It was a daft idea, a silly fantasy and completely stupid. What? Buying a sports 600 as a first bike. All your mates (if you have any that is) will clamber round and say, "Ooh, look at all that expensive plastic" tut tutting "You will drop it" etc. So I didn't buy a sports 600. I bought a ZZR600 instead. Actually, that's grossly unfair. The ZZR600 is a very capable bike but is now definitely relegated to the sports tourer category. But more about the bike later.

The ZZR wasn't exactly at the forefront of my mind when I was thinking about buying a bike. I remember seeing the one I eventually owned on the forecourt of a local bike shop. A 1995 E2 model in black/turquoise with 9,000 miles on the clock. There was a chap in the shop who'd just chopped in his 748 for a ZX9R C2. Now why couldn't the ZZR look like that? Anyway, none of this discouraged my mate Andy to part with his cash and buy the ZZR.

Two low speed drops (one on each side to match obviously) and 2000 miles later, he decided to leave for Australia. I gratefully took the ZZR off his hands for the measly sum of £2400 including the scratched fairings, exhaust and engine covers. Didn't mind though, as of course, I was going to drop it, or so I was told. In hindsight, I should have bought an ickle 400 to learn how to ride a bike properly. The ZZR, to be frank, is a barge. A good barge but a barge nonetheless. I think it is simply too big for a first bike. For that reason alone, I wouldn't recommend the ZZR as a first bike.

But what a hoot that bike was. Is it fast sir. Yes indeed. It may have an engine that was designed some 7 years ago, but its power output is not that much short of a modern sports 600. The ZZR is unlikely to get upset by newer shinier 600's in a straight line and will even embarrass a few. Good for a rock solid 155mph (or so the brochure says!). Take it on the twisities and it's another story. The ZZR is too soft and too low. It was easy to get the pegs down and it wallowed around corners, easily upset by the slightest ripple in the road. That's not to say it won't go round corners quickly, it just needs to be ridden with a certain respect. Having said that, it always comes down to the rider - I was definitely not the slowest on regular BOTAFOT runs and the same can also be said for another ex-ZZR BOTAFOT regular.

I've always thought the early ZZR600 a bit odd really. Labelled as a sports tourer, it's too low and has no adjustable suspension (newer ones have adjustable forks I believe). So it's neither sports bike nor tourer but an odd in between. Take a pillion and it gets worse. The centre stand can hit the deck whilst negotiating the slightest of corners and the front goes very light indeed. Not very inspiring. I'm told that a new shock together with a decent set of tyres can transform the handling but I never kept it long enough to bother. The Yamaha Thundercat always looks the better choice of the two. It's more modern looking, has a slightly pokier engine, has greater ground clearance and fully adjustable suspension.

With all the price cuts in Oct 2000 as manufacturers overstocked on popular models, I felt like a new bike - but that was no reflection on the ZZR. It was sold after a happy relationship of 6500 miles and a set of now bald Michelin Macadams. And the scratches, well they're probably still there.