Good learner bike.

[Cakky]

Hey guys, Im 17 and hopefully after the holidays ( which I'll be working bloody hard! ) Im looking at buying a motorbike, but not quite sure on what would be a good bike to start on.

My price range will be around $800-$1300 which I think I can most likely pick up something decent second hand ( of course under 250 ) . Learning to ride shouldn't be a problem, my dad rode motorbikes all through his life but now drag races a volvo of all things... lol.

What would you guys suggest would be a good bike to start on for this price range. I was thinking of
Suzuki GN250 or
Suzuki RGV150 ( probably out of my price range ).
Anything else you could suggest?

Sorry if this topic has already been done!

Thanks,
Matt ( cakky )

[Jackrat]

Mat,welcome to the real world.
The GN is a good bike for your needs,I don,t know much about the current line up of small bikes but I think if you buy a comuter type instead of a sports type you will get better resale.
I have used Suzuki AC100s for work transport a few times,cheap to buy super reliable and eazy to sell on.
Good luck,

[MikeL]

Make Andrew an offer for his RGV150. He's been trying to sell it for quite a while now, and he must be getting pretty desperate. Sorry Andrew, j/k.
Seriously, the RGV150 is a pretty capable bike for its size - Andrew has done the Coromandel loop on his at quite a respectable pace. Easy to ride, cheap to run and lots of fun. I had one when I first got back on a bike after many years out of the saddle. Not sure if you could pick one up for the sort of money you're talking about, though (unless you're very lucky, or the seller is really desperate...)
Hey Andrew...

[Motoracer]

The GN125 served me very well. Great all rounder...well not no more but heaps of fun when you are in the learner stages. When my bro was giving me my very first lesson (him on the back seat), I gave it some gass and drop the clutch (accidently) and up came the front wheel and down went my bro...

What a way to start eh...lol, but it was all good fun. Stay safe out there dude and have fun with what ever bike your gonna choose. I'd recomend:

Suzuki GN 125
Suzuki GN 250
Suzuki GSX 250
Yamaha SR 250
Yamaha SRX 250
Honda VT 250
Honda CB 250
Honda CD 250

Or if you are lucky you might find a crash damaged (cosmetically) sports 250 like. Suzuki GSXR-250 or Yamaha FZR-250 or Kawasaki ZXR 250.

[130wide]

Have a think about a road regoed dirt bike, DR200 XT250 type, these should be in your price range.
My brother and I started off on these types while at school and you get a good feel for both road and dirt riding.

[k14]

Yeah, ive had the vt since the start of the year and that is my first bike.

It is a really awesome bike for learning on. Heaps of power, easy to ride and really forgiving. Virtually no maintenance, as opposed to the RGV, probably not the best first bike as it's a 2 stroke.

Im goin to upgrade to a cbr250rr soon and will be selling mine. Riding back home to new plymouth in 2 weeks. Should be fun

[Motoracer]

Hmmm.... not that I have checked the market for them recently but when I wanted a road regod dirt bike badly (dreams of makeing a super moto), nothing was available below 2000. This was couple of years back.

I dunno whats the case now. Might pay to check I guess. Dirt bikes are probably twice the fun. Places you can explore just gets multiplied. And there isn't an easier/better way to learn wheelies

[Marmoot]

CBR250 is not too bad.
I've seen some people do CBR250 from feck-all riding skill (e.g. can't even change gears) to master of the hills on that bike.

But, for a note, you'll have to exercise extreme self-control, otherwise you'll die young. That small bike is VERY potent despite its easiness to ride.

Then again, of course it's not as easy as the GN or CBs.

[Andrew]

Hey dude, I would let my RGV 150 go for $1300. Its done 25000km's. Has a brand new rear pirelli tyre. Has a WOF until Oct 2004 and REGO until the New Year. Its in top conditon both cosmetically and mechancially.

An issue is that I'm in Auckland and ur in Wellington. Now delivery could happen 1 of 2 ways:

1)You arrage transport from Auckland to Wellington

2)I would ride it down to Wellington as long as you folks could put me up for a night and pay for my flight back to Auckland. I just had a quick check for flight prices and it seems to be around $75 for early booking.

