New here, whats up?

[codemastadink]

So guys im new here im 15 trying to convince the parents to let me get a bike when i can get my bike licence. Lookine at Katanas. Good starting bikes? I've ridden dirtbikes for a few years so im used to the whole thing. Another thing, anything to look for when buying a bike? Anything special? Can you reccomend a year range? Sorry for all the questions :P but thanks for your time.

[TheKlic]

There's a used bike buying guide CP has

Katana 600 a little strong for starting on the street
EX500/GS500 do well

[codemastadink]

There's a used bike buying guide CP has

Katana 600 a little strong for starting on the street
EX500/GS500 do well

CP?

[chay03]

Let me ask you a question, I've only been riding about 4 months (street with my Kat 600). If I'm 34 and wanna race dirt bikes, Can I just jump into it, you know, get a 250 or 500 and start racing?

How are your everday driving skills ( defensive driving as they say) with a car? Know your blind spots.

If your fairly comfortible driving an automobile, get a bike, if your parents allow. Kat 600 should be fine for a newb. Thats what I have and aleady thinking about upgrading.

Ask away with questions, one name thats buried in stone here is CP. Knowledge is here.

One more thing, take the safety class first, you'll thank yourself and so will other riders.[/quote]

[blkpitbull]

Kat 600 is just fine to start on considering that you have ridden dirkbikes for some time. I dont think that a 600 kat is to strong for anyone starting out. Just a personal preferance........Get a kat 750 and youll not wanna get a new bike in 6 months!!!!

[dgzkatana]

There's a used bike buying guide CP has

Katana 600 a little strong for starting on the street
EX500/GS500 do well

CP?

http://www.motorcycleanchor.com/motorcycle/howto_main.html

The CyberPoet on here.
Down towards the bottom it has a link about what to look for when buying used bikes.

[The CyberPoet]

There's a used bike buying guide CP has
Katana 600 a little strong for starting on the street
EX500/GS500 do well

CP?

He's talking about me.

Here's my guide to what to check when buying used bikes:
Used Motorcycle Inspection Checklist (use before buying!)

As for the other question(s) involved:
STANDARD REPOST:

Standard advice:

Find a bike that fits your build well, where you can put both feet on the ground and lean the bike between your thighs left and right a bit. The bike should be cheap -- $1k - $2.5k price range (preferably something you can afford in cash), physically light and nimble, and not all that powerful. If you wreck it during your learning curve, you won't cry at the financial penalty of it, and if you don't wreck it, you'll be able to get out of it whatever it cost you in the first place... It'll also teach you better riding habits.

To quote myself:

the Ninja 250 & 500's are an ideal starter bikes... [Newbie "riders"] would learn far better habits on the smaller bike than on a typical Katana (for reasons I'm about to explain):

There are certain great advantages to starting out on a small, nimble, high-rev'ving bike with a low total cost. Among others, you will learn to use the handling and power with far more finess and far more skill than you would on a larger, more powerful bike like the Kat. To put that into terms that make sense to someone coming from the car world:

When Colin McRae, the world-champion WRC (world rally cup) driver first started to drive (age 12 - 14), he did so swiping his dad's 1972 Ford Fiesta/Escort with a miniscule 1.2 or 1.4 liter engine. It had power nothing -- manual steering, manual brakes, and high-rev'ing engine with little torque. This taught him everything from precise handling to carrying speed through corners, finess and control, matching shift-speeds and proper gear selection. If his father had owned a Cadillac Eldorado with a 501 cubic inch engine and automatic-power-everything, he would have never had the opportunity (or the need) to learn proper gear selection, finess in handling, traction and handling loss of traction, etc. -- the huge engine and huge car just never require it of the driver. In the same sense, a larger, heavier and more torque-rich bike never require you to learn certain fine nuances of riding... you can just punch out in whatever gear for a passing maneuver, you don't need to carry speed through corners, etc. And there's the crux -- if you learn these skills as habits with your first "street" bike, they go with you for the rest of your life. On the other hand, if you don't learn them at the beginning, unlearning mediocre and poor habits and learning the better/advanced habits later is very difficult and something many never master...
Thus, for all the same reasons that McRae went on to be the winningest rally champ in history, I say to you, get the Ninja 250 or 500, or a bandit 400, a nighthawk 450, etc., and start there. By the time you move up in a year or three, you'll be riding circles around at least half the guys who started on a Katana, and doing so with great confidence.

Just my two cents worth.
Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[codemastadink]

Let me ask you a question, I've only been riding about 4 months (street with my Kat 600). If I'm 34 and wanna race dirt bikes, Can I just jump into it, you know, get a 250 or 500 and start racing?

How are your everday driving skills ( defensive driving as they say) with a car? Know your blind spots.

If your fairly comfortible driving an automobile, get a bike, if your parents allow. Kat 600 should be fine for a newb. Thats what I have and aleady thinking about upgrading.

Ask away with questions, one name thats buried in stone here is CP. Knowledge is here.

One more thing, take the safety class first, you'll thank yourself and so will other riders.

[/quote]


Haha funny you asked. Im agressive as hell on the road. I drive a tahoe so i can like run over most other cars ^_^. My bro is 21 and he has a 600RR and i love riding on the back with him and weaving cars(i live in CA so lanesplitting is leagal :P). But to awnser your question dirtbikes are almost the same thing as street but i would start with a 250(and stay there haha) anything over is really to big and as you know with street bikes a 600 can smash a 1000 in canyons, which is what a track is basicly. Just try to find an old bike to learn on and not be worried about crashing it if your doing jumps and stuff. the only other thing is shifting on dirt is a LOT eisier, lol u can almost just drop the clutch...almost...or you pop a wheelie and run into a tree(dont ask)...but beysides that its all gravy