Came across this post on another forum: basically the motorcycling equivalent of trying to talk down a terrified airline passenger at the controls of a 747. 

Personally, it took my breath away: a very nice woman just finishes her MSF course, rarely shifting out of 2nd gear on the 250cc she's learned on.  Up to that point she had never - I repeat: never operated a manual transmission.  Now she's the proud owner of a brand new GSXR600 that her "friends" encouraged her to buy. 

And she comes to the belated realization that she's in way, way over her head.

The tension in the responses by the board members is palpable. 

http://www.motorcycle-journal.com/forum/paddock/29329-shifting-im-so-confused.html?highlight=gs500

I'm not saying that the GS500 can't kill an inexperienced rider right quick.  Or that it's flat out impossible to learn on a larger sport bike. 

But this should be required reading for any fence-sitters who remain unconvinced that the GS500 (or other sensible alternatives) is "enough" of a bike to start out on.

i read that a while back. don't know if it's a troll or not, but there was equal alarm on tampasportbikes.com about similar circumstances.

fella wanted to trade up from his ninja 250 to a zx10 or something. the people with huge bikes were of course saying 'sure, you can handle it if youre mature enough' while the sane people were suggesting and upgrade of life insurance.

yes, you're right, the gs will kill a person just as easily as any other two wheeled machine.

I think the GS is a perfect bike for a beginner's or intermediate machine honestly.  I mean they really have all the power you need.    a GSXR anything is just too much for a lot of newbies to safely learn on IMO.   

Here's her last post. Sounds like she was getting on to it. Still pretty scary though. I think a group b*tch slap is in order for her testosterone driven "friends" and the dealer that sold her the bike. I know the "government shouldn't tell us what we can do" folks will chime in shortly, but stories like this unfold daily and only reinforce the justification of graduated licensing.

QuoteThe newbie is making progress!

I'm really excited, so just wanted to share my excitement with those of you who have had the joy of coming in contact with me LoL
I've been practicing my little heart out, reading, talking to people...being a good girl. Tonight I finally went out on real roads! And I did well! And no, I don't think I'm a %%%%%%, and gonna start doing wheelies n the middle of the road...I'm just proud of myself
I didn't go real far, probably 20 miles total. I take off a lot faster knowing there's people waiting on me. LoL I didn't go over 50mph, and was perfectly fine with that. By the time I got home though, my hands were completely numb...didn't like that at all.
Buuut, that's my update, LoL. Found a few people who are willing to come work with me in parking lots with my turning and stopping and all that fun stuff. Didn't come across anything scary yet, but I know it's coming..Imma be ready for it though =D

If her hand were cold was she even wearing gear?

That dealer is a nutcase and her friends are arseholes and shes as thick and naive as pig shaZam!.

The dealer should of told her that the bike was far too powerful for her, yes he gets commissioned to sell her stuff but if i was him id of told her a small bike and then sold her the correct gear too.

Quote from: gearman on January 03, 2009, 08:17:39 AM
I think a group b*tch slap is in order for her testosterone driven "friends" and the dealer that sold her the bike.

My thoughts exactly.  I'm all for personal responsiblity, but the truth is newbies are gonna have unrealistic expectations.  I actually have more understanding and sympathy for that woman than I do for her motorcycling friends and especially the dealer.   What were they thinking?

Hmmm.  I bet buried in this picture somewhere is either a greedy dealer or a cheap a** guy looking for access to a sweet bike on his girlfriend's dime.

that bogus i think you should be FORCED to put on X amount of miles before you can move up into a larger CC

like 500 miles before you get 500+CC

3000 before 600CC (fours)

ECT
ECT

personally i think the GS is a great machine simple but it does what it does well

