R6 but never...

Hey everyone, I'm gonna buy my 2005 Yamaha R6 next week, probably monday or tuesday. You think it's a big deal if I drive it home, or attempt to, having not been on a bike before? Or should I tow it home? I mean, I'm scheduled to take the MSF class this weekend but it is supposed to rain and their make-up days are not until June. Although I don't know why since they do it inside a parking garage! What you think people? Grafixx

**** dude, DO NOT ride it home. Take the course first. if you're gonna ride, do it at home on an empty street or something. It's a big risk, plus it has a lot of power for someone's first time on a bike. It will take a good two months before you get use to the power...DON'T DO IT!

+1 on DL's response, man! Get it home in one piece and then slowly work your way out onto the street. Spend a while, after your course, in a parking lot with your new best friend! ;) Get used to how IT handles(stops, turns, shifts, etc) versus the bikes you use in the MSF course. Their bikes are NOTHING like an R6 and it will be a mostly different ball game on one. You want to KNOW those things before you are having to deal, not only with yourself and bike, but the other fools out there on the streets. If you get nervous and stall at an intersection because you're not familiar with the bike :doh: at best you could piss off the person behind you and at worst someone could be coming from the rear and mow ya down with their cage. That said...what the hell is wrong with your MSF people there? Here, they run the course unless there are 35mph winds and/or 3in of snow on the ground... :wink: :wink: Good luck with the bike and good work on getting the course set up already :) Ride safe and keep the shiny side up!

I PM'd you but just in case you don't get it...Tell the dealer you won't buy it if they don't give you free gear. At least a helmet and jacket.

D, I got it. Thanks for all the advice guys. I don't think that I was gonna be that stupid but it was just a thought. As far as the raining and cancelling, I think it's bs. Don't ask. They have the garage right next door at the mall but they won't use it I don't think, even though it is not used unless it is the holiday season. But maybe I can talk to the instructor wednsday since that is the "in class" portion of the MSF class. Maybe they'll do it in the garage. G

Guys at dealerships are REAL good at loadin bikes into the back of pick-ups... I'm sure they would be more than happy to help ya out if you habe a truck or know/can bribe someone who does. Have 2 friends help ya unload it at home.

Pickle, Thanks for the information. I wish I had a truck to put it in. I was actually thinking of buying one of the one-bike-trailers and getting a hitch put on my car (2000 Cavalier) to tow it with. The guy at the stealer was trying to talk me into a huge trailer, like one you can tow a car with or put landscaping stuff in. Nuts, ain't he? Grafixx

Guys at dealerships are REAL good at loadin bikes into the back of pick-ups... I'm sure they would be more than happy to help ya out if you habe a truck or know/can bribe someone who does. Have 2 friends help ya unload it at home. While POD is right... most dealers will load the bike into one of their trucks and take it to your house for you.... might be able to get them to throw that in on the deal! But I wouldn't recomend riding it out. I have seen and heard of many people crashin their brand new bikes less than 100 yards from the dealers...with less than 1 mile on them...

at the dealership i worked at, we were always puttin bikes in ppls trucks, trailers or what ever, i personally had to ride some ppls bikes to there house for them cuz they didnt kno how to ride good enough, so i am sure that they would be more then happy to help you out, that what the shop truck is for, picking bikes up and droppin bikes off, and freebies is always a good thing :luck: and dont ride it home, unless you want to have to put it in the back of a truck when it is waded up against a tree...or worse, not tryin to scare ya, but i have seen a guy buy a new busa and wreckin at the the stop sign and the end of the driveway, he was ok but the bike wasnt :nonod:

Don't do it!!!!!!!!!! What's up with the MSF class? They go rain or shine here. They schedule classes two weeks apart. Only postpone for snow and high winds and do make up day the next Saturday after the class.

Yeah good idea... ask someone who works there to ride it to your house for you, then you can drive them back to the shop. Maybe arrange it so you come up at the end of their shift. Im sure lots of them would be willing, even if its kinda far, especially if you dangle a $50 or $100 dolla bill in front of em :)

I don't think you will have to pay to get it home. If you do, you need to find a new stealer.

Well I was thinkin money in case he is like an hour away from the dealership or something..

Thanks again everyone. I won't be riding it home, I'm gonna ask if they can drive it or put it in a truck and bring it back to my house. Worse comes to worse, I'll buy it and leave it there and then go get a hitch put on my car and buy a trailer and tow it home myself if they want to be idiots about it. As far as the MSF course, they have two classes going at the same time on the same day, and they put the courses every weekend so they do like a month of classes and then a month of make-ups! It's kinda of stupid in my opinion. G

Sounds like they have it figured out. I just don't understand why they would postpone due to rain. They plainly state in their brochure here to bring rain gear just in case. My wife had a whole day of ridding in the rain during her class.

I'll ask about it when I go. I even went to the MSF website (given in this forum) and downloaded their new guide for the beginner course. It's only like 66pages. I haven't read it yet cause my idiot sister flipped when I asked to borrow her printer and then Kinko's wanted like $50 to print it cause they charge like $0.75 per page. So I'll be reading that and if I see that they say to bring rain gear, I'll ask about it tomorrow when we are in the classroom part of the course. G

I'm gonna buy my 2005 Yamaha R6 next week, probably monday or tuesday. You think it's a big deal if I drive it home, or attempt to, having not been on a bike before? YES it's a big deal. Don't even think about getting on it until you take and pass MSF. By the way, I hope you're kidding. Seriously, that's way too much bike if you've never been on one before.

