First Bike

[SoleAddict21]

Im planing on gettin a bike soon.. i was thinking about a katana, but people said i would want to upgrade in a few months.. just wanted some more input from people who ride them daily

[GSXfs600]

If your looking to turn heads? go elsewhere. If you want a great bike that will perform well, get 50 mpg without looking like an idiot in a prius? than get a Katana!

[SilentTJ]

idk why you'd want to upgrade. it has everything you could want from a bike. it has power, obviously not that of other bikes, but it has more than enough power for everyday riding. with top end speeds in the 130's and 12s 1/4 mile times, i'd say that's more than enough power. it's comfortable. way more comfortable then other sport bikes. just go to the dealership and sit on bikes, you'll see the difference, but the real difference comes from the long term rides. i ride with a buddy on a CBR and his a$$ is sore within a half hour or so, where im nice and comfy. it can be ridden in a more relaxed upright posture, or a bent over sporty posture if you please, so it doesnt limit you on that. it handles well, once again, not that of the other bikes, but you'll get your thrills out of it's cornering. another plus is that's a very simple bike. not much maintenance involved. less than other bikes. so i'd highly recommend it. it's a forgiving bike, it gives you the thrills of a sport bike, while still letting you relax and just cruise as well. plus with it's weight, and lesser power, it doesnt easily allow for stunting, so you dont get tempted into that easily. other bikes you just roll the throttle a little and the front end is aching to pop up, kat doesnt do that, unless you try to do it. so that's my 2 cents, well more like 25.. but anyway... great choice

[hub]

My 04 600 is my first bike, I've had it since May. Since then I've used it as a commuter to work and back. I've also taken it on 4 300 mile trips. It's been comfortable for the first 4 hours or so. I've known some people with your typical supersports (CBR's, Ninja's, etc.) and they've always told me that an hour is their limit. Since it's my first bike, I don't know how it feels to ride another bike with more power than this one and I don't miss it. That being said, I feel like my Kat has enough power. It's been a blast to ride and I don't see an upgrade in the near future. I expect to be riding this for at least a few years before I consider anything else.
I remember when I was looking at the Kat before I bought it. I looked up some reviews online and people said it was too heavy and too slow and too bubbly. Well, I like the way it looks, I don't mind the weight because I live in a windy state and I think it helps. And as far as slow. . . define "slow". 0-60 in 4ish seconds is pretty quick to me. Overall, I'm really really glad I got this bike as a first bike, and would recommend it. Whatever you decide, good luck. That's all I've got.

[JBLUE]

hello and welcome to katriders I had my bike for two years now and I am not thinking about upgrading to another bike why?????????? because this bike is all the bike you need its fast, its handles well and its a pleasure to ride its very comfortable good looking easy on your pocket the insurance is dirt cheap with all that going why would I upgrade?????????

[GSXfs600]

define "slow". 0-60 in 4ish seconds is pretty quick to medefine "slow". 0-60 in 4ish seconds is pretty quick to me.

Ya, Faster than any car!

I remember when I got my first big bike, a used 71 Honda CB750! 1/4 mile time was about 13.8 and folks would say, why do you ride such a fast death machine?!

A year later Kawasaki releast the KZ900 and I was no longer top dog

When the Ninja 900 came out, I snatch one up! Than a 600 hurracane to a cbr900rr and now a Katana600 and many others in between.


Get the Katana! It will give you just enough rope to hang yourself, but not enough to lose your head! This is coming from a guy thats broken over 30 bones in lots of wrecks

[Dave Clewett]

I've had my '91 750 since '95. I've taken it on three day road trips all over CA, plus day rides every chance I get. Like others have said, it handles great, is fast enough to satisfy, and it won't totally wear you out on a long ride. It's not as comfy as a cruiser, but it sure handles corners far better! I have almost 50k on mine and it runs as strong as when I first got it.

[LAsunbird86]

I got my 98 katana 600 for $800 in december of 07. Now mind you, it was completely torn apart and laying on a body shop floor and had no intention of starting when I got it. But with a month of work and less than $100 in parts I got it running great!

This thing is amazing. I truly mean that.
I have driven quite a few many 200+ mile roadtrips and even my girlfriend loves how comfortable it is (if youre worried about your girlfriends bottom and how sore it will be after an hour and a half on the 3"x5" "seat" of an SS bike)

Really though, its great on gas, it is fast, if youre going on a road trip, just adjust the suspension to its softest setting and it rides like a cadillac!!

Best of all the engine is pretty much unbreakable!
I mean, a decammed gixxr motor??

Get this bike, if for nothing else than riding it, selling it and then buying a 1000cc sportbike and saying "dang...that kat REALLY WAS comfortable".

[Slofuze]

Im planing on gettin a bike soon.. i was thinking about a katana, but people said i would want to upgrade in a few months.. just wanted some more input from people who ride them daily

Don't bite off more than you can chew. An upgrade will just get you "up front and personal" with the ashphault a lot sooner. A Kat 600 is a geat machine. Your "people" don't know sh it.

Welcome to KR

[GSXfs600]

Don't bite off more than you can chew. An upgrade will just get you "up front and personal" with the ashphault a lot sooner. A Kat 600 is a geat machine. Your "people" don't know sh it.

Welcome to KR

100%!

[eviilil0ne]

i still dont know anywhere besides racetracks and the autobahn where someone could even use the ability of a ss bike to any real degree .. far as i know 70 on the highway is pretty much the speed limit anywhere you will be .. the kat can double that ... what more do you need .. how much of a hurry are you going to be in trying to get to that next red light .. and if you are one of those that just has to stunt their bike .. go buy something that is already wrecked .. cuz thats all your going to do to it anyway .. there is a reason most stunters have zip-ties holding their bikes together .. good lucck with your choice

[SoleAddict21]

so it sounds like a katana isnt that bad after all...guess ill start looking.... im in Northern VA if anyone knows anyone selling a bike in the area

[diavolo]

If you're looking for a machine that's easy on your wallet (maintenance, insurance), looks good, and is reliable, then a Kat is an excellent choice. I have put over 22K miles on my 06 750, in about 16 months of ownership, and outside of normal servicing, has not been one lick of trouble. If you are considering doing some 2-up riding, I would lean towards the 750 for a little extra oomph. These things are bulletproof with minimal care.

[The CyberPoet]

NOTE: STANDARD REPOST

Standard advice:

As a newbie, my advice is to look at cheap used bikes in the 400 to 500cc range. 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 - $2k 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, pretty much any 400, Suzuki GS500/GS500F 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 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