N*F*B Motorcycle enthusiasts inside

[scottyz28]

I have been looking for a nice sport/tourer for my first bike and i just found an '04 Katana 750 for a pretty good price with next to no miles on it. Just wondering if anyone has ever ridden one or heard any response on these bikes.

[pete]

I've never heard of a Katana, but try this site:

http://motorcycles.about.com/cs/make...testsmakes.htm

it also links to a bunch of other sites too, you may want to google "Katana" and find some rider groups and forums for this manufactuer.

[MN6WS6]

A Katana is by no means a sport touring bike. The Katana is a starter bike, lowest end of the line for a sportbike. If you want a sport tourer, they start at about 1100cc's and go up, unless you count the Honda VFR 800's. I personally would suggest you look elsewhere for a bike, because you will outgrow a Katana in 6 months.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

A Katana is by no means a sport touring bike. The Katana is a starter bike, lowest end of the line for a sportbike. If you want a sport tourer, they start at about 1100cc's and go up, unless you count the Honda VFR 800's. I personally would suggest you look elsewhere for a bike, because you will outgrow a Katana in 6 months.

I agree.

My philosophy when I bought a bike is I want one better than me. I know that sounds weird but I wanted a bike that could get me out of trouble if I were to get into it. A lot of people don't have the self control for that but at least twice it saved my behind. Any less of a bike and I know once I would have gotten hit.

I looked at several bikes when I bought my first one way back in 1985. I bought a VF750F Interceptor. Being used to V8 torque I didn't like the way the inline 4s had to be above 5000 RPM to have any power. The V4 Honda motor has torque from idle to 12,500 RPMs. I loved it so much my next one was a VFR700F Interceptor. I knew a guy that had a 750 Ninja. He claimed it was the fastest bike made at the time. One left a stop sign with him in front of me. He lifted the front wheel and was wide open. I nailed it and pulled up on him so much I had to let off to keep from hitting him.

Most bikers will down rate the Interceptors compared to other inline 4s. Ride one before you dismiss it. It is a much better street bike that the inline 4s when it comes to just cruising around. But when you twist the throttle you better hang on.

One day I was messing around on a dead end road with not a single house on it so there wasn't much of a chance in someone else being there. I floored it through 1st, 2nd, 3rd and when I hit 4th it lifted the front tire and that was with me leaning way over. I looked down and it was going by 120 and I still had 2 gears to go. It scared the holy crap out of me. I rode back to the house, parked it and didn't get on it for over a month.

[Sean 94z28]

I have been looking for a nice sport/tourer for my first bike and i just found an '04 Katana 750 for a pretty good price with next to no miles on it. Just wondering if anyone has ever ridden one or heard any response on these bikes.

I'll likely get some slack for saying so, but I have always liked the V-Max and would definately own one if I didn't live in a traffic death zone. The sitting position is more comfortable IMO and it is fast. You give up a lot in handling compared to sport bikes though. V-Boost is an experience everyone should have at least once in life.

Sean

[MN6WS6]

I think the best question is what are you looking for in a bike. If you want a sport bike, then you would lean towards the "impossible to insure" versions of Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, and Kawasaki's sport bikes. If you want a sport tourer, you'd be looking at a BMW, Honda VFR, things of that nature. If you want a full on touring, that's more like a big BMW, Goldwing, etc. Vmax is kinda like a hybrid cruiser bike, big motor with big power and torque, more radical seating position than a full on cruiser. If you're just starting out, you want something cheap and 600cc's, preferably used, about 3-5 years old, because it WILL hit the ground. The best advice I can give you is to go to the dealers and see what you like, then find the older version of it. The less you pay the better, cause it's gonna get scratched. Everybody falls, so you might as well scratch up the cheap ones.

[imwlw83]

There are several bikes out there that will give you what you are looking for. I had a Bandit 1200S, it was classified as a "Street Sport" if i remember correct. Very comfortable and fast, even with 2 riders. The insurance wasnt that bad either. If the bike has a handle bar, that is a real handle bar, insurance is ok, if it has the grips attached to the forks coming off the triple tree, be prepared to pay a bit more. I could run my bandit at about 125mph, still have about 1/4 twist left on the grip, and it handled like a dream. So in conclulsion, you could look at the Bandit 1200 S , ZZR 1200 , or FJR1300

[MN6WS6]

"Bandit 1200 S , ZZR 1200 , or FJR1300"

Whoa, whoa! We're talking about a first bike here, and that is WAY too much bike for a newbie to jump on and learn, not to mention the cost. The FJR is new, high dollar (relatively speaking), and heavy. The ZZR and Bandit 12 are just too much power for a new rider. What we need to know is what this guy is looking to do with the bike, what all he expects out of it, and his price range. With no experience, you don't need to be jumping on something that big unless it has training wheels

[Jeff_in_Atl]

"Bandit 1200 S , ZZR 1200 , or FJR1300"

Whoa, whoa! We're talking about a first bike here, and that is WAY too much bike for a newbie to jump on and learn, not to mention the cost. The FJR is new, high dollar (relatively speaking), and heavy. The ZZR and Bandit 12 are just too much power for a new rider. What we need to know is what this guy is looking to do with the bike, what all he expects out of it, and his price range. With no experience, you don't need to be jumping on something that big unless it has training wheels

LOL, I could have used those training wheels on my first Interceptor (493 pounds dry). I dropped it twice. The first time I dropped it was standing there in the carport. I just lost it. The second time was when I stopped on a hill. I was having problems trying to switch from the front brake to the back brake to put it in first to start moving again. I just fell over. Neither even scratched the paint. But I busted a nut picking it back up.

[MN6WS6]

My dumb self started out on a Yamaha XS850S Triple that weighed 900 pounds! I learned in the back yard, probably dumped it 10 times. Rode it to the tag office to get the registration in my name and swung too wide on a turn and hit a curb. Put me in the dirt, bike never fell. Tore up the stator though and it wouldn't refire. $275 later I got it running again. I actually had to take it to the tag office broken on a trailer

[scottyz28]

Thanks for the great feedback guys. I have always wanted a sport bike for as long as I can remember. I was just thinkin of insurance costs, which i now realize was dumb. The bike will be my daily driver to and from work so my wife can drive the baby wherever they need to go after she gets home from work in our p*ss cutter.. err i mean ford focus. I may have found the perfect bike 2000 GSXR 600 with 24,000 kms that was put down . I figure that will be a great advantage in haggling over the price. Anything very easy to spot that I should look for? Should I get him to have it looked over by a dealer first???

[MN6WS6]

The dealer is gonna rape you on the price. I'd take the plastics off and look for any obvious high dollar damage. Look at the frame, subframe (part under seat extending all the way to the taillight), and most importantly the engine cases and all parts of the engine that could touch the pavement in a wreck. Also, check to make sure the forks are straight and are not twisted in the triple trees (check this by sitting on the bike and looking straight down to make sure they are parallel and level). Finally, check for oil leaks, make sure the brakes work, all the controls on the bars work, and if it's rideable, ride it to listen for any weird noises.

When you get ready to buy parts, ebay. The dealer is twice to 4 times as high as ebay. You can get an entire body package on ebay for $500-$750, whereas the dealer would be more like 2-3 grand. One side panel for my bike is over $500 from the local dealer, but can be bought on ebay all day long for $125-150.