back in the day, early 60's, most of us learned to ride on 5bhp and less bikes (at the time in Texas you could a license a year earlier on these) and learned to ride on back streets, etc. we learned the "basics" including panic stops,
unexpected changes in road surfaces, etc. at lower speeds and in the year or so before we stepped up to the next bike we rode we were at least somewhat prepared. at the time Honda's largest bike was the 305's, same with Yamaha, and i beleive Suzuki also had a bike in this displacment range (Kawasaki had a Norton 650 knock-off, but it was way out of the $ most of us had to spend at the time). anyway most of us stepped up to a 125 to 175cc in the next bike we rode, and then on to a 250 or 350cc range, again each step allowed us to polish our riding skills with a progressively faster/quicker bike and when we did get to the point where we could get a large displacement bike,
could have been a Triumph, BSA, my first was a Matchless, or maybe a Sportster-we had a 50-50 chance of surviving the first weekend we rode them.
Now most entry streetbikes offered by the majority of manufactors are 250 and up (although with the gas situation this may be changing), and take it from someone who rode a lot of those 60's bikes, some of these "entry" level bikes from today could run circles (make that multiple circles) around those early bikes. You have to live to learn, plain and simple. and the ability to walk into a dealership at any age, with little or no real riding experience and buy a 150+
mph bike (hell, it would have been like a factory formula bike back then) and expect the learning curve not to be pretty vicicious would be wishfull thinking at best.
Any of us can recount the last occasion some car/truck driver nearly took us out (cell phone, makeup, lunch break, you name it) without straining our memorries much at all. now put some newbie in that same scenario without the knowlege to anticipate what some fool(s) is going to do, to factor in braking distances, etc at road speed and all the other stuff you have to learn to survive out on the road, and it isn't hard to visualize a "visitation" or funeral coming up pretty regular.

Quote from: Majorhavoc on January 03, 2009, 06:22:23 AM
Came across this post on another forum: basically the motorcycling equivalent of trying to talk down a terrified airline passenger at the controls of a 747. 

Personally, it took my breath away: a very nice woman just finishes her MSF course, rarely shifting out of 2nd gear on the 250cc she's learned on.  Up to that point she had never - I repeat: never operated a manual transmission.  Now she's the proud owner of a brand new GSXR600 that her "friends" encouraged her to buy. 

And she comes to the belated realization that she's in way, way over her head.

The tension in the responses by the board members is palpable. 

http://www.motorcycle-journal.com/forum/paddock/29329-shifting-im-so-confused.html?highlight=gs500

I'm not saying that the GS500 can't kill an inexperienced rider right quick.  Or that it's flat out impossible to learn on a larger sport bike. 

But this should be required reading for any fence-sitters who remain unconvinced that the GS500 (or other sensible alternatives) is "enough" of a bike to start out on.

I love the first sentence of the first response ...
"Your chances of messing up through inexperience are greatly multiplied by your choice for your first bike."

Quote from: Kasumi on January 03, 2009, 08:34:23 AM
If her hand were cold was she even wearing gear?

That dealer is a nutcase and her friends are arseholes and shes as thick and naive as pig oh my goodness.

The dealer should of told her that the bike was far too powerful for her, yes he gets commissioned to sell her stuff but if i was him id of told her a small bike and then sold her the correct gear too.

don't these GSXR's have power-setting switch  that allows you to limit the max-throttle power to a few settings like 20%, 50% and 100%? or something?

When I took the MSF BRC, there was a girl there with a '08 GSX-R600--her first bike.  Her friends as well as the dealer said she "needed 600 or bigger".  One of our fellow students said "good choice, I wouldn't ever get on an interstate on a 500 or less", and one of the instructors (a cop who rides a Concours) agreed.  I just shook my head and said that I would get on the interstate on a 500 without hesitation.

The girl had to take the bike back to the dealer within days to get it lowered, of course.

Quote from: Kasumi on January 03, 2009, 08:34:23 AM
If her hand were cold was she even wearing gear?

I think she had gloves, but hand position and body position probably caused numb hands.

Quote from: 905mike on January 03, 2009, 03:26:53 PM
don't these GSXR's have power-setting switch  that allows you to limit the max-throttle power to a few settings like 20%, 50% and 100%? or something?

Yeah, they do.  But it defaults to max potential, so the rider could forget and get in a world of trouble when it hits the fan.

sad how just any 16 year old  can walk into a dealer and buy whatever their foolish heart desires if they got the money.  I'm only NOW moving up to a 1000 after nearly 3 years on 500s and a 600.   and my 1000 is only gonna have the power of a modern 600 or 750 at most.

I have moved up to a GSXR-1000 after putting on over 30,000km and 3 years on the GS500F.

I was nervous that a 1000 would be too big a jump, but I now feel completely at ease on the thou.

The thing with modern fuel injected bikes, is they now have very progressive power delivery. If you respect the throttle on a Gixxer Thou you wont have any problems jumping from our little 500. In fact you will be impressed with how effortless the riding experiance becomes. Acceleration, hill climbs, cornering, braking is just so much easier on a GSXR 1000.

It also makes me realise how futile it is trying to upgrade the GS500 for extra performance. No matter what we do to our little GS it will never compete or come close to the performance of a true SuperSport bike.

The A B C power mode settings on the current GSXR's is also a nice touch to help us jumping from a smaller bike to one with such massive power. C mode cuts down the power delivery substantially and really gives new GSXR riders a chance to get used to the bikes handling characteristics without having to fear all of the bikes power band.

C mode is also great to use when riding in wet or slippery conditions.


But I am full of praise for the little GS500F. I would recommend this bike to anyone who is interested in learning how to ride, or who wants a comfortable, inexpensive, fuel efficient, cheap to insure Sports Tourer. It also has enough grunt and handling to teach you all the fundamentals of riding a bigger bike. Its smooth and predictable power delivery and brakes also ensures there will be no shock suprises. It can hold its own on the road and is faster than most 4 wheel cagers.

Having more torque than a 250 makes the GS500 a bike you can live with practically for a lot longer than a 250. I was planning to originally only have my 500 for a year and a half before upgrading but it had enough power to keep me satisfied with it for twice as long and even now I still regard it as a fun ride.

As for upgrading the GS. I still say the two best upgrades I did to mine were the front springs and the headlight globe. This addressed two areas the GS500F really let itself down on.

But what modifying my GS500 has done is give me a great understanding and confidence to tackle mechanical maintenance on my bikes myself. The GS500 is both a good learning tool on the road and in the garage.

So forever I will proclaim the GS500 as the PERFECT first bike!!! 

Simply, cheaper insurance for me at the age of 22. SS's over $2000 CDN...500 ~$1300 CDN /yr (monthly payment)

Quote from: starshooter10 on January 03, 2009, 11:01:05 AM
that bogus i think you should be FORCED to put on X amount of miles before you can move up into a larger CC

like 500 miles before you get 500+CC

3000 before 600CC (fours)

ECT
ECT

personally i think the GS is a great machine simple but it does what it does well

That would be really retarded if that happened If I feel im an erady for a bigger bike than I ready, right now the only thing stopping me is moolah and credit. If I had the credit to go into the dealer and say I want that clean it up and give me the keys than I would

Quote from: galahs on January 04, 2009, 06:15:53 PM
I have moved up to a GSXR-1000 after putting on over 30,000km and 3 years on the GS500F.

I was nervous that a 1000 would be too big a jump, but I now feel completely at ease on the thou.

The thing with modern fuel injected bikes, is they now have very progressive power delivery. If you respect the throttle on a Gixxer Thou you wont have any problems jumping from our little 500. In fact you will be impressed with how effortless the riding experiance becomes. Acceleration, hill climbs, cornering, braking is just so much easier on a GSXR 1000.

It also makes me realise how futile it is trying to upgrade the GS500 for extra performance. No matter what we do to our little GS it will never compete or come close to the performance of a true SuperSport bike.

The A B C power mode settings on the current GSXR's is also a nice touch to help us jumping from a smaller bike to one with such massive power. C mode cuts down the power delivery substantially and really gives new GSXR riders a chance to get used to the bikes handling characteristics without having to fear all of the bikes power band.

C mode is also great to use when riding in wet or slippery conditions.


But I am full of praise for the little GS500F. I would recommend this bike to anyone who is interested in learning how to ride, or who wants a comfortable, inexpensive, fuel efficient, cheap to insure Sports Tourer. It also has enough grunt and handling to teach you all the fundamentals of riding a bigger bike. Its smooth and predictable power delivery and brakes also ensures there will be no shock suprises. It can hold its own on the road and is faster than most 4 wheel cagers.

Having more torque than a 250 makes the GS500 a bike you can live with practically for a lot longer than a 250. I was planning to originally only have my 500 for a year and a half before upgrading but it had enough power to keep me satisfied with it for twice as long and even now I still regard it as a fun ride.

As for upgrading the GS. I still say the two best upgrades I did to mine were the front springs and the headlight globe. This addressed two areas the GS500F really let itself down on.

But what modifying my GS500 has done is give me a great understanding and confidence to tackle mechanical maintenance on my bikes myself. The GS500 is both a good learning tool on the road and in the garage.

So forever I will proclaim the GS500 as the PERFECT first bike!!! 

Good post.

Due to similar thinking, I own a GS500F.  Had I bought the GSXR-750 I actually intend on buying in a couple of years or so, I'd have had deadly moments by now, rather than just hairy moments as is the case.

