Blue Ridge Boy

If it is their first ever bike, hell no! I wouldn't even recommend a 600cc.
Having dirt experience helps, but dirt and street are very different.
...I worked at my uncle's Honda motorcycle dealer in Mississippi for about 3 years...and watched plenty of people walk outta there with bikes way too big for them. We never recommended the bikes to them, but having a big sportbike was "in" down there. I watched a SH go out the door to a guy that had never even sat on a bike. We heard about a week later that he wrecked doing 100 on the freeway.
Everyone has their own opinion on this topic...mine just so happens to be hell no! haha.

DocPigskin17

I have been riding sport bike for the past 10 years. I still do not feel like I am at the top of the game. I think a big reason for that is I never had any dirt bike experience as a kid. Having now been around guys who are and have been riding dirt bike since they were young, I feel like I missed out on valuable experience. Some of those guys have rode my bike harder than I have and they don't even have street bikes. My little guy is 4 now and we are starting him on a PW50 this summer to get him comfortable and confident. That is just my opinion. I know there are going to be a bunch of guys who disagree. Knock on wood, I have never put a bike down. Partly due to cautious riding, part due to experience (and some luck). I am less worried about getting hurt than I am about having to fix the bike if it goes down!

lazn

I started at about 4 yrs old on a mini dirt bike (briggs powered rupp) and think this is the best way to get started, a low power, dirt bike at a young age where you can fall without killing yourself, and learn all the right instincts and reactions.

However, it isn't the bike that kills the rider, it is either the riders stupidity or misfortune or a careless cager that does.

So it is possible to learn on a big bike, but I don't recommend it.

TheRezyReb

The most common thing I here is "I wanna start out on something small and work my way up". My answer is always" It's not gonna do anything that you don't make it do". "You can kill yourself on a 50cc scooter". "Here is an application for our local training class" or if it's been a while "let me put you on a sport atv(with a clutch),then a dirt bike, so you can re-familurize yourself".

J.J.

Theres a big difference between, say, a 105hp 1000cc superhawk with a nice flat powerband, and a 180hp 1000cc zx10 with a peaky powerband. and a lot of 6 hundos will make just as much, or more, power than a 1000cc like the SH. And you can hurt/maim/kill yourself just as easily on either bike. I'd recommend taking a rider safety course, then the advanced rider safety course, then - get the bike you want to get!!

kfkraenz

My biggest recomendation is to buy something CHEAP. A lot of new riders drop their bike in the garage/driveway/parking lot. The best advice I had was to get a used yama/suzk/kawa/hond cruizer due to the cheap buy in price. The first bike I had was a very used 700 Virago and light & low CG are also good qualities to have. It still had way more performance then any cager I had ever drove and I still could scare myself whenever I did anything stupid.

Take it easy, don't rider over your head, take the MSF course and have fun.

lhoward1134

I'm 6'5" tall. I look funny on anything smaller framed than a Superhawk. Would I buy something smaller and slower if I had it to do over again? Absolutely!!!!

Moto Man

Smaller is better for your 1st bike on road. I had bigger bikes on dirt than my fisrt street bike (a Honda SL100). Keeping the cylinder count and CCs low is a good the rule of thumb. That keeps the powerband managable; If its not a RZ350 or some other 2 smoker twin.

The honda Hawk 650 is a good 1st bike. The Ninja 250 is even better for the young guys.

redshirt

Me first bike was a F4i

Perfect for learning, light,, agile, under 7000rpm in first gear a honda civic could beat it. nothing scary there, the brakes were a bit touchy,

Over 7000 rpm........in first gear..... just don't go there for a few months.

PRTSMN

I BOUGHT ONE AS MY FIRST BIKE EVER, THE POWER IS DEFINETLY SURPRISING. WOULD I BUY A SMALLER ONE? NO NOT REALLY SIZE A HANDLING IS GREAT MAKES ME FEEL AT EASE.

Death Cattle

i said no, even though the superhawk is my first bike. but its my first street bike. ive been riding dirt bikes my entire life. i hear way too many stories about idiots buying really nice, larger cc bikes for there first bike (or having their parents buy it for them) and crashing it in the damn parking lot right after they buy it. its just stupid.

BIGWHEELS

Greetings, I was lucky to have a Yamaha SRX6 for a first bike. It was single 600cc thumper. Not too much power, not boring, small and easy to handle. Not that you will likely find one for a first bike (not to mention its too small for you!), but thought I would share anyway. Although I agree that it is not the bike but the rider, the new and inexperienced rider can put his/her self in a dangerous situation by having more power on tap than is safe (for a newbie) to be used by "accident". By that I'm not talking about the abuse of power, but the unintentional use of power. (in a corner for example)
Just my opinion.
Good luck!

j shizzy wizzy

my first motorcycle was a SH, and i went down in the 1st month of ownership. it was a simple mistake that i walked away from, but my bike was almost totaled.

it only had 600 miles on it when i got it. god that sucked!!

the problem was, too nice a bike!

i would recommend a cheap bike first and foremost. i don't think large displacement 1000cc bikes are any more dangerous than a 50cc scooter! its just how stupid the rider is and how much risk he/she takes, that makes the difference.

divingindaytona

The reason why I posted this pole is the thread below.

https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...ght=first+bike

While I agree that you can get into trouble on anything. While the superhawk isnt a fire breathing 180hp rocket, it is still plenty fast, and powerfull. I was amazed at how many said its ok to buy this bike for a beginner. Some still endorced the purchase after learning that he riding exprience was "probably" putting 300 miles on his friends 929.

