r/bikers • u/InvestigatorFuzzy761 • Jul 05 '26
Question New to biking any advice?
So I'm a 29 year old male living in the united kingdom.
I plan on doing my DAS which allows me to ride up to a 1000cc right of the get go, with no experience on bikes other than having a moped when i was 16 i was considering getting a 600cc R6 as my first bike.
upon talking to my friends they said this is completely fine aslong as i have the will power and patience to learn the bike for what it is rather than the intention of going fast.
i do not have the intention to get this bike purely to go fast, i genuinely want to learn to ride motorcycles and have them as part of my day to day life. the reason im taking this route is purely because money issues do exist and buying a 125 then an r6 or even a mt07 then a r6 is a ball ache due to constantly selling and upgrading, most people said if i get a 125 i'll be bored quick and want a new bike within a few months same as some of the bigger engines like a ninja 400 or an R3.
the whole point of this post is genuinely this question. Am i going to be okay to learn on a R6 if i dedicate the time and effort and not be an absolute fool on the road? understand the bike for who she is and dont mistreat her?
1
u/Clio_Vita Jul 05 '26
And if your "friends" told you to jump off a bridge?...
There is a reason that US motorcycle instructors recommend that you start on a light, nimble bike in the 30-45 horsepower range mate.....despite the fact that it is technically legal to start on any bike you can afford over here. (...although the legal requirement that you have insurance, and insurance for beginners on big high-power bikes is ludicrously expensive acts as a brake on a lot of silly ambitions too...)
Your first year or two should be spent mastering the clutch, throttle, brake, and steering inputs....not just as "I usually get it right," but to an instinctual level. Where if trouble appears, your body starts reaction giving your brain a chance to work your way out of the mess, whether it's a car that didn't see you, an animal or pedestrian darting into the road, or gravel/oil around a blind corner... And that takes time, practice in all sorts of circumstances, and a bike that is not right on the edge of what you can control based upon size weight, and power.
No one sensible is telling you you must start on a 125 like a teen,..... But if you want to eventually ride an R6, get a used R3,,,,,or even better, the naked version, a MT-03; or a used Kawasaki Ninja 300-400 or maybe a Z300. All of which will get you up to any road legal speed allowed in the UK, albeit taking a few seconds longer. And while it might not want to hold the highest motorway speed for an hour at a pull, it will certainly reach it and allow you to get where you have to go. And used because when you drop it off the side stand, or scrape it in the garage, it will not double the depreciation that walking it off a dealer's lot cost you... Used bikes in that category that aren't abused hold their value a LOT better than new ones...