The 'high powered' 250's - AWESOME

[R6_kid]

Im talking CBR/ZXR/FZR here, and probably the two smokers too, but i havent ridden a 250 two smoker so cant comment on them.

Anyway, i took out a ZXR250C today after riding my 100hp R6 for the last year... ahhh memories!

She took a while to warm up, but thats ok because i had to adjust myself and my riding to the different handling and not so good brakes. After that it was all fun and games.

I was told to take it for a ride to see how it felt and see if there was anything that needed attention (brakes were quite obvious) and also to 'go for as long as i wanted'.

Well i couldnt be assed going up to Albany to play in the short twisties in the back roads so i thought feck it, and went down into the Albany Industrial Area around Bush road etc where i used to work. The road surface in this area is approx 8 years old and is similar to the stuff laid on Taupo racetrack. I scouted out a short 'circuit' that had no traffic on it and that i could ride around with little interuption/good view of adjoining roads so i have time to stop if need be.

Anyway, i spent about 10minutes doing laps of the 'circuit' putting the ZXR through its paces and i can say without a doubt its got to be the most fun i've had on a bike in quite a while. It was pure enjoyment... not scary or a massive adrenalin rush like on the R6 but just good old time fun. The bike had bigger balls than i remember my old ZXR having, and handled about the same if not better but with the brakes needing attention i was hesitant to leave the braking til too late.

What can i say, i thoroughly enjoyed the half hour or so i spent on the little beast. Better condition tyres and brakes would have made it that more fun but i was quite content with the slower pace i was doing as it wasnt my bike, and it was a public area with a 50kmh speed limit which i wasnt exactly sticking too.

To be honest the only thing that i missed from my R6 was not being able to lift the front wheel under acceleration or with a bit of clutch abuse. The power output and speeds attainable on the little 250's is under-rated. Now that I have experience on a 'big bike' I can say that 250s are more than adequate and that spending more time on one isn't as bad as some people have made out. Yes i love my R6, and the way i ride it gives me a massive buzz, but if i could still have a ZXR250 on the side I would do.

I think that people saying that they are too good a rider or tired of the 250 power output are generally talking shit. I currently only know of two or three riders that ride their 250's near the edge of its performance handling wise, and if you are an aspiring racer then until you are consistently pushing the limits of a 250 then you still have a lot of power to play with.

I do not condone copying what i did today, nor do i advise or recommend that you do the same. There is a time and a place for everything and if you get caught doing it on the road then expect to be punished accordingly.

What i wanted to get at is that the 'little' bikes are really quite a piece of engineering excellence. To be 15+ years old and still doing what they do is quite amazing. Don't discount your bikes ability, i know i was nowhere near the performance abilities of the bike i rode today, but there is a lot of fun to be had on a 250 and i reckon that those on their learner/restricted licences should be thankful for what they have been given and enjoy every moment of it until the time comes that they are able to ride a big bike on their full licence.

So all you 250 riders bitching about wanting a bigger bike get out there and ride your 250, enjoy it and remember it, because when you get on to a bigger bike its a totally different ball game, and you might not enjoy it quite the same.

Take it easy out there and stay within your limits. Small steps at a time will help you ride faster - not big leaps, you all progress at a different rate and the second you get ahead of YOURSELF is the second that you will end up in a ditch. Ride safe and wear the gear.

[Mr. Peanut]

Mate, take a 250 2-stroke for a cane. Gave skidmark a go today ^_^

[R6_kid]

I intend to. Might look at getting a two-smoke 250 racer in the future for the track. And letting skidmark ride your bike... crazy crazy man!

[MattRSK]

I love my bike!:2thumbsup

[cowboyz]

i hear what you are saying. One of the big reasons I just cant justify trading my 15 yr old 600F. Yeah, its not a supersports bike but got enough power to outride yourself if you are trying hard enough. I have chased some of the latter model big bikes and yeah,. they leave me well behind when they want to but I get there in the end - and have a smile on my face. I loved my old ninja 250. Real shame about crashing it or I would probably still have it.

