CBR250RR for a first bike?

[Laava]

My son is looking at getting a bike and has his beady eyes set on one of these. Having never even sat on one, let alone riding one, I thought I'd ask for a general concensus on KB. *ducks to avoid flying beer cans and insults* Just after constructive opinions re reliability, daily and overall running costs, value for money and overall user-friendliness. Thanks in advance, Al. ps My suggestion to start on a GN was met with tight lipped silence

[michael]

My son is looking at getting a bike and has his beady eyes set on one of these. Having never even sat on one, let alone riding one, I thought I'd ask for a general concensus on KB. *ducks to avoid flying beer cans and insults* Just after constructive opinions re reliability, daily and overall running costs, value for money and overall user-friendliness. Thanks in advance, Al. ps My suggestion to start on a GN was met with tight lipped silence

I was 16 when I got my CBR250RR MC19. Learnt to ride on it and never looked back since. Gave me endless problems but nothing major. Kept me in the garage on weekends working on her instead of well, I'm sure you can think of other shit I could have been doing. Made me a better driver to.

[p.dath]

I used to have a CBR250RR. It was GREAT. I loved it. Easy to ride. Easy to maintain. Forgiving. Lots of thrills.

[Maki]

My son is looking at getting a bike and has his beady eyes set on one of these. Having never even sat on one, let alone riding one, I thought I'd ask for a general concensus on KB. *ducks to avoid flying beer cans and insults* Just after constructive opinions re reliability, daily and overall running costs, value for money and overall user-friendliness. Thanks in advance, Al. ps My suggestion to start on a GN was met with tight lipped silence

No reason why not if he is a good mechanic and the bike is in good shape. If not I would forget it, he will have endless problems and repair bills. I am sure it's a great bike though, or was...

[Laava]

Thanks guys, not sure how much he is willing to do mech wise but good to know. Cheers Al

[EJK]

Give him your K9 Busa and you get yourself the new MultiStrada baby.

[quickbuck]

Copied from another thread, asking a similar question (and ammended to suit):
Well, okay.
They are very reliable (Almost all bikes are these days) providing a few things.
Regular service history. That will maintain it's inherent reliability.
If there has been a lack of crashes, it will maintain it's reliability.
It will also be as reliable as the manufacturer made it, IF it hasn't been abused....

In almost 20 years, it is quite hard to tell in some cases....
All that said, there are some common things to look for, and your mechanic friends can help point them out.

Things like Brake Rotor Wear, and Fork seals are good places to start....
Look for perished rubber (Hoses, pipelines, and Intake Rubbers), and any signs of crash repair.
Also look at the Chain and Sprockets for wear.

A good indication of how careful the rider is, is to look at the tyres.
Firstly make sure they match, and secondly look at the wear pattern on the rear.

If there is a mis-match in brands, then the owner doesn't really have a clue on how to maintain a motorcycle.
Also, if the rear has "Cupped" as in squared off, then the owner wasn't a real motorcyclist, so may not have ridden, or maintained it properly....

Hopefully this helps.

[Leseid]

My brother gave me some really good advice when I got my first bike, buy the newest bike you can afford and avoid the older sports bikes. The CBR125 was my first bike, it was a bike I put 10,000km on with in a few months without any major maintenance worries. It became more about the riding, roads exploring and meeting other riders rather than owning a cool old sports bike.

[tigertim20]

[, if the rear has "Cupped" as in squared off, then the owner wasn't a real motorcyclist, so may not have ridden, or maintained it properly....

Hopefully this helps.[/QUOTE]

thats a pretty big leap in logic. I know plenty of people who use their bikes mostly for commuting, and as a result their tyres are cupped, but they are knowledgable, and service their bikes properly

[Maha]

Hey Son, why do you buy a GN250?

[Jonno.]

Get hima hornet.

[neels]

Can't see why not.

My son has just bought a GSXR250 for his first bike, probably not quite as sporty as the CBR but I've ridden it and it's great fun. Something small and light that can be ridden easy to start with but as he improves there will be a lot more he can get out of it, not too much power but enough that he will learn some restraint on the throttle, and it's still simple enough that he can pull it to bits to see how it works and do some maintenance himself.