Quote Originally Posted by Tarzanman
Dirt riding can only take you so far. Its not bad experience, but keep in mind that there are skills that mostly apply to dirt (like scooching your ass all the way up to the handle-bars and sticking that leg out to turn like a mofo), and likewise skills that mostly apply to street (countersteering, the do's and dont's of trail-braking)

Drftr doesn't sound like he knows much. With riders of equal skill, a GS500 would completely school that wide-as-hell, pig-of-a-bike-98 GSXR-600 on a tight track.

If you are looking to spend $5k then do this:

•Take half of it and put in the bank for your SECOND bike. Spend ~$2k on a starter bike and $500 on gear (helmet, gloves, jackets.... pants and boots if you feel like it).

•Learn to ride your bike, and get as many test rides on as many different bikes as possible.

By time you are ready to upgrade (usually 4-6 months, depending on how much riding you do) then you'll have:
1. A better idea of what you want to get (after having ridden different bikes)
2. More money to play with

You might even decide to keep your learner bike, get some leathers and turn it into a track-bike.

$500 on gear...my Arai helmet cost more than that...oh but you want him to buy that cheap shit...you can't buy quality safety gear for $500...get real man...you know i'm rite...and as far as if i'm a talker...its either put up or shut up...its that easy...most of you young kids on IA have no idea about anything...you read something and think you know everything...i have owned over 40+ motorcycles since i was 18 years old...and i know when i bought my first bike which was a 2001 Kawasaki zx6r and a 2001 Suzuki GSXR600 that i wish i had gone to a bigger bike like a gsxr750 about 2 months after i have been riding...so i would say buy a cheap bike like the 98 to learn on...which has good power and handling...plus its cheap cause your going to lay it down at some point...buy a really nice helmet and jacket and go have fun with it...