[JJJ777]

hey everybody i recently went to a car/bike meet and saw some really nice customized streetighters and fell in love with the bikes theyre pure art! now i want to get a bike and make my own street fighter but since im new to this i figure i ask some questions and make certain points first

1. bike must be reliable! i plan on using it as a daily driver and riding it as much as possilbe except when the weather wont permit

2.cannot be a 250 (not powerful enough for me!) im 6'3 185 pounds and i plan on keeping the back seat for the occaional date night and what not so the bike has to be able to handle that weight

3.i dont want a liter bike either the bike is gonna be 90-95 percent city driving so i figure a 500-600 will be sufficent

4.has to be rather easy to work on and can be modded cheaply i dont want to buy a bike for 2k or 3k just to dump another 3k into it the max amount of money i can put in the bike is probobly 600 dollars

5. must be between 1000 and 3500 dollars thats my budget so the cheaper the better!

6.gotta be a lightweight bike, i dont want to have to man handle a 480 pound bike in tight cities and suburbia ( i live in the northern VA area)

7. must be comfortable! i want to be able to ride this thing 4x a week being comfortable

thats pretty much it! id love to hear your suggestions on what bike to get that would fit these requirements!

 

[Whiplash]

Welcome bro! we like to see our new members start in the intro thread, say hello, tell us a story or two, a little bout yourself

My suggestion for bikes, SV 650, ninja 650 but I'm sure these guys have a better one for your height, the SV is pretty compact


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[JJJ777]

intead of a ninja 650 could i get a ninja 500 and turn it into a street fighter? and one more thing i forgot to mention is i wanna have wider tires on whatever bike i get. the rear is usually OK with most bikes as far as width goes but my cousin had a ninja 2011 650 a couple months back and the front tire looked like something off a moped (no bueno!!)

 

[JJJ777]

something like this would be AMAXING!! but id take the fairings off and give it that ducati streetfighter look that i love

 

[Problomatic]

Shit, I had a great, well thought out answer with many points, but it got deleted.

Difference between a 500 and a 600 cc bike is pretty significantly different.

I agree with the 650's they meet all of your requirements.

Cost will be on you: how much can you do/make, how much do you have to buy, and what mods do you want to do? Full suspension and performance mods cost more than some lights and bars.

You can recoup some costs if you find a bike with good plastics and sell them. I got over $800 selling my plastics and such on my 09 ninja 650r.

If you do get a ninja 650, I'd recommend the 09-'11 "r" models. They have better engines than the gen 1's and are cheaper to mod than gen 3's.



Thats before I did my exhaust and rearsets, but I don't understand your moped tire comment...

 

[MikeGyver]

Any pictures of the streetfighters you saw?

An SV650 is a good choice. A 180 superbike tire can be fitted with a GSXR rim and available adapters. You may need slightly stiffer springs to make it handle better. It isn't too heavy, but it isn't big on power either. I enjoy mine though and I am 220 lbs. It is cheap on insurance too. There is a huge following along and plenty of spare parts and modification write ups if you want to use somebody else's ideas.

You will likely need a lot of skill, time, and money to turn a Ninja 500 into:

pure art!

...and welcome to CF!

 

[DecepticonDon]

Welcome to CF.

Go for a SV650 or Ninja650. both good bikes

Just an FYI, the front tire on a Ninja 650 is the same as found on any modern superbike, unless the one you saw had the wrong size fitted. The 500's front tire is smaller than the 650 as well.

And the 500 is just an awkward design all around.

 

[JJJ777]

Thanks for all the advice everyone I really appreciate it I've basically narrowed it down to either a ninja650r or a sv650 but I still have a couple questions
Which is cheaper/easier to turn into a street fighter?
And how much would it cost if all I want to do to the bike is paint the frame red and everything else black and change the head light to dual circle lights and other misc things to the bike to turn it into a decent looking street fighter, also do you guys have pics/links to people's builds and how much everything was on modding either a ninja650r or sv650? If so post em up! Thanks!

 

[Whiplash]

SV cheap and solid


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[Whiplash]

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[Problomatic]

Price all depends on you. There's a guy who did his frame in 3M reflecitve tape (red). The 650 comes with a red frame (one color option) lights depend on the brand and where you buy them. IIRC, theres a lot that swaps over from the gsxr that fits the SV and more aftermarket support. So the SV might be cheaper, if you can find one at a good price.

