[realm]

What is the difference between the two bikes? I will be buying my first bike soon. Why should I buy one over the other?

 

[Supa Ninja]

how about a ex500 for a first

 

[realm]

I either want a cbr 600rr or Kawi 636

 

[hoser]

id get a turbo zx14 with a muzzy clutch and nos, with some shorts and sandals for my first bike... but thats just me...lol

just messin with ya man. if your serious about one of those as a first bike, RESEARCH. I cant even tell ya how many hours i spent searching the internet and lurking on forums before i bought my last bike. and as others will mention, you ask here people will say 636. ask at the honda boards they will tell ya to get the rr. its up to YOU, none of these guys will be riding it. and NONE of them (me included) are going to give you an unbiased opinion.

just make sure you know what your getting into with one of these bikes. its "only" a 600, but its equivilant to a 1000hp car and will kill you in a second. take the MSF and ride your own ride! good luck and keep us posted.

 

[realm]

I just want to know the difference thats it, mabey someone here has ridden both try not to be bias I do like the looks of the kawasaki better I am 6'2 and I now that the kawi's sit a little higher.

 

[HDRydr2]

Hmm, well, I was actually on my way to buy a 600RR when I bought my 636. After sitting on the RR for a few minutes, it just didn't fit me that well. The riding postion and ergonomics were so much better on the 636. The seat on the RR was hard as heck too. After I sat on it, I hated it. Now, performance wise, I have no idea. The salesman told me him and most of the people at the shop enjoyed the 636 alot more than the RR.
Looks aren't everything, but the 636, to me, is a much sexier bike.

 

[02 z_x_6_r]

have you even riden a bike... an actual sport bike that has as much power as these do... i know the newer bikes are sick and will get you tons of play... but honestly start out small and go from there, learn how to ride and how to handle a bike...

 

[ninjakid2gsxrsquid]

there is not that much difference besides looks. the main factor on how it will perform will be up to u when u get enough skills to start taking advantage of the power. 600's are not bad starter bikes. if that were the case, every newbie on a 600 would be getting hurt. im glad i didnt go with anything less than my 04 636. now i have 2 years/30k miles under my belt. ride withing ur limits, always keep in mind how bad u can hurt urself if u dont respect the power and u should be fine.

 

[realm]

If im going learn on a street bike I will start out on a 600 treat it with respect and move up.

 

[realm]

I love how the 636 feels very comfortable

 

[helo-pilot]

i was in the same situation, i was going to get the 600RR, but with the bikes today, the handle and perform a lot alike, i ended up with the kawi because i was able to get it $1500 less. both are good bikes in my opinion. i love my kawi and if i had it do to again, money not a factor, i would still go with my kawi.

 

[realm]

Yeah I think I will stick with the kawasaki, I already put money on it.
I chose black I love how bad as* is looks

 

[realm]

how much did you pay?

 

[mikebowyer]

how much gear do you have?

 

[realm]

there a tossing in jacket, helmet and gloves for $7,200

 

[Knollie919]

realm im in michigan too whered u get that deal from?

 

[gtjimm]

its good that they are throwing in the gear, but make sure it's of some quality. cheap gear helps, but it is no substitute for a good leather jacket, or schnell approved helmet. And for that price, I doubt they are throwing in either. Just try to get the right gear, as quickly as possible.

As for the bikes, either one is a good bike. They both will handle just about the same (the honda feels better for me) and accelerate about the same (kawi has a little extra pull.) So if you can get a good price on one over the other, get that one. Since I've driven both, ride with people who own both, and personally own a cbr, I'd say anything besides a gixxer will be good, if you must start with a 600 (I recomend ex500)

 

[J_Fuggin_T]

honestly almost all the 600's compare equally anymore, one just may have more bells and whistles thas all, i like the way that the kawi's enter into turns and so on, hondas kinda fall into turns where a kawi kinda dives in and pops back up (if you know what i'm talking about) did honda fix that smoking problem yet?? and yea honda seats are like a sheet of plywood and thats bout it, both look good BUT i prefer the kawi

 

[loesch8102]

I just read an article comparing the 600s. They said that the Honda would've won the contest if everyone testing them had less than 2 years of experience. They said this because it was so surefooted and set up very well out of the box. The liked the amount of feel from the front end. There isn't that much on the Kawi.

 

[Atroxus]

Here is my advice, and it is what I wish I had done. Start on a used EX500 until you feel confident in your skill. Then sell the used bike for what you paid for it and get the ZX-6R or CBR that you really want. I am glad I got an EX500 as my first bike, and I plan to upgrade to a ZX-6R as soon as I can. I only regret that I didn't get it used so I could resell it without taking a loss.

You *will* make mistakes in you first few months riding. Probably only minor ones getting use to the controls etc. On an EX500 minor mistakes are easy to recover from. With only 50hp grabbing too much throttle is not a big deal, and with a single disc brake on the front grabbing too much brake is recoverable as well. A stock ZX-6R puts out just over 100hp though and sports dual disc brakes on the front. Too much throttle could easily cause a new rider to crash, and too much brake could rapidly cause you to go over the handlebars.

If you do decided to get the 6R or the CBR as your first bike though, my advice is be VERY cautious for the first 1000 miles or so.

*edit* guess I didn't read far enough down the thread before I posted.[:I]