70cc to 600cc - preparing

1241 Views 11 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Unkle Krusty, Nov 25, 2018

DXY

Discussion Starter · Nov 10, 2018

Hi,
to start off with, I'm not entirely new to bikes.
2 years with 50cc R bike (15hp), so I've learned braking, clutch use, cornering etc, at least for this bike.

You know when you see something, and you know right at that moment, that you gotta have it.
Well, that's how I felt when I saw the GSXR600 :grin:

Though, is it defendable to go from a 50cc to a 600cc?
Not going to say I believe I'm mature enough or will go super-easy for months, since I'll without a doubt test it out once I know the bike.

To another subject, gear.

I only have helmet & gloves from before.
So, what should I definitely get?

I was thinking of a jacket, shoes & perhaps pants.

Thanks,
DXY

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oldenslow

· #2 · Nov 10, 2018

It's a big jump, but you've got the right attitude. Take it slow, get the feel (it WILL be different!), and go for it. The skills you've gained will transfer nicely to the bigger bike, given the chance, and you'll love it!

As for gear -- I am of the opinion you can't really go overboard. Full-face helmet, gloves, armored jacket, pants, boots -- all good. Anything to save your skull, bones and skin is a GOOD thing! I see plenty of guys who'll go with just a do-rag and shorts with a T-shirt -- their choice and no criticism intended, but that ain't me.

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Doc Samson

· #3 · Nov 10, 2018

The 600's are very dual-nature, i.e. very docile below 6-7K, very insane above 9-10K. If you keep to the lower rev range, you'll have no problem acclimating to the different weight, steering input, etc. As when you just started riding, take your time, keep your thoughts and eyes well ahead, leave yourself some wiggle room for mistakes, and you should be fine!

I'm with oldenslow re: gear. I like my skin and body parts just like they are! The only thing I sometimes skimp on is armored pants when the weather gets really humid...

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Ray'ssporty1200

· #4 · Nov 10, 2018

Yeah Oldenslow is cool and safe, A good way to go, who wants to ride without goggles, ? heavy jeans and 6 inch above ankle
bone boots, good gloves, maybe the helmet has a face shield when the heavens open up with a driving rain, YUP, so been
through that, feels like needles ! Most states require eye protection anyway.

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3crows

· #5 · Nov 24, 2018

Anything is possible. But a 600 cc super sport is not a motorcycle to be taken lightly and is not a beginner motorcycle or a stepping stone motorcycle. Comparing a 600cc super sport class to a liter 1,000+/- super bike class is like comparing dead with deader. Or fast with faster. Both are capable of warp speeds at the flick of the wrist and there are those who might say a 600cc SS is the ultimate combination of power, weight, size, an end point, not a starting point motorcycle.

Honestly, my opinion, I think you will bust your butt.

J

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Oz

· #6 · Nov 24, 2018

DXY said:
... is it defendable to go from a 50cc to a 600cc? ...

No.

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Ray'ssporty1200

· #7 · Nov 24, 2018 (Edited)

As Much as I hope you don't bust your butt as 3crows thinks you will, and I don't mean anything unkind to 3crows
as he knows you are advancing to a much more powerful ride. Seriously, if you can take it easy on that throttle
and think carefully about the fact this bike will do most of what you did twelve times quicker, It is so not the same
as going from 50 c.c. to say a Honda 305 c.c. Super-Hawk for a year or so and then going to a 600 c.c. job.

Along with that power comes weight, and it will take a bit of work to do those low speed tight S-turns and U-turns.
You might consider Hi-way bars, that way if you do lose it, you won't crush an ankle or get a 3rd degree burn with
the exhaust smoking through your jeans.

I rode back in the early 80's, a Honda 360 c.c. cruiser and that bugger could haul some serious ass. A good thirty
years later I got back into riding again on a bike almost 4 X as much as I had, and I loved the power but I did not
like being 'RUSTY and though everyone says, "Once you rode for a while you never forget," There is some truth to
that but I gotta tall ya, all the things I knew, I forgot a lot and not making myself out to be old I may not have had
the reflexes I did.

