Level of 250cc riders

[Wenier]

Hey Guys its Chris i was reading thru up and running and saw how someone had mentioned experience so have started this thread, also darren i jus realised i have seen you at manfield before fuk im a retard. :)

Anyway straight into i have a ZXR250 it is the only bike ive had so far i want a ZX6R for my next one.

My experience in motorcycle riding is quite up there.
I have raced my bike on the track at open days done the coast to coast done a few other long distance trips with mates and am a general nutter when it comes to riding.
I also no a reasonable amount about certain engines or certain aspects due to my car and friend whose a mechanic :)

It would b great to hear wut level everyone else thinks they are at.

Chris

[Zed]

Hey Guys its Chris i was reading thru up and running and saw how someone had mentioned experience so have started this thread, also darren i jus realised i have seen you at manfield before fuk im a retard. :)

Anyway straight into i have a ZXR250 it is the only bike ive had so far i want a ZX6R for my next one.

My experience in motorcycle riding is quite up there.
I have raced my bike on the track at open days done the coast to coast done a few other long distance trips with mates and am a general nutter when it comes to riding.
I also no a reasonable amount about certain engines or certain aspects due to my car and friend whose a mechanic :)

It would b great to hear wut level everyone else thinks they are at.

Chris
Gidday Chris,

I have found that each bike I have owned over the years from an MB100 to a CBR900RR has taught me something different about motorcycling and added to my ability. You should become a better rider with experience, and certainly riding different sizes and varieties of bikes will go a long way...it has with me.

The ZX-6R is a great choice for your next bike! The step up from 250cc to 600cc will be a buzz...but be extra careful please! I went up from a GSXR250 to a GSXR750 & loved it!


Zed :innocent:

[Ms Piggy]

Hey Chris,
Well I'm just a beginner but I am very, very keen to learn as much as I can about improving my riding and about how to maintain my bike myself.

I got my license in late Dec last year & have fallen in love with riding :love:

I have been on a road trip up to Hamilton and back (there is a post about it under the Biker Angels forum), it rocked! :yes: The other weekend I went over the Rimutakas with a lot of other KBers and apart from that over summer when I was working I rode to work most days, now I ride to Uni and try to ride most other days.

I'd like to become more confident at cornering, lane splitting, general riding and all the other things that I read about on KB's but half the time dunno what they are (esp when it comes to mechanical talk)!

Cheers Cathy :niceone:

[darren]

Hi Chris,

Ive had my L Plate for around 5 months now. I got my first bike
a Honda VT250 Cruiser, it was sitting at TSS old shop and I had to have it.
I didnt even have a liscence at that stage.

a few months later Stew from TSS asked me if I wanted to go to manfield
for a open day, he gave me a CBR250RR to ride and the Honda was history from that moment.

I went straight back to Stew and got a ZXR250 and sold my VT250 to James my brother.

Engines? I know nothing about them, I like riding, cant wait till the next 250 ride
this sunday.

Darren

[Wenier]

well it is good to see that there are a wide variety of bike users from uni trips to long trips. For cathy with the cornering one i found that manfield open days helped alot and jus following another bike even if it is bigger in size(as long as they are a good rider) and using the same line as them can improve your cornering alot. That will also improve your general riding, and the lane splitting will eventually come naturally to you if you are going to be traveling to uni. :)

Cheers
Chris

[Wenier]

ahh i almost forgot. I no wut you mean already Zed i have had my full for a bit and have ridden an R6 and found that extremely fun and managed one decent wheelie on it, i have also had an SV650 for 4 days which was great for doing wheelies off the clutch on and i found both those bikes to be in my capacity for riding happily. Of course i wouldnt b going hard out straight away but then i have a funny idea of wut hardout is compared to some ppl. :)

[Motoracer]

I have owned a SRX 250, then a GSXR250, then I have ridden 3 different ZXR 400 over the last 4 years. I have had the oppertunity to ride on big bikes, all thanx to some good people for letting me borrow them.

Now I have done a bit of a loop due to financial reasons and come back to a 250. I am loveing it once again. Compaired to bigger bikes, its a piece of piss but still if you take it for granted it will bite you on the ass faster than anything and get you into shit loads of trouble.

I don't know about my level but I just ride to have fun.

[Hitcher]

Hey Chris,
Well I'm just a beginner but I am very, very keen to learn as much as I can about improving my riding and about how to maintain my bike myself.

I got my license in late Dec last year & have fallen in love with riding :love:

I have been on a road trip up to Hamilton and back (there is a post about it under the Biker Angels forum), it rocked! :yes: The other weekend I went over the Rimutakas with a lot of other KBers and apart from that over summer when I was working I rode to work most days, now I ride to Uni and try to ride most other days.

I'd like to become more confident at cornering, lane splitting, general riding and all the other things that I read about on KB's but half the time dunno what they are (esp when it comes to mechanical talk)!

Cheers Cathy :niceone:

Cathy

I can recommend the Roadsafe accelerated rider programme that Andrew and Lynne run. If you're over 25, they run an LTSA-approved fast track competency-based programme that can get you onto a full license in about six months. The course covers the sort of things you are interested in (with the exception of lane-splitting, surprise!).

Have a squiz at the web site www.roadsafe.co.nz

[Wenier]

Yea i would have done that course but i was through my licence before they had sorted all the legalities out so had to do it the standard way. But i beleive the course would be great for anyone and it does get you through the licence quicker so its thumbs up to roadsafe.

Thanks Andrew and Lynne :2thumbsup

[aff-man]

If you want to know about the switch from 250 to 600 ask coldkiwi. He went from a zxr 250 (my current bike actually) to a 97 zx6r and from what i heard you couldn't pry him off the seat for the first week. As for improving your riding ability , i have found it helps to go riding with more experienced riders. Watch thier lines riding position ect... It also helps to lead for a while and then have a discussion on how you can improve during one of the many routine coffee stops :apint: . As to the mechanics of the bike i was lucky (unlucky) enough to be in the possition where i had to replace my old vt250's engine which meant taking the old one to bits. I also had to replace the reg/rec ect ect ect ...... So that's how i learnt most of the technical stuff it helps when you can actually look at the stuff you read about :rockon:

[Wenier]

yea once i get a 600 i wont be off it for the first week id imagine jus riding them i really dont want to give it back to the owner espically the R6 but thats not nice after hes let me ride his bike so yea.

and i agree with ur following experience riders and discussing it with em that works really well.

[Ms Piggy]

Cathy

I can recommend the Roadsafe accelerated rider programme that Andrew and Lynne run. If you're over 25, they run an LTSA-approved fast track competency-based programme that can get you onto a full license in about six months. The course covers the sort of things you are interested in (with the exception of lane-splitting, surprise!).

Have a squiz at the web site www.roadsafe.co.nz

Thanks Hitcher,
I actually did my Basic Handling Skills through Andrew - he was a bit scarey but, really good. I have thought about going back to him again.

Cheers Cathy :niceone:

[Wenier]

yea hes seems that way but if u know him slightly hes a really good guy, and really helpful in wut he tells ya so i would do that course if i needed to :)

[James Deuce]

Thanks Hitcher,
I actually did my Basic Handling Skills through Andrew - he was a bit scarey but, really good. I have thought about going back to him again.

Cheers Cathy :niceone:

Andrew??? Scarey?? He's a PUSS!! Lynne is the hard ass.

Tell him Jim sent you. :)

[Ms Piggy]

Andrew??? Scarey?? He's a PUSS!! Lynne is the hard ass.

Tell him Jim sent you. :)

Wouldn't that get me into more trouble!! :bleh:

He was good & I have total respect for him b/c he knew what he was talking about for sure but, I was literally a nervous wreck by the end of the day - I had to keep reminding myself I had passed so that made it ok. :sweatdrop

[Kwaka-Kid]

