• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Should I buy or Pass

295566 said:
I wouldn't go so far as to say that you're not ready for a 600, at least not yet. What's your experience level on two wheels? How many months/years? How many miles have you done? Track days? Years on dirt?

Another one that a lot of people lie to themselves about... what's your maturity level? Bigger bike can get you into a lot more trouble quickly, if you're not careful/mature about when you open the taps a little bit. But, at the end of the day, the bike will only go as fast as you make it.

Finally, as a side note, depending on your age/riding experience, you might want to get some insurance quotes first. Beginner-ish riders on supersports are not cheap to insure... make sure you're ready to pay the premiums before you buy.
Click to expand...


I had my Ninja 250 for 2 years and put about 3k miles on it and was no longer enjoying myself on the bike as it I felt it was time to upgrade. I sold my bike not too long ago and had to focus on other personal finances. Now that everything is worked out, I am looking to purchase another bike but I don't want a 250 or 300 and have always loved the cbr600rr or r6. I am 26 years old and I don't think I would have an issue with insurance costs.
 
3k miles in 2 years? You're barely crawling, and want to sign up for the cross country team.

Check out the FZ-07, SV650, Ninja 650, etc. Basically any moderate sized twin. They'll be comfier than a supersport, and have much more forgiving power curves. You could pick up a good condition SV650 for $2,500 - $3,000, and sell it for about what you paid for it in a year assuming it's not trashed then.
 
It’s not worth $5k nor $3k. Best offer is $1500 and no more. This is a sketchy bike.
 
planegray said:
600's typically sell for more than a liter bike
Click to expand...

Marcoose said:
Regarding the former, is it true that 600s sell for more than litres, or you're pulling my leg? What do you mean?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about 600s sell for more than literbikes either, new or used. Why would they?

295566 said:
3k miles in 2 years? You're barely crawling, and want to sign up for the cross country team.

Check out the FZ-07, SV650, Ninja 650, etc. Basically any moderate sized twin. They'll be comfier than a supersport, and have much more forgiving power curves. You could pick up a good condition SV650 for $2,500 - $3,000, and sell it for about what you paid for it in a year assuming it's not trashed then.
Click to expand...

+1 on 3k being very low for 2 years, and the bike recommendation.
 
See if you can ride a R6 first, Yamaha has demo rides I've pretty much rode every Yamaha bike and side by side the last 2 years. The R6 just barely got an update late year I think, its been the same bike for so long because its so good.

Think about the seating position, the R6 is a VERY aggressive riding position you're literally sitting right on top of the tank. It has a very peaky powerband also probably similar to the 250 but when you wind that sucker up it'll take you for a ride. The R6 is literally a race bike with street legal stuff on it.

If I were you I'd look into a mid sized naked like a FZ-07, I know you can find one of those for around $5000. You'll definitely appreciate the extra torque and it'll be as comfortable as the ninja.
 
Last edited:
Runehx said:
I had my Ninja 250 for 2 years and put about 3k miles on it and was no longer enjoying myself on the bike as it I felt it was time to upgrade. I sold my bike not too long ago and had to focus on other personal finances. Now that everything is worked out, I am looking to purchase another bike but I don't want a 250 or 300 and have always loved the cbr600rr or r6. I am 26 years old and I don't think I would have an issue with insurance costs.
Click to expand...

you can handle any bike so long as you practice throttle control and common sense. The more powerful the bike - the higher the chance you can get into trouble if you don't have self control - it's a simple as that.

If you're primarily riding on the street - 600cc sport bikes cost an arm and a leg to insure, need to be rung out to get some decent power and have horrendous ergos for long rides.

If you're not worried about any of those things - go for it! I always wanted to get a sport bike out of my system but i've stuck mostly to naked sport bikes because of the riding position being more friendly but still aggressive for all day rides.

FZ07/FZ09 / Triumph Street Triple R / GSX750 can all be had for the budget you specified. Just my 2 cents - don't let an internet mafia dictate what you ride next - life's too short to settle - just be responsible with your purchase and how you ride it.
 
Runehx said:
I had my Ninja 250 for 2 years and put about 3k miles on it and was no longer enjoying myself on the bike as it I felt it was time to upgrade. I sold my bike not too long ago and had to focus on other personal finances. Now that everything is worked out, I am looking to purchase another bike but I don't want a 250 or 300 and have always loved the cbr600rr or r6. I am 26 years old and I don't think I would have an issue with insurance costs.
Click to expand...
What did you stop enjoying about it? You'll get better feedback if we know.
 
MysterYvil said:
What did you stop enjoying about it? You'll get better feedback if we know.
Click to expand...

I just felt like I out grew the 250 as it was starting to seem like a pretty slow bike. I guess you can say the torque and speed wasn't there anymore for me. My intention was to start off small, get my experience in and upgrade to the r6 or cbr600rr.
 
