2004 S4R Vs. 2010 696

[Billyzoom]

Not to beat this to death, but here is my last bike before the S4Rs.  A 1986 Yamaha SRX-6.  Air-cooled single, kickstart only, modded, but still slow compared to virtually anything modern.



I loved it.  If the engine hadn't died I'd still have it.  More enjoyable to me than my S4Rs, to be honest.  Torquey, light, narrow.  Most importantly, FUN.  And sexy as hell, at least to me. 

It's all about what you want out off your bike, but to me that's putting the cart before the horse. I recommend learning to ride first on something forgiving.

And I'd say buy used, especially if you think you'll want something different down the road.  I've bought plenty of bikes I essentially rode for free.  Found a great deal, rode it for a while, sold it for the same price. 

Joel

[ducpainter]

it's not about being bored, it's about building riding experience on something that is less likely to bite him in a very bad way.

derby uses a very good adjective in this instance...bite.

It doesn't take much of a mistake for a 996 to put a serious hurt on you.

New riders, no matter how sensible, make mistakes be it with speed, braking, or the throttle.

A big bike amplifies all of those.

Start with something smaller.

[Scotty_Wheelz]

Thanks for everyone's advice! You seem like a cool group of guys willing to help out.

I will let you know which direction I go in later this week.

 

[S21FOLGORE]

Thought I'd add just one more thing.
My bike is 2005 S4R. Earlier S4R (996) is harder bike to live with than later S4R Testastretta.
Many people who bought these bikes new sold them with very little miles on them. Go figure ...
(previous owner of my bike, who's actually a friend /coworker of mine, rode it only 500 miles... his loss, my gain. Similar stories are everywhere. This bike is not for everyone.)

[Scotty_Wheelz]

Thought I'd add just one more thing.
My bike is 2005 S4R. Earlier S4R (996) is harder bike to live with than later S4R Testastretta.
Many people who bought these bikes new sold them with very little miles on them. Go figure ...
(previous owner of my bike, who's actually a friend /coworker of mine, rode it only 500 miles... his loss, my gain. Similar stories are everywhere. This bike is not for everyone.)

Thanks for adding that. The one i'm looking at is an 04 with only 2k miles exactly on the odo. It's a good deal, which is why i'm having trouble passing it up...

[1KDS]

there will always be good deals if you are looking for them

[swampduc]

Thanks for adding that. The one i'm looking at is an 04 with only 2k miles exactly on the odo. It's a good deal, which is why i'm having trouble passing it up...

2k miles in 6-7 years would concern me. That's a lot of sitting unridden over the years.
I agree with the recommendation of a 250 or a used sv650 for a first bike.

[booger]

It's probably a bit easier to ride a slow bike fast than it is to ride a fast bike slow. I'd go with a smaller and cheaper bike. No warranty on the S4R either. Wouldn't be the easiest to live with for a new rider. You may end up becoming an expert mechanic though.

[muffinman]

Hey man, if you're going to pickup a "beater" 250R, don't get the Monster just so it can sit in the garage and depreciate away.

Remember, it's tough to be patient now but there WILL ALWAYS BE GREAT DEALS

Once you "outgrow" or get bored of your 250R, there will be newer, better bikes available or older ones at better prices.  No point in purchasing two bikes now.

Good luck

[Statler]

it has very little to do with the absolute power in my opinion...

bigger bikes, and in sportbike thought "sharper" bikes are less forgiving in lots of ways.


grabby on/off clutch versus lots of slop.... makes turning from a stop harder... running into oncoming traffic because you're running wide on a right turn from a stop is no good.

brakes that are one or two finger strong versus whole hand....   quick stop in a parking lot or panic and touch them in the wrong time in a corner and it's much less forgiving.

throttle....   I can absolutely grab a handfull of G's 620... it goes from 1 to 10 like this 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.   grab a handfull of one of the bigger bikes and it goes 1.9.10.    depending on where you are that is less forgiving for rookie throttle applications.

weight...  even though you're a big guy, the first time you come to a stop at a light downhill and off camber and you put the left foot down because you didn't realize your right leg was the uphill one.... it'll be exciting to catch the bike.

'beginner bikes' (and certainly there are Ducs that fit in here although expensive to fix if you care) have more slush in them.

remember too that even a slow bike makes a pretty fast car look slow.  If I rode G's 620 around at full throttle all the time I'd be in jail pretty quickly.

[mojo]

remember too that even a slow bike makes a pretty fast car look slow.

Good point.  Even bikes that are considered "slow" compared to other bikes will still give you the performance of a supercar.
You also only have half the rubber of a car, and a beast of a bike (S4r) putting a lot of power down, and you can get in trouble in a hurry.

[somegirl]

+1, you're gonna be bored with a 250 in a matter of weeks. A s2r 800 or sv650 wouldn't be terrible choices either.  The learning curve will be slightly steeper, but sometimes you need to make compromises. 

Nothing boring about a Ninja 250, especially for twisty riding.  One of the best local riders in the SF bay area rides a 250 and he can ride circles around almost anyone I know.  I take the twisties faster on a 250 than I do on an S4R or a Brutale because it is easier to ride and to turn.

I did a review of a friend's 250 a while back, I was able to get it up to triple digits, passed liter bikes in the twisties on it, took on-ramps WOT.  I wish I had started on one, in fact I wish I had one now (after >35K miles ridden in 3 years).  Very newbie friendly, very forgiving of pretty much any kind of mistake you can make at it.  Lots of fun.

You can "respect power" all you want but it won't help with basic coordination issues when you are first learning to ride a bike.  Let out the clutch slightly too fast, grab the brakes slightly too hard, accidentally roll on the throttle a bit while turning the bars - all easy things to do when you are first learning.  On an S4R or other big bike you will get into trouble extremely quickly.  On a 250?  It'll just feel a bit jerky, but you will stay upright.

Here's an excellent post from another board about beginning bikes:
http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5380523&postcount=8

[live2ride]

the first bike i bought was a yamaha r6.  i bought it before i even finished my msf course. 

did i crash it?  no.  did i ride balls out each time?  no.

you know yourself the best.  get the bike you want that will make u happy. if its a fast bike, respect it.  and yes, it will take you longer to learn how to control it than a smaller bike, but buying a smaller bike and then upgrading later to learn the faster bike will also take time itself.

my second bike was a monster 750. 

if i could do it again, i would have started with the monster 750.  more power doesn't mean better.  more power means just more power.  will u use it? only until you get too many tickets if you don't use your noggin'

i enjoy utilizing more of the bike and more of the rpm range.

also as many have noted, if money is an issue, definite consider the fact the s4r will cost more to service and may possibly need more service b/c it has more miles.

on the other hand, the s4r is pure sex. 

seriously, both have their benefits.  neither is a bad choice.  get what makes you happy.   and be happy. 

see u on the road

[J5]

Thanks for adding that. The one i'm looking at is an 04 with only 2k miles exactly on the odo. It's a good deal, which is why i'm having trouble passing it up...

just buy it or always regret it

also buy a cheap small bike and flog that around the streets for a while , its also useful for commuting etc

[ROBsS4R]

I would get the 696

I went from a 620 only putting 3k miles on it and then jumped into a S4R
All though I never had an issue with it other than riding through some oil at an apex of a turn and low sided at slow speeds and I put 50k on it before I sold it... It was a pain in the ass to ride with little experience especially in foul weather.

If I did it all over again I would gladly welcome a 696