| Author | Message | ||
     Tomcrane |
Let me preface my thread by stating that my riding experience on motorcycles is limited.. i have about 700 miles on a ninja 250 and about 800 on a 08 Suzuki SV650S .... I had not planned on getting a new bike until spring (was going to look at a XB9s) but with the deal on the CR .. I couldnt pass it up. So here is my question ... is this bike at all novice friendly ? ... I know it will only go as fast as you make it .. but im wondering if this is going to be way too much bike to handle ? ... I dont drive crazy .. never have .. im not a balls to the wall kinda rider .. I love the CR and cant wait to ride it in the spring.... I bought it just last week but with the weather getting dreary and cold around here (im in mass) ... the dealership i bought it from (Manchester Harley in New Hampshire) .. offered to store it for free so rather then take it home i just left it there .. (i live 2 hours from the dealer) thanks in advance for any replies Tom (Message edited by tomcrane on November 02, 2009) | ||
| Doughnut |
Depends on you. Most will say no. | ||
| Tomcrane |
is that a NO to the novice friendly or No to the too much bike comment lol | ||
| Westmoorenerd |
It's all about your self control.... I went from a Ninja 250 with a couple thousand miles to the 1125CR.... | ||
| Tomcrane |
Could you give your opinion of what it was like jumping from the 250 to the CR ? I know when I went from the 250 to the 650 .. it was a HUGE difference but def not anything I couldnt handle .. I loved it .. the torque from the V twin was so nice for city riding vs the 250 which was fun but you had to rev the crap out of it to go anywhere | ||
| Milleniumx1 |
I'm coming from H-D big twins, and self-admittedly not yet a corner carver. Is the 1125 novice friendly? I think it is, especially if you set the suspension up just a bit softer than described in the manual. Once I got the suspension set right, I made short work of the chicken strips. I've got 250 miles on my '09 ... About half of those at lean angles I would have never before imagined. You'll over-drive your own ability before you will the bike's. Just learn as you go - No hurry! Mike | ||
| Kevin_stevens |
It's the same weight as the SV650, with much more aggressive geometry and about twice the power and torque. You do the math and make your own decision. KeS (Message edited by kevin_stevens on November 02, 2009) | ||
| Doughnut |
My first step was to an S2. My second step was to an XB12Ss. It really dependes on you, not the bike. | ||
| Tomcrane |
If i had to say what kind of rider i am .. im an over cautious rider .. i tend to not push bikes anywhere near to the limit knowing full well i have very little experience.. i did take the MSF class but that isnt going to translate to anything as far as real world riding goes I think i had my SV to 80 mph lol .. some say that might be a waste to have a nice bike and never really "RIDE" it .. but id rather keep it upright and ease my way into harder riding Im hoping the CR will be a bike that will allow me to do this .. ill admit it .. the numbers (hp .. tq) are def intimidating lol | ||
| Tbenson |
Sounds like you are already level headed about the bikes capabilities, so just ride at your abilities and it should be fine. Open parking lots are a good place to get familiar with the bike and kind of feel it out, I hear you can practice wheelies there too, dunno though (hehe)!  Good luck and congrats on your new CR! | ||
| Tomcrane |
LOL - yeah when i first got both bikes .. the 250 and the Sv .. first place i went was to the parking lot to get used to the brakes and just the general overall feel of the bike .. Its going to be a while before i ride the CR .. but im super excited .. stupid winter lol | ||
| Ridenusa4l |
The 1125r was my VERY FIRST motorcycle...i seem to be doin alright lol, i took the riders safety course which helped TREMENDOUSLY so its all about self-control lol Jake | ||
| Westmoorenerd |
The jump from the 250R to the 1125CR was pretty drastic. The power difference was just unreal, but within 2-3 miles of riding of so I got the hang of the power difference. The handling was quite different, the 250R is extremely flickable, but the 1125CR is more confident in faster corners. Slow corners the 1125 is a little wiggly with the clubman bars, but nothing out of the ordinary. I've only put on about 200 miles on the 1125, so I haven't quite put it through it's paces, but out here in Guam that's like 5 laps around the island... It did help that I took both the Basic MSF course and the Military Sportsbike MSF course. I feel comfortable in my decision to jump up to the 1125, but I also know what the bike is capable of doing, and respect it... Got to tell you though, power wheelies are the shit! | ||
| Tomcrane |
there will be no wheelies in my future lol ... | ||
| Kevin_stevens |
