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Too Much Too Soon? When to Upgrade to a Bigger Sportbike
Of course, the answer to the question, when you should upgrade to a bigger sport bike, is subjective. Some people start off on 1000cc motos, and for others it isn’t a problem to hop on to a bigger bike after a few months riding a smaller displacement one. But for anyone who asks me my opinion on the matter, I just tell them my story since it’s the case of too much too soon.
I took the MSF course in August of 2011, and soon after purchased a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R in September. It was a clean bike, however it was black. As a noob and coming fresh from the MSF course, I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be visible to other drivers, but in the end it was fine. What was a more dangerous than the color of the bike was that I didn’t have head to toe gear—I had a Bilt helmet, dirt bike gloves, jeans, and Steve Madden boots when I started riding. How I would have chastised myself then.
I would say I was a complete squid here. However, today I view this is totally unacceptable riding gear
What’s important to note is that I lived in New Orleans, LA at the time. So all the roads I learned riding on were flat, temperatures in the area were suitable for Satan, and there was absolutely no lane splitting. Even though my gear was scarce, I was actually better off than most who rode around in a wife beater, shorts and sneakers.
The good thing about not being able to lane split was that I was able to learn how to smoothly get out of 1st gear and learn how to use the brakes. This was a slow process, and one I didn’t have down entirely, but ignored it and I hopped on the interstate for the first time less than a week of having the ninja...while it was raining cats and dogs. Let’s say I was a little too adventurous at the time.
READ MORE: Learning How to Lane Split in One of America's Most Congested Cities | RideApart
I moved to California in November that year and didn’t get settled in with the bike until January 2012. That month I also joined a group ride meetup. I realized not only was I the one with the smallest bike there, but also the least experienced. However, I managed to keep up on my little lawnmower—always the last bike—and managed not get left behind and lost.
I tried to keep up with the bigger, more powerful motos!
After two months of California riding, I knew I was going to get a bigger bike eventually, but due to finances, I figured it would be at least a year. Bummed about the thought, I decided to play pretend and headed over to a dealership where they sold Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Honda motorcycles and sat on a few bikes. Prior, I barely even sat on a big sportbike, so I really wanted to get a feel of the different styles these brands had to offer.
READ MORE: 5 Under 5: The Best Sub-$5,000 Motorcycles for 2015 | RideApart
Well, as you probably already guessed, this wasn’t a great idea. The salesman approached me, trying to sell me on the Suzuki GSX-R. Of course, he didn’t need to sell me on it, I wanted a big bike, but felt I wouldn’t get approved for the financing. But I somehow did, and I forwent the GSX-R600 because I wanted a black bike, and that color was only available on the GSX-R750s.
I’m now on a brand new Gixxer 750 in the parking lot of the dealership and didn’t really know what to do—it was like I all of sudden forgot how to ride a motorcycle. Even just gently rolling on the throttle intimidated the hell out of me, but I went forth to hit the roads. And again, as you already guessed, it didn’t go so well. Getting on the throttle or stopping the bike went okay, but where I failed was at counter-steering the bike, twice. Yes. My friend and I took a wrong turn twice, and I laid my brand new 2011 GSX-R on the road twice. The second time I was livid with myself and started throwing my gear like my gloves and jacket before sitting down on the side of the road and pouting like a toddler (I know, #firstworldproblems).
A picture of my Gixxer when I first bought it (and after my first ride on it). Thank goodness for Instagram filters— there were a few scratches on the bike that are hardly noticeable in this picture.