Pigface, No, sorry to say that I am not joking. I have many reasons for myself doing so and I've even posted some of them in threads on this. Many people have agreed with me and some, like you, say not to and go buy used and lower cc bike. It's ok. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I guess like I say, "I'll learn for myself." Grafixx

A couple quick things ... Riding a bike without a motorcycle endorsement is considered "Driving without a licence" in most States. If you get pulled, it's going to suck. The motorcycle you are about to buy has the power:weight ratio of a 400HP Mustang minus the traction control, anti-lock brakes, and 2 wheels. It really may not be the best choice if you have never been on a motorcycle before. I hate to sound like a nanny, but we do a whole lot of insurance jobs on new bikes every year. It's a damn shame when we have to total a XXX600 with < 300 miles on it (Our current record holder is a '03 R6 with 232 miles on it, but there have been several since then that came close). Most of the time, the rider isn't seriously injured, but not always. If you're set on buying one ... have them deliver it, wear good gear, and try not to become the average first time rider who buys a modern 600. - Brian Roach - SpeedWerks.com

Pigface, No, sorry to say that I am not joking. I have many reasons for myself doing so and I've even posted some of them in threads on this. Many people have agreed with me and some, like you, say not to and go buy used and lower cc bike. It's ok. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I guess like I say, "I'll learn for myself." Grafixx I don't mean to be harsh, but I saw a guy die a couple years ago on his new bike. He was signed up to start taking the MSF course the following day. That happens a LOT. And he was wearing gear. My first bike was my CBR 600 F4i, which is a little more forgiving than the R6, but I was familiar with bikes. You control the throttle with your wrist, you don't have to go faster than you feel comfortable. However, IMO, I wouldn't even drive it around in the neighborhood until you pass the course. I don't think you'd get hurt that way, but you'd be really pissed if you dropped your brand new bike. Good luck and have fun. . :thumbs:

Brian Roach @ Speedwerks and Pigface, I have taken all the advice, thoughts and opinions that everyone has given me in this forum to heart. I listen to everything because you are all experienced and I am not. I was going to do like some have said here --- Have the dealer bring it to my house (or I'll tow it home on a trailer) and then ride it around the neighborhood cause mine is pretty big and there is a school and church in the neighborhood with huge parkinglots that I can go riding in to familiarize myself better with it. I won't drive it prior to passing the MSF course no matter how many times I have to take it either. That doesn't matter to me. And gear. I figure that I'll grab frame sliders and bar ends right off the bat. I was told to grab the Vortex frame and bar ends from Speedwerks and I will. One question, can they just be put in where others were put in though? I'm just figuring on shipping time and money in my pocket right now. But I'm also figuring to buy the Scorpion EXO-700 lid cause of the comfort and my wearing glasses. But also I was gonna pick up a Joe Rocket Speedmaster jacket cause of the added back protection. I was also thinking about the Icon armor vest and full finger and length leather gloves, probably Icon or Joe Rocket. I know I'm a newbie or squid, but I think I'm kinda level headed on this. What do you think? Am I doing anything wrong? Please let me know and that can be any single person belonging to this forum. I'm looking forward to hearing from everyone. I don't mean to sound arrogant, mean or squidly either so I'll have to apologize for that if I am. Grafixx

Just b/c you're new doesn't mean you're a squid. It sounds like you have it pretty well figured out. I just got my JR Speedmaster jacket and absolutely love it, well worth the money spent. As for helmets, you'll just have to try some on. I have an odd shaped head so it's difficult for me to find one that fits. The only thing I would reconsider is getting a brand new bike. For one, you can save a lot of money getting one that's a couple years old. Two, you haven't really ridden yet and the R6 may end up being a bike you don't want. Three, you will eventually drop it. We all do. . it's usually in a driveway or parking lot when nobody's looking, but it happens. lol Get some sort of boots to ride in, too. You're smart researching this stuff, good luck man.. :cheers:

Thanks Pigface for not sayin' I'm a squid. Like you I have a big head, 7 7/8" fitted hat so I know I'll be hard in finding a lid that fits. For boots? Well, I was looking at race boots but I was only going to buy them when I do long distance riding. I don't know if you can like walk around in them if I was to stop at like a rest area for a break or something to eat. I also think they'd look kinda funny if I drove to the mall to buy something and walked around in them. I was thinking about the boots that I have from the military cause they are steel toed and full length like racing boots. I'm just not too sure about the soles cause they have like a 1" heal that I figure may get caught on the pegs. What is your opinion? Anyone's opinion really. Thanks again, G

I have some of these just for riding around town, and sometimes I'll just wear hightops and tuck the laces in. At any rate, you want your ankles protected. http://www.speedwerks.com/catalog/c24m0bm0b0s1pn1p3462np0 As for going to the mall, etc, after a while you'll find that you'll hate running errands on the bike b/c it's just a big pain in the ass w/ all the gear, etc.

I have my Alpinestars and when I dont wear those I wear a pair of Tanker boots from Army surplus http://www.uscav.com/prodinfo/enlarged/18934L.jpg Had a pair for about 10 years and they are still holding up fine...

Thanks POD. I actually still have my Corcoran IIIs (jump boots) and a pair of desert boots that I'm gonna actually wear for the MSF class.

Oops, I forgot this little tidbit that happened today... Today I went to another dealer to see about the bike. They had one on hold for someone, which was cool. The sales people there were much much more helpful and nicer. They told me that they had two left, one red and one black, that were still in the crates. Told me it was a $50.00 refundable deposit to hold it for a week. I was like ok. So I figure that I'd go in like Saturday after I do the first part of riding at the MSF beginner course and put the $50.00 down. G