Is this a good idea?

[HornetBoy]

Gidday all im thinking about buying a 1998 vtr250 to replace my hornet 250 what is all your opinions on this thought? my reasons were that its going to be alot cheaper to run the vtr and its got a bloody good sounding pipe on it ...

[Macktheknife]

Why would it be any cheaper to run?

[HornetBoy]

Gidday all im thinking about buying a 1998 vtr250 to replace my hornet 250 what is all your opinions on this thought? my reasons were that its going to be alot cheaper to run the vtr and its got a bloody good sounding pipe on it ...

[NighthawkNZ]

Gidday all im thinking about buying a 1998 vtr250 to replace my hornet 250 what is all your opinions on this thought? my reasons were that its going to be alot cheaper to run the vtr and its got a bloody good sounding pipe on it ...

I doubt it will be any cheaper to run??? but the vtr250 is a fun bike none the less.

[delusionz]

Sounds bizarre to want to swap a 4 cyl for a twin. Personally I want to swap my twin for a 4 cyl even if it means getting a bike thats 14 years older than mine

[Jeaves]

Gidday all im thinking about buying a 1998 vtr250 to replace my hornet 250 what is all your opinions on this thought? my reasons were that its going to be alot cheaper to run the vtr and its got a bloody good sounding pipe on it ...

My opinion is stick with the hornet :cool:

[gijoe1313]

:weep: If you are doing it on a cost basis, yeah than a VTR is the goer... but why? Why!? WHY!? Oh! The inhumanity of it all :weep:

Nah, no worries - if you need to do it, it's your ride! Just mean there will be a little ol'Hornet free to find its next home :yes:

[skelstar]

Assume your economy stems from the fuel costs? Surely a small fault like a blown fork seal would ruin that saving pretty quickly.

[MSTRS]

Nothing wrong with that idea, except how much will you really save in the long term?
The VTR will be down a snippet in HP, but will have more torque - so better around town.

[Squiggles]

i like twins, 4 in bed might require another rider ewww, sloppy seconds

[McJim]

Try it before you buy it. gijoe1313 tried my VTR250 after riding his hornet and commented "Ahhhh so that's what that torque stuff was you was talkin' 'bout. That'll be why you left me behind on the hills."

The cost of those unusually sized tyres is a killer as well as the cost of fuel for a high revving 4 cyl.

I would get a spada if I were you - much cheaper and has similar peak power to the Hornet.

the reason folks find this weird is that the majority of riders either gravitate towards 4 cyl or toward 2 cyl or they like thumpers.

It takes a real biker to appreciate all of the machines for their different attributes as well as liking triples and 2 stroke engines for their quirks.

I am very glad I never got a 4 cyl 250 - I've tried a Bandit, a Hornet and a Zeal. I preferred the VTR250 to them all. But then I prefer my Ducati 600 to a Kawasaki 636.

[sefer]

There was a Spada on trademe a few days back.

[NighthawkNZ]

There was a Spada on trademe a few days back.

Spada... errrr ain't they just an eariler modle of the vtr???

[gijoe1313]

And 'sides if you were practical would you really be riding a bike? :lol: :msn-wink:

[Squiggles]

Try it before you buy it.

yeah baby yeah. :buggerd:

[xwhatsit]

Spada... errrr ain't they just an eariler modle of the vtr???

Yes, but the Spada is bloody quick. 40+hp at the crank? I've heard 45hp but that seems excessive. Alloy frame, too, like the CBRs. Low production numbers, but certainly a match for the CBRs and ZXRs of the time, despite being a naked twin. The modern VTR250 is much more of a commuter, albeit a very nice one.

Why not wait until you get your full? How much time is left? I'm assuming you will get a `big bike' once you get your full, you won't keep your 250 forever like me.

If money is tight (and you'll make money when you sell the CB then buy the VTR, right?), then it's not a completely stupid idea. You'll find the VTR very easy to ride, and they're quite similar bikes apart from the engine. Definitely a reliable bike, the early VT250 bottom-end woes are long gone.

In addition, everybody knows that your coolness is inversely proportional to the number of cylinders your bike has.

[klyong82]

I thought the inline 4 would be cheaper in the long-run. not sure about 250cc but a 1000cc v-twin eats tyres and brake pads faster than a 1000cc inline 4

[NighthawkNZ]

I thought the inline 4 would be cheaper in the long-run. not sure about 250cc but a 1000cc v-twin eats tyres and brake pads faster than a 1000cc inline 4

Don't know about brakes pads... I use more engine braking (which the v-twin has heaps of) and hardly touch the brakes????... depends on riding style I suppose.

[McJim]

Why have I got deja vu? I thought I replied to this thread....goes and looks

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=56364

Yup - we got a double posting here - we need the threads merged.....goes to find a mod....

[bomma]

go the vtr!!!!! amazing bikes and pack a lot more punch than they let on!! depends on your style of riding but i basically tried out a gxs250, cb250, cbr250, zxr250 and then a vtr250 and i ended up owning my lovely vtr for more than a year!! Felt bad everytime i revvd the nuts off her but she loved it ;)

[McJim]

Spada... errrr ain't they just an eariler modle of the vtr???

the Spada was the final evolution of the VTR before the 'great restriction' came. For some reason honda in their infinite wisdom said "Well, we managed to squeeze 43hp out of a little 2 fiddy twin - we can say we've done that now - from here on let them be gutless!"

Dunno why they did that - ZXR250s and CBR250s were still pumping out 40 hp+ in the early nineties.