When you hit an unexpected bump and the bike lurches, and then you slam the throttle shut because you weren't expecting that respone, and then try to open it again quickly... don't be so sure. The bike doesn't care if you "respect it", whatever the hell that means. It does what your inputs tell it to do. An 1125 isn't a suitable bike for someone who can't yet control, or even determine, their proper inputs because they have no experience from which to develop them. It's pointless bringing this up to someone who has already bought the motorcycle; but you started the thread. I'm not sure what you were really looking for; affirmation of some kind I guess. Good luck with it. Be careful. KeS (Message edited by kevin_stevens on November 02, 2009) | ||
| Fresnobuell |
there will be no wheelies in my future Not intentionally anyway... So you already bought the bike and now you want to know if people who have never met you think it's too much bike for you? Sorry, but I don't get this at all. If you want my opinion, this is a recipe for disaster but I wish you luck. | ||
| Tomcrane |
first let me start by saying .. the whole intention of the thread was to find out if any riders had bought the bike without coming from a comparable bike ... I know alot of you have owned prev buells and jumping to the 1125 from say a xb9 or xb12 isnt quite as drastic of a jump from the SV that im coming from .. I was looking to get opinions on what people thought of the jump in bikes and experience in doing so and while i can appreciate the concern from you guys .. you are assuming based on some of the responses that i have 0 riding experience .. granted it is little .. but as mentioned im not a rider who gets on the bike and throttles the crap out of it .. to me respecting the bike means.... knowing the power the bike has and not abusing that power on the street .. riding within my means .. if that means im the only fool on here riding his 1125 down the street at 40 ... so be it .. until i have a better grasp of the bike and how it drives ... i dont doubt for a second there are people who get these bikes and the first thing they do is pop wheelies and ride 150mph on the highway .. thats not my style | ||
| Lew360 |
There are a lot of SV converts on here, I happen to be one of them (and know of two others). Think of the CR as a SV x 2. I put 7500 or so miles on the SV and the CR has surprised me a couple of times. I would say leave the CR in storage as long as it is free and get in as much riding on the SV as possible. You made the jump from the Ninja to the SV and you know how awkward that was. Now imagine the that x 2 | ||
| Tomcrane |
honestly .. the jump from the ninja to the SV was not ackward .. it was perfect.. i felt like the ninja was slow ... torqueless and i had to shift a ton to go anywhere .. it was a fun bike though the SV felt perfect... torque off the line .. and whenever i needed it .. great for riding the city roads and the times i took it on the highway it was great .... though i will say im expecting the jump to the 1125 to be quite different ... thats why i was looking for others who have done so thanks for the response | ||
| Fmaxwell |
I'm with Kevin on this one! The 1125CR is about as good a choice for novice riders as a Lamborghini Murcielago is for novice drivers. Some of the stuff you could get away with on your SV650 will result in a trip to the ER when done on an 1125CR. On a wet road at 30mph, if you open the throttle of your SV, it accelerates. On the 1125CR, the back wheel violently breaks loose, spins up, and the bike torques sideways. Great fun if you know what you're doing and have tens of thousands of miles of riding experience. Likely to result in a crash if you don't. Simply put, a couple of thousand miles on an SV650 is not going to prepare you for the brutally powerful acceleration, braking, or the race-quick handling of an 1125CR. To what Kevin wrote, I'll add: wear the best protective gear you can get. Wear a full-face DOT or DOT/ECE-22.05 approved helmet, preferably one that's highly rated by SHARP. Also wear a leather jacket with armor, gloves with abrasion-resistant knuckle armor, motorcycling boots with ankle protection, and riding pants with appropriate armor. For more about helmet standards, including why Snell M2000 (and M2005) is not the best choice, see: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcyc le_helmet_review/index.html | ||
| Tomcrane |
I have a snell approved helmet .. i have a scorpion exo-700 and already wear a joe rocket jacket with armor .. wear gloves with protection as well .. thats an interesting read though about the helmets and snell rating and such ..might have to look into a different helmet at some point no matter how hot it is .. i wear full gear including boots ... but i do appreciate the input | ||
| Tomcrane |
