[AsRoma]

Hey all, I just joined, and I am getting a brand new GSX-600 (Katana).

This will be my first bike, but i have ridden on my friend's 97 gixxer in the past, and I have SOME experience. I think they are goregeous bikes, even nicer than gixxers, but I am worried that they wont be able to go fast enough. I dont necessarily want to go faster than a gixxer, but I really want to know that I can beat 80% of all average cars on the street. Also since it is brand new, I dont want to be sick of it after one season. Getting a used bike is not really an option for me also, so please keep that in mind.

 

[pitbull76]

Hey all, I just joined, and I am getting a brand new GSX-600 (Katana).

This will be my first bike, but i have ridden on my friend's 97 gixxer in the past, and I have SOME experience. I think they are goregeous bikes, even nicer than gixxers, but I am worried that they wont be able to go fast enough. I dont necessarily want to go faster than a gixxer, but I really want to know that I can beat 80% of all average cars on the street. Also since it is brand new, I dont want to be sick of it after one season. Getting a used bike is not really an option for me also, so please keep that in mind.

Welcome to our little corner of the internet.

A Kat600 is actually more powerful that what I'd recommend for a beginner. It is less tricky than starting out on a gixxer though. Your Katana should beat 95+% of the cars in a straight line on the road(all but the exotics and modified cars), but that shouldn't be much of a concern at first. Get used to riding before you try to go fast.

Have you signed up for a MSF course yet? They're worth it and should help you out a lot.

Another note: If you get the Katana and someone makes fun of it as a "beginner" bike or can-o-tuna just blow it off. You'll learn a lot on the Kat and no one needs a GSXR to start with.

 

[1qwikgixxer]

Another note: If you get the Katana and someone makes fun of it as a "beginner" bike or can-o-tuna just blow it off. You'll learn a lot on the Kat and no one needs a GSXR to start with.

Question...Why is it that everyone believes that you DO NOT need to start off with a GSXR. My first bike was my 02 750. I think that if you have enough sense you can start out on them and be fine. Its all about knowing your ablilities and not out riding yourself. I have been lucky and not wrecked my bike(knock on wood) but I did have the "you'll drop your first bike" happen to me. The learning curve is different by starting on a gixxer instead of a less powerful bike but you still have to learn and practice the same principles. Just my rant. I'll stop now and prepare to get flamed.

 

[pitbull76]

Another note: If you get the Katana and someone makes fun of it as a "beginner" bike or can-o-tuna just blow it off. You'll learn a lot on the Kat and no one needs a GSXR to start with.

Question...Why is it that everyone believes that you DO NOT need to start off with a GSXR. My first bike was my 02 750. I think that if you have enough sense you can start out on them and be fine. Its all about knowing your ablilities and not out riding yourself. I have been lucky and not wrecked my bike(knock on wood) but I did have the "you'll drop your first bike" happen to me. The learning curve is different by starting on a gixxer instead of a less powerful bike but you still have to learn and practice the same principles. Just my rant. I'll stop now and prepare to get flamed.

Hey, what I said was my opinion. No offense meant to those who have started out on a GSX-R or similar bike. Now, back to my opinion again: no one NEEDS to start off with a GSX-R. If you decide to and it works out, great. I personally feel that you are more likely to have problems if you start out on such a powerful bike, but I have to admit that there are many people that have started that way and were fine. There are no guarantees in life, but I feel that one is better off starting with a "reasonable" bike for a first bike.

 

[87gsxrnut]

I am worried that they wont be able to go fast enough

Uh, for what? Compared to what? Why are you worried about beating cars? That should be the LAST thing you need to worry about. Welcome aboard BTW.

I have been lucky and not wrecked my bike

You are in the severe minority. I'm glad that you are being smart about it. Most riders (like 95%) can't say that. There is no replacement for good old common sense. Unfortunately, many riders do not have too much of that, especially on group rides.

- Nut

 

[1qwikgixxer]

Hey, what I said was my opinion. No offense meant to those who have started out on a GSX-R or similar bike. Now, back to my opinion again: no one NEEDS to start off with a GSX-R. If you decide to and it works out, great. I personally feel that you are more likely to have problems if you start out on such a powerful bike, but I have to admit that there are many people that have started that way and were fine. There are no guarantees in life, but I feel that one is better off starting with a "reasonable" bike for a first bike.