[HornetBoy]

Well ive ridden the vtr250 and it has an aftermarket exhaust on and i was immediatly taken by it a, it felt alot lighter and less stable at higher speeds and head winds but i really enjoyed the lower revving and less gear changeing or it and also that v-twin sound.the hornet ive got now is good yea and has alot better top speed etc but it only gets 150km to the tank and the vtr gets over 220km which is a significant difference to me anyway

[HornetBoy]

fuel is not the major influence on my choice but it is a bonus

[Squiggles]

I thought the inline 4 would be cheaper in the long-run. not sure about 250cc but a 1000cc v-twin eats tyres and brake pads faster than a 1000cc inline 4

:whistle:

go the twin, you'll love it ;) i tried an inline and there just wasnt the same grunt until i was revving its balls off, twin pulls from idle :wari:

[HornetBoy]

Yea thats what i found, the vtr250 sounded great and "deep" whereas my 4cyl sounded like i was in first gear all the time.The main thing for me is that the vtr is really skinny and small and feels easy to lift up and get pushed around in head winds.The vtr for me felt like (dare i say it) riding a harley compared to my hornet as in motor sound and feel.(i have ridden a harley by the way..)

[TKDSKIP]

My lil Spada is a sweet bike for getting to work and short trips with good grunt throughout the rev range and the sweetest handling, but I have been cleaned up by every Hornet I have tried to play with once the speed gets above 100ks. Yes they are cheap to run but only if you dont thrash them everywhere, found a CBR1000 was as cheap to run on a trip to Raglan a few weeks ago.

[lanci]

I believe from my totally uninformed and unbackupable opinion that it would be a massive mistake!!!

For my next bike am tossing up the same situation......a Hornet 600 or SV650..........will see what plays out.

[HornetBoy]

Maybe im just bored and wanting something new but i swear this vtr250 just felt so much ...easyer to ride and alot more quicker .Yea i agree the hornet 250 would kick the vtr250 over 100km but im not really worried about that a until i get a real bike like a ducati or a triumph

[klyong82]

Don't know about brakes pads... I use more engine braking (which the v-twin has heaps of) and hardly touch the brakes????... depends on riding style I suppose.

I can see your point guess like you said depends on riding style.



:whistle:

go the twin, you'll love it ;) i tried an inline and there just wasnt the same grunt until i was revving its balls off, twin pulls from idle :wari:

Yes twins have the torque but remember those rides we went...your fuel consumption was not as great as an inline. Alright perhaps one day we should swap bikes and just ride it in circles.

[klyong82]

Well ive ridden the vtr250 and it has an aftermarket exhaust on and i was immediatly taken by it a, it felt alot lighter and less stable at higher speeds and head winds but i really enjoyed the lower revving and less gear changeing or it and also that v-twin sound.the hornet ive got now is good yea and has alot better top speed etc but it only gets 150km to the tank and the vtr gets over 220km which is a significant difference to me anyway


150km on a 16L tank? I say your carbs might need balancing unless you are riding it really hard. I can agreed with you that the v-twin sound is just nice especially if you have an aftermarket pipe with it. They tend to vibrate more than inlines so that's normal.

ANyway all the best in making the change.

[HornetBoy]

yea my tank is 10 litr including reserve (weird huh!) and i get 170km outta that which i think is pretty bad ,but i know somepeople have it far worse.The vtr250 i borrow a 2001 with aftermarket pipes had a 13l tank and got 28km per liter whereas my hornet gets 15-17 and its stock,so its a significatn difference,And cause i travel to palmy everyday and back ,and travel around on the weekends petrol milage is always looming on my mind.

[gijoe1313]

yea my tank is 10 litr including reserve (weird huh!) and i get 170km outta that which i think is pretty bad ,but i know somepeople have it far worse.The vtr250 i borrow a 2001 with aftermarket pipes had a 13l tank and got 28km per liter whereas my hornet gets 15-17 and its stock,so its a significatn difference,And cause i travel to palmy everyday and back ,and travel around on the weekends petrol milage is always looming on my mind.

only a 10 litre tank? Its not a stock standard 16 litre? With the reserve usually needing to be used around the 160km mark? Strange!

[bimotabob]

Heck my 49cc bike has a bigger tank than the CBR if the 10L figure is correct.
28Km/L sounds like awesome milage for a 250 v-twin - infact I don't think my RG50 would do much better.

More people should get small bikes and save gas - esp as most cars going to work have one occupant.

Cheers

[HornetBoy]

Yep it is only 10litre total including reserve just filled today only got me 170km

[lanci]

My Hornet 250 defintely has a 16ltr tank. Does your tank have 6 ltrs of bog bung into the tank Hornet250Boy??? :gob:

[gijoe1313]

Yep it is only 10litre total including reserve just filled today only got me 170km

Could you post a piccie of the tank and bike? This sounds like one heck of a custom job or is there some blockage which is stopping you using the whole capacity properly? Reserve tap still okay?

Heck, one day I may just ride down to take a look! Haven't been to Wanganui on my little ol'Hornet yet! :lol:

[NighthawkNZ]

yea my tank is 10 litr including reserve (weird huh!) and i get 170km outta that which i think is pretty bad ,but i know somepeople have it far worse.The vtr250 i borrow a 2001 with aftermarket pipes had a 13l tank and got 28km per liter whereas my hornet gets 15-17 and its stock,so its a significatn difference,And cause i travel to palmy everyday and back ,and travel around on the weekends petrol milage is always looming on my mind.

I had a 10ltr tank (including reserve) on me old XJ 650 Special... was annoying only do 150km and about 20 on reserve... had to plan my fuel stops

[HornetBoy]

Gijoe yep i swear its 10ltr,if youd like to see no prob mate we could even go for a little ride maybe. its weird now that every1 else is saying that their bikes are 16ltrs etc so i dunno ..

[Lteejay]

And after you gave youself such a cool name - VTR250boy just doesn't have the same ring to it.