Very surprised at how different a sportbike is than a standard
 

I've owned a bunch of different bikes, the fastest being an FZ1. Also had a ZRX1200, Bandit1200S and even an old 1993 ZX6D....but the CBR F4i I picked up (for $1,600 bitches!! :lol:) rides so much differently than anything I've owned it really took me by surprise.

First of all, I fucking love to ride it. I feel much more connected to the bike than others I've had. If you sneeze the bike responds. When you want to corner you just think about it and put a little weight on the inside butt cheek and it just turns right in. Full-lock slow speed turns are very easy. The responsiveness is amazing.

Speed-wise I'm not sure how it compares in a straight line to my old FZ1, but it 'feels' faster. In fact, it feels so fast that I haven't even really got to open her up yet...I can't even imagine what you psychos riding ZX10s and GSXR1000s feel when you crack the throttle open.

I'm sold. Sportbikes for life.

My best friend since Jr. High had and F4i as a first bike (blah, blah, start small, etc etc)

I rode it a few times and it was a very fun ride for sure.

The kid I bought this one from had it as a first bike too. Very common I think. After riding it I'm amazed that anyone could learn to ride a motorcycle on this bike and survive it, so mad props to anyone that started on a 600SS and lived to tell the tale. :lol:

I, uh, may or may not have wound it out in the first few gears for it's first time ever and, uh, may or may not have brought the front wheel off the ground a few times...

You should try a new generation 600 or even better a motard. Flickability is just something a big fat pig bike can't replicate.

Faster than an FZ1? Not even close...

The bent-forward position makes you think it's faster

:rofl: Glad you like it. Alot of folks down in FL where I was at started on those, said they were great for beginner riders but I thought the same thing. Then again, alot of them didnt make it as riders long...they all graduated to "big boy" bikes like busas, and proceeded to crash and quit riding. Or got arrested for being dumb. :lol:

I'm the opposite. The sportbikes in my collection are the Hayabusa and the TLR. I probably will not buy another sportbike ever again. I'm not selling them, I just won't be buying more like them. I love the BMW I recently picked up, and that bike will make me happy for years to come. The KLR is a means to an end. Not sure what will happen to it when I come back from Prudhoe Bay later this year. I guess how it treats me on the trip will determind that.

I tell ya what though, cracking the throttle open and running full tilt through the first 5 gears on a Busa is a spiritual experience. I shut it down just as I shifted into 6th, as the crosswind at 170mph was beginning to get a bit rough.

I'd hurt myself.

/offtopic

Same...

My riding tastes have changed over the years. I used to be all over the agility...and raw power of a sportbike. Now, I compromise....the M109-R has a more comfortable riding position...but has a ton of power and torque. It gives away agility...but still acquits itself well in the twisties. I honestly still am in love with the lines of that bike too.

That said, though...my mind has been daydreaming all winter of a new Kawasaki Concours 14.....in black, of course...and several motorcycle vacations this year. I figure big changes in life require big changes in riding preferences....and being out on the open road to parts unknown really REALLY appeals to me right now.

/ontopic

What did you have to do to get the ECU situation sorted with that bike? Buy a new harness altogether? Did it have a title too?