Things to look for when buying a motorbike

[nedw014]

hi there i am really new to this. i was wondering if any1 cud help me when it comes to buyin a motobike. right now i am leaning towards getting a zxr250C over cbr250rr..... how much do u guys reckon a zxr250C wud cost and how many km should it ideally have?????? and also the things i shud look out 4 when buying a motorike so tht i wudnt have to end up pushing it to a bike shop after 2 weeks.... i know this is a long shot but is it possible to get a zxr250C for 3.5grand?????.............. any help wid this would greatly appreciated

[Zoolander]

Hey there mate. If you are brand new to biking I would recommend starting out on something a little cheaper and easier to ride than a 4 cylinder 250 sports. I know they look cool and all that, but consider this: you will most likely drop your first bike and those fairings cost mega$$$ to replace; these bikes rev to the moon and if proper maintainence has not been done (considering a lot of them are fairly high mileage these days) you could be in for expensive repairs; and buying a cheaper bike will let you put money aside for good gear (essential to have). Also a sportsbike can be quite hard to ride and if you are inexperienced you may learn faster on a more upright less powerful bike.

At the moment 250 sports bikes go for highly inflated prices due to our stupid licensing laws. They may well come down in price when the new regulations are introduced but it might be hard to find a good one for 3.5k.

Oh and welcome to the site BTW.

[Cruisin' Craig]

Hi there, and welcome to the forum :-)

I just had a quick browse through trademe and have to conclude that you can get yourself a nice sports bike (albeit a slightly older one) for the money you have. Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that you should, as mentioned above.

Here are some of the bikes I found:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Sports/auction-152942400.htm
Here's a kwasaki ZXR, just since you mentioned them. A little above your price range, but it would be a great bike. Very fast, very good handling, very nice looking, and very expensive if you drop it on that nice green fairing.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Sports/auction-152720139.htm
Here's a more tractable and well behaved, nice realiable sports tourer that would see you right.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Sports/auction-152719278.htm
How do you feel about 2-strokes? Harder to ride. More likley to get dropped. More likley tobreak down. One helluva lot faster. I once got blown away by one of these while riding my FZR400 I had at the time.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Sports/auction-152661184.htm
While we're looking at 2-strokes, this one is, in my opinion, slower than the one above, but also less of a handful ot a novice rider (I have ridden both). A friend of mine got one of these for his first "real" bike. Took him three weeks to write it off, so it's still something you'd want to be careful with.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Sports/auction-152710452.htm
This one looks and sounds like a real sports bike, but I've also ridden one of these and believe me, it's really a harmless little kitten that wouldn't hurt a fly. I think it's a good learner bike in all ways appart from the fact that it has a fairing. Handles well, doesn't break down, very forgiving of rider errors.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Sports/auction-153056650.htm
This is my personal favourite of the bunch. Faster than the Suzuki above, while (in my opinion) still being just as tractable and easy to ride.

Just to be totally clear, I make all of these suggestions while privately thinking you would be better off looking at an unfaired bike. That said, I also understand that buying a bike is a decision that must be made not only with sound logic, but also drool on the chin.

Good look finding yourself great bike :-)

[Cruisin' Craig]

Hey, I reckon this would be perfect. Looks a beautiful bike, and you can drop it while you are learning without wrecking any fairing.:cool:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Sports/auction-152866250.htm

And don't worry about the mileage, they've done a typo. I looked it up. The real mileage will be about 30,000. They've just stuck an extra digit in by mistake.

Also, this bike has been discussed on KB forum before, so have a read and see what others have had to say about it: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/archive/index.php/t-10939.html

[Str8 Jacket]

A 150 2 stroke is also an excellent learners bike! Easy to maintain and easy to fix, which is lucky cause they can be a tad "moody and unpredictable". They are quite easy to ride, I found when I was a noob I had a KR150 which taught me alot about throttle control and gear changing etc. They dont have engine braking so you need to learn to use the gears and once you become a little more confident with your riding you can also get some decent speed of them. They obviously arent as big or as flash looking as some of the 4 cylinder 250's, but give them some serious consideration. I have now become a 2 stroke addict! :devil2:

[hang0ver]

Make sure you test-ride whatever you are looking to buy and a history of service/work reciepts is good...

If you search online there are some really good pre-purchase checklists, with questions for the seller.

Look up all the specs of the specific bike before you go round to see the seller so you are in the know of the finer details.

_-H-_

[Mole_C]

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=26572

[nedw014]

Hey there mate. If you are brand new to biking I would recommend starting out on something a little cheaper and easier to ride than a 4 cylinder 250 sports. I know they look cool and all that, but consider this: you will most likely drop your first bike and those fairings cost mega$$$ to replace; these bikes rev to the moon and if proper maintainence has not been done (considering a lot of them are fairly high mileage these days) you could be in for expensive repairs; and buying a cheaper bike will let you put money aside for good gear (essential to have). Also a sportsbike can be quite hard to ride and if you are inexperienced you may learn faster on a more upright less powerful bike.

At the moment 250 sports bikes go for highly inflated prices due to our stupid licensing laws. They may well come down in price when the new regulations are introduced but it might be hard to find a good one for 3.5k.

Oh and welcome to the site BTW.

thanx so much for your advice... i know what you mean the only reason i was looking into zxr250 was that i am going to be stuck wid tht bike for another 2 yrs or so i would want something thts big. my mate said i cud use his 150cc to learn on so i wud have some experience b4 i get the zxr

[nedw014]

[QUOTE=Cruisin' Craig;1545293]Hi there, and welcome to the forum :-)

thanz Cruisin' Craig i looked into those still i kinda like the zxr250. tht was on trademe. its done 35,500 km my mate told me to look for a bike that has a mileage less than 20,000km as those bikes would have less problem, is this true or is there not much diff if the bikes done a 20,000km or 50,000km???? and once again thanx for the trouble you gone thru to find those bikes in trade me

[nedw014]

A 150 2 stroke is also an excellent learners bike! Easy to maintain and easy to fix, which is lucky cause they can be a tad "moody and unpredictable". They are quite easy to ride, I found when I was a noob I had a KR150 which taught me alot about throttle control and gear changing etc. They dont have engine braking so you need to learn to use the gears and once you become a little more confident with your riding you can also get some decent speed of them. They obviously arent as big or as flash looking as some of the 4 cylinder 250's, but give them some serious consideration. I have now become a 2 stroke addict! :devil2:


from what i have heard 4strokes are a much better wen it comes to learning than 2 stroke so i havnt looked into any 2 strokes but i wouldnt mind giving them some condsideration thanx for the response anyway

[Str8 Jacket]

from what i have heard 4strokes are a much better wen it comes to learning than 2 stroke so i havnt looked into any 2 strokes but i wouldnt mind giving them some condsideration thanx for the response anyway

Its definately a personal choice! I started off on a brand spankers GN250 but wrote it off 2 months later..... With the insurance payout I got I bought the KR and I learnt so much more and enjoyed riding so much more than on the GN. See if you can ride as many bikes as possible before you buy. You probably wont know what your style of riding is until you've been riding for a bit though.... Comfort is of the up most importance as well, otherwise you'll never become a confident rider! Good luck and welcome! :niceone:

[nedw014]

[QUOTE=hang0ver;1545330]Make sure you test-ride whatever you are looking to buy and a history of service/work reciepts is good...

sweet i will do tht

[The Pastor]

hi there i am really new to this. i was wondering if any1 cud help me when it comes to buyin a motobike. right now i am leaning towards getting a zxr250C over cbr250rr..... how much do u guys reckon a zxr250C wud cost and how many km should it ideally have?????? and also the things i shud look out 4 when buying a motorike so tht i wudnt have to end up pushing it to a bike shop after 2 weeks.... i know this is a long shot but is it possible to get a zxr250C for 3.5grand?????.............. any help wid this would greatly appreciated
the best thing to look for when buying a motorbike is spelling.

[nedw014]

Its definately a personal choice! I started off on a brand spankers GN250 but wrote it off 2 months later..... With the insurance payout I got I bought the KR and I learnt so much more and enjoyed riding so much more than on the GN. See if you can ride as many bikes as possible before you buy. You probably wont know what your style of riding is until you've been riding for a bit though.... Comfort is of the up most importance as well, otherwise you'll never become a confident rider! Good luck and welcome! :niceone:

oh ok cheers that just reminded me did you find it hard to insure your bike on your learners ..

[Str8 Jacket]

oh ok cheers that just reminded me did you find it hard to insure your bike on your learners ..

Nah, it was easy. Well back then it was.... Bearing in mind that I havent held a car licence since the age of 16 so I had no "bad driving" history after the age of 18 which is what the count apparently?? I insured my first 3 bikes with Star Insurance but now alot of insurance companies wont insure you if your bike wont be kept in a garage. You have a huge amount of options with insurance. I would ring kiwibike insurance if I were you and they will get the best price and deal available for you....

[nedw014]

[QUOTE=Str8 Jacket;1545459]

sweet as you are a legend thanx alot mate

[Cruisin' Craig]

[QUOTE=Cruisin' Craig;1545293]Hi there, and welcome to the forum :-)

thanz Cruisin' Craig i looked into those still i kinda like the zxr250. tht was on trademe. its done 35,500 km my mate told me to look for a bike that has a mileage less than 20,000km as those bikes would have less problem, is this true or is there not much diff if the bikes done a 20,000km or 50,000km???? and once again thanx for the trouble you gone thru to find those bikes in trade me

It would certainly be nice to get a ZXR that's done less than 20,000km. Your friend is of course correct that on average you'll have less trouble that way.

But you're also looking for a bike around the $3,500 mark, and that means that somewhere you need to make a compromise, because I don't think you're going to get both.

Sounds to me like you've really got your heart set on something like the ZXR. So if that's what you really want, then you either have to find more money, or get an older one with more mileage.

I would suggest to you that the next best thing to getting a low mileage bike, is to read closely the suggestions in the thread about buying a new bike as provided to you bu Mole_C.

Personally, if I were staring out biking, I would be happy to buy a 4-stroke 250 that had done 35,000km as long as I had taken every effort to ensure the bike I was getting was a good one. And that is precisely what Mole_C's link can help you to do. I see no reason why you can't get yourself a great ZXR for the money you are planning to spend.

[nedw014]

yea i looked thru the mole C link it was really helpful like you said . . . . . according you how much more would i be looking at if i were to get a zxr model C for less than 20,000km (so that i can make an offer with out sounding like a retard) and also whats your thorts on importing a bike would it work out cheaper or is it way to much hassle to even consider it ???????????????