Blew up the NS so am looking for something new. Opinions?

[dynamite]

Ok so I blew up my baby last week and dont have the time money energy or space to fix it, so have sold it at a huge loss coming into exams so that I dont have the distraction. Being the way I am though I am already looking for a new bike. I want something reliable, comfortable and around $4000. For the reliability aspect I am looking also for something with <20,000km and newer than 2000 (although it will be a couple of months before I can buy it). I am NOT getting another 2 stroke or high reving 4. I realize there will be a drop in performance but I dont want anything too slow. (so not gn250s etc)
So from what I have found my choices are:
gpx250
gsx250
zzr250
hyosung (however its spelt)
If anyone has anything else I have over looked please tell me.
I would like to know what you guys (especially the ones that own or have owned any of these) think of them. I have never ridden any of these so if you could make comparisons to other bikes or give performance stats it would be grate.
thanks for your input everyone

[The Pastor]

Get a hyosung!

[avgas]

Get one of those flat-tracker 250's - they look and sound bloody mint.
Go like the clappers too.
I even looked at buying one before I got the SRX

[McWild]

Ah gutted man! 2 strokes do that occasionally...

I have heard only good things about GPX250s. A friend in high school had one, I still think they look damn cool.

[dynamite]

whats a flat-tracker?
Yea, I tryed to look after it well, but who knows what its been like in the past. oh well.
The gpxs are looking the most apealing, but dose anyone know what vesion we have here? There was a 38hp and a 28 hp vesion built. The hyosung are also only 28hp as well. I cant work out what the gsx though, there seams to be a lot of debate or at least a lot of different models. Im not sure I could deal with only 28hp lol. I know I said I wouldnt..... but how unreliable are the zxr's cbr's etc? for 4k can you get a descent one that wont break all the time? how hard is it to get parts?

[DarkLord]

The Hyosungs are not that quick but I have one and it is reliable as anything. Put a noisy zorst on it and it does give you a bit of a hp boost. Mine's done over 46,000 k's and I haven't had any problems, bar the usual (brake pads, battery, oil changes, clutch cable etc).

[quickbuck]

So from what I have found my choices are:
gpx250
gsx250
zzr250
hyosung (however its spelt)
If anyone has anything else I have over looked please tell me.


Yup, all twins. Plenty of torque (for a 250) but not revvy. Plastic too....
Good choices.


The Honda verson is a VT250 Xelvis.... Also worth a look.
As for your cmment on k's... Well, 20000 can be a wrecked bike if it wasn't looked after. But a tidy well looked after 250 will easily do beyond 50000, and there is no real reason one couldn't do 100000k.
Condition of bike is everything.

[roadracingoldfart]

Yup, all twins. Plenty of torque (for a 250) but not revvy. Plastic too....
Good choices.


The Honda verson is a VT250 Xelvis.... Also worth a look.
As for your cmment on k's... Well, 20000 can be a wrecked bike if it wasn't looked after. But a tidy well looked after 250 will easily do beyond 50000, and there is no real reason one couldn't do 100000k.
Condition of bike is everything.


Damm straight , Stevies CBR600 has done over 70,000 ks now and still beat several modern 600s at a recent track day , but its a Honda so it has herritage in bulk :rolleyes::drool:

[roadracingoldfart]

Ok so I blew up my baby last week and dont have the time money energy or space to fix it, so have sold it at a huge loss coming into exams so that I dont have the distraction. Being the way I am though I am already looking for a new bike. I want something reliable, comfortable and around $4000. For the reliability aspect I am looking also for something with <20,000km and newer than 2000 (although it will be a couple of months before I can buy it). I am NOT getting another 2 stroke or high reving 4. I realize there will be a drop in performance but I dont want anything too slow. (so not gn250s etc)
So from what I have found my choices are:
gpx250
gsx250
zzr250
hyosung (however its spelt)
If anyone has anything else I have over looked please tell me.
I would like to know what you guys (especially the ones that own or have owned any of these) think of them. I have never ridden any of these so if you could make comparisons to other bikes or give performance stats it would be grate.
thanks for your input everyone

How long until your L plate sentance is over ?
If its close why dont you start to look at say , a 400 without it being a race replica of some kind . They are easy to ride and a few more models are available to select from . You will also have a short time to save the $ balance to get the bike you want as after the L plate time you will more than likely want a bigger bike anyway.
Just a thought .

[sil3nt]

Go the GPX!!

The ZZR is the same bike as the GPX it just has different fairings amongst other little things and is harder to work on. It does look better though.