my experience.. 9yo dirt, SL125 XL125 XL250 XR200R then changed to street the day i turned 15 with CB250RS then GS1000 (yeehaw, try a jump from a 118kg 31hp 250 single to a modd'ed 250kg 80something hp armchair!) i could barely touch hte gorund on the high suspension either! then to GPZ750E1(turbo) GPZ750A2 ZXR400 VFR400withRVF motor(racebike only) fell inlove with the Honda V4 so bought my current VFR400 NC24. What can i say about experiences? they were all fun and all worth it! but ive finally settled back down to 400's and am planning on sticking to them for a good 5 years or so. im now 18 so have been street rding 3 years and racing in Formula 3 for near 6months. Racing definatly helped me lots and just having good tyres and plenty of blind faith to throw into them. I personally have trouble riding 250's now but i think its just getting used to a bike etc, rode a few whilst my mate was shopping and now settled on his GSXR250 hes only a few weeks old (biking) and i swear he could run rings around me if i had the same bike, its just so damn light the front end just doesnt work with me and i cant put faith into it... but hey, what do i know? honestly cant give too much advise as i still have soooo much to learn, but i will get there oneday, and hopefully be able to catch one of you 250's on my 400! grrr! damn fastboys.
Oh and mechanics wise, ask any KB'ers that know me, over all the machines ive had, not one has ever been touched by a mechanic, 1 dirtbike fully rebuilt with my dads help, one top end only, my CB250 i did from the bottom end up almost alone and i just modify and make my own everything from exhausts to air filters :) which reminds me, wheres the sellys silicon sealer... need to put the side casing back on my racebike. oh and at the next time you kb'ers see the racebike, yes that is a vacuum cleaner hose cut into 2 and put thru my bikes fairing then over my dropped 1inch radiator then into hte airbox, found in an inorganic collection i saw and had an idea on the way home from work the other week. :) Night all!

[Zed]

my experience.. 9yo dirt, SL125 XL125 XL250 XR200R then changed to street the day i turned 15 with CB250RS then GS1000 (yeehaw, try a jump from a 118kg 31hp 250 single to a modd'ed 250kg 80something hp armchair!) i could barely touch hte gorund on the high suspension either! then to GPZ750E1(turbo) GPZ750A2 ZXR400 VFR400withRVF motor(racebike only) fell inlove with the Honda V4 so bought my current VFR400 NC24. What can i say about experiences? they were all fun and all worth it! but ive finally settled back down to 400's and am planning on sticking to them for a good 5 years or so. im now 18 so have been street rding 3 years and racing in Formula 3 for near 6months. Racing definatly helped me lots and just having good tyres and plenty of blind faith to throw into them. I personally have trouble riding 250's now but i think its just getting used to a bike etc, rode a few whilst my mate was shopping and now settled on his GSXR250 hes only a few weeks old (biking) and i swear he could run rings around me if i had the same bike, its just so damn light the front end just doesnt work with me and i cant put faith into it... but hey, what do i know? honestly cant give too much advise as i still have soooo much to learn, but i will get there oneday, and hopefully be able to catch one of you 250's on my 400! grrr! damn fastboys.
Oh and mechanics wise, ask any KB'ers that know me, over all the machines ive had, not one has ever been touched by a mechanic, 1 dirtbike fully rebuilt with my dads help, one top end only, my CB250 i did from the bottom end up almost alone and i just modify and make my own everything from exhausts to air filters :) which reminds me, wheres the sellys silicon sealer... need to put the side casing back on my racebike. oh and at the next time you kb'ers see the racebike, yes that is a vacuum cleaner hose cut into 2 and put thru my bikes fairing then over my dropped 1inch radiator then into hte airbox, found in an inorganic collection i saw and had an idea on the way home from work the other week. :) Night all!
You sound like a real hard case :cool: (compliment)

Questions: If you migrated from a 250 to a 1000cc on the road, why have you settled on a 400cc? Have you riden 600's, 750's & 900's? Then again, you have only been riding road for 3 years...


Zed

[Wenier]

Back off topic for a second. You can pretty much not fail the basic skills handling course done by roadsafe unless you are really stupid. :)

[Kwaka-Kid]

Thanks Zed :) and yeah i had the 750's and still have the 750turbo, my reason is partly because of racing, i race 400's because its cheap, so i want to bring my skills up by riding with the same sorta power/style on the street aswell (not style as in fanging it around everywhere! but you know what i mean) and am pretty satisfied. My dream bike (sounds a little crazy) was always scince i got my licence a 1990 Kawasaki ZXR750, the ones with true ram-air, i used to think they were the bees knees! and still would love to step up to one, but i have enough trouble hanging onto the bars of my 400 often enough and love how light it is to toss into corners, I have trouble explaining it but i really am settled on these little 400's! besides my mummy doesnt seem to mind me being on a 400 if we tell her how slow it/i am, if i ride around on the gs1000 to her place etc all i get is lectures on how the bike is too big for me :( haha!

