First Ride - WOOOOAAH!

[CB ARGH]

Just got back from the first ever ride on my CBR250RR, and holy SHIT!!! I could not believe the power of it... one second I was at 20km/hr and next thing I know I'd be given a speeding ticket. The bike runs fantastic, not a problem in sight.

It's super hard to learn the indicators and stuff, but that will come naturally just like in the old cage. I forgot to clean the helmet visor so had to ride with it up, which pissed me off with cold lips and wind in the eyes. Turned a few heads too...

Had a go at hill starting, will need a steeper hill, because it's too easy because the steepest hill around here isn't very steep.

Such a happy man... got a video of it too but the bandwidth has lapsed... might upload it soon...

What a coincidense (spell?)

I viewed the bike for the first ever time on June 17 2008.

I ride the bike for the first ever time August 17 2008.

Two months exactly... time to get the baby on the road... but legally (in other words - time to register it!)

CHURR!!!!!! :done:

[CB ARGH]

Picture of the first ride... well, really standing by the bike...

The fairings are just being repaired at the moment.

[jrandom]

Picture of the first ride... well, really standing by the bike...

Nice bike bro.

Get yourself some proper boots and jacket and pants sometime soon eh?

:niceone:

[Irontusk]

I was looking at CBRs and ZXRs when I first started looking for a bike.. I'm glad I gave up on looking for a second hand bike (it was proving difficult) and went for something not quite so fast, my VL moves me fairly well and I havn't even gone past 1/2 throttle yet (run in :angry2:) so I'd probably kill my self on one of the 4 cylinders!

I hope you enjoy it, but like Jrandom said, find some gear! It is one other thing to do before going out on each ride, but I'd say it's worth it.

[EJK]

Picture of the first ride... well, really standing by the bike...

The fairings are just being repaired at the moment.

Someone seems grumpy lol

Nice bro, I heard CBR250's are FFSFAST :niceone:

[Griffin]

Im with Jrandom... get the gear... SOON. You're young, new and thrilled with the speed of your new toy - its a mix for disaster.

Spend some money on decent gear, practice, practice, practice and dont ride like your 10 ft tall and bullet proof... you ain't.

Oh... and welcome to the wonderful world of motorbike riding.

[CB ARGH]

Don't worry guys... I've got the gear! Just didn't want to go too hardcore on the first pootle around the streets to see if it actually goes...

Got some riding pants that are waterproof with padding and stuff from Cyclespot honda or whatever. Got a good helmet from Cycletreads... Got a Revit leather jacket $899 retail for $300... and Sidi B2 I think boots... Oh and the gloves too.

About $1100 worth I expect! :gob:

Went for another ride too, it's great fun, ADDICTIVE!

[varminter]

Wear it all the time, even in bed. The story is that most accidents happen within 15K's of home. I'm thinking of never going back just in case.

[BiK3RChiK]

Good stuff, Steven! Great to hear you're out there (finally!) doin' it! Ride safe, mate!!:banana:

[Ragingrob]

Nice one man that cbr looks mint! For sure you've got one of the fastest 250s :p you will love it! At the minimum for a 2min ride I wear shoes, jeans, riding jacket, helmet, and gloves... That 50kph+ crash within 2 mins is still gonna feel like a 50kph+ crash after a day of riding :msn-wink:

Beautiful bike!

[FJRider]

Wear it all the time, even in bed. The story is that most accidents happen within 15K's of home. I'm thinking of never going back just in case.

What he said...remember, people die in bed too. Those "short" rides to the corner dairy in summer... in shorts have hurt a lot of bikers... Tarmac does not get any softer. :2thumbsup

[CB ARGH]

Cheers guys, got a bit wet today. Started to practise emergency braking and hill starting. It's getting a lot easier with the indicators, I don't have to look at them anymore.

I just have to get into the habbit of having the two fingers (index and up yours :Oi:) covering the front brake lever at all times, as it feels much safer that way, and I'm sure it is too!

Thanks

[Ragingrob]

Some people advise against the whole two finger covering brake idea...

1) Two fingers ain't gonna stop you as quickly as four.
2) In some cases your two remaining fingers can get trapped between the throttle and brake lever, therefore making it impossible to brake any further.
3) In crash situations things happen fast, it is quite possible that when you brake with two fingers you may accidently throttle back at the same time, any force against your braking is bad!

That being said, around town I always use two fingers due to the pace I'm going and the many road users I think that a split second extra braking time would be beneficial. On the open road I keep all fingers on the throttle, I do use two fingers to slow down etc, but I try not to rest them on the brake just in case something happens so that I will be more prone to using all four.

Good to hear you're out and about all over the place!

[RobRod]

Like everyone says wear gear every time , I as so many others still have scares from learning this lesson 20+ years later, take a lesson & save on idiot rash.
The cbr will be a good thing though, enjoy

[CB ARGH]

The cbr will be a good thing though, enjoy

She's an excellent bike, I'm going to get her serviced soon, anybody have any recommendations on a basic service to make it run even better than "TOTALLY AWESOME"? :msn-wink:

Time to name the old girl too... :rolleyes:

[Ragingrob]

What have you done so far?

The basic service would be oil + filter change, sparkies, air filter...

Maybe just get someone to see if it is running bad or anything first, might not need to bother with any servicing just yet!

Check out http://www.cbr250.com/cbr250/tuning/

That site has almost everything ya need to know! Including the workshop manual of which you should download.

:niceone:

EDIT: I'm implying a bit of DIY, nothing like getting to know the insides of your bike.

