Virago, does that make me gay?

[thechief]

any thoughts on this? looks like a reasonable price for year etc whats the best way to get a bike checked out if you arent in the area? go up and see it? its about two hours away.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-231284130.htm

[MIXONE]

My advice is to get something like a Yamaha XT250.Plenty of room for tall guys,good vision in traffic,hold their value and the bonus is you can take it off road which is the best place to learn bike control.

[vifferman]

D'ya know what "virago" means? Google it, then substitute it into your topic question, i.e., "Does riding a [....] make me gay?"

Virago: "Strong, brave, or warlike W O M A N"

Says nothing about being gay!

I think it makes you a lesbian though.
Aren't lesbians usually gay?

[thechief]

im pretty keen on a cruiser, that maurader looks like it could be quite small aswell tho. i like the price aswell as the look...

[retro asian]

im pretty keen on a cruiser, that maurader looks like it could be quite small aswell tho. i like the price aswell as the look...

Go to a Suzuki dealer and try sitting on a VL250 Intruder, that should be similar to the Maurauder 250.

[martybabe]

My advice is to get something like a Yamaha XT250.Plenty of room for tall guys,good vision in traffic,hold their value and the bonus is you can take it off road which is the best place to learn bike control.

Excellent choice, cruisers are great but you're going to struggle getting a 250 that fits the bill and you come to that. Loads of choice after you've got your learners Knocked back.

[The Pastor]

Virago: "Strong, brave, or warlike W O M A N"

Says nothing about being gay!

I think you're safe.

i think it was refering to the type of owners....

[sleemanj]

Owned an XV250 for a number of years (basically identical to the one on trademe in the first post), excellent bike for learners and around town commuters.

It's adequate for open road, adequate, it will nip along at 110, just don't really expect to pass anybody at that, not much left, from memory I doubt I got far past 120 (closed road etc etc).

Definately you need to sit on one (ride one) before committing though, I'm a short legged guy and it was sweet, if you're a 6ft guy it might be a bit odd.

My only real complaint with it was... spoked wheels. I got stuck with a flat once, after that I decided that all my future bikes were going to be tubeless.

[JacksColdSweat]

im pretty keen on a cruiser, that maurader looks like it could be quite small aswell tho. i like the price aswell as the look...

I've been on a VL250 for some months now - love it and recommend you consider it. Bit "bigger" feeling than the Virago (IMHO)

As you'd expect - it runs out of puff at the top end pretty quickly as do a lot of these type of 250s - but still HEAPS of fun to ride and turns plenty of heads too

My 7 cents .

[Nagash]

any thoughts on this? looks like a reasonable price for year etc whats the best way to get a bike checked out if you arent in the area? go up and see it? its about two hours away.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-231284130.htm

I'm also 6ft tall on the dot.

I went through my learners on a cruiser (a honda rebel250).

All cruiser 250's except fo maybe the magna are going to be too small for you unfortunately, but they're not uncomfortable. I toured all over the north island on that 250 and was still more comfortable then the other sports bike riders that joined me.

So take size as a given that it's going to be too small and move on.

You seem to me like the type of person that wants to feel good on their bike, and unfortunately.. while you'll love the GN at first, cause it's your first cruiser, you'l really quickly learn to hate it. It's *the* beginners bike, but given that you think 3.6K is expensive, you may be with your first bike for awhile, and you won't want it to be a GN.

Viragos are great,
Rebels are great,
Marauders are great (except they have the same engine as the GN so underpowered..),
Magna's are great yet expensive.
Hyosung Aquila's are great, again, expensive.
Suzuki intruder, great,
Yamaha Dragstar, really great and expensive..

And I think that's all the decent 250 cruisers (there aren't many), anything I haven't mentioned, I don't think you should be looking at, but that's just my opinion.

Just gotta pick outta those, the best bike you can get for your money, and ofcourse, which one appeals to you most. And also, test ride everything before you even consider buying it, makes a world of difference.


On a side note, avoid the Spyder Chopper at all costs. You'll look like a right twat with a 250 chopper.. and they can't be trusted on their reliability. They just haven't been around long enough.

[Molly]

that seems like good advice, then again you are a dude called molly...

And on weekends I like to be called Loretta...

[Griffin]

im pretty keen on a cruiser, that maurader looks like it could be quite small aswell tho. i like the price aswell as the look...

Hi Chief,

Like you, when I decided to get into riding, I knew that I preferred the Cruiser style of bike to Sportbikes. My first bike was the Yamaha XVS250 (Dragstar) great bike for learning on, looked the part and appears meatier than most other 250cc Cruisers on the market. Check out a few pics for comparison with other 250's like the Suzuki VL250, the Virago, marauder etc and you will see what I mean. The down side is that they are a little more expensive... but I dont mind spending the extra $ on the right bike.

A good friend of mine is a big lad and he has the Hyosung GV250 - it is also a big bike for a 250 and they seem to be getting a good rep as a beginners bike... however you would def want to upgrade once you had done your time.

Of course... once youve got your full... the options are endless, there are alot of lovely Cruisers out there...

[LBD]

Your not gay....its a yamaha not a Honda!

[retro asian]

My first bike was the Yamaha XVS250 (Dragstar) great bike for learning on, looked the part and appears meatier than most other 250cc Cruisers on the market..

Dragstars are cool. I almost bought a customized XVS1100 instead of my VL800.

I remember reading somewhere that the Virago had more speed, but personally I think it doesn't look as good as the Dragstar/Vstar.

[Griffin]

Its in Auckland but the pics will give you an idea... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-239632183.htm