I can also understand your liking the jump to the cr to the jump to a lambo but i have to believe that there are quite a few CR/R riders here who dont have tens of thousands of miles of experience and are doing just fine on their bikes. Obviously this is dependant totally on the person themselves rather then generalizing that anyone can ride a CR I had plans on taking the advanced riding course next year anyways so that might be a good step in the right direction I had originally planned on getting a used xb9 .. the reason for getting the CR was the price .. it cost just a few dollars more for a brand new bike then it would have cost for a used one. My brother has a xb9 (03) .. maybe i can get some seat time on his bike prior to getting the Cr out of storage (its there for the winter) that will atleast give me a taste of what its like riding a buell vs the few bikes ive ridden myself. | ||
| Fmaxwell |
@Tomcrane The Snell M2010 standards have addressed some of the worst issues brought out in that study -- but not all of them. At least for M2010, Snell recognized that an XS head weighs less than an XXXL head. That's at least a start. It really is a fantastic article and Motorcyclist Magazine lost some high-dollar helmet advertising as a result of that. The study done in conjunction with the article was by Dr. Jim Newman, the foremost authority on motorcycle helmet safety in the U.S. -- and a former Director at Snell. The doctors, scientists, and engineers that were consulted for the article were some of the most respected in this field. | ||
| Tomcrane |
yeah im still reading it now and its amazing at some of the helmets that excelled in the test vs some of the others who would have thought a 70 dollar pep boys helmet would have faired so well honestly i think everyone should read this .. i am learning things i never knew about helmets and didnt realize that the SNELL stamping was being used as a sales gimmick .. | ||
| Moosestang |
It's much easier to mess up on this bike than an xb9. It accelerates so fast, that you barely have time to think. | ||
| Tomcrane |
I realize that but i figure if i can get some seat time on a buell xb9 it will help bridge the gap from my SV to the CR ... at least ill have an idea of what it feels like to ride a buell albeit a slower one i dont want to even pretend that im not nervous.. I Am .. im very aware at least on paper of what kind of power this bike has .. It could be argued that buying the bike was a bad choice but time will tell that .. I wont be riding it for a while so I wont know until spring .. but I figured that the price of the bike was too good to pass up and if that means that i "granny ride" it for a while im totally fine with that | ||
| Fmaxwell |
Tom, I am with you and I agree that every motorcyclist should read that article. It's good, solid science and probably the best researched technical article that I've read in any motorcycle magazine. So many people dismiss that article, or refuse to read it, because they don't want to believe that their expensive helmet isn't one of the best. They want to believe that spending a lot of money means that they have bought the best safety. I bought the Fulmer AF-D4 helmet referenced in that article and crashed at about 65mph (I seem to crash about once every 20 years). The helmet looked like hell and I came out of it with only minor abrasions and a broken collarbone.   | ||
| Crswede |
Tom if you use your head to more than just hang the helmet on a'im sure the CR will be no problem for you | ||
| Westmoorenerd |
Wow, I've never seen so many people start hating on someone for riding a 1000cc+ bike. First there's a few things we can all agree on, an 1125 twin isn't the best beginner bike in the world, and yes 1125 is a big jump from a 650... Here's where my opinion differ from some peoples: The OP seems to have a pretty decent grasp of what he's getting himself into, he doesn't really put himself out there as a squid. If you use sound judgement in any situation, you can avoid danger. Kevin... you know exactly what was meant when I said "respect the bike," you ride the bike within YOUR limitations, not the bikes...which chances are NO ONE in this discussion will approach. If you think of it, 1125cc is excessive no matter what road you're riding on, which just means you need self-control. Some people have more experience/skill riding sportsbikes and will be able to ride the 1125 more aggressively...but if you plan on staying within the confines of the law, even a novice rider should be able to handle it. Think of how many times you've gone down, or had a close call with a motorcycle, how many times was it the bikes fault? I bet not many...most of the time someone gets in trouble on a bike, it's because they were riding beyond their ability, which is possible no matter what you ride. Fred, i like your rain story, but it comes down to self-control again. My first 80 miles on my 1125, jumping off a 250cc, were on wet coral roads... I didn't have any issues. Anyways I'm done with my ranting, I just have an issue with people ragging on other people for their bike choice... Everyone is different, and make different choices... So Tom, if you're smart about it, the 1125 will be a great bike for you. | ||
| Westmoorenerd |
BTW flame on, 'cause I know it's coming...  |