[Mr. Peanut]

I intend to. Might look at getting a two-smoke 250 racer in the future for the track. And letting skidmark ride your bike... crazy crazy man!

Crashed it today, couldnt see the harm in him having a go. Popped some nice wheelies myself, and had a go on the ZXR.

Compared to the NSR, it was a toy, vague controls, shit brakes, no power. (relatively speaking)

Nice bike though, dont get me wrong ^_^ :hug: :calm:

[R6_kid]

all good peanut. Im not going to enter the bike-bashing fight. I rode a CBR400 and i've ridden a CBR250RR, and imo their brakes are superior to the old kwaka ones - i did say this bikes brakes werent the best.

For an inline four 250 it had good power when warmed up. Like i said, something clicked in my head the other night watching the 250GP on tv and i decided i wanted one, or atleast to give it a whirl.

[Coyote]

Yeah, I miss my CBR

The RG is pretty quick too. It's faster off the line than a 250 Inline 4, the only thing it lacks is top speed which isnt and issue on the road

[gijoe1313]

Great read - and yes, I love my 250 as well! I won't be trading/swapping/selling my baby - and yep, your right and right about not being able to use everything a 250 has. My hornet saw me right down to Wellywood and back...and I will be doing it again in the South Island with it in the near future!

250 good reasons to enjoy, use and ride with! :2thumbsup

[Mr. Peanut]

Yeah, I just meant for comparitive sakes. They are, completely different bikes.
Dare I say it, but its the rider, not the bike ^_^

[Brett]

What you are saying Gareth is exactly the reason i am hesitant in selling my ZXR. There is something about them that is so much fun. IMO getting down to no chicken strips is just the beginning of knowing how to ride one well.
I tried to talk the wife into me keeping a ZXR and buying a 600cc bike today, so long as I sell my cage and buy a cheaper one, but she didn't seem to like the idea too much. I can understand why, but i still wish i could have both!

[McJim]

I'm a 36 year old man and I'm enjoying my 250 - and I don't even have a high powered 250 - in fact I might now just fly in the face of convention and keep the 250 even after I get my full licence.

that should save me a few bob.

Was it a turquoise zxr perchance? Last seen in the fog past Waiuku?

[McJim]

but its the rider, not the bike ^_^

That's why we can't believe you let SkidMark have a go! :rofl:

[R6_kid]

at the speeds i was going i only saw black and white so unfortunately i have to say the bike was an off shade of grey :Pokey:

[gijoe1313]

I'm a 36 year old man and I'm enjoying my 250 - and I don't even have a high powered 250 - in fact I might now just fly in the face of convention and keep the 250 even after I get my full licence.

that should save me a few bob.



Spoken like a scotsman! But yeah, know what you are saying - I'm keen to try and master my 250 to its performance limits, and I won't ever be getting rid of my ride!

[McJim]

at the speeds i was going i only saw black and white so unfortunately i have to say the bike was an off shade of grey :Pokey:

You go colour blind at 40kph? :rofl:

[vtec]

After 3 years on the CBR, I've definitely mastered it, but I still love it, and it's more than enough performance for the road, and the suspension is so soft that it just soaks up all the imperfections, great for road, not so great for race track.

I'm selling up my CBR250's soon, cause I owe dad heaps for the CBR600 race bike I got. It's going to be a little while before I'm riding the CBR600 to it's full potential. When you know you are riding a bike to it's potential that is probably one of the best feelings, and you can do it on the 250 without putting yourself in too much danger. The 600 is thoroughly scary to push the limits on.

[R6_kid]

When you know you are riding a bike to it's potential that is probably one of the best feelings, and you can do it on the 250 without putting yourself in too much danger. The 600 is thoroughly scary to push the limits on.

Thats what helped me enjoy the 250 i think. Im at the point now where i am comfortable on the 600, my 250 skills are well rusty compared to where you are at on yours, im not sure if i was quite that fast back in the day on my 250, but being on the 250 you can ride that bit faster without worrying about rear wheel slides or any of the 'big bike' stuff. It's just pure riding - you, the bike, and the road (environment).