[pete-blen]

Dam i'm glad I got my licence before all ths crap came in...
I didn't get a 250 till 4th bike... RD250LC..
started on a 1977 Kawasaki S3 400 triple ,then a 1978 RD400E
1979 CB900FZ then the 1982 RD250LC...

In fact I have never sat a driving test...
After being pulled over for the XX time for driveing with out
a licence the local cop at wakefeild..draged me down to his house/station
sat me at his desk and basicly told me what boxes to tick on the test..
got 25 out of 25 wow..then said I don't need to take yer for a drive..
bloody pulled yer over enough...2 weeks later a little book "old style licence"
turned up in the mail...
Yep the good old days... before the bull shit....

Pete

[Genie]

my level....depends on the day and my mood. My little Ninja gives me enough thrill to satisfy....sometimes.


My first road ride was a GSX1100, could barely touch the ground and I loved it.

I'd love something bigger but I know I'd just get in trouble...the wee Ninja keeps me safe, under semi control, though another 15 demerits and i have no licence.

I think my level is a Triumph Street Triple but I can't have one as I would get in far too much trouble and i must be a good girl. So, for the sake of being good my level is the Baby Ninja, which does have a fair amount of cheekiness

[matdaymon]

That must be some kind of record?

Every day I ride I learn something new or hone my skills just a little bit more. Been riding for 18months and think at times I'd have trouble with a more powerful bike, others I wish I had a 600 :innocent:

[Beren]

LOL - would be interesting to see what some of the old 250 guys from the class of 2004 have ended up with now!

My level... umm well floating somewhere just above the bottom I'd guess. Though I have done a lot of my riding in the dark/rain/fog/wind on the open road/motorway/splitting/city... and I have done over 2000km's in my first month. So I don't know a lot about a lot of different types of riding!

The last time I did more than change the oil on a bike was 1996 - and then it was just to change the spark plug! With a supply of tools I have always been able to carry out any task in the haines manual on a car... so will be giving lots of stuff a go.

[Chancebmx25]

Back off topic for a second. You can pretty much not fail the basic skills handling course done by roadsafe unless you are really stupid. :)

hehehe guts for those whole fail it. eg (my brother) heheh classic

[steelestring]

[QUOTE=matdaymon;1130068842]That must be some kind of record?

Dam! 2004! was a good year :innocent: haha

[White trash]

LOL - would be interesting to see what some of the old 250 guys from the class of 2004 have ended up with now!

Well Wenier (OP) bought my Alstare GSXR600 K3 off me back in 2005 as a step up from his ZXR. He lived down in Bleheim at the time and about 12 months ago I saw he had it advertised on TM. Not sure if he replaced it or got off bikes.

Cathy (I believe) now has a GS500 or similar from memory and to my knowledge, still rides it.

Motoracer (Sudeep) is living with his fiancee in Frankfurt and has a CBR954 Blade which he attends fairly regular Porshe spanking sessions at the Nurberg ring for shits and giggle.

That's all I can think of right now.

[jaffaonajappa]

You can pretty much not fail the basic skills handling course done by roadsafe unless you are really stupid. :)

Bullshit.



My main form of transport at the moment is a YZF-R15 - loving it.
Kinda slow in a straight line. Heeps of grin-factor in the tight twisties......45's at 110 bwahahahah.

Failed that skills handling test twice now - first time when I was 15 and turned up on a 400, and the instructor somehow observed me doing a burnout - about 10 minutes before we were due to start any lessons. 2nd time when I was about 30, turned up on a Guzzi sport - the wanker didnt beleive it was a Guzzi 110 point 0 cc motorbike and sent me home,.

[Latte]

Bullshit.



My main form of transport at the moment is a YZF-R15 - loving it.
Kinda slow in a straight line. Heeps of grin-factor in the tight twisties......45's at 110 bwahahahah.

Failed that skills handling test twice now - first time when I was 15 and turned up on a 400, and the instructor somehow observed me doing a burnout - about 10 minutes before we were due to start any lessons. 2nd time when I was about 30, turned up on a Guzzi sport - the wanker didnt beleive it was a Guzzi 110 point 0 cc motorbike and sent me home,.

Sounds like stupid to me :p (p/t kinda)

[Maki]

It would b great to hear wut level everyone else thinks they are at.

Chris

My level sucks. I have been riding for years and still ride like a moron. Controlling the bike is the easy part. It's controlling yourself that is hard. I still have no idea how to do that...