Need some advice..

[awesker]

Well Ill try to make this as brief as I can. Ive got a friend who has just been introduced into the magical world of 2 wheels, and hes fallen in love with it as we all have. So now hes looking for a bike to buy and hes got his heart set on a cbr or zxr .. something sports and quick, but hes looking at getting a 400 because they are cheaper than most sports 250's (in good-ish condition) because of the 250 market. So what I wanna know is 1) Is it that bigger deal to go from 0 experience to a 400cc bike? what do most most 400's put out? around 50-60hp?? Ive tried telling him over and over to just wait for a nice 250 to come around but hes to hard headed and that going from no experience to a 50hp is silly (is that just me??) and 2) the legal side of things, whats the deal for getting pulled up on your leaners on a 400cc? fine? bike taken away? or worse.... captial punishment *dum dum*

Cheers for any advice fella's

[crashe]

At the end of the day it is his choice.
No matter what you are gonna say he will still go ahead and do it.
Maybe when he has a crash or gets pulled up by the cops, he may learn thats it cheaper to be on a 250cc.

But he will need to ride a 250 to get each part of his license.

The lads will know the answer to this: Is there much difference between speed or horsepower of a 250cc and 400cc sportsbike?
If so what is the difference?

Since he likes the speed so much, maybe get him to take the bike out onto the track, once he has mastered the basic riding skills.

[James Deuce]

Nice $200 a pop (i.e every time you get pulled over) fines and no chance of using any courses to reduce the time on your learner's and restricted licenses. Eventual loss of license if you keep on being unlucky enough to be caught.

No insurance because the license doesn't support the bike's CC rating. Insurance companies are clever enough not to pay out even if the bike is insured under a fully licensed rider's name.

You'll get fined for the wrong license if you have an accident the Police attend. Bear in mind that it is more likely for a learner to have an accident, not because of more power or anything, just because of the lack of experience. So a no fault accident will get the bike damaged, that you have to pay to fix, as well as a nice fine. Joy.

Bet you anything you like your mate would get his arse kicked on the track and on any nice twisty road by a certain young lady on a Honda Jade 250. We all know her as Velox. In fact he'd probably crash trying to keep up. When he can ride a 250 well enough to keep Velox in sight then he might like to consider a 400 so he can keep up.

[SlowHand]

If you crash outside your licence restriction, insurance becomes void right, what about the charges? If someone ELSE causes the accident, are you still at fault because your not meant to be on the road in the first place?

[avgas]

250's i feel are too big for someone who has no experience still, and there are plenty of bikes less than 250's that do fine.
400 isnt worth the risk personally, i went from 150 to 400 on my restricted (riding for 16 months on road). And just about copped $1200 worth of fines for doing so at a check point.
400's also come on different levels of spec - some are quite sedate, and others are like animals that have a taste for human flesh.

[Wonko]

Strat, if it was proven that the other driver was at fault, then the Police would charge them with causing the accident. The 400 rider would still be charged with ridding on the wrong license. Also the fact that they aer riding on the wrong license will make it harder to shift blame off the rider.

[Colapop]

I tried a couple of bikes at Wgtn Motorcycles (nothing over 250). I tried a GSX250, and a GN250. Also tried a Hyusong 250 - friend of a friend.
I found that with my size (6'3" and 120kgs) all three fit well, that was the first thing for me. I also found that all three of them had ample power for my needs, the Hyusong having a little more than I was expecting. Tell your mate to get the right things done right first (skills handling cert, lisence test etc) And then try a couple of bikes at a dealer or two first. Colemans is apparently quite good - PM "Sarge" he'll set you up no probs - careful he doesn't have his way with you though.

[ZorsT]

borrow a de-restricted NSR/RGV/RS/TZR 250 and give him a go.

It may scare him into buying a 250

[SlowHand]

borrow a de-restricted NSR/RGV/RS/TZR 250 and give him a go.

It may scare him into buying a 250

Slobber slobber slobber...... slurp! I tried my mates NSR again over the weekend and felt the back move in the dry around a corner. That would do it - even though I wanted one even more after that..

Wasnt there someone that was going to do the same thing and settled on a 250 because a 400 did make him think he wasnt capable yet?

[chickenfunkstar]

If I were just coming into the market i'd be really tempted to get a 400 instead of a 250 as well, so I can certainly see where he's coming from. I guess it sort of depends on what type of person he is. If he races everywhere and is likley to get stopped for speeding or other offences then its probably best to get a 250. If he's sweet with following the speed limit 99% of the time and only opening it up occasionaly, the money he'd save by buying a 400 should cover any fines that he might get. I rode the SV on my restricted for a few months because i didn't want to shell out for a 250.

As for the power thing, if he has respect for his machine and isn't naturally ham fisted he should be ok.