[BEERGIN]

i have not rode a bike for about 14 years now. i use to ride a 750 gsxr. now i want to go back riding motorcycles again. i am going to use the bike mainly for pleasure, riding on canyons and also for touring going to northern california driving on the 101 fwy and pacific coast hwy. this are nice places with a view to ride a bike. i live in los angeles. i finished my motorcycle safety training last september of 99 and i already got my motorcycle license. now i am ready to buy a bike. and i want your opinion on what bike should i get for this purpose. right now i am looking for the yzf r1 because of it's looks, that bike is beautiful. but a lot of people are discouraging me to get that bike 'cause they said it's got too much power that it wheelies with just a flick of the throtle and might just get into trouble. my next choice would be a yzfr6 which they say is more rider friendly on the canyons since you can lean and flick it easier than an r1 and they say it also turns in quicker. i just don't know how deeper it can turn compared to the r1. i need your info and help. thanks...

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[This message has been edited by BEERGIN (edited June 25, 2000).]

 

[FZR400Tony]

welcome to sbw.

not to be dick, but caps are generally hard on the eyes (and therefore hated by most).

as for the r1/r6 debate, here's my thoughts.

the r1 is so much fun, but can be difficult to ride because it has a hell-strong mid-range (too stong). the r1 can be hard to get your hands on because yamaha doesn't seem to like to make a lot of them. also it's a big bore so you won't have to ring it's neck to move quickly.

on the other hand the r6 is easier to ride, cheaper and everyone i know with an r1 loves riding r6's. they all say they handle way better. may r1 owners switch the 190 rear to a 180 to try to get some of that r6 handling.

when i bought the gsxr i seriously considered the r1. my girlfriend told me don't ever expect her to get on the back (the seat is very long and she actually sat on the rider (not passenger) seat because it's way too long to ride someone else unless one of you is very big). the r6 is supposedly crap 2 up also, but doesn't seem as bad.

the new gsxr750 may be a good choice if you're torn between them (i know i was). i probably would've boought an r7 if it was 9399 instead of 30,000++++++.

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Tony

00 GSX-R750-yellow & black
88 FZR400-krylon black
94 CBR600F2--sold

 

[BEERGIN]

thanks for the reply, and i already changed my message to small caps. the 750 gsxr was my third choice actually but i could not get a good price for it here in los angeles their quoting me out the door for 11,700 while another dealer gave me a quote out the door for the r1 for 11,400 and for the r6 at 8,800 and they got the colors that i want red/white.

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[cheetos]

You mentioned touring in your original post. If you do much touring then the R1 & R6 are probably not a good choice. I have not ridden either but have talked to many guys/gals that have ridden both. They pretty much all say that they are uncomfortable. I have sat on both and they feel much like my RC 51, "IT IS NOT COMFORTABLE" (caps for emphasis). I have sat on a '00 GSXR750 and road a '99 GSXR750(yesterday). They are both fairly comfortable considering the performance. I could do some touring on one of those.

All of the modern sportbikes (except ducatis :rolleyes are excellent. Shop around and find one that feels comfortable for you. Also, those prices you mentioned are BS... go to another dealer. Don't get into the gouging thing that some of the Honda dealers are doing with the RC 51.

Good luck.

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Ride Hard!

John

 

[BEERGIN]

thanks for the reply. i did sit on a gxsr 00 last friday for about 30 minutes and the seats are soft and comfortable plus the color scheme is much better than the r6. i might just buy the gsxr if i can find a dealer with a good price. thanks.

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[FZR400Tony]

dealers are working on price on the gsxr's a bit out east (too late for my early delievery, but i've riding the mine for a couple of months, so....). i probably couldn't tour on r1 much, i find the bike pretty uncomfortable (but to me it's where your feet go, too far forward, reminds me of a vmax). most complain about the seat to bar relationship, which is better on the r6. my buddy is one r1 #2. his 98 had about 11 or 12k on the clock when it lost it's battle with earth (that's about 4x what most people put on a sportbike in this area). he rides his current one to nyc every once in while. he does have over rear sets on this one, which help the before mentioned problem.

for more r1/r6 info, www.yzf-r1-forum.com is a good source of info.

there's an r6 message board and a gsxr message board, but i find people on those boards aren't as helpful as people here or on the r1 forum.

as for as a 51, if you can get one at a fair price, jump on it. i can't get one here, period. the 929 is also a solid choice, dealers here seem to finally be getting in the big shipments of them.

one last thing, i know a lot of people with r1's, and if customizing your bike is something you wanna do, the r1 is the current platform for coolness. the tail enclosures on the r1's are the coolest, pipe choices are cool. they paint well. i have seen a lot of custom paint schemes done on r1's that don't look custom, they look factory. they're a very good bike, just very powerful.

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Tony

00 GSX-R750-yellow & black
88 FZR400-krylon black
94 CBR600F2--sold

 

[RedNinja]

Gonna move this to the How Do I forum.

Will

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Will Darton
Sportbikeworld Co-Admin
http://azsportbike.net
<A HREF="http://redninja.sportbikeworld.com" TARGET=_blank>
http://redninja.sportbikeworld.com</A>
99ZX-6e

 

[mhammill]

If you are looking for great handling, ridability, and you want the red/black/white color scheme, your prayers have been answered...................CBR929RR!

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[mashuri]

Hey, when you finally get your bike, send me an email. We'll hit the canyons together sometime.

How comfortable do you need it to be? I would say the R6 is a little more comfortable because of the higher bars. The GSXR seems about on par with the R1. They both aren't conducive to long rides. If you're thinking of doing some long touring stints, you might want to look at the ZX-9R. It's very comfortable and not much heavier than the R1. It definitely doesn't handle as sharply though. The R1 has a TON of midrange that can easily highside you if you're not careful. I hear that the GSXR is a razor sharp handler but it's power band is not very user friendly. It has a weak midrange but then hits HARD (I mean liter-bike HARD!) in the upper revs. That can get you in trouble if you're not paying attention. I think the R6 is still the most user friendly track/canyon sportbike out there. Everyone I talk to says they just feel like Superman on it...like you can do no wrong. The only complaint I hear is that its suspension is a bit stiff for bumpy corners, but that's not much of a worry on CA canyon roads. Good luck on whatever you choose and don't forget to email me when you get it!

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1999 Blue/White YZF-R1: 2 Bros. C4 exhaust, Dynojet jet kit, timing tricker, dyno-tuned by Graves
2000 NBM/Lt Oak int/Blk top C5 Convertible - MN6, Z51, A&A Exhaust, C/R X-pipe, Corsa tips, !CAGS