1000cc and 600cc - my first impressions on big bikes

[Xander]

Well I sold my GPX, got my R class (WOOOHOOO) and have been test riding different sports bikes. Both 600's and 1000's from the major 4 makes. This is the story of one of my first experiences on a big sports bike.

The first thing I need to say is WOW, modern sports bikes have insane amounts of power. If you are doing your 250 time and waiting for when you step up to a big bike I assure you its a completely different world.

So there I am at the bike shop infront of a few litre bikes, wide eyed like a kid in Santas candy factory "that one, it looks shiny, lets try that" I say to the salesman. In pops the key, on turns the ignition, and the engine roars to life. Oh the sound! This thing wants to go fast, it's complete overkill- You can feel it's power, it's intent. It's like the searching eye from Lord of The Rings. In a way it's kind of scary.

So I climb onto the beast like a little boy feebly mounting a giant black stallion at the Royal Show. It seems obvious the stallion will be calling all the shots as I ease the clutch out and potter off down the road. Then something magical happens. The bellowing, fire breathing stallion suddenly becomes my friend, it turns into this little pony! Wow, this pony sure is nice I begin thinking, it's so smooth, it goes around corners so easily. It's very well trained.

I did of course realise the pony is packing a mighty rocket up its ass, but I couldn't believe how easy it is to commute and feel confident on these modern sportsbikey things. Easy I begin thinking to myself, just don't be stupid and it'll be fine! Then of course it accidently happens, and its over before I'd realised it began. Nothing big, but my first power wheelie none the less. Who would have thought that aggressively turning the throttle 1/10 of a revolution would do that?

I continue to dawdle on down the 4 lane 60km zone, then decide this is a ridiculous place to get a feel for the bike and look for a side street to turn around in to head down the the freeway. Down a sidestreet I go, stop, walk the bike around the U Turn (because I'm not interested in paying some huge excess due to this beast deciding it wants to lay down) and nudge up to the stop sign on the main road.
Then there it is, next to me, another animal. Only with more legs than my stallion and some sort of cage. Yes it was a black ute with a pair of bogans.

They yell out to me with wild arm gestures, I can't decipher the words but it's something like "sweet bike mate, you should do a wheelie on this busy 4 lane road during peak traffic hour".
Wow I think... they were easily impressed, and I can't even do a U turn.... I give them a thumbs up and jokingly instruct them to do a burn out. Obviously they wouldn't do that in peak hour traffic to try to impress some guy on a bike. Obviously I'm wrong.

I make my way to the freeway, thinking I can feel the power of the bike in a 100 zone. And I'm sadly mistaken. Traffic aside, it is so painfully obvious that my mere half twist of the throttle for 1.8 seconds got my quicker than my balls or my demerit points would allow.
I begin to realise how insanely fast these things are, how much power they have and how much respect and self control you need in order to commandeer them. You were all right when you said they can't be properly utilised on the street. I ride back to the shop, seriously humbled in my current abilities as a rider. The 600 which I take out next, is a breeze to ride in comparison.


I tried explaining all this to my girlfriend. Have you ever tried doing that? It doesn't work very well does it. The best I could do to demonstrate my feeling about a 1000cc bike was to give her metaphors about the excess power, involving how cool yet impractical a nuclear powered oven would be. I thought my fellow PSBers would understand.

So to focus this topic - whats the story of your first experience on a powerful sportsbike? did it scare the absolute shit out of you? did you feel humbled like never before? did you go over a speedbump and accidently do a wheelie? or were you the opposite of all that and became Rossi straight up?

[Pobbler]

my first big bike was a GSXR 600. I rode it home very carefully, and in low revs.

On the last stretch of straight road, I opened it up, and felt my ass slide to the rear of the seat.

It really was an amazing feeling!! I got off the bike in awe..

[druu]

Wow nice story. I've had my R's for two months now and I still haven't experienced a decent test ride. Can't wait though!

[Maxo]

1st experience? Naughty 16 year old borrowing dad's bike.

2nd (more legal) experience? A 99 fz6

did it scare the absolute shit out of you?

Not really.

I didn't become rossi either???
I just used a bit more caution when opening the throttle going around corners(when compared to a 250).

[padfoot]

First experience?

K1 GSX-R600.
Blew me away with the amount of power I had available to me... The thing was insane!
Then I rode a K7... Wow, again... The improvement in 6 years was astounding! This thing was small, light and fucking fast.
Rode a CBR600RR, ZX6R and R6 as well in that day... Then rode an R1.
I thought I had the 'big bike' thing down pat until I jumped on the litrebike... The change from the 600 was profound. Bigger, faster and meaner.

