Jesus Christ dude. I've ridden dirt and street for since I was 12. In 2004 I decided I wanted a bike again after not having one of my own for 9 years. I was really looking at ZRXs hard; I liked the old school styling. One of the reviews I found said something like this:

With a lot of bikes you have to be careful to not lift the front wheel in 1st or 2nd gear, with this beast you have to be careful to not roast the rear tire in 1st or 2nd; you don't have to worry about lifting the front wheel until 3rd.

I changed my mind right then and bought a Ducati Monster 750, which I still own and love. Beastly torque down low but not too heavy or so fast on top that I do stupid things unless I really consciously decide to.

Be careful with that thing. It is beautiful though. I was torn between that color and the good old Eddie Lawson livery.

 

I like the monster, almost bought one myself.. was put off by maintenance worries (real or imagined..).

My 1st bike was a ninja 250 which i sold rather quickly, it wasn't 'fast enough' at age 21. Now at age 30, i'd consider buying one again lol.

my next bike was a BMW F650 which i think was a sweet-spot for size / weight / power. Friends with liter bikes made fun of how dog-slow it was, but it was still faster than 95% of cars on the road. I only sold that bike after a couple years because of money issues.

3rd bike was a '91 VX800 (800cc v-twin). This bike had wonderful torque and plenty of power, but was already a bit heavy for my tastes.

I've ridden a dozen other bikes in the interim, the ZRX1200 being one of them.. It was fast. I wouldn't say it is uncontrollable, but just be careful, these bikes just get stronger and stronger as your RPMs climb...

How tall are you? I'm 5'7 and my biggest issue with most bikes is the seat height. If your feet aren't comfortably on the ground, heavier bikes will become a serious challenge on uneven roads when stopping at lights, or trying to maneuver in parking lots.

Tomaj

 

I'm 5'10. My fiancee is 5'7 and she can ride the Duc easily.

 

Way too large of a bike for a beginner. Taking it easy isn't an option all the time. If you are in a situation where you need to maneuver to avoid a potential accident you could easily be making it worse by losing control. You are also going to be shitting your pants just trying to keep your bike balanced while riding on the road for the first few times, let alone worrying about rolling on the throttle a little bit too much and doing a wheel stand on a hill.

 

One word for ya, Phantom: Clothing

And when the cruiser guys laugh at you and ask "you dressing to fall down?", you can reply "no, I'm dressing to get back up".

The last good ride I went on last year was with my best friend on his daytona 675, another friend on a kawi 600, my best friends dad on his sportster, and myself in the lead, 2-up, on my SV650. My best friend's dad, with 40+ years of riding experience, was the only person who wasn't wearing a helmet, boots, or riding jacket. (He was rocking the tennis shoes, sunglasses, and a button-down) I don't have to tell you which bike went down because you already know, but we were fortunate enough that it only resulted in some scrapes, some damaged chromey bits, and a badly bruised ego.

I was outriding everyone pretty much all day long (and remember, I was the only one with a passenger). My best friend stayed pretty close, and we slowed down for the other two riders on the straights. I was scared to death when I looked in the mirror on a straight after a short burst of twisties, and after 30, 40, 50, 60 seconds of slowing down, my best friend was still the only rider behind me.

 

hehe.. when i still had a bike, i used to ride with shorts and a t-shirt as well. I had the jacket & boots & gloves, but to me the whole point of the bike is to really be out in the open. I felt constricted by the helmet (full face), but that's mandated by law (and a self preservation).

It's easy to make fun of 'squids' that ride with minimal protection but i also understand the draw too. That's why i sold my bike and got the miata.. I get to have the open air feeling with a modicum of safety which is more important to me now that i'm married with children.

One suggestion to OP -- if you have any friends with smaller / less powerful bikes, see if they'll swap with you for a few weeks while you learn? Or if you have some spare cash, pick up a ninja 250 with the idea of re-selling it when the riding season starts.

 

Wear the gear, my friend. I figure helmet only just help insure you will be kept alive to feel all the other pain that's coming. I dropped the monster in the twisties a couple years ago. Full gear let me ride it home to replace the bent handlebars.

 

Oh yeah, the Ninja 250 is great advice. Ride it for a year before you straddle that ZRX.

 

Damn you guys got me worried. Switching with a friend is good advice. I may have a couple friends willing. If not I may try ways to depower it until I get used to it.

 

1st and foremost: take the class. They will teach you how to react in dangerous situations and if it comes to it, how to fall off "correctly" (if that makes sense).
Then just take it super easy and take your time and you should be fine.

if you're responsible and take all the precautions that is all you can do really.

 

Lol, who here would trust their bike, smaller or not, to his friend who's just learning? Not me. Good idea though.

 

I sold my SV1000 to guy who has never ridden before. I hope he doesn't total my bike when he splats into the back of an 18 wheeer.

 

True curly. I'm not that fresh though I've had dirt bikes when I was young.

 

Damn you.

You know I got rid of the SV650 two weeks ago and am dying for a 1000.

Oh well, the CBX is king of the garage now.

 

I'm loving my V-star 650 so much. I have been going out for rides all the time and just having a blast. A nice power boost over my old Yamaha XS400, and it looks badass Just mounted a tach on it this morning and will wire it up tomorrow.

 

Can anyone give me some performance ideas for my BMW K75? It was given to me but I have not done anything with it... just changed the oil, and battery. Boost is always an idea... duh.

 

How big is that? Power mods are never financially smart on a bike(IMO). By the time you've spent enough to make it considerably faster, you couldve bought another bike. Especially if you have a free BMW to sell. My dads friend just sold one in boxes for $3000.

 

That's one of the best K bikes BMW made (Among the older models). It might not be the fastest, but, it is a really nice, smooth bike. Should be pretty easy to maintain cause of the shaft drive. Just ride it and enjoy.

It is 750cc horizontal inline triple. Nice smooth engine.

-Raj

 

Put a seat on it, it'll make 1000% more comfortable to ride.

 

lol I saw that one coming... I have a new seat, the orginal was torn and tattered, so I had one made... still in the box next to the bike


I do love the bike, but I was thinking maybe a upgrade in some parts, like a better intake (the original is so restricting), maybe an injector upgrade, and since its FI, I was thinking of MS to run it.

I can find cheap engines for this bike, so in my crazy retarded mind, I was thinking of boosting it with a different engine (just in case), and doing better that this rtard


He lost horsepower...