Hi guys.

I'm looking to start saving up for a bike once I've got my full license and the GSXR600 looks like a good'un.

Bearing in mind I'll not have enough money til probably early next year, and that it will be my first bike, do you guys think it would be a good starting point?

Cheers.


Edit: Havin said that, so does the CBR600..... meh!

I think that's a rubbish idea, it's far too powerful for your first bike! Hang on a second, my first bike is being delivered next Friday and it's a 2006 R6, i dunno mate, i'm hoping to just take it easy for the first few months. I'll let you know how i get on

The problem I can see with a 600 gixxer is the power delivery...

the gixxer only works well on higher revs, so let's say that you are unexperienced and you are accelarating down some country roads...while you still are below the 6k/7k revs all is gentle and good.... above that you get a kick in and the bike fires up... which can take you by surprise and spit your off if you panic.

As everything the bike will only go as fast as you want, but bear in mind it's a sports bike which likes to be rev'd everywhere...and that transition from gentle bike to hooligan bike can take you by surprise.

Get a Thundercat, that's a nice beginners bike

Yep, Thundercat, old CBR600, RF600 would be best. No nasty surprises and loads of s/h spares about for when you drop it - and you will unfortunately

Wise words, The fazer/bandit/hornet seems like a popular choise good all round bikes and as said loads of parts available when you drop it.

Work your way up to the performance bikes that way you will have gained road craft and experience which will give pay off in the long run.

What ever you choose ride safe and good luck

Lol..

But seriously.. I have the thundercat and I test rode the gixxer 600 and was very disapointed…much slower than the thundercat.
On the cat you open the throttle at 3k,4k,5k,6k whatever revs you want and the bike just goes…on the gixxer you open it and then you can sit back and wait till she gets to 7k….nothing happens below that. Didn't like it at all.

Maybe someone should ask "what are you likely to do with your bike?"

Wait, I just have.

yeh..true..
but I was responding to slider

the thing I have found with the thundercat is that the power delivery is very smooth throughout the range.. except when you hit the 10k revs and then you fly..
The cat is very fast setting off the traffic lights..but you know that the power delivery will be the same and you won't get a kick when you go over a certain rev..except the 10k mark

and that's the good thing...as a beginner you know that she will not jump away like mad...and you are not likely to open it up to 10k anyway..
the gixxer has a good kick at 6,7k revs. A rev range very easy to hit while on the roads..
and is just this change that might get someone by surprise.

I agree with everything everyone has said...on the fence?....me?...we'll maybe

just get what you want mate, you know thats what your gonna do anyway...

This bike has been on my shortlist too, so it's interesting t hear what you all think....

Since you asked, a Gixxer6 is not a good starting point. Compared to many other far more suitable 600's, sports 600s like the Gixxer6 and the R6 are considerably more demanding to ride. The way they steer: quick and responsive; the lack of turning circle- are you comfortable enough with u-turns to deliberately tip the bike into the u-turn in order to get round without making several attempts? The powerful brakes. The power delivery: my wife's Bandit easily and happily pops it's front wheel in the air under careless acceleration around 45MPH, my Gixxer6 will do that up to about 100MPH.

Then you've got to insure the thing- it's going to cost you much more, and for what? Will you really get the benefit from it, right out of the test centre?

Just because a particular model is labelled as a beginner bike doesn't mean it won't be huge amounts of fun. The Bandit, Fazer, ER6- all bloody excellent bikes. Easy and enjoyable to ride, properly fast, but definitely more forgiving, cheaper to service and insure.

As Billy said, you get exactly what you want- you'll be riding it, not any of us. Just go into it eyes wide open.

Have fun and be safe, mate, whatever you decide to get.

Base makes a very good point. The "Big 4" of starter 600's are all tons of fun.

I've not been on the Hornet or ER6, but have owned 2 Fazers and rode around on a Bandit for a few months. All are excellent starter 600's. Speaking as a Fazer addict, that's the one I'd go for.

My current bike is a '98 Fazer, the one with a detuned Thundercat engine, and it'll do 0-60 in "woo-hoo!" seconds. Easy to ride, very responsive and even fewer nasty surprises than the Thundercat. It'll never stand up to a pure racing 6 or a litre sportsbike, but then again neither would my riding skills when I first started out.

At the end of the day, you'll ride what you feel like riding, but don't dismiss the bikes mentioned.

Just my tuppence-worth in the pot...

Just got to briefly contradict that, sorry.

It depends who's riding. I've left behind numerous impressive and sometimes exotic litre sports bikes in the twisties, just as I've had a right bastard of an excellent road rider open up a gap on me with his CB500.

I've seen people so intimidated by their sports bikes that they'd surely be faster on a proper bike.

YMMV

yeah what he said.....real stuff there base

Well, yes, perhaps I should have specified that, but it was 5 minutes before my bedtime and I just wanted to make the point that the 4 6's I mentioned were tons of fun.

Last time I agree with any of you lot