Good learner bikes.

[Laxi]

Not a bad helmet, looks cool

Re: Advantage on wearing boots.

There was an article about (forgot the stats) some % of motorcycle accidents in England ended up ankle being amputated. The percentage was preety high!

hands and feet are the most common injury to a rider even in a minor off, so yeah gloves, and boots minimum, this is the damage to a mates helmet at under 50kph

[MorphingDragon]

hands and feet are the most common injury to a rider even in a minor off, so yeah gloves, and boots minimum, this is the damage to a mates helmet at under 50kph

Ahh, tarmac roads.

[Laxi]

Ahh, tarmac roads.

another hint that I found out too late delete the BB code when you quote or the mods will give you an infringement

[TygerTung]

Best would be a CG125, they are real cheap, they crash well, which is quite a consideration as most learner riders will drop their bike at least once, and since it doesn't have too much power it will teach you better riding skills as you must compensate for lack of power with good riding.

Is easier to handle as it is very light (96kg) and is much better though the twisty stuff and around town through traffic etc.

[marine0089]

You can pick up a second hand ninja for <5k.

I got my GPX for 4k. Left me with 1k for gear (which didn't last nearly long enough )

[Rayray401]

mm..go for the CBR if you want sport, you should be able to get a second hand one under 5k easy. and def go for gloves and boots, first time i came off, i lost one sneaker, and two really badly spranged and bruised ankles (lucky nothing was broken)

[sil3nt]

If i had $5k to spend on a sports bike i would buy a yamaha FZR 250 like this one http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=251297908

Every man and his dog has the CBR and ZXR and i reckon the FZR looks much better!

[retro asian]

Get a VL250, it's way cooler looking than any of the above bikes

My VL250 was parked next to Gubb's Street Triple, and a member of the public said my bike looks much faster than the Triumph


I just happen to be selling one for around $5000 too
It's only a year old, has about a year's dealer warranty left on it.
(click on link in my signature for more details)

[centaurus]

If it's just for commuting, get an xr250 - bullet proof, light bike, cheap to buy, run and repair if you drop (no fairings). However, if you're doing motorways, I would recommend a kawasaki gpx250. It's pretty much the same bike as the ninja250, just that in 2008 they redesigned the fairings and did minor tweaks and called it a ninja.

A little more than a year ago I bought a 2007 kawasaki gpx250 with very low ks (and it was still in warranty) and I have never regreted my decision. As a beginner bike it was brilliant.

Pros:
- you can still find rather new bikes out there (read: low ks, good condition)
- forgiving to ride, not too gutless but not too much torque to get you into trouble as a beginner and good handling
- good motorway speed (can do constant 140kph easily and it could climb higher is you want to)
- good reliability.
- being second hand you can find them at decent prices

Cons:
- has fairings (i.e. more expensive to fix if you drop it)
- if you are tall (1.8m or more) it can become unconfortable when touring (but then again almost all 250s would have this problem)
- It's not as pretty as some other 250s out there.

[marine0089]

It's not as pretty as some other 250s out there.

LIES! Mines the pruuttiest bike around.

...ok so maybe it's been dropped once which scrapped the fairings and exhaust on the rhs which has also caused it to go a bit rusty but hey, it's all in the eyes of the beholder isn't it?

But honestly, the GPX is a solid learner bike. The wind does have a tendency to throw you around a bit (especially the Wellington winds!) but you'll get that with most of the light 250s. Ya learn to just go with it and is often makes the ride more fun.

[Leseid]

Dad and I went halves in a CBR 125 R for $4000 only had 400 km on it. We've put 8000 km on it now 5 months onwards. It has such a small amount of power you don't even bother trying to pass cars at the higher speeds. So I've learn't now to back of and just enjoy riding, which I think now will my biggest safety feature. It's been quite enjoyable owning a bike from near new and doing all the servicing for it. As a leaner I really think the best way to learn is just to put in the kilometers and have fun exploring eyes up.

Also ride in full gear just encase.