Buying a Suzuki GSX-R 750

Probably not a good idea. That's a highly strung bit of gear. Start off with something small, light and not too powerful. It's a good idea to make your first bike a naked model too because you're bound to lay it down at least once and fairings crack easily and are expensive. Getting a bike like that straight off the bat is likely to get you hurt and/or cost you a lot of money in repairs.

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Re: Buying a Suzuki GSX-R 750


Don't make your first vehicle or your only vehicle a motorcycle. The basic skills of riding a motorcycle can be learned in fifteen minutes, but the judgement necessary to stay alive on them takes longer than that to acquire.

There's no problem with a 750 as a first bike but I'd look around a bit and see if you couldn't find one with a more normal riding position. Most Japanese bikes come with a choice of two bad riding positions, either feet forward cruisers which pretty much have to be dangerous and difficult to control in traffic and these bikes on which you're basically lying down on your stomach with your legs bunched up under and behind you, like the GSXR. Aside from the chiropractor bills, there is the problem that you're giving away one of the more major safety factors of motorcycles, i.e. the fact that you sit up higher than most cars and can see over them (with a normal seating position that is).

Some German bikes still have normal seating positions and some dirt anbd on/off road bikes do as well. 15 Years ago I'd have told anybody there was no such thing as a reasonable on/off road bike; that's no longer true. Take a ride on a Kawasaki 250 KLR before deciding. That one can cruise at 80 all day long on the highway and then go places where jeeps and tanks can't go, and it gets insane gas mileage, probably around 80 mpg or so.

On a bike, you stay alert 100% of the time. You watch the road all the time. An oil slick or something in the road which you'd notice as a bump in a car can be major grief on a bike. You use the speed to stay away from other traffic, pass other cars in the part of your lane furthest from them, do not pass other vehicles 20+ mph heavier than THEY are (since you're invisible to them if you do), never assume the other guy is going to stop, yeild right of way or do anything rational, etc. etc. etc.

A set of loud Italian electromagnetic horns (Fiami) is always a good investment for a bike; sounds sort of like the Bismark pulling into harbor. You want to be damned certain the occasional guy who doesn't see you can hear you.

First of all, don't listen to labels. Although there is great advice above, its a little black and white. I started out on dirt bikes, rode old-school street bikes like a CB350, cruisers like road kings and shadows, luxos like gold wings, and now own an R6 yamaha. Its not about where they came from, its about the style of bike.

switching between bikes is not like going from a corvette to an SUV. The different styles of bikes are much more varied than the styles of cars.

The "crotch rocket" you are considering is the Indy car of bikes. Its not something you get on and take for a ride, its a complex machine that REQUIRES you to drive it. It requires a monumental amount of driver input to properly control it. You don't steer it, you must properly establish a lean angle and choose a line for your turn. Its not a forgiving bike at all.

Contrast that with a Honda Shadow cruiser. The low seat height and long rake of the forks make it very forgiving. Your first ride and your 100th ride will be very similar, much like driving a Civic. Predictable, safe, and confident.

Riding a sport bike as your first is much like getting a Formula 1 car on your 16th birthday and expecting to be able to control it.

Although it sounds like a nominal difference, consider this: After 14 years of riding every imaginable motorcycle, I can say one thing. The worst motorcycle riders I've ever seen were ones who started out on a crotch rocket. The best riders I've ever seen were ones that started on a cruiser or dirt bike.

Don't jump into the advanced course yet. Take the intro class. Shadow VLX makes a great first bike.

Buying a street bike
I agree with the other posts, If you are a first time rider and have no experience riding a motorcycle of any type a 750 gixter would not be a wise choice to start with. I first started riding racing fourwheelers when i was around 14 and learned quickly how to utilize the shifting, clutch, and weight shifting when negotiating fast turns and just racing down trails. It comes with time. I bought a YZ250F soon as i turned 17 and became a good rider the first hour i was on it, but a 250f is also not a bike a first time rider wants to get on and try. Everyone can agree with me that you would most likely end up falling off the back at some point getting on the throttle too much or popping the clutch, they are a very peppy bike with fast response. Start on a 125 and just get used to the motions and clutch control down shifting, taking off and leaning into turns. Once you are comfortable at all speeds offroad on a bike i would say you are ready for a gsxr 750. But until then you are a danger to yourself and others on the road as a new rider on a very fast bike. Take your time, you wont regrett it!!