Advice on a first bike?

[SMOKEU]

Shiiiit, you must be taking it pretty easy. I get about 16 to 18 ks/litre BUT I am doing mostly highway riding and definitely not sticking to 100ks.....

It was idling at about 3grand though, just turned it down yesterday to sit at 1300 rpm (which it's supposed to be at) so that may make a difference when sitting at the lights etc.

Your bike is probably not running right then, check your plugs, leads etc, when I took my bike to Ruapuna I got around 7L/100km on the track when I was thrashing the fuck out of it redlining it at every shift. Even a V8 can be economical if it's tuned properly.

[Metalor]

Well, it's had a full service a couple of weeks ago and the guys at the shop said it's perfect.

I had read previously that other hornet riers get about the same mileage... I'll see how taking it easy does (maybe).

[tigertim20]

Does that mean my 600 that gets 7L/100 is thirsty?

depends, that open road, or some commuting and some highway? last trap I did I got around 23km/l on my 600. if thats a bit of commuting as well you are doing OK. Bikes arent really famous for being light on gas in general, just light compared to cars...

[atothek]

I went and sat on a couple of Hornets and Bandits today. Liked the look of the Hornets but I think the Bandits were a bit more comfortable. My main poblem with the Hornets were the gear levers and foot brake. I have fairly long legs and big feet (13-14). I found that the angle of my foot was a bit acute and It was a bit of a problem getting my foot round to shift down and I was putting a bit of pressure on the brake while sitting normally. Am I able to get a replacement gear levers and brake with a bit more room for my feet (or can I adjust the current ones) or should I just look at the Bandit?

[Harvd]

The levers are adjustable so you should be sweet if thats the only problem.

[Markw336]

Refer to this guide

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

is very useful to have aa read of

[atothek]

ok, so assuming i can adjust the levers i'd like an opinion on a few bikes. Which of these is best and what should i be looking at offering?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=236502532 - later model and lower kms but i'd have to transport to wellington which eats into the budget.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=228019615 - higher kms but from a dealer. again the transport issue.

the bandits
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=233238617 - late model lower kms and again shipping but a bit cheaper overall.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=220825384 - from a local dealer

Any opinions are greatly appreciated.

[Emmerson]

Well my first bike was a twenty year old GN250 which lasted for nearly a year before dying. I just got a Hyosung 250gt - and although it suits me fine, I wouldn't recommend it as a first bike. The main reason is that I think it is absolutely huge compared to the other 250s I tried. There is a massive fuel tank, I cant see my feet and it stands up so straight on the side stand that I still have to have a couple of goes at getting off sometimes.

Having said that, if you are confident about using the gears etc (i.e. you don't need to check if you really are moving the gear selector like I did when I started), then it has been a good, well mannerred and handling bike. But all I have to compare it to is my old near-antique GN.

[ready4whatever]

something reliable, common. the hornets are fun little bikes. not sure how they tie in with being reliable. but i know when it does blow it'll be way more expensive to fix being an inline. plus double the sparkplugs, or quadruple. more gas more oil. suck more air out of the atmosphere!

[KelvinAng]

I get about 16 to 18 ks/litre BUT I am doing mostly highway riding and definitely not sticking to 100ks.....

In my experience I got the same level of fuel economy on my lil' ol'hornet on the open roads, and about 13km/L in the city. I don't know why the lil' ol'hornet is so thirsty compared to other inline-4s but it definitely is a fun bike to ride. Are there 250cc inline-4s with just 8 valves? The Hornet has a 16-valve carburettored engine so I think that is part of the reason for the thirst?

I've sold my lil' ol'hornet a little while ago and am missing it dearly.

[no_8wire]

Hey just sent you a PM that you might find interesting re a bigger bike.

[I'll C U Jimmy]

Dude, you are going to want to flick this bike on as soon as you can and throw your leg over something with a bit more grunt, so look at it from the view point of "which bike will be the easiest to re-sell?" Answer, probably the good 'ol GN250. Ideal learners bike, economical,forgiving and bullet-proof. best of all, you will probably get back what you paid for it when you step up.