Surprised at all the comments about the price of the bike - I sold a 2004 R6 with 21k miles on it for $3200 last month, and that was the standard price for similar listings.

OP I would still pass on it, not because of the fairings but because for $1k or $2k more you can grab a newer model with no cosmetic damage (I know it's more than your budget, but for comparison I paid $8750 for a '15 R6 with 3k miles on it)

I bought that 04 R6 after riding for 3k miles, same as you (although I did that in 2 months not 2 years) and the transition was totally fine. The real power doesn't hit until 10k rpm, so it's pretty easy for city riding. No real low end torque unless you change the sprockets. Just test ride it first and make sure you're cool with the riding position. I was uncomfortable for about a week, then I got used to it. If you can find a bike with clip ons they help a lot. The 04 had clip ons and felt like a cruiser after I got my stock '15.

If you're worried about a possible low side check the engine cover and see if its been sanded and repainted. Plenty of owners will buy a new fairing for 50 bucks, but will just sand down the engine cover instead of replacing for 75 and changing the oil. Or just take it to a mechanic and ask for a check up before buying, shouldn't be more than $100 and could save you some major headaches in the future.
 
Runehx said:
I just felt like I out grew the 250 as it was starting to seem like a pretty slow bike. I guess you can say the torque and speed wasn't there anymore for me. My intention was to start off small, get my experience in and upgrade to the r6 or cbr600rr.
Click to expand...

Funny, it must be the different phases in our riding 'careers'. I'd love to own one of these newer sporty 300s. Upgrade a few things, add some farkles, smell the roses for a change.
 
Runehx said:
I just felt like I out grew the 250 as it was starting to seem like a pretty slow bike. I guess you can say the torque and speed wasn't there anymore for me. My intention was to start off small, get my experience in and upgrade to the r6 or cbr600rr.
Click to expand...
I don't consider 3k in 2 years to be enough to "get my experience in"
 
Runehx said:
Does anyone have knowledge on the cbr500r?
Click to expand...

not sure you'd see much of a big improvement over a 300. What are you looking to get out of your next bike?

Track days?
Commuting?
Ripping it on Twisties?
General cruising around town/highways/laid-back weekend rides?
Stunting?
Touring?
Off road/dirt road/goaty roads?
2 up riding?

If it's a combo of some of the above - which do you think you most want to do?

That helps provide some context to what bikes are good for what you want them to do.
 
ScottRNelson said:
It is much, much easier to make a throttle mistake on a very powerful bike than on a wimpy one.

Something like hitting a bump when your hand is in the wrong position on the throttle might have you opening it more than intended for half a second or so. On a Ninja 250 nothing bad is likely to happen. On a bike like a 1290 Super Duke you're probably instantly in serious danger regardless of what gear you were in at the time.

There is a difference between throttle control during normal riding and when something unexpected happens. That's why riders should wait until they have some good riding experience before going for big power.
Click to expand...

How often is the use of the throttle the primary reason for a crash and then related to that being either a liter bike and something with a less powerful engine?

Many of the latest model bikes have various traction control assists and ecu mappings where rain mode is quote docile, even on a "liter bike".
 
Marcoose said:
Funny, it must be the different phases in our riding 'careers'. I'd love to own one of these newer sporty 300s. Upgrade a few things, add some farkles, smell the roses for a change.
Click to expand...

I've been looking at the new Ninja 400 that looks like a fun bike you can get one for about $5k also, its like the successor to the Ninja 250, lighter and more powerful than the 300! Check out one of those Runehx

Another thing you want to consider with supersports and superbikes they are thief magnets, I always hear about them getting stolen.
 
Last edited:
295566 said:
3k miles in 2 years? You're barely crawling, and want to sign up for the cross country team.

Check out the FZ-07, SV650, Ninja 650, etc. Basically any moderate sized twin. They'll be comfier than a supersport, and have much more forgiving power curves. You could pick up a good condition SV650 for $2,500 - $3,000, and sell it for about what you paid for it in a year assuming it's not trashed then.
Click to expand...

This agrees with my thoughts too, notice he didn't mention any of the 500's (Honda makes a lot of them for example), and I agree, they aren't enough bigger to really get excited about. The 650-700ish (twin) class has a lot of bikes to choose from too, so you can pick ergos, price range, and farkle level.
 
btupper001 said:
CBR600F4 or F4I are great second bikes as long as you have self control in the first few months.
Click to expand...

Finding an F4 or F4i that hasn't been thrashed is a bit difficult; I've been looking for one. Also, the inline-4 power-band isn't great for street riding. No power/torque below 8000rpm then you get all of it in the space of 2000rpm.

If I were the OP, I'd be looking for a Kawasaki Ninja 650, Suzuki SV650S, or CBR650F. If they're open to naked bikes, I'd add the CB650F, SV650, and Yamaha FZ-07.
 
They said they had 7k to spend
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top