It's kinda like going back to basics... gah... trademe is your worst enemy when there is something you want but cant have!


You go colour blind at 40kph? :rofl:
haha, i'll race you fool! silly old man!

[Black Bandit]

I've been well impressed by the old CBR/ZXR mini-sports bikes. Not had the chance to actually ride one yet - anyone keen to offer?

The 250's seem to have several levels:
Lvl 1: Ginny
Lvl 2: Mid-way twins and IL-4's
Lvl 3: ZXR/CBR
Lvl 4: Two-smokers

Have even had a moment of weakness and thought that I should "upgrade" to one in celebration for getting my restricted. The fear of binning a faired bike is now becoming more remote. But then again, would I hold onto it after I get my full - not likely. Gimme a 6 hundy!

[Mr. Peanut]

Level 5: tuned 2-strokers :cool:

[R6_kid]

Lvl 0: crashed bikes, incl. tuned 2-strokers!

haha.

I reckon the best approach is what i said... small steps. Progress at your learning rate, not at your mates or whoever you ride with, though generally if two of you have similar skill you will most likely help each other ride 'better'.

I went '76 Vespa Super 150, 1986 Suzuki GF250, 1987 Suzuki GF250, 1989 Kawasaki ZXR250A, 1999 Yamaha R6.

From learners to full i ended up taking just over 3 years, and it wasnt til i'd been riding for two years that i got my ZXR. The smartest thing i did along the way was get onto the RRRS course within 2 days of having my first GF250 (which initially scared the shit out of me) and learnt counter-steering, emergency braking. Then it was through lots of commuting, open road riding and a couple of group rides that i built up confidence, skill and a bit of pace.

Then the ZXR came along, and again i was a bit surprised with the power. Got in with a good group of people at my level of skill and we all sort of learnt to ride together on SH16, Scenic Drive and Coromandel Loop... the best thing was switching places and seeing each others weaknesses, talking about it and actively trying to improve little things in our riding. This resulted in about 5 of us being 'quick' on our 250's and generally scaring the 'big bike' riders and putting them in their places! Also without any of us involved in accidents or getting injured.

Stepping up to a more powerful bike can be quite a learning curve. The good thing with the 250's is that the only bracket that widens greatly between bikes is the power output, and to some extent the handing depending on the type of bike (eg tourer/cruiser/sports). That is, you can switch between say a GSF250 bandit and a ZXR250 and not be 'out of your league', although from GN250 to a ZXR250 is crossing many different barriers and widening many variables which lead to a 'jump' and a difficult learning curve.

It isn't impossible to start out on a ZXR/CBR/whatever high powered 250 and not crash. It all comes down to how you limit yourself, knowing your limits, and learning at your own pace. Crashing only become inevitable when you start to push your limits too much too soon, and when you dont take environmental factors (road surface etc) into account.

There is a whole debate as to natural skill etc but i cannot be bothered entering into that in this thread other than saying that those that try too hard too soon without natural skill become part of natural selection!

[lukelin250]

wonderfull post my romeo loving friend (top movie) but yeah everything you said was so true and reading it made me appreciate having a licence and a bike that i do love dearly,250's should never be underestimated or respected its the start to any great biker and the start to any great line of bikes (cbr rr's zxr etc) fuck the companys for not making fast new ones these days the glory days of early 90's are over but we are lucky we still have the tail end of em and they are still available to buy.. see a few posts here bout the nsr and shit so just wanna say HOW I convinced my mate to ditch the cage and buy a bike so hes gone an gotten a nsr and getn his learners the same day,,,,hes never ridden a bike and hes goin all out for one im so proud hhah u guys reckon hell be alright on that widowmaker??? im worried for him but hell figure it out im sure hahah i took it for a ride n shat myself n ive got a bit more experiance than him and still a fairly fAST cbr,,,nyhu yeah look out for us at the rides good to see more and more people to the ranks all the time !!! ny shore riders keen for a ride u????:jerry: more than i hate death itself,,,all montegues.....

