Heya from Christchurch (Jiro)

**Jiro** · 25th March 2010, 14:49

Hey guys, as you can probably tell, I'm new to the forum

Guess I should start off with an introduction. I'm from Christchurch, turning 26 this year, not a rider yet, but really wanting to be one

As far as experience in riding goes, you may as well treat me as a complete newbie, I've borrowed a friend's scooter once in a while and rented one on my last trip to queenstown, but outside of my pocket bike, that's about as far as my experience on two wheels goes.

I'm really keen on learning how to (actually)ride, getting my license, and getting a nice bike for my own to ride. Any assistance would be very much appreciated.

I was reading around, and set my eyes on the Kawasaki ZXR 250C, but I'd really like your opinions on whether or not that'd be a good first bike for me.
Thanks in advance for any feedback

**jim.cox** · 25th March 2010, 14:54

welcome to the madhouse

**Subike** · 25th March 2010, 15:05

a learner ?
then look at a yamaha scorpio 225,
hardly a better bike around for learning on,
and it leands it self to being moe fun the more practced you become.
more than one experianced rider has enjoyed the ability of thes little bikes after years of riding big bikes.
and welcome to KB
look past the cheeky buggers there you will find
a gold mine of friends willing to help you
some may be those you will count as being friends for life.

**ESXB0Y** · 25th March 2010, 15:19

Welcome to KB!

I don't have anywhere near the wealth of experience some of the guys have here on the forum, but I currently ride a *cough* Hyosung GT250R *cough*. They are very well suited as a daily rider for getting around town and splitting down the motorway, but lend themselves well to some stretching of the legs down a nice winding road. Only issue is the power delivery - they are quite torquey, being a V-Twin, and coupled with the displacement get a bit breathless further up the range. One of the main reasons I bought it was that it's in a 650cc frame, so is a bigger bike. Gets me used to the size of what I will be upgrading too, plus I don't look too daft on it. It's also rather cheap!

A friend of mine has the Kawasaki 250 and that is a sublime bike to ride - nice and easy around town, smooth acceleration and light, nimble handling. A fantastic bike to ride. Not a fan of the handlebars, personally, but makes it nice for the day to day trawl.

The older Honda 250cc's are a sexy looking bike, but I haven't ridden one of those. The Yamaha 125cc is a leftfield entry, but a lovely bike to ride nonetheless. A bit on the pricey side though!

Just my half cents worth!

**3lemental** · 25th March 2010, 15:21

Firstly, welcome!

As far as a bike goes, if you're thinking of getting a sports 250 you'll find they're all reasonably similar and it'll be down to personal taste. There're folks here who are gonna be gunning for their favourite, but really any bike in this class is gonna be a real thrill for you!
Far as raw power goes, the (honda) CBR is probably gonna be top, but the (yamaha) FZR is probably fastest off the line. ZXR's are nice bikes too, i've ridden a few of the sports 250s, and really they all run quite similarly. If you have a bit more in the pocket and want new without paying horrendously, the Hyosung GT250/R won't set you back anywhere near as much as the rest will and rides similarly.

I think it comes down to personal preference, so maybe just hop trademe and see what shows up.

Welcome to the funhouse!!

**Jiro** · 26th March 2010, 00:51

hey guys, thanks for all the replies and welcomes

i had a glance at the Hyosung GT250R as well, they look pretty darn sexy, but I think getting a brand new bike is a bit outta my budget, I was also looking for something reasonably grunty (I'm not talking Aprilia RS250 grunty, but something around the 40-45 hp mark), because i'm probably going to stick with it for a while, I don't QUITE have the budget required to buy more bikes :P So I was wanting something gentle enough for someone to learn on, yet will have the power in reserve to last me once i graduate from bike kindy

As far as I've seen, a ZXR 250C ~1991 is roughly around the 4K mark? correct me if i'm wrong, haven't seen any better.

Also, i was wondering if there is anyone in the Christchurch area willing to maybe tell me more about what's involved with being a biker, the costs involved, learning curve etc etc?

**whowhatwhere** · 26th March 2010, 01:20

$4k is a sensible amount to spend on your first bike. Rather than restrict yourself to one bike, have a range of bikes that you'd be happy to have a go on. You'll have more options and be able to buy based on condition. Another reason is that it's very hard to predict what sort of bike you'll enjoy riding, so treat this first step as a bit of an experiment.

Welcome to the wonderful world of two wheels and have fun on the Port Hills!

**Jiro** · 26th March 2010, 04:21

sounds like solid advice, so in your opinion, what would be a good selection of starter bikes for me that go for roughly around that price? It will almost definitely be a second hand job.

reasons I was looking at the ZXR 250C:
- I'm a sucker for a full fairing
- Supposedly easy bike to learn on (can't say it's true based on experience cause i have none :P)
- Has the grunt to last beyond my learning days/weeks/months

Things that would be handy for the bike selection that I didn't know the answer to:
- availability of spare parts for when (not if, when

) i drop the bike, cause it's gonna happen lol or when stuff needs replacing
- availability of aftermarket parts (eventually I'd like to tinker a little with it before i can truly call it my own

)
- fuel efficiency
- reliability (wouldn't be good for my heart or my wallet if something broke every 10 kms i rode it)

**whowhatwhere** · 26th March 2010, 04:56

Sorry I can't be of much help choosing a 250 as I don't really know that market. I'd do a search around KiwiBiker to find experiences of people that have owned any of the bikes you're looking at. A quick browse on TradeMe should give you an idea of what sort of spares are available. As 3lemental said above, I'm sure all of the 250cc sporties will give you a similar experience - given the ages of the bikes, doing little things like dropping in some new fork oil would give you more handling gains - anyway, that's a bit further down the line!

Personally, I'm a believer that your first bike should be a naked, less to break if you drop it and everything is easier to get at maintenance wise while you're learning. I think any four stroke 250 will be reasonably efficient. You can save a lot of money by maintaining the bike yourself - is that what you intend to do? Haynes manuals are great if you can get one for the bike you're after.

**one fast tl1ooo** · 26th March 2010, 06:38

Welcome to kb

**The Everlasting** · 26th March 2010, 15:38

Welcome!

Take your time finding a new bike,I know sometimes excitement can take over and you just wanna buy the first one you look at..

**Princesszxr** · 3rd April 2010, 14:44

Heya, welcome to KB! You'll find everyone here is really helpful when you need it (and when you dont lol)

**Bikernereid** · 3rd April 2010, 18:23

Welcome to KB. As a learner rider myself and the 'very proud' owner of a GN250 I would suggest that you try as many as you can before you buy. Yes the bike may look nice and go like sh*t of a shovel but does it feel comfortable to ride and does it feel right to sit on in general. Think about seating position, leg length (if you have shorter legs do your feet touch the ground and do you care if they don't?) etc before parting with your hard earned cash.