Beginning Rider Reccomendations?

I am a beginning rider looking to buy my first sport bike. I am looking at maybe a GSXR600. I am 6'2" and 160 lbs. Would this bike be a good fit? Any ideas on a different bike around $2500? I have some riding experience when I cruised around on a moped for a year and a half and took a course for that. I also have a brother in-law who is an avid rider. Any suggestions?? Thanks

Also I used to ride a 70cc dirt bike around some trails so I am pretty familiar with shifting and I do drive a manual car so clutching and shifting are familiar to me

Beginner: Do you have a license? what experience do you have? Does your jurisdiction allow you to ride something so big/powerful? That's a big, powerful bike, and in the hands of a beginner could be fatal, to you or others. Anyone can ride fast enough to be dangerous, or dead. I suggest something more modest would be wise for a year or two at least. Choose something plain and simple, A GN250 wouldn't be bad to get started with, and you'd be able to afford the bits if anything happened. There's only 2 kinds of riders-those who have, and those who will-fall off. Too many of the former are dead.

Congrats on joining the two-wheeled fraternity! First rude question: are you sure you want a crotch-rocket? They look cool and will pop your eyes into the back of your head (and back out when braking), but most of the time, you're going to be running around town, and all that extreme race-track styling just doesn't work very well at less than 100 MPH. There are less extreme alternatives, like dual-purpose bikes (which will handle both road and trail duty with aplomb). I can't think of any specific models (well, OK, Suzuki's V-Strom 650 ABS is nice), but here's what I would do. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation offers beginning classes where they supply the bike, a helmet, and lots of safe instruction. Go attend one of their classes, check out what they use for training, and see if that would suit your daily needs better than a bike that will give you back, shoulder, and wrist pain that will bring tears to your eyes in about 30 minutes (not to mention the usual case of numb butt, but I digress). Best of luck, and be careful out there -- my dad always taught me to ride as if 90% of the drivers can't see you at all, and the other 10% can see you just fine and are out to kill you. In my 35-plus years of riding, that sounds about right.

"dw1640" offers good advice.

However I have never experienced the pain he describes from riding my sportbike (I ride a Kawi Ninja ZX-6R). I have ridden over 100 miles non-stop on that bike with nothing other than the sore bum syndrome.

But definitely take the MSF class (first link from the poster above me). This class is the best money you will ever spend in your riding career.

The GSXR600 is a very fast bike. Going from a moped to a 600 is not smart. Here's what will happen. You rev it up and let out the clutch. The bike has way more power than you thought so it begins going too fast and you are pointed at another vehichle. You panic. As you reach for the front brake your hand rolls on the throttle some more and you speed up faster. By now there is no way to avoid a collision.
Start with a smaller bike.
What the hell does your brother in law's experience have to do with you?

A GSXR600 is not a beginners bike. It mays sound so because it's "only" a 600 but that bike was built for the track then modified for the street.

Flicking your wrist on a GSXR is a whole different story than doing it on the moped.

You're much better off finding a standard bike as a good starter, get some miles under your belt, try out some friends bikes, then buying what you want.

I also agree with the suggestion of V-strom 650ABS. It's what I ride and I've got 33plus years of experience.

If you already know and understand how to drive a manual transmission, it helps learning a motorcycle because it's one less thing you have to focus on when learning. The common saying is that if you can drive a stick and ride a bicycle, learning a motorcycle will be easy. If you can practice discipline and restraint when riding, you may be fine. It's not all fun and games on a sport bike. Even if you ride perfect you need to know how to react when other cars and bikes and trucks don't drive so perfect. That comes from building new instincts and reflexes, and driving habits. While I definitely recommend the class, the class doesn't usually teach all you need to know. Many, many riders go down every summer due to overconfidence gained by taking the class.

The first time I ever touched a motorcycle, it was a 1997 ZX6. I rode it around a parking lot for 5 minutes to find out how to shift, then rode 100 miles home on the interstate. I鈥檝e been riding ever since with a clean riding history. (Thanks to God) So it is possible to start on something other than a 250.

When I ride on the highway, I assume that every car I pass or that passes me, doesn't see me and is looking to come into my lane. I'm ready for any move that car makes half a second before he makes it.

You have to learn aerodynamics. If you get to close behind a rig, the wind can trap you there. When you pass along side of a rig the wind will pull you closer to the truck at one point and push you away at another. You have to learn all this and have counter balance and movements programmed into your body reflexes. There is so much more to it. You need lots of practice.

People recommend smaller CC bikes for beginners because most newbies are into it for the speed and flashiness of it and often underestimate the seriousness of riding safe. The temptation to tap into that power is usually too great to overcome. If you know you can and will respect the bike and get at least 3 thousand miles of practice before hitting the highway, and before group rides, then maybe you can start on a 600cc bike. Otherwise, help yourself out and start small.