What is there to know if you owned a sports bike?

Answer 1

The list is a long one that you will add to as you know your bike more. To start, a second hand bike will have been worked, and hard. Nothing wrong with that but without regular and proper maintenance there will be expensive repairs in the offing. Choose wisely and get a good independent condition assessment. Sports bikes use soft compound tyres that are built to be very grippy. Unfortunately that means they wear out quickly. Sprockets, chains, brake rotors and pads also work hard and require regular maintenance/replacement. Extruded aluminium frames are expensive to repair and even more expensive to replace. Plastic panels are also pricey. Be a rider not a donor. Allow enough money in your budget for stout protective clothing, good boots, a good helmet and body armour. Sports bikes are great fun but sports bikes are also narrow and difficult to see. They go from zero to silly grin very quickly and that can be their downfall. A car/truck driver will look both ways when pulling out of a junction. But in that turn of the head you can go from out of his sight to knocking on his door with your headlight. So on a sports bike you have to think for every other road user from kids to wrinklies, on foot, in/on transport. Add baby buggies, cats, dogs and other animals to that list and you are getting close. On open roads sports bikes are very very lively and so exhilarating, but they succumb easily to potholes, road markings, tar banding, drain covers, dampness, mud, fuel spillage and 'farm products'. The rider position on a sports bike is hunched with the upper body weight carried on the wrists (they rely on wind under the chest 'floating' the upper body, at speed). Low bars means that steering is also restricted. Bad news in town/slow riding/manoeuvring. Keep the shiny side up, Enjoy.