I'm guessing there are or will be a lot of buyers of last years model being laid off now. Time is your friend. Kick back and watch. Be ready for the right deal. You'll know it when you see it.
If you are buying used, avoid used race bikes unless you know the party. I have an 04' GSXR 600 race bike (I sold my 750 in late 07' with same spec as 600 mods/parts for $5K...a hell of a deal for buyer) with all of the street stuff plus about +$5K worth of suspension (Penske triple clicker/Traxxion forks), Yosh full Ti exhaust with full TEKA tune, case protection, race bodywork, spares, gearing and chains, rearsets, crashbungs and brake mods. I will likely get about $4K max for it, and it was perfectly broken in, maintained, and never abused, with about 600 street miles followed by about 400 sprint racing miles. If you can find deals like that where you actually know the person and know that what is being said is true, you can get a really good bike for cheap and use it for both street and track days and it will be a lot of bike with a lot of adjustability and superb ability to handle well. Just don't get sucked into a race bike that is past it's due date......like many are. I retired my GSXR because my business partners made me sign a no racing clause for 3 years......Now I am retired but planning to race an SV next year in endurance to get my chops back.
On the Ducati boards, people are raving about the 08 CBRs, and they usually have nothing but contempt for the Japanese bikes. Might be something to consider. I'd get an 07 R6 based on aesthetics alone, as the performance differences are so small.
That bike at 7k even would be a good price IMO assuming the owner performed the 600 mile service. Anything below 7k would be a great deal (which is totally possible given the economy). I wouldn't necessarily recommend a gsxr as a first sport bike though. They're amazing but the riding position on them (and the yamaha's for that matter) is pretty aggressive. I'd look to either a honda or kawasaki as my first bike. I started on a kawi 500cc nearly 10 years ago and after riding that for a while and spending a couple summers riding my friend's r6 made the move up to a 2004 r1 and have never been more satisfied with a purchase.
Wrong. Having ridden both a 1973 superbike and an sv I can tell the sv may get better lap time but in a straight line the z1 kills it along with my 836 Honda Art
I hate to get involved in arguing over fractions of a second if it is irrelavant to the point I was trying to make about the attitue of the new rider. I was talking about walking into a dealership in the early 70's versus now and riding off with a stock bike. BTW my very first ride on the back of a streetbike was on a Z1. 120 mph hanging on for dear life. Fun stuff when you are 13. Just for the record, 1969 CB750 13.5s@100 mph (source Cycle magazine, stock) 1977 CB750F 12.7s@105 mph (source Cycle magazine, stock) 1973 KZ900 12.0s@110 mph (source unknown, bike slightly modified) 2006 SV650 11.8s@106 mph (source wikipedia)
None of the stuff I rode was stock. We used to tune my 836 Honda (an over bored 750, with cam, etc) It would run in the low 11s, and the Z1s were quicker. I was talking about AMA Superbikes, not street bikes. Art
I know...I have one. I was just talking sounds at that point, so I guess I strayed off topic. My bad....
Carrying it and my 1098R to Ft. Worth tomorrow for recall repairs. It would be so nice to have both a great Ducati mechanic and a great Ferrari mechanic next door....and if she had big ti ....ahh, never mind.
Cant really go wrong with any of the modern sportbikes. All of the Jap bikes have their positive and negatives. Get the one that fits you the best. I currently have a GSXR 600. Also depending on your budget expect to spend a lot for tires. My fist year and a half I went through 5 sets of tires. ~$1,800 in tires including mounting & balancing. I would suggest that you also budget for other maintenance items. If you are going to use it as a toy its quite possibly the most fun you'll have on the street. If you think you are going to save money and use it as daily transportation save your money and get a honda civic! The cost of a sportbike is going to run much more than most people originally budget for. Have fun and welcome to the motorcycle world. Dress for the fall and not the ride!
Although I am a Yamaha man, having ridden/raced all 4 Japanease 600cc supersport brands around many different racetracks, my own personal preference is Yamaha Suzuki Kawi Honda But you can't go wrong with any as long as you have the skills to ride one properly. For most people, it is the rider and not the bike.
I will take your word for it. When I raced AFM and Formula USA I never saw one win a race or a championship and have never ridden one so can't compare it to ones I have ridden. I was also just comparing Japanese bikes. I have also owned 2 Ducati's 2, but never raced either. My friends who raced Ducati's were always changing their clutch, but other than that, their bikes were always very competitive. Did not know any racers who raced Triumph, factory or privateer.