[lukelin250]

i started on a gn250 and yeah big learning curve from that to the cbr but its worthit cause you get alot sussed on the way all your braking and countersteering for example,ohhh wanna go riding now and get my skills,,,chicks only like guys that got skills gosh!!!nunchuck skillsssss bow staff skillssssss motorbike riding skillsssss

[Mr. Peanut]

HITCHER!!! :Pokey:

[McJim]

haha, i'll race you fool! silly old man!

What for? I can't get over 30kph!

[Sketchy_Racer]

After 3 years on the CBR, I've definitely mastered it, but I still love it, and it's more than enough performance for the road, and the suspension is so soft that it just soaks up all the imperfections, great for road, not so great for race track.

I'm selling up my CBR250's soon, cause I owe dad heaps for the CBR600 race bike I got. It's going to be a little while before I'm riding the CBR600 to it's full potential. When you know you are riding a bike to it's potential that is probably one of the best feelings, and you can do it on the 250 without putting yourself in too much danger. The 600 is thoroughly scary to push the limits on.


haha yep you sure can get that 250 of your moving!!!

Are you coming to the free vicclub track day at manfeild??

I'll be test riding mikeys 600 there. Dif dif... :banana:

[Whynot]

Was it a turquoise zxr perchance? Last seen in the fog past Waiuku?

saw a turquoise zxr around greenlane on friday last week .... and a grn/blue/wh at ellerslie this morning, seems like they are popping up all over the place lately
:2thumbsup

[KLOWN]

I went from an rg150 (which i love) to a zxr400sp. which is a good step up, for me, and not much of a step up from a zxr250 which my mate had and I rode quite a bit. But the 400 feels much nicer to ride than the 250 and still no worries about smokiin the rear tyre while giving it the beans and has the same handling capablities as a 250, a good option I think for people who like the 250cc but want more power. In an article that i read it compared the zxr400 to the apprillia rs250 and the gsx600f and was almost on par with the aprillia in terms of handling and breaking. Must say it is a fun bike to ride and all the previous owners are sad to see it go.

[R6_kid]

umm incase you didnt know, Aprillia has a 2006 RS125 which would be putting out similar power to those older 250's... its rated as the 3rd best handling bike every, looks like a 600 with aprillia RSVR styling, the only let down is the $9995 price tag and price of replacement parts.

http://www.maxmoto.co.uk/aprilia_rs125_2006.shtml

Im guessing it wouldnt take too much work to mod one of the later model RS250 engines into the frame.

[MattRSK]

That sounds interesting. When might that be released?

[R6_kid]

That sounds interesting. When might that be released?

There is one sitting in the show room at Mt Eden M/C in Auckland now, it looks like it should be an RSV650R or something - very deceiving.

[MattRSK]

<img src="http://www.moto-station.com/ttesimages/motodivers/nouveautes2006/Aprilia_RS125_stpz.jpg">

[t3mp0r4ry nzr]

good post man, the lil 2 fiddy sporters are fun thats for sure. They are a great base to start at as the skills you learn on these are very transferrable when going up size on a sports bike, more so than if you started on a gn or similar or similar cruiser. My only gripe however is the fact that 100k in 6th my CBR is revving at 9k, 110km is 10k and 120km is 12k!! The vibration and the noise gets a bit tedious after a few hours of sitting on between 100-120. But in the twisties its awesome and very confidence inspiring. if I hold on to my bike I will do as many trackdays on it as possible to learn as much as can on it and no doubt scare myself silly on the track!!

[lukelin250]

My only gripe however is the fact that 100k in 6th my CBR is revving at 9k, 110km is 10k and 120km is 12k!! The vibration and the noise gets a bit tedious after a few hours of sitting on between 100-120.

who cares bout the revs on the cbr that 10 k plus revs is ok cuz its not like you feel like your ringing it out or the engine is struggling,,its still got all the way to 19k to go! nothing tedious about that sexy sound coming up mate tedious was driving my struggling gn250 on the motorway,,love the sound your bike makes cuz cbr's r fukn aight mate,,you fuking knows it!!!:beer:

[skidMark]

Yeah, I just meant for comparitive sakes. They are, completely different bikes.
Dare I say it, but its the rider, not the bike ^_^


i recall you actually said after riding my bike alot more people look and wave at you when your on the zxr the the nsr and u ddn't know why...hell neither do i

[Mr. Peanut]

The sound had sommat to do with it.