[RobRod]

take it to a place you can trust, they should be checking the valve clearance, balance carbs, mixture, etc & change filters , plugs, fluids as required. Ask for a price and what they'rew going to do first so you know and don't have a nasty surprise.:2thumbsup

[CB ARGH]

Yeah with the CBR the sparkies are so far out of reach that we haven't bothered. I know that they need to be done though. I have found a guide to removing them but I think we'd be better off being shown by another CBR owner.

Nothing like the motocross bikes where you just clean them after every ride (since they're so each to get out)... :oi-grr:

[<Rhino>]

Good one mate, bet your still grining from the ride :drool:

[fatzx10r]

sound's like your having fun, good stuff :niceone: but like rob said, best to wear your gear at all time's

[CB ARGH]

Good one mate, bet your still grining from the ride :drool:

The grin went after I gave it a bit of gas. It turned into more of a...

HOLY FUCK! :eek:

[Meekey_Mouse]

Awesome stuff, good on ya for gettin out there and havin gear :yes:

CBR's are a mint little bike and IMO the best to learn on if you have the basic idea of bikes. They keep ya happy for a long time :D

Ride safe and keep it shiny side up,

Jas

[Irontusk]

The grin went after I gave it a bit of gas. It turned into more of a...

HOLY FUCK! :eek:

Fuck me, I can imagine. I do want to get on a sports bike at some point and see what it's like, but I'll stick with my underpowered overweight suzy for now :2thumbsup

[Nagash]

Fuck me, I can imagine. I do want to get on a sports bike at some point and see what it's like, but I'll stick with my underpowered overweight suzy for now :2thumbsup

250 cruisers can keep up with 250 sprots bikes easy.. just how yah ride it..


That's a wicked bike mate, many people have started off on the CBR's and they're an absolute blast.

Happy riding!

I'll skip the gear comments.. seems to have been well covered at this point.

[CookMySock]

haha, good shit bro. :first: No doubt you know how to ride a bike, so no lecture from me.

I will say though, beware the cardboard box! Cardboard boxes look innocent enough when they have nothing in them, but when they have broken fairings and smashed speedos and headlamps in them, they turn horrific, and even more so when their wrecked contents are on trademe for $1 reserve. You can sit next to your cardboard box and wish and hope, and take the parts out and put them back again, but you cannot turn back time.

Always remember the dreaded cardboard box before every ride, and you will be just fine!

Steve

[TuonoTom]

Yeah with the CBR the sparkies are so far out of reach that we haven't bothered. I know that they need to be done though. I have found a guide to removing them but I think we'd be better off being shown by another CBR owner.

Nothing like the motocross bikes where you just clean them after every ride (since they're so each to get out)... :oi-grr:


Did the plugs on my CBR250RR a few weeks ago, come to chch and we'll show you how its done :lol: It is a bit tricky, but basically you will need to take off the two side fairings, and unbolt the radiator. A good socket set with lots of extensions will be very helpful too. Have fun out there, I love my cibby too!

[gijoe1313]

:niceone: Good to see you enjoying the biking experience, just keep practising and reading as much as you can about riding, absorb it, put into practice a few of the ideas and reflect on what you are doing.

Plenty of excellent threads in this section about riding, search for Buckbuck's threads on his beginning experiences - very good learning in them! :yes:

Nice bike by the way! Will take a little while for you to get to know it well! :scooter:

[CB ARGH]

haha, good shit bro. :first: No doubt you know how to ride a bike, so no lecture from me.

I will say though, beware the cardboard box! Cardboard boxes look innocent enough when they have nothing in them, but when they have broken fairings and smashed speedos and headlamps in them, they turn horrific, and even more so when their wrecked contents are on trademe for $1 reserve. You can sit next to your cardboard box and wish and hope, and take the parts out and put them back again, but you cannot turn back time.

Always remember the dreaded cardboard box before every ride, and you will be just fine!

Steve

At first I thought you meant empty boxes on the side of the road... but after re-reading it... oh, it's so sad...

My bike will be seeing the box again, next winter when I clean her up again and give it a bit of a paint job. AND IN UNBROKEN CONDITION TO!

Churr!

[CookMySock]

My bike will be seeing the box again, next winter when I clean her up again and give it a bit of a paint job. AND IN UNBROKEN CONDITION TO!Gee you should be able to have some grrreat touring km's under your belt by then, and some happy times to go with them.. :first:

Yeah, just always remember that cardboard box story, and be determined every time you set out, that this will not happen to you, and you will ride for years and never wreck a bike, or yourself, and if you find yourself riding dangerously, picture that cardboard box in your mind.. Insurance companies will love you too - if you decide to bother with them any more. :rockon:

Steve

[mark247]

CBR, good choice, in my opinion the best 250 inline four.. do a wheelie au!

[CB ARGH]

CBR, good choice, in my opinion the best 250 inline four.. do a wheelie au!

I'm not even going to be thinking about pointless stunts for now. It's called a LEARNER license, where you learn to ride a motorcycle... not to learn how to get your baby on the 2008 NZ Best Crashes DVD. :yawn:

[mark247]

I'm not even going to be thinking about pointless stunts for now. It's called a LEARNER license, where you learn to ride a motorcycle... not to learn how to get your baby on the 2008 NZ Best Crashes DVD. :yawn:

heh calm down buddy, was just joking.

[CB ARGH]

heh calm down buddy, was just joking.

Shhhhh! Was just being one of the "cool" people. :chase: