Cowboy1600

She had a CBR250 then a CBR900 then went overseas for about 6 months then bought the ZX when she got back. So as a matter of fact she did buy a litre bike straight up (well, 919ccs).

An ex-gf of mine is selling her immaculate '05 model if you're interested. http://www.cbr250.com/cbr250/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=64309 It's in seriously great nick with a heap of nice extras.

Mt beast. And the project.

I was going to rush in and call bullshit on your first paragraph, then I read your second and realised no one would now take you seriously anyway. EVO = Gimmick while WRX = "built for it" That's gotta be the most stupid thing I've ever heard. Even more stupid than someone claiming a 220kw front driver beating a 330kw GTR.

But you are misdirecting people if you make it out to be a death sentence. Yes, it is more dangerous than driving a car, but that doesn't mean it's dangerous. Every year people choke to death eating an otherwise harmless morsel of food. In fact it'd be interesting to see the toll of choking on food vs riding motorbikes. You wouldn't warn someone against eating cause it's potentially deadly. Same goes with motorbikes. Yes, they are more dangerous than cars but the odds are still with you. Most motorcyclists will experience a lifetime of riding without major injury or death. And your seatbelt analogy is wrong. If I were to say to you don't wear a helmet, then it would hold. But I'm not. I'm saying that motorbikes aren't the evil death machines that many people make them out to be. All I'm doing is providing a second side of the discussion. Just as you are able to tell people that it is more dangerous than cars, I'm allowed to put those risks into context.

I think what he meant, and to whit I agree, is that a bike only goes as fast as your right hand allows it. Regardless of if it's a Eyeabuser or a chook chaser. If things are getting out of control or a little scary, don't twist the wrist so hard. It's really not that difficult. And as for the scaredy cats banging on about statistics and dying and shit, put it into perspective. You've got more change of being struck down by prostate cancer in your 40s than you do of dying on a motorbike. What would you rather do, pack yourself in cotton wool for fear of a long shot chance of being seriously hurt or killed, or actually live a little and enjoy the short time that you have on earth?

I work for a multi-millionaire electrician. Guess what? I know nothing about electricity and I'm not a millionaire. And again, the road and the track are two completely separate animals. Having a touch more unsprung weight and higher gyroscopic effect is bad on the track, cause it makes bikes harder to turn and harder to suspend, but on the road it helps to make a bike more stable and less twitchy on less than perfect surfaces. The crux of my argument still stands. On the road a 1000 will be easier to ride than than a 600, be it fast or slow. They require less effort to cruise around on and the torque makes them easier to ride fast from point to point. Thanks to a touch more weight than a 600 they will also be more settled when cornering and less twitchy over bumps in the road.

Why do I feel like banging my head against a wall?

I was thinking more "to the limits of adhesion". Safe to do on a track cause you are on a predictable surface and going over the same road lap after lap, not so safe on the open road with varying conditions and roads you only see once a day. The 10kg difference is important because of where it is. 600s are noticeably sharper but 1000s are noticeably more stable.

Of course, but you need to make sure that those opinions are well informed. Mine come from 15 years or riding experience. You name it, I've seen it. I've seen people run the "a 600 will be perfect" line only to run the "want more, I'm upgrading" 6 months down the track more times than I care to remember. I've been a long term poster on CBR250.com, Netrider, Fireblades.org and Bikeme.tv. I pretty much stopped posting on Nerdrider due to the vast amount of shitty information that was being passed down by riders who didn't have a clue. Unfortunately, try as I might, they over ran the place. You'd be very surprised. Ride em both then come back and tell me you still subscribe to this theory.

That's cause you've never ridden a 1000 Do yourself a favour, ride both before making up your mind.

Sweet K-tuma. I had my heart set on one of those but I'm a little suss on build quality. Any bike I buy will get 40,000ks a year put on it and from all accounts the KTM road bikes struggle with reliability. I've heard everything from general rough running (which can be fixed with a PC) to spitting gears through cases and blowing oil past seals and the like. They seem to be over represented in the "bikes with issues" stakes. They looks horn and go like stink, but reliability is a must. The Ducrapi is a proven tractor. They have been using that engine sine the 1945 Ducatistimobileadicidesmotractor plow, so reliability isn't an issue.

Eeeer, actually Hyosungs are bloody great bikes for what they are. Their build quality is perfectly acceptable for a bike built to a budget. You do know that the Ninja 250 is made in Thailand, right? Not exactly the last bastion of quality engineering. I'd rather a bike made in Korea than Thailand any day. And the Hyosung was originally powered by the Suzuki SV650 engine which was a cracker. They have since started building their own and it is generally considered better than the Suzuki it replaced. It's more powerful, more efficient, smoother and gruntier than the SV donk. If I were looking for a beginner bike it'd be first a big single dirt bike like an XR 600 or something to that effect. They are cheap, easy, fun, sell well when upgrade time comes along, inexpensive to fix when you inevitably drop it and great in traffic. If I had to have something sportier it's be a second hand Hyosung 650cc naked jobbie. Cheap and easy to on sell later. Can I say to the OP and Charles, for the love of God listen to people who actually know what they are talking about.

