that adds up to pretty I can tell you.

[SPman]

No worries.


The Dover went from a Hyo 250 straight to a 1K5 Gixxer.......then another one.........then another one.......

Anyway, by the time he got to bike #3, he'd got the hang of it!

[jim.cox]

There's a big difference between what you need for the above, and what you just want

For a commuter, I would go for something 450 to 600 cc in super motard style.

Fun in the traffic and big enough to take you anywhere in NZ for the weekends

[Sky-hi]

thanks heaps for all your input guys. Especially those that chose to use sarcasm even though it's very hard to distinquish in the written form at times.

Looks like a 600 is the go for me. I'll post with more info when I get it and let you all know how I got on. Unless I'm dead....

thanks again!!

[The Stranger:Me]

No worries.

The Dover went from a Hyo 250 straight to a 1K5 Gixxer.......then another one.........then another one.......

From this we can conclude that drugs and motorcycling do not mix.

[Hitcher]

Looks like a 600 is the go for me.

There is a range of 650s and 750s on offer, not to mention 800s and 900s.

A 600 of a certain type, in the wrong hands, can be just as problematic as a 1,000 of a certain type.