CalvinC4S

I have a race quad for sale that I put close to 30,000 into and is worth next to nothing on the used market. I have a buyer that wants to do an even trade for a
street bike.

2007 R1 smoked out bits and carbon fiber exhaust. I have never owned a street bike or motorcycle in my life, but it is on my "bucket list". Normally I don't pay much attention to trade offers but to be honest, I really want to ride this bike.

Is my ATV experience and primal manliness enough to keep this liter bike from turning me into a ziplock bag of soup?

Also, whats the value and market demand of such a bike in this economy?

Thanks guys!

This is the bike:




This is the quad I would trade, have about 30k in and worth about 8,000 in this market.


I can ride it very well and toss it around, but is this experience transferable to a liter bike? I am 37 years old and not made of rubber anymore. I have never in my life rode 2 wheels. Looking at the R1, I want it... BAD

CorrdoBrit

"never owned a sportbike". If you want my advice don't. Chances are you'll end up regretting the decision or someone close to you will. The R1 is a top tier sportbike and all that goes with it. Way too much power to learn on. Get something like an Suzuki SV650, proper training and get some skills under your belt for a year or 2 before considering a hardcore liter bike.
Ultimately its your decision but I wouldn't.

Christian J

IMO it's all in the wrist, and I would bet that you have pretty good throttle control. Your preservation instances are probably pretty good if you have made it this far with a $30k quad. I have many years of bike riding and have been on a quad only once but I'd say that very few skills other than throttle control and shiftng will transfer. I disagree with buying a smaller bike since they can all get you into trouble. Sure, it will go 170 out of the box but the motor is smooth and its actually pretty easy to ride. Get the bike, take a class immediately, ride with your conservative-biking friends, wear the right gear, learn more skills on a track, have fun. The bike is probably worth $6-8k depending on condition. Have a good mechanic look it over; it's pretty easy to see what's wrong.

Renaud Bizet

+1 on the SV650 it is the miata of motorcycles and a great way to learn. Bike is reliable, cheap, great V twin with lots of torque. I sold mine 4 years later for a $1K less than I bought it for.

CorrdoBrit

There's far more to riding a sport bike than judicious throttle management. And remember unlike the quad, you're not the only one on the road. Get something small, easy to handle and still has plenty of character to keep you interested.

Cemoto

The bike looks well prepared. It is a lot of machine for a noob.

Get the bike if you like it, but learn to ride on something else.

The art of two wheel dynamic balance and braking is a learned skill that requires practice, and not easily translated from four wheels in my opinion.

The bikes supplied in classes are usually the cheapest POS out there and nothing at all like the R1. You will learn very BASIC fundamentals in a course.



BOL

IXLR8

I used to have quite a few sport bikes a long time ago. Banging up and down through the gears wore thin after a while so I got into touring and adventure touring...I haven't looked back since 1991.

For someone who basically has zero experience, that is a lot of motorcycle even in a 2007 model; it'll make your 993 feel like it has 6 reverse gears.

A larger dual sport is the best all around motorcycle (DL 650, etc), but it does not have the "cool" effect. Oh and two wheeled dirt riding is where you really learn how to ride.

Christian J

I sold dozens of SV's when working at a dealership and agree that it's a solid bike. But, going back to the OP, he has an opportunity for an R1. should he try to trade the R1 for an SV? That would be silly. The conservative move would have you make the trade, store the R1 and spend the next year learning on a beater 250cc dual purpose bike.

VMXWinn

Take the deal if you want but I agree with the others.. Jumping in head first with a top tier sport bike is just a recipe for disaster. The SV650 or Ninja 650 is a great bike to learn the fundimentals on and gain the street smarts needed to ride.

993_Pilot

I think it is all in the rider. I go my first sport bike (a CBR1100XX) at 37 years old, previously having only dirt bike experience. Although, I know a 2007 R1 is a more capable bike, there is no doubt the XX was a lot of bike, and I got a lot of the same advice given here. With that said, the best governor is in your head. If you were 21, I would probably agree with the others, but you are the best judge... If you can control yourself, then do it, if you give in to the temptation to always push the limits, then it probably isn't the best decision for you.