I took no offense by what you said. Honestly there are a lot of people that should start out on less bike than they do. I know 3 guys that bought 1000's last summer and all 3 of them have been wrecked. The majority of guys around here start out on 600's and go from there. I don't personally know much about the Katana's but I would think there would still be quite a bit to get used to when making the jump from it to a gixxer. Is that correct?

Basically though the point I was trying to make is that you can ride almost anything as your first bike as long as you use your damn head instead of trying to keep up with your buddies that have been riding a lot longer than you have. When you get ahead of your ablilities is when you are headed for trouble.

 

[pitbull76]

I took no offense by what you said. Honestly there are a lot of people that should start out on less bike than they do. I know 3 guys that bought 1000's last summer and all 3 of them have been wrecked. The majority of guys around here start out on 600's and go from there. I don't personally know much about the Katana's but I would think there would still be quite a bit to get used to when making the jump from it to a gixxer. Is that correct?

There's always quite a bit to get used to when you get a new bike. It's a bit less so to jump from say a Kat to a GSX-R than to start right out on a GSX-R, but there is always a change when you switch bikes.

Basically though the point I was trying to make is that you can ride almost anything as your first bike as long as you use your damn head instead of trying to keep up with your buddies that have been riding a lot longer than you have. When you get ahead of your ablilities is when you are headed for trouble.

Lots of new riders are unable to do just what you say. It's too tempting to twist the throttle for that adrenaline rush.

 

[87gsxrnut]

When you get ahead of your ablilities is when you are headed for trouble.

That is true. Unfortunately, GSX-R 750 and 1000s get there a LOT faster than most riders' skills allow for. By the time they are in deep s&*t, it is too late to react. There is a speed point in MPH that you can get to (in the 130s or 140s - can't remember) that by the time your brain processes what happened you are already past that point.

i.e. you pass a horse in a field. By the time your brain registers that that was a horse, you are way past it and long gone.

Smaller bikes allow for that reaction time due to slower acceleration rates (and I use that term loosely) and lighter weight (generally). Obviously, you can get just about any bike up to a speed that is exceedingly dangerous. My riding reflexes have saved my butt on the street more times than I can remember. Some of the times I almost got myself into trouble was when I was way too heavy w/the right hand.

Many newer riders have never owned bikes with soooo much ungodly power. They won't take an MSF course, track school or practice on their own before heading out with friends. They want to be "seen" or "look cool" etc. So you turn them loose on bikes w/150 RWHP stock and ZERO experience. The outcome is inevitable.

The baddest bikes when I started riding were the ZX-10 and the GSX-R 1100. Both of which have less RWHP than a new Ninja or GSX-R 600. It was also a hell of a lot harder to finance a literbike back then. Think about it.

- Nut

 

[MR. Ice]

Congrats on the katana. They are a beautiful bike and it will feel plenty fast for a while. You will out accelerate most cars and hang with most responsible riders. Racing on the street ain't so good though. It is true alot of new riders tend to drop their bikes within a week. (usually stopped). Be careful that is expensive plastic, and bones. It is a great bike that will not give alot of problems if you take care of it.

I started on an 84 GS550(Back when they were 4 cylinders before the GS 500). IT WAS PLENTY FAST.

Mark

 

[AsRoma]

Thanks for the info everyone. My main goal is not to race on the street and outrace competition, but like I said earlier, since this is a 2004 model I would like to be able to beat my friends on legitimate track races when I become more expericenced without having to sell it. Safety is my main concern.

That said, I would like to keep my Katana for a while, and pump it up a little, (after I am more experienced) rather than get a GSX-R. Someone said that they got theirs to go 150mph, after a new exhaust system. Is this really possible?

 

[87gsxrnut]

Someone said that they got theirs to go 150mph, after a new exhaust system. Is this really possible?

I don't think so. Not out of a 600. Maybe out of the old 1100, or a Bandit 1200 with thousands of dollars of mods, 1216 or 1246 kit and a turbo or a nitrous kit. The yosh 750 superbikes from the 80's were pushing out 135 HP at the crank, not the wheel. More like 115 to 120 at the wheel. Those bikes were pumped up about as far as you can go. That is the same mill you have, basically.

You should be able to get into the low 100s I would think with a 750 head, overbore and some other mods.

Have fun!

- Nut

 

[pitbull76]

Someone said that they got theirs to go 150mph, after a new exhaust system. Is this really possible?

