In my personal opinion, anything larger than 900cc’s on the street is rediculious. Streetbikes are just that, made for the streets and having a bike of that size would only encourage speeding and is less forgiving when you accidentally jump off of the clutch and gas it a little too much.

But, in closing, whatever you decide on, first and foremost, take a rider course(www.msf-training.org).

And remember that riding a motorcycle is DANGEROUS and YOU are the only one responsible for YOUR safety.

(I am a rider by the way-’07 Honda 919)

That being said…this would be my advice to you.

The 1000RR is a lot of bike and absolutely never ridden to it’s full potential – by anyone – on the street. An appreciation for the fact that this bikes capabilities far outweigh yours is a good start. They stop as well as they go, so learn both equally. Most tragedies on bikes occur at slow speeds or while braking or attempting to stop. It seems everyone is hopped up on how to ride fast or get a knee down and they forget that getting stopped is just as important. Be patient with yourself and your ride. It will tempt you at every turn. Stay within your own comfort zone. As your time on goes by that zone will expand. I always sing the praises of taking a riders course if there is one available near you. You can never go wrong having an experienced rider right there with you when you’re learning the ropes. Even seasoned riders should take refresher or advanced courses every few years. There are also road race schools that rent out track bikes and instruction on the track which I know I found invaluable for the skills that you learn are immediately transferable to use on the street.

On some sunny day things will go wrong. The old saying that you aint a rider until you’ve put one down is based in reality. Don’t get too attached to the painted surfaces as they will very likely have a nick or two in it before too long. But this would be the same whether you were riding a 250 or a 1000.

The only good argument I could offer for getting a smaller machine would be that the learning curve on a less hyper bike may be shorter, meaning that you could potentially master more on a smaller bike in a shorter time period. But this too depends entirely on you.

If it don’t feel good – don’t do it. Live to try another day.

I envy you for just getting into riding as it takes me back to when I first started. It’s an exciting time is an understatement.