RE: Suggestions for First bike

[alexthekidd]

hi There,

am currently look at buying my first bike,

have been reccomended a couple of bikes by people but really am clueless as to what i am looking for :lol:

am looking to spend ~$2200, so far have had a look at FXR 150's which seem very nice but impossible to track down in the wellington region, the other i have been reccommended is the GN 250, again seem impossible to track down in the wellington region but am pretty sure that these fall out of my price range anyway,

i am looking for a low maintanence first bike, something preferably with not too many K's on the clock. Don't want to have to go through the trouble of having something rebuilt or anything like that and also don't want a lemon.
Am quite wary of buying a bike from auckland or something and having it shipped down to me sight unseen.

any help is greatly appreciated guys,

alex

[gamgee]

Your looking at the right sort of bikes, theres a few twins around that are good for learners as well, the Honda VTR250
Kawasaki GPX250
other singles you should consider are the Yamaha SR250 and SRX250
the Suzuki NZ250 (hard to find)
if your going to get a gn250 get an old one the new ones are chinese made and more and more complaints are filtering through about the shitty build quality

don't forget you need around a grand as well to buy some decent gear, at the minimum you need a good helmet, gloves and armoured jacket
and a decent pair of boots, you should also consider armoured pants and proper riding boots if your going to be riding in 100km/h zones regularly

[Coyote]

Get an RG150. They're a good learners bike and have enough power to get you out of (or in) trouble and enough to not get bored too soon. Only problem is they are a bit rare, and I suggest you get someone who knows about them to test ride it to make sure you're not getting a lemon (I kinda did but with a bit of effort and money it's running perfectly). They sell between 1500-2500 bucks so you can afford it

And don't forget decent gear

[gamgee]

rg150 is a 2 stoke, it's not so much that you'll get a lemon as you may need to replace pistons and rings, which is a once every15-20000km job, personally I'd stick with the more reliable and more sedate 250s as a first bike

[JeremyW]

The RG150's are great little bikes for getting the hang of going round corners because they are nimble but still stable and you know they can handle a lot more than you can throw at them (especially if you have seen them being raced!). Also they arent just gonna blowout like GN's and the like have a habit of doing if pushed.

Another thing is they look all of about a zillion times better than a GN.

But yes they are more work than a four stroke and they will probably cost more, but they also go a lot harder. Thats just what its all about I personally think...

Maybe I am just a little biased though....

[alexthekidd]

yup yup am almost sorted for gear now, bought a spyke jacket on the weekend and have a brand new HJC helmet, so just a pair of gloves now, the bike will be used mainlyfor commuting to and from school through suburbs so will probably pass on boots.

RG150's look like very nice bikes but i was wondering how hard they are going to be to learn on, i've only ever ridden a small 125 around a farm before so am really clueless lol the only other time ive ridden one is when i came flying off a KLX 650....owww!

personally i think the GN250's are incredibly ugly bikes too LOL

[Jantar]

Back in the 70's a guy by the name of Gordon Jennings commented that if a bike is designed properly to carry out its intended job, it will look as ugly as sin. Gordon Jennings was the top designer for Yamaha and also author of the Two Stroke Tuner's Handbook.

In my opinion the GN250 is the best learners bike currently available, but having said that I haven't yet seen the new Yamaha 250.

If purchasing one of the later model chinese assembled GN250s, I would suggest that you get a mentor to show you how to carry out your own basic maintenance. In particular, pull the axles and regrease them, grease the speedo drive, grease the steering head bearings, oil all cables etc.

[Mr. Peanut]

Get anything. As long as it goes, and you dont pay too much.

[Seraph]

There are so many threads on first bikes i'm supprised there isn't one sticky'd.
anyway, GN250's are good first bikes in my experience...although I only hung onto mine for around 4 months (got bored and open road riding in rush hour was rather tedious) it was a good 4 months and taught me alot, I'm glad i didn't just jump in and buy a more powerful bike straight off.
They may be butt ugly but still better than a scooter >.< and well within your price bracket. +cheap as to run...around 27km/L? unlike my 250 @ 16-17km/L (does that sound right to the rest of you? sorry 4 the hi-jack:whistle: ) which may be a contributing factor as your a student.
Good luck finding a bike you like :)

[Ixion]

The advantage of the GN is that they crash well. Almost all young lads end up crashing (I did say almost - there are a few exceptions). Even a minor crash on a faired bike will probably cost many hundreds of dollars. That plastic is damn expensive. A minor crash on a GN can prolly be fixed for $50 or so.