[skidMark]

The sound had sommat to do with it.


sewing machine wringing full tit eh?

aka:

egg beater

weedeater

blender

strangled cat

vacuum cleaner

meh i cbf coming up with anymore

[skidMark]

http://www.moto-station.com/ttesimages/motodivers/nouveautes2006/Aprilia_RS125_stpz.jpg


i need a bathroom!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mr. Peanut]

sewing machine wringing full tit eh?
Yeah, and my bike pulls better wheelies ^_^ Might be trading it in for a cbr250rr though. Cost of running it is a bitch :buggerd:

[rookie]

My only gripe however is the fact that 100k in 6th my CBR is revving at 9k, 110km is 10k and 120km is 12k!! The vibration and the noise gets a bit tedious after a few hours of sitting on between 100-120.

Hmmm not sure what you're complaining about...i think you'll find that the v-twins are much more prone to vibration...ive ridden a vtr-thou and that massaged my crutch worse than a diesel powered couch.


sewing machine wringing full tit eh?

aka:

egg beater

weedeater

blender

strangled cat

vacuum cleaner

meh i cbf coming up with anymore

that reminds me...i want your exhaust...com on!!!...its just collecting dust!

[Panther]

saw a turquoise zxr around greenlane on friday last week .... and a grn/blue/wh at ellerslie this morning, seems like they are popping up all over the place lately
:2thumbsup

Yeah I sometimes have uni at greenlane, so you get to feast your eyes on my beast :cool:

[Whynot]

Yeah I sometimes have uni at greenlane, so you get to feast your eyes on my beast :cool:

and what a beast it is ..... :msn-wink:

[Panther]

and what a beast it is ..... :msn-wink:

Didn't I follow you from the market road off ramp?

[Whynot]

Didn't I follow you from the market road off ramp?

yep, would have been (edit)wednesday last week ... maybe 2ish as i took the afternoon off to go get some stuff from uni :cool:

[Panther]

yep, would have been (edit)wednesday last week ... maybe 2ish as i took the afternoon off to go get some stuff from uni :cool:

Yeah we have lab from 3pm...haha have you done any mods to your bike? Maybe you should let gareth thrash your bike next time!

[Whynot]

Yeah we have lab from 3pm...haha have you done any mods to your bike? Maybe you should let gareth thrash your bike next time!

I havn't done any personally, but the guy 2 owners before me apparently worked at a bike shop and did the exhaust.

who is gareth .. ?

[vtec]

Gareth == R6 Kid, formerly Gareth_D

[R6_kid]

OH NOES!!! IM SEEN! OMG

Mole_C come up to me when i was next to my bike at uni and ask "Are you R6_kid by any chance."

What uni are you at whynot... not seen your bike at auckland uni.

[Grantasaurus]

Although I don't ride a 250 supersport, I kinda get what you guys are going on about. If I give the ZZR beans it doesn't exactly hang about.
This is despite the fact I still have 10mm chicken strips on my rear bag :/ I'm working on that, but it's hard to get to that level on the road.

[Whynot]

OH NOES!!! IM SEEN! OMG

Mole_C come up to me when i was next to my bike at uni and ask "Are you R6_kid by any chance."

What uni are you at whynot... not seen your bike at auckland uni.

went to AUT ... not there anymore though i just went in to get a copy of my academic transcript as i'm going on my OE soon :cool:

[steved]

I went from an rg150 (which i love) to a zxr400sp. Must say it is a fun bike to ride and all the previous owners are sad to see it go.Stop reminding me :Pokey:

[awesker]

hey Gareth, in a month or 2 you can take out the RGV if you want.... pretty fucking mean! just needa get it legal now

har har har!

[Morcs]

Agreed the high powered 250's are awesome.

