Quote:
Originally Posted by enkeivette
Yeah yeah, I can control my wrist. Liter bikes are about 5lbs heavier than 600s and 750s, surprisingly. Must be the same block. So if I'm not getting a lighter bike, why get one with less tire and less power?
I'll only get a 600 or 750 if I get a killer deal.
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The weight isn't really the issue, its the power to weight and the way the power is made. The 10mm rear tire size is of no consequence, 600's and literbikes both have the same tire where it matters, the front, and that's where 80-90% of your braking and turning is done. You're not going to run into strait line traction issues with a 600 or a 1000 but a 1000 will overpower its bigger tire in a corner much easier than a 600 will its smaller tire.
This is where the problem is, 1000's have a monster midrange and top end compared to a 600. We're talking unexpectedly pulling the front wheel up under part throttle in 1st, 2nd and sometimes 3rd on some of the late model literbikes. It's easy to say "I just wont twist as much" (and is very often said by new riders looking to get a literbike) but that concept falls apart when you're on the bike in a situation you didn't expect with traction you overestimated. A literbike will get you in a lot more trouble a lot quicker and a lot more unexpectedly than even a 600. And when you do drop you're nice newish literbike you just dropped it's value 50-60% AFTER you put in the money (thousands for originals) to rebuild the plastics, stator cover, paint, etc.
The next point, even a 600 is too much bike for most new riders. A late model 600 makes as much power as a 1000 from a decade or so ago. And those decade old 1000's weren't novice friendly bikes either. Super sport 600's (like literbikes) have unforgiving twitchy steering geometry compared to a more desirable beginner bike like an SV650. A 600 is lss likely to get you into trouble than a 1000 because its grip to power ratio is much higher and overpowering the rear tire is a much more focused effort due to their higher rpm powerbands. A 1000 has 60-100% more power at the wheel compared to a 600, and even a 100hp 600 is too much bike for 99% of street riding situations. You'll rarely have the opportunity to fully open up a 600 safely for even a few seconds, let alone a 150whp literbike and 600's/1000's brakes and cornering limits are roughly equivalent (most people can corner much harder on a 600 due to its more controllable powerband, whereas 1000's are ridden as point and squirt relying on power due to lack of cornering confidence).
Modern 600's run mid-low 10's in the 1/4 and top out at an easy 160mph+. Modern 1000's run High 9's in the 1/4 and top out at ~180-186mph. When do you ever have the opportunity to open up even an 11 second car on the street? On a bike you have ~75% of the brakes you do in a comparable car and none of the safety.
You're going to buy what you want with your money obviously, but the wise man buys the bike he can handle. Then trades up as his skills improves and doesn't assume he can handle the Ferrari Enzo's of the motorcycle world on his first outing. You have no cage, you have no ABS, you have contact patches the size of tennis balls regardless of the bike, and you have a power to weight better than EVERY supercar (even on a 600).
Used bike prices are pretty stagnant, I bought an '01 CBR600F4i rode it for 4 years and put a good 10-15000 miles then sold it to recoup 90% of what I paid for it. Financially you're not going to take much of a hit buying a bike you can be confident on then selling it and getting something faster at a later date, but you'll be much less likely to drop it and hurt yourself and your wallet.
That's my advice on the matter, take it for what it's worth.