Any price estimate would be completely made up, simply because we have no idea who's doing the work and what they charge, what skill level you have, or what parts you want.

 

[RaZed1]

+1 to the SV650's. There's tons of them out there so bikes and parts are fairly cheap, tons of modding potential, easy to work on, reliable, rider-friendly, but still a ton of fun. IMO it's the perfect mid-weight all around bike. Does everything well.

 

[smargman]

...sv650 is a good start... also Yamaha r6s or fzr600(is a street friendly version of the r6) same 600cc engine geared friendly for a daily rider. FZR and R6S are usually ~400# so light and easy handle.

saw an '03 fzr for sale recently for $2000.

Dont discount liter bikes or Bandit 6, or 12. Sometimes torque is better.

Good Luck !




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[JJJ777]

Thanks everyone for all the advice and so quick too! Great website and community! There are tons of sv650s for sale on Craigslist in my area is there any model years I should look out for avoid or any that aren't customizable ect ect also how much does it cost to get the frame painted? And how much is painting the gas tank? There are plenty of sv650s in my area just not the best colors also other than taking the fairings off and changing the colors of the bike and changing the head light what else do you guys reccomend I mod on the bike to give it that Ducati streetfighter look? (Keep in my mind I'm on a super tight budget of 600 dollars for modding

 

[DNasty777]

My vote is for the Bandit 600, no bias here!

 

[smargman]

Thanks everyone for all the advice and so quick too! Great website and community! There are tons of sv650s for sale on Craigslist in my area is there any model years I should look out for avoid or any that aren't customizable ect ect also how much does it cost to get the frame painted? And how much is painting the gas tank? There are plenty of sv650s in my area just not the best colors also other than taking the fairings off and changing the colors of the bike and changing the head light what else do you guys reccomend I mod on the bike to give it that Ducati streetfighter look? (Keep in my mind I'm on a super tight budget of 600 dollars for modding

Hmmm... This is a tight budget. But workable; if you're doing alot of the work yourself. Buy a bike that close to what you want, just be sure its mechanically sound and needs no $$ right away. Remove the fairings and buy the light you want (or make one from an old audi). Then spend the rest of your $600 on protective clothing and helmet.

In the long run you'll be satisfied doing the work yourself; especially if your $$ is tight- most of us are.




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[Problomatic]

You could paint the frame and tank yourself for $30-40 and some elbow grease; its been done. To get it professionally done could blow your budget, depending on what you want. Lights are the same way, depending on what brand you use, who installs them, and how you do the brackets.

 

[JJJ777]

Hmmm... This is a tight budget. But workable; if you're doing alot of the work yourself. Buy a bike that close to what you want, just be sure its mechanically sound and needs no $$ right away. Remove the fairings and buy the light you want (or make one from an old audi). Then spend the rest of your $600 on protective clothing and helmet.

In the long run you'll be satisfied doing the work yourself; especially if your $$ is tight- most of us are.




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Well the protective I already have so that's not an issue, is there any other mods I should consider doing or have forgotten?

 

[MikeGyver]

Thanks everyone for all the advice and so quick too! Great website and community! There are tons of sv650s for sale on Craigslist in my area is there any model years I should look out for avoid or any that aren't customizable ect ect also how much does it cost to get the frame painted? And how much is painting the gas tank? There are plenty of sv650s in my area just not the best colors also other than taking the fairings off and changing the colors of the bike and changing the head light what else do you guys reccomend I mod on the bike to give it that Ducati streetfighter look? (Keep in my mind I'm on a super tight budget of 600 dollars for modding

I don't know of any year specific SV problems. 99-02 was carb'ed, 03+ is fuelie.

Paint it yourself.

What is the Ducati Streetfighter "look" excactly? Single sided swing arm, trellis frame, fugly headlight?

Buy whatever bike strikes your fancy and modify it to make it your own.

 

[smargman]

Well the protective I already have so that's not an issue, is there any other mods I should consider doing or have forgotten?

Great! ...the budget is the limit; take your time and spend wisely; buy used if you can.
...really sounds as if you need to start with the lights, bracket, wiring, and controls. Get the initial fighter working and then plan accordingly with available $. If you ty too much too soon you'll have a project taking up garage space for years

...maybe a new swingarm and rear tyre if you wanted a wider rear; mine is a 180mm

Keep looking, you'll be able to find a good deal for a bike and get started.





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