To an extent, could I have been almost raw to riding after a good thirty years? Then hopping on a bike 4 times more
powerful than I ever rode? Well I had a good amount of faith in myself and I did pretty good, I did not drop her but,
as I said in another post I went into a curve quite HOT and landed up on the grass and stuck in the shrubbery and it
was quite an ass-titenin experience. I knew it would not be the best to lay on the front brake in a curve.Just be careful.

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sirgilbert357

· #8 · Nov 24, 2018

I'd recommend a Ninja 650 before a 600 supersport. Much more forgiving, but plenty of fun too. If you don't like the looks of the Ninja 650, there are other equivalent bikes out there that would be a better stepping stone to the 600 cc supersports. I started on a Ninja 650 and after 16k miles in about a year, I moved to a Ninja ZX6R. It was night and day. I was SO glad I spent that time with the 650 first...you won't understand until you ride a supersport, but let me assure you -- it is foolish to rush in. Pay your dues on something smaller first. Your 50cc experience is still valuable, but that's not enough in my opinion...

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sirgilbert357

· #9 · Nov 24, 2018

Oh, and yes to FULL GEAR. The one time I crashed I wore all my gear except my riding pants. They were dirty or something, so I just threw on jeans. I ended up getting my front end taken out by a cager merging on to the highway without looking and I did a slide n dive at 55 mph. The only injury I sustained was what might as well have been a third degree burn the size of a baseball on my knee. Excruciating pain to walk, move, even bathe. Like flaming acid on my knee 18 hours a day for a couple weeks and seriously "inconvenient" amounts of grimacing inducing pain thereafter as it SLOWLY healed. I still have discoloration from road grime that got buried under the skin at about tattoo depth level that we didn't dig out of the edge of the wound.

Wear your gear people.

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3crows

· #10 · Nov 24, 2018

I think some of the folks giving advice here have never ridden a full on 600cc super sport class motorcycle. There are no highway bars or crash bars for them. There are sliders to protect the motorcycle (maybe) but have no intent to protect the rider. Most super sports weigh around 400 pounds wet, some a little less, a few a bit more, very high power to weight ratio. Since they are designed really for high speed work, they tend to not be very good at very low speeds and not much lock to lock turn, high seats and high center of gravity.

A 600 super sport is like a caged animal pacing back and forth looking for that moment to escape and when the revs go up that is exactly what it wants to do, nothing like a Sportster or crusier-esque machine and very little in common with them other than the wheel count. And that includes escaping the control of the rider. And this includes any of the 600/700 class naked bikes that are just slightly detuned super sport sans fairings.

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LovelyNancy

· #11 · Nov 25, 2018

sirgilbert357 said:
I'd recommend a Ninja 650 before a 600 supersport. Much more forgiving, but plenty of fun too. If you don't like the looks of the Ninja 650, there are other equivalent bikes out there that would be a better stepping stone to the 600 cc supersports. I started on a Ninja 650 and after 16k miles in about a year, I moved to a Ninja ZX6R. It was night and day. I was SO glad I spent that time with the 650 first...you won't understand until you ride a supersport, but let me assure you -- it is foolish to rush in. Pay your dues on something smaller first. Your 50cc experience is still valuable, but that's not enough in my opinion...

I agree.
The Ninja 650 is a twin. Much more forgiving that an IV 600 engine.
If you are going to go with a 600 IV, have a clear understanding of how the bike delivers power at higher RPMs.
It will not be a linear like a 650 twin.
There's a reason the Tachometer on a 600 is very large and some Harley's don't even have one.

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Unkle Krusty

· #12 · Nov 25, 2018

Wot Oz said. No.

I would not right any of the 600 sport bikes on the street. There are much better bikes designed for the purpose. Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki make sensible bikes around 500 to 650 cc. One of the fastest road racers from yesteryear, rides a Ninja 500. He is 79 and will smoke most anyone on twisty roads.
The SV650 Suzuki is faster thru the gears, up to around 9000 revs. The sport bike 600s are faster at the higher revs. I do not know anyone who likes to ride something that requires 9000 revs to wake up. I refer to that as the twilight zone. Peachy for the track, lousy for the street.

UK

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