Which is one reason (not the only one, but a significant one) why I recommend them as a first bike for young men. Chicks are a different matter, they don't crash as often. They can statr off directly with something faster and faired like a KRR150 or RG150. Ditto older riders. But for a young guy, a GN is hard to beat .

Note that you OUGHT not to crash. It is NOT inevitable, and should NOT be treated as a laughing matter. But, testosterone being what it is, and that undeveloped frontal lobe, it seems to happen to most of you.

You will probably not want to keep the GN all the (long) period of your L and R licence. Before then you will succumb to the youthful mania for speed and the need to demonstrate the size of your gonads (that testosterone again). But, that's OK, the GN holds its value well, you should be able to pass it on with very little loss. (Assuming you have not crashed it too often. And that you are still alive. You may be. Or not. ). And hopefully by then you will have at least an inkling of what you are doing. Then you can join the large and very non-exclusive club of those who have crashed expensive CBRGSXZXR250s

[alexthekidd]

have since looked at the GN250's and haven't seen a single one in the wellington region :| hopefully one will pop up in a couple of weeks. otherwise may look at an FXR150 or RG150...even then nothing round mi area!

[kickingzebra]

zzr 250 is the other one worth a look. or even DR, XR 250s etc, more dirt focus, but crash well and not too expensive

[Animal]

hi There,

am currently look at buying my first bike,

have been reccomended a couple of bikes by people but really am clueless as to what i am looking for :lol:

am looking to spend ~$2200, so far have had a look at FXR 150's which seem very nice but impossible to track down in the wellington region, the other i have been reccommended is the GN 250, again seem impossible to track down in the wellington region but am pretty sure that these fall out of my price range anyway,

i am looking for a low maintanence first bike, something preferably with not too many K's on the clock. Don't want to have to go through the trouble of having something rebuilt or anything like that and also don't want a lemon.
Am quite wary of buying a bike from auckland or something and having it shipped down to me sight unseen.

any help is greatly appreciated guys,

alex
If you can get your paws on a Yahaha SR250, they're excellent. They offer every advantage a GN does - and there are many (cost to fix, reliability, value) but look a little more agressive - especially if the cruiser look isn't your thing. They're simple, robust bikes and should serve you well until you get your full license. And of course, 250s do hold their value very well, so providing you keep it tidy, you'll recoup your investment. Happy hunting.

[MSTRS]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=72770384&key=289596
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=72977740&key=289596
or make the stretch for this - you will be glad you did...http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=73145928&key=289596

[gamgee]

mstrs the old vt250's are in a word 'shit', the oil pumps were prone to fail at random, I wouldn't touch one no matter how cheap it was, your just throwing your money away

[rwh]

mstrs the old vt250's are in a word 'shit', the oil pumps were prone to fail at random, I wouldn't touch one no matter how cheap it was, your just throwing your money away

Interesting how one hears of 'typical problems' from just one person ...

Someone else has said that cam chains give up - but I've only heard of that one bike, and my mechanic (at Boyle's) hasn't heard of that particular issue at all.

The guy at Boyle's did say that people will too often use some silicone gasket replacement, use too much and the remaining globs end up wandering round the journals till they block something up, causing any kind of failure ... but that could happen on any bike.

Mine has a problem all right, but it's neither of those.

Richard

[MSTRS]

mstrs the old vt250's are in a word 'shit', the oil pumps were prone to fail at random, I wouldn't touch one no matter how cheap it was, your just throwing your money away

Perhaps, but that one is a Spada

[gamgee]

sorted :)
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=36841

[Ixion]

Yes, that's a good bike, and seems very good value

[MSTRS]

Gamgee - that is the second TM link in my first post....great minds think alike, but some are quicker than others??:banana: