10 Reasons

[Blathian]

Well hate to say it, but think in gonna sell my 05 baggy and get the new R6, its far to sexy. I love my baggy but bought it thinking id do more duel sport stuff, and now after 2500 miles i know im gonna be a street guy. id buy a beat up 125 if i wanna play in the dirt. Baggy was my 1st motorcyle, so kinda nervous about the R6, but im no hotshot, so i think ill be ok if i just grow into it. you guys all seem to have alot of motorcyle experience, why shouldnt i go to a R6 and keep they baggy?? what will i miss and regret??

[keithcross]

I am looking after an 04 R6 for a friend at teh moment and the owner asked me to take it out every now and again. The R6 is b****y quick and if you are new to riding you could soon get into trouble with one of these. It sems to like cruising at 100 + mph and the riding position is very uncomfortable at speeds below 60. You need to be going 60 to keep the weight off of your arms to prevent them `pumping up', this can be very painfull.
Now I have teh choice of riding either the R6, Baghira SM, Suzuki TS250, My 1500 Goldwing or a Foed Mondeo (the Taunus every where except the UK I think). Guess which bike gets used the most
The R6 is vewry sure footed on teh road though, even when they are damp.
Your choice really, but I couldent live with an R6 as my only bike.

Keith

In case you didnt guess I use the baggi the most, even in weather like to day, 36f when I went to work this morning and reached about 40 this afternoon.

[DAVID THOMPSON]

see if some one has a R6 you can try for a few days or rides
i am not a dirt rider and i would put a set of good street tires on it
and keep it till it had at least 10,000 miles on it
i know i would not trade my rt125 for any other bike
ar dave
and being in the usa your going to take a deep hit on trading it in
unless the dealer wants a bike for his personal collection of odd bikes!!!

[keithcross]

I have thought of another good advantage of teh Baggi over the R6. I like to ride my bike as often as I can. An R6 would have a serious effect on my driving license. In the UK if you are caught speeding 4 times within 4 years you loose your license. Can you guaretee you can practice extreme restraint of your throttle hand.

Keith

[salo_t]

You might want to check out the YZF600R you can get them pretty reasonable and its a lot of bang for the buck. Its a sport touring bike so you sit more upright but you still have about 100 hp on tap and a sporty supension and brake set up. I just picked one up and love it.

[phlat65]

if you are going to take the R6 to the track, and use it mainly for that purpouse, then get it for sure. with that said, you cannot ride that bike to its fullest potential on the street and not get into trouble, or hurt your self.
I have been riding for 20 years, 15 on the street. You do not need more than 50 hp in a street bike IMHO. why do you need a high strung race bike for street riding? You say this is your 1st bike, and it has 2500 miles on it? is this your experience level?

I would say trade the baggy in for more bike when you can ride it to it's full potential, and not scare yourself. I don't mean to offend you, but it is that mentality that kills people. a newbee on a 125hp bike.....

I can hang with guys on way more motorcycle, unless we are riding perfect ashpalt sweepers at 100mph.... Boring.

[Blathian]

good advice this is what im looking for. 2500 miles is my experience on the street so im very new yes. Ive talked with people on the R6 forum and its about 50/50, i dont intent to track ride at the moment , but maybe if i get more time. Most people say it depends on the riders discipline.
i consider my self to me old enough to ride at my level, even with the baggy, but i guess i just dont understand how FAST these r6's are. Just know its a general thought that it is THE bike of 2006. think im gonna ride the baggy the rest of the year and maybe get one in 07 used.

[Scheffi]

What I always wonder is, why people buy such kind of motorbikes in the USA. You arrive the speed limit with the 1st gear. Does this really make fun? I can't imagine! A sports-bike makes sense, if you go to a race-track from time to time. I totally agree with phlat65... a newbee and a 125hp-motorcycle is not the best combination. When I ride my Baghira around my town, I have not really big problems to annoy the racebike-drivers. It's fun on the winding roads.
I also use my bike for long trips through Europe. It's not perfect, but it is a very good mate.

So don't sell your Baghira. Gain experience! In 2 or 3 years the time has come for a big motorcycle. But probably you'll fall in love with your Baghira after a while.
And if you go down... you can count the pieces of the R6-plastics.. in that case the Baghira is much cheaper.

And, last but not least, you really want to trade an exclusive, rare motorbike for a japanese mainstream product?
I'm infected since 16 years with the motorcycle-virus and I'm satisfied with 50 hp. Sometimes I wished I would have 20 hp more, but in the most situations it is enough.

Best wishes!

Joerg

[whysub01]

As the Baggi was your first bike, I'd suggest you get as many test rides on sports bikes as you can. I'd consider getting an early, cheap GSX-R750 to run alongside the Baggi. The 750 is light, over 100 bhp and 150 mph fast. Not as outright as the new R6, but a great stepping stone to getting one. I went straight from a KH250 Kawasaki (owned for 2 months) to a Goldwing in 1976, and scared the crap out of myself for months!