If you do decide to get the bike, read everything you can, I highly recommend Kieth Codes "a Twist of the wrist I & II". Probably not a bad idea to start learning / practicing with a lesser bike, especially if you don't have a lot of experience on two wheels. Before you ever think of taking that R1 out to the twisties, I would go take a course like what is offered at the "California Superbike School". I promise you won't regret it. The course was a lot of fun, and I learned a ton, even though I had been riding dirt bike for 18 years. Best of luck whatever you decide.

camlob

If its a straight trade do it. But like the others said, it will be extremely easy to loose it on the R1. Too many guys dont respect the power of these bikes. I drive a 998s putting out 135hp and it still scares the **** out of me on straights!

On curves, you have to get the feel of the balance between the front and rear wheels and where your body is.

The R1 is much stronger. I have had a lot of years experience in mx and superbikes.

So take it and use it with just half throttle at the most. Believe me and the others.

Rinty

Calvin:

I would do the deal and sell the R1. Once you have some bike experience, you can try and figure out what kind of a bike you will like best. It can take years to figure that out.

kiesan

From a market standpoint, a straight trade is a bit better for the R1 seller. Of course that is assuming the op could truly get $8k for the quad. That seems like a high figure to me, but I must admit I have never dabbled in the modded atv market. It does look like a nice machine.

I recently sold this '07 R1 for $8k which represents the very upper tier of this market. 1-owner from new with 5k miles. Light mods, fresh service and brand new tires. Zero track/damage/abuse history, clean title, no stories, etc. Pretty much the opposite condition of every other 3-5 year old Japanese 600cc or literbike on the market.

The black R1 looks pretty decent. The color is a plus when its time for resale. All the cool kids call it a "Raven" fyi When it is time for that be ready for the onslaught of 19-23 yo Navy studs who want to trade you their salvage title '95 Civic and a 10 year old Playstation with all the games. Ask me how I know lol.

What are the miles on that beast? The lower header pipe looks like it could be pretty crudded up which can be an indicator of a lot of foul weather riding. Damage history? Without knowing more about the bike, I'd say you could flip it from somewhere between $4 and $6.5k.

And yeah I'm sure you could own/operate the thing without the ziploc bag ending. With a certain age/experience comes a sort of built in survival instinct I have found. Just be prepared to look the other way when the next owner comes knocking.

pegdrag

Don't...really....don't start with that bike.

I'm in my 30th year of riding and I still scare myself. I joke about 1000RR's and diavals and R-1's, but don't really buy them. Its pure self-preservation. The R-1 is a wonderful motorcycle....just wonderful. Its a Moto-GP wanna be.

It's kind of like starting your driving career with a full on race car. Its fast, twitchy, mildly uncomfortable....one gets one's legs bent up and one gets to crouch...and did I mention fast?

Almost everyone falls at some point and I honestly think that bike would make it easy for you to start off falling.

As others have said, there are far more realistic starter bikes. If you want to go ahead with that discussion we can.

As to the trade....I suspect 7k-8k is a bit much for that bike. I'd think 5.5-6k a far more realistic price.....

Should you decide to do it, please take every riding course you can....and ride slowly and carefully...you'll feel amazingly "able" after a bit....and won't really be any good for longer than you think!

solomonschris

I agree with those who don't see an R1 as a starter bike. I have riding for 50 yrs. this year (I hate saying that) and just bought my 33rd bike. I have owned several litre sport bikes and they are truly amazing, particularly in terms of acceleration. The problem with these bikes is that you can get into real trouble, REAL fast. Most guys suffer from testosterone poisoning, the younger you are the more frequent it occurs and the longer it lasts. A few seconds of imprudent throttle twisting will find you deep into triple digits. If you proceed with this purchase I would strongly advise signing up for one of Reg Pridmore's Class schools or another like it. You take your bike onto the track with professional riders monitoring your riding and stopping you to give advice. These schools are not intended to teach you to be a racer, but rather to be a more skilled rider with a better understanding one what you are capable of and what your bike is capable of.
What you won't learn there is the defensive riding skills that you absolutely must have to survive. With all that said, I have to admit that people have gotten rich ignoring my advice. Go luck, be careful and know that motorcycles can be even more addictive than Porsches.......Chris