So to answer your questions:
The first time I rode a big bike....
Was I scared?
No.

Was I humbled?
Yes.

I was very careful, slow and did not even get a tenth of the performance out of the bike. I gave it respect, so that it did not bite me. Respect that bigger bikes demand.

Then I took it back to the shop with the largest grin on my face... One of the best feelings ever and I still remember it to this day.

[Professor Redfern]

Rule number one for test bike riding. Take a long lunch break or a day off and drive ride it in the middle of the day when theres no traffic.

Midland is good cos you can do the bypass circuit and open it up with no side streets and few U-turns spots for cops.

[thro]

My first big bike is obviously the 600, and i'll be man enough to admit that it scared the shit out of me above 11,000rpm for at least a couple of weeks.

Is a litre a more friendly street bike in terms of commuting without the buzz? Sure.

However, if you're stepping up from a 250, they both have mind bending amounts of power.... even if you've had pretty quick street cars (12-13 sec), you are in no way prepared for the experience.

In terms of power increases, a 10% step up is generally noticable (from prior experience modding cars). An extra 30% more power is a seriously large step up.

Going from a typical noob 250 to a 600, you're talking about a 300% power increase...


First time i seriously *rode* a litre was borrowing a new blade for a day - after i'd had the 600 for a year. I was seriously giggling like a schoolgirl every time i just cracked the throttle in first, in terms of available power, they're just insane

[g0zer]

I tried explaining all this to my girlfriend. Have you ever tried doing that? It doesn't work very well does it. The best I could do to demonstrate my feeling about a 1000cc bike was to give her metaphors about the excess power, involving how cool yet impractical a nuclear powered oven would be.

lol

i once hugged a zx6r in front of a gf.. i think that was about the point when she decided i was retarded

[Johnno]

My first one was a gsx 750 and on the test ride and I gave it a little stick but was still very careful, on the third corner I hit a oil patch and it stepped right out but recovered.

Made me shit myself but still left a huge grin on me face so I bought it

[Moorby]

My first good experience on a big bike (the others were boring dawdles around 60kph streets) was with Desmo on a 600rr. We pull on to the roe hwy and Jim on a fireblade takes off. I struggle to keep up. We pull up at some lights and he says so do you like? I'm grinning like an idiot "this is insane its soo much faster than my 250" Jim laughs and goes just floor it from these lights! We do and watch the speedo go past 100 without a shift in gears, then up through 2nd, 3rd and I'm looking at 195kph. And Jim's just a spec in the distance. I was sold and bought the bike next week! Still love my baby now

[scottyj]

Wow, really excited now, I can't wait.

[MADOGA]

First big bike must be one of the greater joys in life,
I remember riding home in 2nd gear 60kmh, and thinking so much power couldnt wait to give the other gears a go, no more ripping through 5 gears just to get across the lights

[rayray]

is that on a 600 or 1k MADOGA?

[padfoot]

Wouldn't matter... Either of them will do 60 in 2nd without you noticing any difference.

[Maxo]

So to answer your questions:
The first time I rode a big bike....
Was I scared?
No.

Was I humbled?
Yes.

I was very careful, slow and did not even get a tenth of the performance out of the bike. I gave it respect, so that it did not bite me. Respect that bigger bikes demand.

Then I took it back to the shop with the largest grin on my face... One of the best feelings ever and I still remember it to this day.

good answer

[Gordan]

First big bike i rode was an R1, and that scared the absolute crap out of me, the crazy amount of overkill power made me giggle like never before...I remember coming out onto the first open road and opening it up a little bit and then screaming out "HOLY SHIT" out as loud as I can, must have been funny to the other cars around me though

[MADOGA]

is that on a 600 or 1k MADOGA?

883cc Harley Sportster,

[nkb]

first time i rode a 1000cc my hands were shaking afterward.. for next few days gut was churning whenever i opened it up a bit.

awesome.

[Sventek]

I went from a VTR250 to a Brutale 910R. Best thing I ever did in my life. I don't think I've ever (or will ever again) smiled so much. I respected the bike, and it rewarded me with insane power and tons of fun.

[vincible1]

Holy shit.
Never been on anything other than my 250 and can't wait till I start the test rides.
Funny how you never forget your first time ...