Hello 600RR members! My name is Stan. New poster here, so I suppose I'm a noob. I'm also a noob with the 600RR, but not to riding. I got my motorcycle license directly after getting my drivers license, so I've been legally riding for 11 years now. Before that it was dirtbikes and my mom's Honda Rebel when "the" cop wasn't in town. I grew up on an island off the coast of Maine and we've only ever had a part-time police officer who is usually around most weekends, so when he wasn't around my mom would let me take the Rebel out for a cruise.
When I got my license I picked up a '97 Ninja 500R. This was a great "first" road bike, plenty of power for a young rider, comfortable, and it was pretty cheap. I road this for a few years before going to college and then sold it to help with tuition. Sometime during college, I think my junior year, I missed riding and saved some spare cash to pick up a 2005 GSXR 750. (Yea I know, I've seen a lot of hate posts on Suzukis throughout these threads, but please keep it to yourself). I liked the bike a lot, it was damn quick, handled like a dream, but it was a bit too big for me. I stand at 5'11 and I'm not sure what my arm length is, but I found that I was forced to hunch over the tank too much to reach the bars, and it wasn't comfortable for longer rides. I kept this bike for 3 years and it was my DD. Luckily I had a work vehicle supplied for me during the first two winters after I graduated, so I didn't need another vehicle. My company closed, however, and the next winter I was forced to sell my bike to get a car.
I've saved up some money again, because I just can't stand to not be on a motorcycle, and recently picked up a 2004 600RR.
I love this bike! I haven't spent much time on it yet, as the season was coming to end I didn't want to spend money registering/insuring blah blah so I rode it very little (again, while the cop was gone), and it also desperately needs a new rear tire as it's quite flat in the center. I didn't dare corner too hard, or push the bike very hard at all, so I haven't really had the chance to get a feel for it yet. But damn! It feels just as quick as my 750 was! And I sit much more comfortably than I did on the Suzuki. The bars feel a little bit closer, and my feet reach the ground better. I can't wait until next spring to hit the roads with some fresh rubber and see how well it takes the twisties!
She has a bit over 9k miles (though I'm not sure if this is correct, as the title is "repaired" and it says something about not actual mileage), and a little bit of road rash. There are some scrapes on the tail, and a couple of broken spots on the mid fairings, a few missing fairing bolts, but all in all doesn't seem like anything major that can't be fixed. I'm not a mechanic, I do work on my Integra, but never much with motorcycles aside from changing fluids and removing the wheels for tire replacements, but I'd like to be able to maintain this bike by myself (for the most part). I'd like to inspect the bike more and make sure nothing is wrong with it first and foremost. It rides straight, engine sounds smooth so I'm sure that whatever crash/incident that caused the rashes wasn't too serious, but I'd like to inspect it thoroughly, or even bring it somewhere to get it checked out before next season.
So, I guess that's it for now. I'll be reading through threads for the information I need, and already have a huge list of subscriptions. BTW the links in one of the noob post stickies were awesome, thanks so much for putting those up! Sorry about lack of pictures, I'm currently not at home, but I'll try to snap a few asap and put them up. I'm glad to be part of this forum, I hope to gain a lot of knowledge and share some insight of my own if I can, though I'm sure most here are more knowledgable than myself. Have a great day and upcoming weekend everyone! Stay safe out there.