My bandit will push 100 in 2nd and get there in about 5 seconds :banana:

[speights_bud]

Can't say i've had a blat on a 'high powered' 250, but i'd agree that even on my gpx you can ride then to their limits and have a great time.

I'd like to know who it was that 'had words' to me at trackday 3 about 'riding too hard'. They were on an R6 and would pass me along the straight every lap, then i'd just go around the outside on turn one into the hairpin. They didn't push the issue until i said it was a 250 not a 400. (Hence the L-plate at the time)

Anyone know who that was?

[vtec]

Hahaha. That's classic man. I remember my first ever time on the track. I was at Puke, and I was quicker than about half the bikes there on my 250 4stroke including CBR600 which I went round the outside of, and an RSV Mille that would gain about 200 metres down the back straight, and lose it all on the brakes... classic.

Even funnier that they thought you were going too hard... you should have hassled them about blocking up the track, and ruining your lines.

[texmo]

I still think my 600 is more fun than my 250 everywhere.

[speights_bud]

Hahaha. That's classic man. I remember my first ever time on the track. I was at Puke, and I was quicker than about half the bikes there on my 250 4stroke including CBR600 which I went round the outside of, and an RSV Mille that would gain about 200 metres down the back straight, and lose it all on the brakes... classic.

Even funnier that they thought you were going too hard... you should have hassled them about blocking up the track, and ruining your lines.

I had problems witht he generic GPX forks being waaaaayyy to soft. i think Frosty's comment during scrutineering was something like "Wooahh yea, soft as baby". Upon touching the brakes at the end of the straight the forks would almost instantly bottom out, but i've replaced fork oil with a thicker grade,should be interesting to see how i go at trackday 4.

I'm planning on trailering (sp?) up the cb 360 that i rebuild from scratch over the last 6 months. So it might be a juggling act between that and the 250.
Apparently it was raced at aisle of man in its day. CB360E engine transplanted into a cb250t frame, yellow. anyone know anything about how they went on the track?

[Squiggles]

i love my 250's... got 3 now... more than enough power than i'll probably ever need, but alas, i will be selling two of them as the comfort factor on the long trips isnt quite up there with a bigger bike, will be sad to see my rgv go :'(

[R6_kid]

I'd like to know who it was that 'had words' to me at trackday 3 about 'riding too hard'. They were on an R6 and would pass me along the straight every lap, then i'd just go around the outside on turn one into the hairpin. They didn't push the issue until i said it was a 250 not a 400. (Hence the L-plate at the time)

Anyone know who that was?

That was me, I had had the bike for a month and was still wasnt used to the power in corners, i'll race you round the new international track now and we'll see who the winner is.

I wasnt having a go at you for riding too hard, some of your passes were a bit OTT for a track day... not racing though. Just you were getting a tad close to me at times, and i saw one incident where your brake lever and grip were extremely close to hitting another rider during a pass.

I do remember also saying that you were quite talented. If you want to remeber how slow i was going i'll post up the pic of me 'leaning it in' - when i look back its pretty classic.

[McJim]

Slightly off topic - had a go on a RG150 (kindly loaned by Jeaves) this evening. Surprisingly fun little bike - think I'll get one for the missus so I can play on it.

Then I might just save up for a RS 250 for myself next year.

[speights_bud]

That was me, I had had the bike for a month and was still wasnt used to the power in corners, i'll race you round the new international track now and we'll see who the winner is.

I wasnt having a go at you for riding too hard, some of your passes were a bit OTT for a track day... not racing though. Just you were getting a tad close to me at times, and i saw one incident where your brake lever and grip were extremely close to hitting another rider during a pass.

I do remember also saying that you were quite talented. If you want to remeber how slow i was going i'll post up the pic of me 'leaning it in' - when i look back its pretty classic.

Sweet, i know i was a bit pushy at times,i doubt i'll be able to keep up now though! Now you know your bike better i'm sure i'll get my ass kicked. But then again i'd only been riding for 2 months back then. Chances are i'll do something the bike can't handle and drop it :shutup: