I was riding a 1997 GSXR600 at the begining of this summer. I had bought it off my brother, it was his first bike. He road it all last summer and managed to put on about 5500 miles. I had to sell the Gixxer because I cant afford the insurance on both the car and bike. Last summer I was riding an 1989 Yamaha FZR 600. That bike was alright, it wasnt fast enough though. It topped out at 140mph, but strained to get there as fast as the Gixxer. The year before that I learned on a 1986 Yamaha FZ 600. That was a frankenstein made of two bikes. I pieced it together on a tight budget. It did the job for a that summer, but after about a week of learing to ride I was ready to step it up huge. If I had the money out right I would have bought an R6 for my first bike.



And Petey, Im hoping you're not call me an idiot in that last post. I dont really think that was called for. And as for my sig, If you ride any bike, at any speed you are being un safe. In fact the words "Safe" and "Motorcycle" should rarely be said the same sentence. I dont care if you are the most responsible rider out there, it never becomes safe. That being said, I rode fast, and I rode hard. I didnt stunt, and didnt climb all over my bike like a retarded monkey. I cruised when I wanted, and sped when I wanted. I knew the dangers of riding fast and slow, and there are many. If I add up all the miles I have put on all the bikes I have riden, Id say upwards of 20K miles of experienced, fast riding.

If you read my first post of this thread, I suggest Frame sliders for any new bike. If you drop the bike, it will never fully touch the ground, thus saving you thousands. I agree the bike will be dropped when learning, but the damage can be minimized to next to nothing.