I have since owned sportsbikes (and bikes with clip ons and rearsets before then), and going to a supermoto was a BIG difference. Using the Baggi, my Sport, my Aprillia scooter and the works 'Blades has made me appriciate each for what it is.

And the Baggi still gives me more pleasure than the others. I never expected that to happen.

[Garf]

I would agree with the sentiments of many who have posted replies. Certainly here in the UK there is no need for 150+MPH if you intend to keep your licence, or indeed life for very long. Given your limited experience it is probably a wise move to stick with the Baggy for another year or so.

The supersports bikes are an amazing rush in terms of acceleration and handling but you need the right roads to even use 60% of what these bikes are really capable of, and only then if you are very compitant rider. If you spend most of your time on fast sweeping main roads or motorways then you can have some fun putting the world in reverse, but if most of your time is spent blatting around town or on B roads you can have a great deal more fun on the Baggy.....and embarress supersports bikes while you are at it.

Give me a Supermoto over a supersports any day of the week.

Certainly for me the Baggy is a bit of a compromise because i needed a fun and reliable bike to enjoy at weekends and also to hack to and from work on a daily basis .....if it was purely a fun bike I would have gone for a Husaberg ....weighs about as much as a big sack of nothing and has a stonking motor (reputedly a little fragile) with superb running gear.

At the end of the day, riding any type of bike is better than riding no bike at all !!

Cheers

[Blathian]

you guys have given a bunch of good info!! as far as buying a bike that has 125hp and 150mph in the USA why not?? many bikes are capable of getting you tickets or doing 100++ , why buy a corvette or a porche?? and whats wrong with not using every square inch of power a bike or car has?? i dont want to go 150mph but i want a sportbike look and i think feel..havnt riden one in many many years and only a couple times

[keithcross]

At the end of the day this is your choice, you asked for reasons not to go on the sprtsbike route and advice has been given.
The Bagie and the R6 both have their good and bad points. I get the chance to ride an R6 if wish and dont choose to do so, prefering the bagi's performance charachteristics.
The R6 is potentially a very dangerous bike, purly du to its perforamnce. It takes a rider with very strict control to ride one safely on teh road and then the bike will never be ridden anywhere near its potntial.
Should you wish to go on the sprorts bike route, I strongly suggest you take addtional riding courses including a track riding course.
Here in the UK we have a class of rider refferd to as Born Again Bikers. These make up the majority of riders on bigger bikes who end seriously injured r dead, due to their inexperience of riding on modern roads on modern machinery.
I wish you luck in the future.

Keith

[Blathian]

hey keith didnt want to sound unappreciative of the advice, its why i came here. I have made the decision to get more experience on the baggi, i do love the bike, i also have never had ANY motorcycle course, so i am doing that this spring as well. My last post was just refering to the reasoning of not buying one because you cant use it full potential. I just feel that most bikes arnt used to the potential or cars for that matter so whats the difference?? I honest just really like the way the R6 LOOKS!!
and i enjoy street riding alot...not duel. i live in central coast CA., very mild climate and great riding weather, my comute to work is 13mile 2 lane great twisty road, but usually stuck behind slow ass ranch truck!!
im sure i will get sport bike at sometime, but for now ill keep getting better on baggi, im learning very fast.
Thanks AGain

[keithcross]

No worries from me friend. After riding an R6 I found it completly imparctcable at normal (legal) speeds. The weight on my forarms was just to much. Great when travelling at 70+ and no problems at 100mph +, but my lisence wouldent last long at those speeds here. Also I use my Baggi for commuting to and from work, down single track lanes (never seen lanes so narrow in teh US on my travels there, here single track lanes have to have pasing places even for our normal cars!), normally covered librally with garvel and other residues left by farm vehilces.
I find it wierd that you can ride any bike on the road with no training, in the UK we have to take basic training to turn one wheel on the public highway. Then we have 2 years to pass a formal test or we have to start all over again. Also we have to take a theory test before attempting a riding test.
The test comes in 2 forms
Type 1 Take test on a bike with a maximum cc of 125, then restricted to 33bhp for 2 years before you can get a bigger more powerful mahcine.
Type 2. If you are over 21 you can take an intiensive course where you have to be escorted by a qualified instructor, normally for 1 week, then take the formal test. This has to be done on a bike that has a maximum of 33bhp but more than I think 15 bhp. You still have to take the basic training though.

Keith

[phlat65]

i whish those license restrictions were in place in the states as well. here any moron with cash/credit can buy a 150mph bike.

case and point, I was at my local shop getting stuff for the 125, and watch a proud new owner of a Hyabusa, pull out of the p-lot, in tennis shoes, jeans, and the cheapest helmet they had, and paddle with both feet for 30 feet or so, and cross a lane because he can't get it to turn......

couple years ago, a guy showing off on his R1 or R6, does a 70mph wheelie in front of another shop, loops it out, kills himself, and the bike continues down the road and hits a pedestrian.

I stopped frequenting the local MC chat board, because once a week it seemed like someone died.....