**DROOLS**

Your last line completely contradicts your first paragraph. Torque = everything on the street. How do your mates with Busas know a 600 is better? As someone who has spent vast time on smaller bikes, 600s and 1000s I can tell you from experience that a thou is so much better that it's not funny. As for which is faster? That matters not one bit. On the road it's 99% rider, 1% bike. A top notch street racer (think Cam McDonald) would flog me through the Black spur on an electric scooter with me riding a Desmosedici. For carving up traffic the torque of a thou trumps a 600 every time, without fail, 100%. For having fun along the spur, for anyone other than an A grader a thou will be faster. Most riders don't have the skill to make use of the slightly better handling that a 600 has over a thou. It easy to use the extra torque and in fact makes it easier for an average rider to go faster. A thou will pull much harder than a 600 from idle. Much, much harder. Again, quarter mile times mean nothing on the road. Oh, and an R6 will struggle to get into the 11s. An R1 will pull mid to low 10s all day. And as most people on here would know, the difference between 10 flat and 12 flat is absolutely enormous. The only people I have ever known who would recommend a 600 over a 1000 for the street are newbies who read on Nerdriders that that is what they should do or someone who doesn't actually have the experience of riding the different bikes. Everyone I know, whos opinion I would actually respect as I know they have vast experience, would tell you a 1000 over a 600 for the street every time. Only on the track may this change.

The GSTS would come back hard at 3/4 track, but not likely to overcome the AWD advantage off the line.

With 270 at the bags, you should easily see 11s with a set of slicks. Before going the new car/full rebuild/expensive path, go grab yourself a brand new set of MT slicks and see how you go. You would be spinning the wheels the whole strip on street tyres. If you can get it to hook up well you'll see an 11 and a low 11 won't be far away. And the WRX owners claiming 11s with 190kW are talking out there asses. They are probably more like 230-250 and have spent a shit load more than they are letting on. That is if they are making that power properly.

Yamaha built a 2WD R1 a few years ago. In the dry it was a touch slower cause the front end was a bit more vague and it was heavier but in the wet it totally stomped 1wd bikes. They also built and actually released a 2WD dirt bike. Again, get in sand and really soft stuff it shone, but struggled when the weight became an issue.

I'm going to disagree with you. The track and the road can't be compared. If you ride on the road like you should on a track....bye bye. On the track you are always in the top 25% of the rev range and try to ride on a knifes edge. Do that on the road, even on a 600, and you're a deadman (or woman in your case). Having the extra cubes of a thou makes road riding much easier. You don't have to rely on peak horsepower and can grunt around. Handling of a 1000 over a 600 is also preferable on the road. having a few more kilos to push the suspension down helps on choppy roads. On a smooth racetrack a firm bike with as little unsprung weight as possible is preferred, but on the road that extra mass helps to deal with poor road surfaces. If you get on the gas hard enough to break traction when trying to ride through a head shake then you're doing something wrong. 600s have less weight and are generally set up sharper than a thou so they are more likely to get a wobble up. And again, if you find you are getting lots of nasty head shakes on the road you are either riding too hard or your bike needs some attention. 1000s trump 600s on the road every day of the week.

A 4 D-cell Maglite is the best. Perfectly legitimate and can deliver a hefty blow. I have one residing right beside the drivers seat.

Mate, ride through it. My wrists don't bend back more than about 30 degrees, my back is rooted, my hips are f**ked, but I'll never stop riding. Just get something a bit more upright. My next bike will be something like a B-King, Hypermotard or CB1000.

I've been riding for the past 14 years on the road. I've only had a car for the past 3 years. Prior to that I was 100% bike. I'm actually bikeless at the moment after my CBR spun a big end a while ago. IMO don't pussy foot around on 600s. If you're an idiot you'll kill yourself just as fast on a 600 as you will on a 1000. I've ridden both, extensively, and the extra power of a thou is not only brain numbingly addictive but often a heaven sent on the road. As for which one to get - be it a GSXR, CBR, R1 or ZX (assuming you get a jap) - seriously, they are a much of a muchness. People who tell you one is better than the other is either completely full of shit or Shawn Giles. Ride them, pick the one that felt best under your ass. If you're not completely set on a sportsbike you could look at something like a second hand Ducati Hypermotard. A total hooligan bike. Or if they are bit on the pricey side I know about 6 people who own late model Speed Triples and they generally can't stop grinning like complete lunatics 100% of the time. There are so many good bikes out there that it's hard to go wrong. At the end of the day ask yourself if you are too stupid to ride a bike? If you can honestly answer "no" then go and get whatever floats your boat. Don't worry if it has 100cc or 2300cc.

Cause we have some whack ideas down here. A number of rules surrounding car modifications make zero sense. The 1 intake mod for example. Senseless. No aftermarket ECUs....senseless. I might get in touch with my local member and get her to ask Tim Pallas for a "please explain".

If they don't fit I bags them!! Will be happy to pay what you paid for em + postage if you are down with that.

Whatever you do, finish your CPA. After that, the world is yours. Ask yourself what you want from work because everyone is different. Myself, for example, would shovel shit for a living so long as it gave me the readies to do the things in life I want to do. I don't care about job satisfaction or conditions or anything like that. I just want a decent income so I can live life to the fullest. My wife, on the other hand, has a real need for job satisfaction and achievement. She needs to feel like she is actually making a difference and be supported and commended on the brilliant work she does. She is also qualified out the whazoo. Bach of Sci/Arts at Melb Uni, majoring in Genetics, Geography, Psychology and Enviro Science with honours in Psychology. She's now a psychologist in a primary school, after having been an organisational psych for 6 years and in a high school for 3 years, and loves it. Everyone is different so it;s a matter of figuring out what you want out of work and going after it. But having a few fall back qualifications up your sleeve is really handy during those transitional stages.