Kawasaki ZX-10R Forum banner

Is the ZX10 hard to handle for a beginner

29K views 75 replies 52 participants last post by  Dragone  
#1 ·
I like the ZX10 so much and want to getting one, however the last time I ride a bike is like over 20 years ago, so i consider myself a beginner, is the ZX10 is hard to handle or too powerful for a beginner? thanks for the input.
 
#2 ·
if i was you i would rather get a 600! the 10 is an animal and it would be way too much for you since you havent riden for 20 years! remember this bike is making more horsepower than a lot of the 4 cylinder cars out there and its only 400lbs!! get a 600 for a while and when you think you're ready for the 10r sell the 600 and buy the 10r!! oh and BTW :welcome: :eek:ccasion1
 
#8 ·
I had quit riding for almost as long when I got back into riding again. My re-entry was with an R-1, not a ZX10. But they are not too different. I didn't have any problems at all. If you quit riding 20 years ago, I doubt that you are a youngster. And I would also guess that you have more common sense now than you did 20 years ago. You have probably figured out by now that you are not really indestructable. Just start out easy and you should be fine. There is a huge step up in performance between liter bikes of 20 years ago and a ZX10. Have fun.
 
#11 ·
:dontknow: i seem to be doing fine, taking it really slow, but never riden a bike before i got myself trapped, having tons of fun learning
 
#13 ·
The 10 (or any bike for that matter) is perfectly ok for a beginner to ride as long as they have a good healthy fear of what it can do. My bike is perfectly happy to putt around under 6k rpm and still has awesome acceleration even at part throttle applications. Just don't let your right hand write a check that your talent can't cash! I have never redlined my 10 in first gear and I've been riding ten years! Some might call me a pussy, but I know my limitations and ride well under them.
 
#38 · (Edited)
^^^ Redline in 1st, and 2nd gear scares the hell out of me cackling wildly, snapping it into 3rd....I suddenly realize that I've gone over the wreckless driving speed limit and may be going to jail soon! LOL.... "Do it again!" the voices in the back of my mind scream. I still have 3 more gears to go through!!!! Uh oh! Look at those pretty blue and red lights! :thefinger

20 years eh? You could just drive it in 1st gear the whole time you get refreshed. Isn't it over 100mph in 1st at redline?
 
#19 ·
only you can answer that question really

yes the bike will be a lot different to what you rode 20 yrs ago, more power (shit loads) better brakes, better handling.

it all comes back to the fact that you know what you are like and whether you can behave yourself, if the answer is no then look at a 600 which is probably putting out more HP than what you rode 20 yrs ago also. If your older and have self control over the throttle hand and know you wont try to show off in front of others then get the 10, any bike can bite you hard if your stupid but the bigger the bike the faster and harder it will bite if you dont respect it

i been riding for a long time but never really respected bikes and i knew it that, didnt get my first litre class bike untill i was about 33.

i wish i had one years ago, i really do but then im quite sure i wouldnt be here now to give my 2 cents worth
 
#20 ·
I have had bikes all my life but had a five year break and then got a harley sportster, a VFR800 VTEC and now my ZX-10R.

I think that the ZX-10R is safe enough but the faster you like to ride the more it makes sense to start with something less powerful.

Mind you a ZX-6R is plenty fast enough to kill yourself if you're inexperienced.

The most important thing aside from caution is maybe getting some riding instruction.

Grant
 
#22 ·
I'm 20 years old,and I made the ZX10r my first motorcycle ever. A good friend of mine has a 06 zx6r and to tell you the truth from my experience, feel the same down low, but when you chop the gas, thats when it really comes alive ( the 10 not the 6). Your a lot older then me probably, and I am Still a squid, but I know power and ease, and that comes in the 10, so dont be a vag***, get the 10.:thumbsup:
 
#26 ·
Zx10...

I think you will be ok, just know your limits take it easy at first get a good feel of the bike. I have to agree that bikes when you were riding were alot different than the one's out now. Most were top heavy, so just use commonsense, hope to see you on one. ZX-10 is the best bike to have bro, I luv my bike when I die it will be buried with me. Just take your time and once your good then, get on it and don't look back, just don't get chased by the :postcop: PO PO... YEAH BABY!!!:werd: :ayyy: :deathmeta
 
#31 ·
on the contray :rolleyes:. yes i understand all that after many, many yrs but it doesn't take riding antics like a jackass to get you hurt, mammed or worse yet killed on ANY bike no matter the brand..geeez :rolleyes: again its about common sense.

BD
 
#32 ·
The biggest problem is not that you will kill go out and kill yourself the first day. If you were a 16 yr old first time rider, that would be the problem, but you're older and hopefully more mature. The problem will be that you won't be able to push the bike and learn with the bike since the bike will be so much "better" than you and if you start pushing (hard accel off corners etc) that's when the 10 will bite you. Just ask the track day organizers - most accidents they see are novice group highsides off of corners on liter bikes. People get on the gas too greedily coming off a corner, rear-end starts to step out (power slide), they freak out, chop the throttle (survival reaction) and over the top they go. That would not happen on a lower power bike.

As for myself I rode a Honda 450 with 42hp up until 1993 then sold it. Did not get into riding again until 2005. I bought a ZZR1200 as my "back to riding" bike. Had no problems with it. Then a year later I bought the 10. No problems with it either, but I think my riding skills would have been easier to "recover" on a smaller bike where you can push it a bit more without getting bitten.