Lastly, if you do decide to buy the bike then it would have to be no later than 15th Dec, as i could easily sell it in Auckland within that time. See what ya think and your old man thinks.
Cheers
Andrew

[Kwaka-Kid]

soo many models borught into it now.

the ones i wil lswear by are Suzuki GN250, old, cheap as fuck, MILLIONS OF BITS AROUND... but if thats what you want... but with a bit better styling (or lots better if you ask me) and slitghly better performance.. get a Honda CB250RS... make sure its the RS and not the T as they are the twin (can tell by headers being like 12inchs apart not 6 odd) but the CB250 did me great! old, cheap, if stuff bombs out, there are so many spares, hell if you binned it and talked to me nicely im sure i have a tank somwhere, about 6 CB250 rims (one with a slick i think) about 20 carb's that will line up (put anything on them, heh i remember my XL125 with GN250 carby) exhausts (got some trampolene frame pipe?) shit man, the list goes on and on, and lots of people have this sorta junk just locked up in the far back garage etc, real common crap, but crap that will get you to work and back aswell as learn to ride with some pace in weekends (but everything changes when u get off the crossply ChengShins).    whatever you do just get out there, dont be put off by anything, and enjoy life on 2 wheels.

[jrandom]

Cakky, you've done your research well, good man.

I'm in agreement with KK about the GN250 there. Lovely little bike, goes forever, nice soft-tuned single pot engine, you probably won't crash on it, and you'll enjoy it. They had one up at Cyclespot, about 30000 kms, for $1500 recently. I took it for a thrash, just because. It was a hoot. You should be able to find one in your price range without too much trouble. Dunno if you'd find a CB250RS in that range though.

However the RGV150 is a quick little bike if you don't mind 2-smokes and you'll be able to get into the whole sportriding thing. You'll likely bin it in a fast corner within six months but Andrew's price is damn good so if you like the idea and don't mind the teenie-weenie bike thing you should buy it. Although if you've only just got your learner license a ride from Wellington to Auckland on a 150 would be an interesting experience, to say the least! You might do better to find a mate who'll ride it up for you.

You're not going to get one of the quick four-stroke sports 250s (CBR, ZXR, etc) for that kind of money so just forget about it.

And remember to invest in some decent protective gear - there's a few threads on here about good places to find secondhand leathers and all that IIRC. You don't need a brand-new Spidi touring suit but you *will* want something that'll keep your skin on when you chuck the bike down the road. HJC helmets are damn good for the price, if you can't afford Shoei or Arai, try HJC on before you go with any of the other 'budget' brands, and DON'T BUY A SECONDHAND LID!

Thus endeth the wisdom of jrandom

[Cakky]

Hey guys,

Andrew, that sounds like an awesome offer, but theres not much chance of me getting that kind of money before that date as I have a job that spans over the school holidays and I wont start working until my exams etc are over. Transport wouldnt be a problem as my dads company has overnight swaps every day of the week from Wellington to Auckland.

From what I've heard, once I've got the money I think Ill start looking for a Suzuki GN250. For the fact that they're relatively cheap and if I buy one I'll have some money left over to buy jacket, helmet etc. One of my mates has one and he said its a great bike to ride and nice and easy to learn on.

I was thinking about buying a cheap car but I've decided to go two wheels instead for the pure thrill ( also because your mates wont start bugging you for rides and you can always get one chick on the back! ) .

Thanks for your help guys!
Matt

[Motoracer]

Originally posted by Cakky
(also because your mates wont start bugging you for rides and you can always get one chick on the back! ) .

Car full of chicks is fun as well

[Yarg]

I would suggest you borrow the money and grab the RGV that Andrew is selling. I leant my 17yr son the money to get his RGV and he has not looked back. Much more bang for ya buck.

I think you would soon get sick of a GN.

my .02 worth.

[Car Dodger]

Hi I may be off topic by now, but I had a Honda GL100 to learn on and it was awsome, tought me how to manage the road with ample power, plus very easy to work on and learn the basics of bike repair. Had a GN 250 & VT 250 also. found the GL reliable but very bouncy on cornering. The VT was great for long distance.
Also had a GSXR 250 awsome power, nice handling but fairly high maintance. You can get some very powerful 250's these days.