[mishaparem]

Hello ladies and gents!

I bought my mom an 05 Honda Shadow 600 for mother's day a few years ago to get her hooked on motorcycles, now she wants to upgrade. I've currently got a heavily modified BMW F650GS that I turned into a barely legal tire shredding, wheelie spewing, curb hopping torque monster (aka mischief bike), and a surprizingly tame F800R that I commute on.

My mom is convinced that the much lighter fuel injected CBR300 with 6 speeds can't possibly accelerate faster than her Shadow 600 (I'm fairly certain the CBR 300 will smoke the Shadow), so she wants a liter bike. I'd rather not have her kill herself, so I'm giving her my F800R, and I'm going to pick up a replacement commuter bike.

Initially I wanted to crab the BMW S1000RR as a commuter bike :laugh: But, there's quite a few reasons why I shouldn't buy the S1R. Among them are insurance rates, fairing costs, but mainly - where am I ever going to ride a 200HP bike that goes 100mph at 3/4 throttle in 1st gear? The idea is to use the CBR300 primarily as a commuter bike, but also to have a very flickable bike for tight twisties. I've got my test ride scheduled for this Saturday. I'm a little worried that the bike will bore me to death on a daily basis, but I figure at 70MPG, it can afford a few more teeth in the back to up its torque a little, right?

 

[Late Shift]

It sounds like you have already made a decision that you have thought through. I would go for it!

Do you have any alternative plans if you wanted to choose something different?

 

[Jkilla71]

Hello ladies and gents!

I bought my mom an 05 Honda Shadow 600 for mother's day a few years ago to get her hooked on motorcycles, now she wants to upgrade. I've currently got a heavily modified BMW F650GS that I turned into a barely legal tire shredding, wheelie spewing, curb hopping torque monster (aka mischief bike), and a surprizingly tame F800R that I commute on.

My mom is convinced that the much lighter fuel injected CBR300 with 6 speeds can't possibly accelerate faster than her Shadow 600 (I'm fairly certain the CBR 300 will smoke the Shadow), so she wants a liter bike. I'd rather not have her kill herself, so I'm giving her my F800R, and I'm going to pick up a replacement commuter bike.

Initially I wanted to crab the BMW S1000RR as a commuter bike :laugh: But, there's quite a few reasons why I shouldn't buy the S1R. Among them are insurance rates, fairing costs, but mainly - where am I ever going to ride a 200HP bike that goes 100mph at 3/4 throttle in 1st gear? The idea is to use the CBR300 primarily as a commuter bike, but also to have a very flickable bike for tight twisties. I've got my test ride scheduled for this Saturday. I'm a little worried that the bike will bore me to death on a daily basis, but I figure at 70MPG, it can afford a few more teeth in the back to up its torque a little, right?

I would think the shadow 600 wouldn't be too much different than the CBR on straight line acceleration, the cbr will feel faster changing through the gears quicker but the torque of the V-twin 600 should keep it close by in the end, going in a straight line. I don't think you can scare yourself too much on the 300 but it is still a real trill to ride and start my day off good on my ride to work. It is light enough to wheel right out of the garage in the morning without any effort and park anywhere then jump right off. It pulls away from traffic when it needs to and keeps me smiling when I am on it. I don't like how quiet the bike is and I would much rather look at a polished engine than a bike covered in plastic but I forgive all that because it is a wonderfully thought-out machine

 

[mike]

Sounds like it's time to get a 300cc

 

[mishaparem]

It sounds like you have already made a decision that you have thought through. I would go for it!

Do you have any alternative plans if you wanted to choose something different?

No, that's what has me a little anxious. I was about to buy a Ducati Monster 696 until I demoed it, it sounds great, looks alright, but the Monster feels like it's resisting me in turns - I have to force it down into the turn too much. The real deal breaker was the fact that sitting on the Monster, my reproductive organs were jammed up against the hard metal tank. :crying:

I would think the shadow 600 wouldn't be too much different than the CBR on straight line acceleration.

Well, I'm going to have my mom bring her cruiser to the test ride on Saturday, we'll drag race the shadow against the 300, and I'll post the results. My money is on the CBR - its red paint will make it go faster

Here's the thing - my thoughts on the CBR300 are basically teetering on the edge between:

1) Buy the CBR300 as a cheap bike that I can sell with almost no financial impact, maybe plop some budget mods onto it, and troll some less confident weekend warrior 600cc supersports in the canyons

and

2) Throw down $12-16k on a supersport bike that's probably going to be more of an adrenaline rush, but not as practical, and not necessarily more fun.

I have a tingling suspicion that I can have lots of "ridiculous, care-free, no-shits-given" type of fun on the CBR300. It would be nearly the same as when I bought a 1 liter Fiat 500 after having driven 3 liter BMWs for a long time. The Fiat was light, weak, and cheap, but I still had a blast occasionally tossing it around canyons, burning rubber through turns, and even doing burnouts (fun times)

 

[thisberich]

Hiya. I went from a cbf600 (naked) to my cbr300r. I passed my UK unrestricted license and went "I want a big inline 4, presence & power" without thinking about fuel costs/repair bills bla bla bla.
That bike broke under used warranty so I got a full refund & put my money down on a 300R!

It's a brilliant little bike. I've hit 100mph (just) and had my knee down on the first day. It's a whole heap more fun than the 600 I used to have. I grin so much.

 

[crazyjackcsa]

If you do an internet search, it seems the 300 will be 1.2 seconds quicker on the zero to sixty, and a hair quicker in the quarter mile.

My father has a Shadow. It pulls a lot harder than the 300 does, but it's a pig in the handling department.

So the 300 is sportier and just a hair faster. Maybe a cbr500r or a cb500f would be a good compromise.

 

[Fanatic]

Go for it!

+1 to what @crazyjackcsa says on checking out the 500R/F for a good compromise.

 

[Bergy01]

I went down to the 300F from a V-Strom 1000 and a DR650(full mod) and yes the throtle responce is and will not be the same.

For me the price of bike, plate and insurance were a big part of decision, after putting my *** on the 300F and start, it was a big surprise how fun and competent was the bike.

I can understand that the 500R would be a fair downsizing in hp.

Anyway, take it red, they are faster bike.

 

[Lyman Babbitt]

I don't have a ton of experience with different bikes, but the biggest bike I've been on is my friends 1980 cb750k super sport. IT was big and fast and exciting, but very heavy and cumbersome in the bends. We go riding together a lot, and he'll destroy me off the line, but my little cbr300r will catch up and carry much more speed through tight corners.

You said it best when you mentioned that with Ducati, you'd never really be able to use its real potential, but with the 300, it can give you everything it's got, all the time, without getting you into too much trouble, which is a special thing. Paired with the practically free price tag and Honda reliability, I don't think you'll be disappointed. But the test ride should tell you all that