I love her but...

If you're not confident, get a smaller/lighter bike until you are, then go up in baby steps. A 250 would be a good start, then something like a GS500 which is a very competent motorcycle and will feel worlds smaller than a ZZR600.

I have a GS500 at home (for sale too) if you wanna test ride one... I think you will find it pretty boring.... It does have a very low ride height...

Honestly... I think some of the sports 400cc bikes are pretty awesome while still offering a low ride height... (they will also out perform any 500cc two cylinder bikes)

Isnt there a ZX400R? But certainly the CBR400RR and the VFR400RR are both very fun to ride... with the VFR400RR (Or RVF400RR) being probably the coolest looking...


They are also keeping their value very nicely...

Hard to find one with low K's though...

When my wife had her NC30 (VFR) I used to go out for rides with guys on 750's and although obviously I had less horsepower... I could pass them in the twisties...

I love her but...

Who's butt are we talking about anyway?

I love her but...

Who's butt are we talking about anyway?

haha... i was waiting for someone to ask that...

I love her but...

Who's butt are we talking about anyway?

Hahahahaha, I was waiting for that - took long enough!!

As long as it is clean but

... the seat on the ZZ-R, being ye olde schoole, hardly narrows at all.

'Scuse the grime and dog's water bucket.

I thought it narrowed a fair bit, actually.

It narrows a heck of a lot more than I remembered, actually. Forget I said anything... although, the seat is chunkier than on a ZX6, particularly the more 636-B and -C models.

.... Forget I said anything...

".....What a wonderful philosophy you have......" ( in slight pommie accent)....

cheers
TheToecutterHeKnowsWhoIAmDave

This is not a personal attack, but if you've done a lot of k's on a bike and you're still sketchy on cornering then there's something wrong - either with the way you're riding (get some instruction), the bike itself (eg. suspension/tyres), or the combination of bike and rider (eg. too heavy).

Couldn't agree more, I've had bigger bike before and I toured the whole of the Malaysia Peninsula on that and I must admit that I wasn't a better rider untill I got my ZZR250 and rode with these guys here.
Bigger/faster bike only means that one have more gold to spare, it doesn't mean better rider.

I-K for once i know something you don't!

the B1/B2 (03/04) model zx6 are not suitable for the vertically challenged.
With a standard seat height of 825mm, even I at 5'7 was on tiptoes with it.


and the size of the bike doesn't mean anything.. anyone who's ridden with gnome would verify this

....and the size of the bike doesn't mean anything.. anyone who's ridden with gnome would verify this

Hear Hear !! I notice a few people have mentioned the VFR400 in this thread. I can vouch for the fact that a well-ridden VFR400 is fully capable of embarrasing bikes 3 times its capacity........

BTW - a Suzuki step-through F50 came 4th overall at Symmons Plains the other week - it was only beaten by 3 proper 'factory' GP bikes !!! in the 'Lightweight' class.........so its not always cubes that make the difference.....

I-K for once i know something you don't!

the B1/B2 (03/04) model zx6 are not suitable for the vertically challenged.
With a standard seat height of 825mm, even I at 5'7 was on tiptoes with it.

Nodz... keep in mind, with a 94cm inseam, it's a bit of a stretch (boom-tisssh) for me to imagine what it must feel like to not be able to reach the ground comfortably on any bike... I have to think about how it is for me when I stall the YZ on the side of a hill and have to try to turn it around, or soething... that said, a vivid memory of a test ride of the B1H ZX6 is me thinking there's much less bike around the crotch there compared to my carbed ZX6.

The shape of people counts for a lot, too. Someone with proportionally long legs or wide hips will have an easier time of it than someone without.

hmm I am 5'11 and i havnt measured my inseam latley but can also vouch for the height of a 03/04 six and had a few tippy moments befor i learnt to search for flat ground before considering turning around.

You can take out the shock spacer and drop the front by the same amount though but i think they try to keep bikes in the air a bit for ground clearance.

Collete you can drop them a fair bit if you really want to but they are also quite hard on the bum and that skinney bit of seat at the front you are actually suposed to sit on that if you go for a ride down the highway and after about 220kms of that you will need pain killing injections trust me.

Mind you if the road has twistie bits its worth it just dont sit on the seat.

Colette, next time you're at a big group meet-up, ask Richard (gray_rm) if you can have a sit on his gorgeous baby. It's a lowered '02 ZX6, and you will be able to judge how comfortable it is once the 6 is lowered without trying to guess. I know you've sat on mine and weren't too impressed, but try Richards lowered version.

I was very nervous moving from my 250 to a ZX6, and when I bought it had every intention of getting it lowered immediately. I didn't end up lowering it (post-purchase funds shortage!) and now am used to the height but like all short-arses, I have to be thoughtful about where I park/stop. I was quite unnerved by the height and weight of the ZX6 (coming from my 250) but found it more confidence inspiring than the ZZR600's that I test-rode, so give it a try. I know I'm a little taller than you mate, but after getting used to the ZX6, I've ridden Dave's raised ZX9 without a worry (though it's slow and ponderous ) - so just goes to show how confidence inspiring the ZX6 is!

BTW, I didn't say anything at the time, but I was impressed at how you maneuvered your bike at DaveCorner on the Putty, Colette. You're much more confident pushing your bike around than I am - I get very nervous maneuvering while off the bike!

Another thing to have a look at: AngelKat (Pontikat's better half) has a ZXR400 that is zippy as hell and looks bigger than it actually is. It's closer to the ground but doesn't really look it, and by all accounts accelerates quite nicely. See if you can find one of them to throw a leg over and try out as well. (But seriously - go the ZX6 - it's great fun and easy to flick around )

Thanks Cath, that's very helpful advice and I appreciate the compliment as well

As I mentioned in my first post on this subject, the point I was making was purely about physically pushing the bike around without having to rely on others (which I try not to do as much as possible), it has nothing to do with the bike's capacity, but its weight. Thanks for understanding this, Cath - I think a few others misunderstood. When I am riding it is fine, so I certainly don't want to go down in capacity, it's just the day-to-day difficulties that get frustrating after a while.

I'll have had my baby for two years in February, so this has been an issue that has been on my mind a while.

Thanks all,

Colette

I love her but...

Who's butt are we talking about anyway?

Hahahahaha, I was waiting for that - took long enough!!

I figures someone had to, it may as well be me