I don't think so. Not out of a 600. Maybe out of the old 1100, or a Bandit 1200 with thousands of dollars of mods, 1216 or 1246 kit and a turbo or a nitrous kit. The yosh 750 superbikes from the 80's were pushing out 135 HP at the crank, not the wheel. More like 115 to 120 at the wheel. Those bikes were pumped up about as far as you can go. That is the same mill you have, basically.

You should be able to get into the low 100s I would think with a 750 head, overbore and some other mods.

Have fun!

- Nut

Hey nut, he's asking about top speed not HP.

Now, to the original question: Unless you're on a track, there's no need to hit 150. Anyway, the Kat with just an exhaust won't hit 150. Speedometers are notoriously unreliable, so your friends bike may have shown that it was going 150, but if I remember right the top speed is in the 130s (still pretty fast).

You should be able to do modifications to increase the acceleration over time as you get better and get more money. I personally enjoy acceleration much more than top speed. I never go near top speed.

 

[87gsxrnut]

Hey nut, he's asking about top speed not HP.

Uh, OK. That is what I get for being tired!

:lol:

It might do 150 if you gear it down quite a bit. Problem is that being a 600, might take a while to get there.

- Nut

 

[MR. Ice]

I agree.

To get 150 out of a 600 is a bit of a stretch. My GS550 with Vance & Hines exhaust and was I was told was a stage 3 jet kit and K&N air filters topped out at an indicated 130mph. It did have a flat spot below 3000 rpm. It was however a rocket up until about 75-80 when most larger or newer bikes would pull away. Let me also say at the indicated 130 it was not much fun to be on the bike. I am sure the new Kat 600 is a completely different story however, and will have probably better performance and handling stock than my antique modified GS550 did. My Bandit 1200 stock is reported to top out around the 150-155 mph area. I don't have the kahunas I used to and have not even pushed much over 110 mph.

I must admit it is fun from time to time to waste a car. (up until the legal speed limit of course)

 

[Clint]

A new rider shouldn't be concerned with "beating" anyone, let alone top speed. If that's why you bought the bike, sell it while you still can.

Just about any 600 is faster than 99% of cars on the street, but that's a pointless comparison. Learn how to handle the bike and safely negotiate corners, get some good gear, and you'll be fine.

 

[Uncle Bob]

A 600 will not go 150mph ( thank god)

A 600 is too much for a sensible beginner ( IMHO)

A 25% probability of crashing and 10 % probability of dying.

Those are the stats for a newbie on a supersport.

Check the National Highway Trafic Foundation site.

 

[MR. Ice]

A 600cc Katana is a good starter bike. A 600cc Gsxr maybe not such a great starter bike. The real factor here is general aptitude for riding. For some its natural, for some its not. But more so than aptitude is mental maturity. You can put an immature newbie on a 250cc bike and they are likely to get hurt. On the other hand you can put a mentally mature and responsible individual on a 750cc and likely they will use common sense and be ok and learn to grow into the bike.

For someone who's first thought is racing at all should probably take a step back and think of more important things first. Like life. For some, mental maturity comes only after a close call or two. Hopefully these individuals survive. I consider myself one of the lucky ones.

I am not critisizing you, AsRoma, because who hasn't thought this way at some point? After all the initial thrill of a motorcycle is the ability to be faster an more maneuverable than most other vehicles.

Just be responsible and use your head, not the one on your wrist.

 

[MoBandy]

Just to throw in a little bit about the bandit 1200 speeds, I have pushed my 03 up to 130 and it was still climbing before I let off. I felt that that was way too fast for me at the time. I haven't done any modifications to the bike yet either.

 

[neu_sp8str]

A 600cc Katana is a good starter bike. A 600cc Gsxr maybe not such a great starter bike. The real factor here is general aptitude for riding. For some its natural, for some its not. But more so than aptitude is mental maturity. You can put an immature newbie on a 250cc bike and they are likely to get hurt. On the other hand you can put a mentally mature and responsible individual on a 750cc and likely they will use common sense and be ok and learn to grow into the bike.


Just be responsible and use your head, not the one on your wrist.

I would have to agree w/ Mr. Ice on this one, there is alot of factors to consider when gettin a new bike for someone starting out. just like Mr. Ice said, " aptitude fro riding... "

" The truth shall set you free "

Ride Safe... have Fun... :wink:

Merc... 8)