I think that riders should start small work on your skills - then progress. I also think that we should have tiered lisc. in the states. Hone your skills then progress to a better tool.

There is a reason why the MSF course is taught on small displacement motorcycles. I would love to see a MSF BRC course taught with a GSX-R 1000 as the bike to learn on.

My first bike was a 89 honda cbr "hurricane" and I scared myself shitless plenty of times. (I had done some dirt riding before this, so I wasn't a total noob). Thank God I didnt have more power, I would have gotten into more trouble.

Am I taking crazy pills here? Does anyone else see things this way?

RK1

Crazy pills? Anybody who thinks a 600cc or larger 160mph 10sec et bike is a good "first bike" is the one taking crazy pills. The best first bike is a dual purpose 350cc or smaller bike. If somebody wants to buy a hayabusa or Ninja 10r as a first bike, I'd think they were stupid, but I wouldn't pass a law against it. If we put people in jail for being stupid we'd have to build a lot more jails. Besides, because they are hard to handle at parking lot speed and hard to see behind you, most lean foward sportbikes make shitty first bikes.

RCVTR

Thsi is a good thread. While I agree it is advisable to start on a smaller bike. The motorcycle industry sends out a different message. I'm hoping they come out with a 450CC single sportbike in street trim as a basis for the new junior race programs, to replace the 2-strokes.

People are going to go out and buy crazy fast sportbikes and learn to ride on them. The VTR is similar in capabilities to the 600s, although we all know the midrange response is completely different. The i4 liter bikes are another story.

I saw a guy at the shop a couple years ago that was obviously on his first sportbike. Running shoes, jeans, nylon jacket, no gloves and a new helmet. He was leaving on his new GSXR1000. I asked him how he liked it. That's when I noticed the look in his eyes. He was terrified. All he said was "It's faster than I expected." He couldn't even force a smile.

FL02SupaHawk996

That's a funny story RCVTR, but I'm sure it happens all the time! I've got a neighbor that saved for years to buy his 1st bike and went with a GSXR1000 last year and got 2 speeding tickets right away and now it sits in his garage and I bet he doesn't have 1000 miles on it

lazn

http://www.450moto.net/home.php

JesseW.

i've had my superhawk 3 years, had a katana 600 for 2 year before that, and a 1200 sportster before that . also learned to ride on an xr80 when i was ten and have had a cr80 and a kx 125. i have about 30,000 miles street experiance in 6 years of street riding with the majority of that coming on the superhawk, i feel as if i'm one with it, i know how it will react.

that being said, i have a friend with an 06 gsxr 1000 that is scared to death of it. he got a new set of tires and had me ride it around to break them in. i know now why he is scared of it. on a elevation change of about 100ft drop i was accelerating and at about 125 in third gear. road dropped, front end came way up, tapped the rear break to keep it down. that sucker has scared me like no other vehicle i have ever driven or ridden. (fastest is my dad's low 9 second 1/4 mile drag car) that bike i dare to say was faster from 100 to the 186 limiter than the superhawk is from 0-100.

on conclusion of this ride i had decided i am was too stupid to own a modern I-4 sportbike and will stick with my superhawk until it dies. i would never recommend an I-4 liter bike to a noob. maybe a sportster, but not an I-4.

RK1

I'd lay it more on the motorcycle press than the manufacturers. I think manufacurers are pretty happy to build whatever people will buy, whatever they can make money on.

If you look at the bike mags from the '70s and '80s, you'll see a lot of coverage, with respect and praise, for bikes 450ccs and under. You don't see that anymore. They ignore what is left of those bikes. Everytime somebody shaves 5 lbs. or 1/10 sec off the e.t. on a 600 or 1000 supersport, it becomes the greatest bike ever. Complete with photos of guys knee dragging, wheelies, stoppies, riding with feet on the seat etc. Only an old fart or a sissy boy would want something else. Just don't put "loud pipes" on it. That would be "irresponsible!"

DocPigskin17

All the more power to the manufacturers. I say build 'em up. That is what the market wants. Anyone with half a brain is smart enough not to start with a I-4 1000cc superbike. If they are, they are bound to get killed but anyone that dumb/daring is going to try something else equally as daring/death defying doing something else if it isn't on the bike. Since when does someone not have to take personal responsibility for their own stupidity and actions! If you break into my house and rob me and my dog bites you in the *** on your way out, or you slip on the stairs and brake a bone, your tough luck. You should not be able to sue (and win!) because you get hurt robbing someone!