A cautionary tale.....most of us, if we're honest, push ourselves and the bike a little more than we should on occassion.  The trick is knowing your own (and the bikes') limits.  Fail on either count and the bike (or yourself) will let you down.....sometimes fatally depending on the machine in question.

All y'all that's desperate to move on up...

I moved down to a gs500 (21 years after starting to ride, roughly). Not due to being upset with my 650 inline 4's (shafty's & 1982, both) but because the 500 is quite adequate for tooling around on and gets better milage (naturally nobody cares about that, since my local gas is down to $1.55 and surely it will never go up again....riiiight.) It also has much better range (miles per tank) and has ~18 years of more or less consistent parts availability. Keeping the 650 turbo on-road has been fraught with problems, largely to do with parts that have not been made for 10 years or more. In its finest shape it could not go more than 160 miles without stopping for gas, and there isn't always a gas station there and open when that happens, y'know?

I started (post MSF Basic, and after passing license on a borrowed 400) with a non-turbo 650 shafty. But that was a 1982 inline 4, semi-cruiser UJM - not your crotch rockets. Search back in June or so and you can find the tale of how I dumped that one, and why. Put it back on the road and rode home, then put on new bars, removed an offending accessory, and rode for several more years before getting the turbo, mostly for its spiffy fairing. The turbo would have been a poor choice for the first bike-details on that in my contributions to turbo threads - turbos are probably a poor choice for anyone that lusts for power, really, given the way they give it to you. Work well if you aren't looking to impress anyone.

I may yet move on to something else, if I can't sort out a position my old creaky self is more comfortable with on the GS, which has a bit too scrunched a position for my taste in bending my old legs. I'm thinking a seat rebuild and doing one of the suggested things to my footpegs (again, go back to June or so), if I can ever find the copious spare time I'm supposed to have (progressive springs sitting on the seat of the bike in the garage while it snows outside...much less a seat rebuild, eh?). Losing 40 lbs would probably help too, but that's probably not actually going to happen - but maybe this year will be different?

The GS goes, hauls my fat self, hauls whatever I strap onto it besides me, and can haul it at highway speeds without any apology - and out-accelerate just about anything on 4 wheels you're likely to find on the street. While I'd sometimes like the storage capacity of a 'wing or a hog, I'd never want to maneuver one of those around a parking lot, or try to pick it up if it ever fell over.

As for the guy on the GSXRQYZV that wants to blow me away (easy to do, I'm not trying to beat him away from the stoplight) and do 100 in the 30 residential area - I don't think a hell of a lot of him, eh?  I sure don't want to be him, and I'm not too fond of the color he paints "us motorcyclists" as, either. YMMV.

...and, of course, having bought one that was 18 years old, it was economical, aka cheap. Them SV650 thangs look sort of cute, mebby, (though also oddly crude in some parts) but they are way too rich for my blood.

Quote from: Paulcet on January 03, 2009, 07:47:22 PM
When I took the MSF BRC, there was a girl there with a '08 GSX-R600--her first bike.  Her friends as well as the dealer said she "needed 600 or bigger".  One of our fellow students said "good choice, I wouldn't ever get on an interstate on a 500 or less", and one of the instructors (a cop who rides a Concours) agreed.  I just shook my head and said that I would get on the interstate on a 500 without hesitation.

There's a huge (mis)conception that a 500 is 'small.'  by today's standards, yes, it is, but it wasn't so long ago that a 500 would have been considered a "middleweight" and anything over 750cc was just silly.  People's wallets are too often outgrowing their common sense.

case in point, I was at a trackday (on my track-only F2) and I might have run into that same woman with the '08 GSX-R 600.  this lady was in her early thirties, and was content with the siting lap speed...  we're talking 50mph tops.  She was a downright hazard.  Throughout the day, I saw her run off track at least 3 times, and finally lay down her brand new bike just after lunch.  I overheard someone in the pits trying to console her.  "everyone lays down their bike."  her reply?  "yeah, but not with less than 300 miles on it!"  I wouldn't have been surprised at all to hear she had 300 miles total riding experience.  clearly a GSXR600 was the appropriate choice...

The engine displacement hardly means anything. When a 500 was considered a large bike, it might have been a two stroke -- totally different beast.

Yeah, it's kinda hard to tell if that is a troll post or not. Unfortunately there ARE people out there like this... which is a scary, scary thing... Almost to the point of being upsetting.

However, her questions are all valid... yet, she should've got a Ninja 250 or a GS500 or something before going after a f'n Gixxer. No way Jose.

Dan