The GPX was made for 20 years stopping in 07 so has plenty of parts available.

Go test ride one they are awesome.
As for power there is no 38HP version. 38HP at the crank maybe but they all put out around 28HP at the wheel the same as the hyosung (and any other 250 twin).

It makes no difference what year you get as they only changed minor things in the 20 years they were built. Prices are fairly high for the newer years so i would say find an 80's or 90's bike as it will do the same job!

[SMOKEU]

Get a CBR250. Fuck the late model 250cc 4 stroke road bikes, they don't go anywhere near as well as some of the old ones. Coming from a hot 2 stroke you'll need all the power of a high revving straight 4.

[dynamite]

Hey thanks for your input guys.
I have had my learners for over 2 years.... never got around to getting my R so its still a good year away. I have a mates xj400 atm (thanks PeteViking) but I dont really want to change to a larger bike for a year, too much risk of getting a ticket. I guess I read the stats wrong for the gpx, it was just on wiki etc so not that reliable anyway. what I do wonder is they claim 0-100 for the gpx as 5.75 sec. where’s the new ninja is over 7sec with 28hp, can anyone clear up how quick the gpx really is? To be honest the idea of only getting to 100 in 7 sec is a bit off putting.
Also it would be grate if some people with the high reving 4s could tell me how reliable they can be or cant be. After the money pit that was the ns I dont really want something that I just chuck money at. Also how hard are the parts to find for them, what kind of money do I need to spend to get a good one? I have always wanted a zxr so would probably be heading in that direction for a start anyway.

[Slyer]

If you want reliability and lower cost, go for the twins.
The new Ninja250's are bit slower than the GPX250's as they detuned them to give more midrange but at the loss of high end power.
The stock suspension is also a bit better than the GPX though.

[vtec]

The best combination of reliability, power, fuel economy, handling and everything you cannot go past the CBR250RR. Even maltreated they do 100,000k's. Raceworthy out of the box. And so amazingly nimble I've never ridden a bike the like. Wouldn't be that much slower around the track than my VFR400R.

My advice, ignore the Hyosung, heavy questionable reliability, slow. Positives are that it's cheap for the appearance, and it doesn't use much gas.

The GPX250Ninja, is just an 80 GPX in new clothes unfortunately, but they weren't terrible bikes. Other countries got the fuel injected version, and I wouldn't be able to settle for the carburretted one.

The GSX250. Another 80's bike prettied up, heavy, slow, unco, fuel economy probably reasonable, but i wouldn't tolerate one.

The 2 strokes, slightly quicker on the track than the CBR250RR but even though they are lighter, they don't feel as nimble. The engines rev freer and going from a 2 stroke bike you already know how to control the engine. They will be collectors editions because so few are left running after all the failure. Not a bike that you want to use too much. maybe as a track bike or perhaps an ornament.

The reason why I haven't commented on the other 250 IL4's is because they haven't passed the test of time like the CBR. The ZXR on the track has slightly better (more stable) suspension but isn't quite as nimble (throwable). More prone to oil leaks and has cam chain tensioner issues which can ruin the bike. The FZR and GSXR are in a similar basket, you don't see them around anymore because they are all either in the tip or in peoples garages awaiting repairs/refurbishments that will never happen because you can't get the parts easily.

That's another reason to get the RR mc22 (don't go for the single R mc19 vastly different handling characteristics and not as good brakes) lots of parts around, and noobs do crash them so it's often cheap to pick up a spare bike for parts when you crash yours. Aftermarket fairings are easy to come by too:
www.justfairings.co.nz
check out www.cr-x.org/cbr250
they are massive over on Victoria Australia. I raced them at Phillip Island, Winton and Broadford last year (a written off one that I fixed up) and won races and prize money on it even with gearbox issues against GSXR's and FZR's with heavy mods. Also beat plenty of 250 2 smokers and even 400's and 650 twins on it. No mods.

I've posted it several times before and I'll post it again, here's the race results from the last time I raced my road CBR250RR in NZ. Only one 400 beat me in F3 on my CBR250RR: http://www.silver-bullet.co.nz/eventresults.php?eventid=5510

[sil3nt]

Hey thanks for your input guys.
I have had my learners for over 2 years.... never got around to getting my R so its still a good year away. I have a mates xj400 atm (thanks PeteViking) but I dont really want to change to a larger bike for a year, too much risk of getting a ticket. I guess I read the stats wrong for the gpx, it was just on wiki etc so not that reliable anyway. what I do wonder is they claim 0-100 for the gpx as 5.75 sec. where’s the new ninja is over 7sec with 28hp, can anyone clear up how quick the gpx really is? To be honest the idea of only getting to 100 in 7 sec is a bit off putting.
Also it would be grate if some people with the high reving 4s could tell me how reliable they can be or cant be. After the money pit that was the ns I dont really want something that I just chuck money at. Also how hard are the parts to find for them, what kind of money do I need to spend to get a good one? I have always wanted a zxr so would probably be heading in that direction for a start anyway.Here is a comparison of new and old ninja. http://www.theyeagergroup.com/Comparing_the_2_kawasaki_ninja_250s.htm I wouldn't believe everything said in there although i haven't exactly ridden the new one.
The GPX can definately accelerate to the speed limit in under 7 seconds if you really want to although your saying you don't want another money pit so i don't see why you would want to ring the shit out of the bike anyway.

Sounds to me you want to go fast and therefore you want a ZXR, CBR, FZR which are definately more reliable than the 2 stroke you had!

[racefactory]

The best combination of reliability, power, fuel economy, handling and everything you cannot go past the CBR250RR. Even maltreated they do 100,000k's. Raceworthy out of the box. And so amazingly nimble I've never ridden a bike the like. Wouldn't be that much slower around the track than my VFR400R.

My advice, ignore the Hyosung, heavy questionable reliability, slow. Positives are that it's cheap for the appearance, and it doesn't use much gas.

The GPX250Ninja, is just an 80 GPX in new clothes unfortunately, but they weren't terrible bikes. Other countries got the fuel injected version, and I wouldn't be able to settle for the carburretted one.

The GSX250. Another 80's bike prettied up, heavy, slow, unco, fuel economy probably reasonable, but i wouldn't tolerate one.

The 2 strokes, slightly quicker on the track than the CBR250RR but even though they are lighter, they don't feel as nimble. The engines rev freer and going from a 2 stroke bike you already know how to control the engine. They will be collectors editions because so few are left running after all the failure. Not a bike that you want to use too much. maybe as a track bike or perhaps an ornament.

The reason why I haven't commented on the other 250 IL4's is because they haven't passed the test of time like the CBR. The ZXR on the track has slightly better (more stable) suspension but isn't quite as nimble (throwable). More prone to oil leaks and has cam chain tensioner issues which can ruin the bike. The FZR and GSXR are in a similar basket, you don't see them around anymore because they are all either in the tip or in peoples garages awaiting repairs/refurbishments that will never happen because you can't get the parts easily.

That's another reason to get the RR mc22 (don't go for the single R mc19 vastly different handling characteristics and not as good brakes) lots of parts around, and noobs do crash them so it's often cheap to pick up a spare bike for parts when you crash yours. Aftermarket fairings are easy to come by too:
www.justfairings.co.nz
check out www.cr-x.org/cbr250
they are massive over on Victoria Australia. I raced them at Phillip Island, Winton and Broadford last year (a written off one that I fixed up) and won races and prize money on it even with gearbox issues against GSXR's and FZR's with heavy mods. Also beat plenty of 250 2 smokers and even 400's and 650 twins on it. No mods.

I've posted it several times before and I'll post it again, here's the race results from the last time I raced my road CBR250RR in NZ. Only one 400 beat me in F3 on my CBR250RR: http://www.silver-bullet.co.nz/eventresults.php?eventid=5510

this guy knows what he's talking about. Those cbr250 engines will go round the clock with ease... coming from a 2 banger you are going to at least need a 18,000 rpm 4 cylinder... you'll be left shit bored otherwise. The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield it!!!!! i'd avoid buying twice.

Otherwise i'd have to agree with the guy talking about 400 bikes. I rode various NC30s for most of my time on learners, the money you save from the shockingly overinflated 250 prices will just break even with any fine if you get caught on it. Just be a bit more careful where you decide to get the old knee down. never got busted once regardless of having been stopped buy the old bill a few times....

[dynamite]

Ok so the general consensus is that the gpx is the best twin followed by the hyosung. I think I might go try to test ride these two and see if I think I could own one, maybe next week. I dont want a 400 because of the demerits (got 55 demerits and none of them clear for over a year) and if you get stopped without a L plate, on a large bike even at a checkpoint then thats 50 points there. From what you guys have said thats probably a long shot though lol. So is everyone agreeing with vtec etc that the cbr mc22 is the best of the 4s? I had a quick look on trademe and they do tend to be more expensive than the zxr250c or the fzr and gsxr (maybe because they are better?). Is there a remarkable difference in the other models of cbr? thanks again everyone