Which First Bike

[MidnightMike]

I'm 15 on the 4th Feb

You must be the youngest member then.

[hXc]

You must be the youngest member then.

Mud_boy is younger than me

[brianemone]

my first bike when i was 14 was a dumpy old yamaha that i got to ride around in a paddock to practice (great fun back then) then once i was 15 i got a yamaha 125yb (might have been 150), this bike lasted about a year and a half but due to my ignorance about bike maintenance i ran it into the ground.

i needed a new bike and wanted something that was a bit more comfortable on the open road and a friend gave me an old gsxr250 that wasnt running so i took it to the bike shop and they fixed the prblem for about 500$ i'd say that this bike was the best investment i ever made, it got to and from school everyday (te awamutu to hamilton) and it never gave me any problems.
i then sold it two years later for 1k

i think the basics of bike riding should be learnt on a farm or field (limits speed and hightens awareness of control)

[Fireproof]

After riding for a few weeks im pretty keen on a 250, from my searching i'm feeling pretty settled on a zzr250. How would one of these compare to the Honda (vtr,vtz) offerings? Also does the zxr have much over the zzr apart from mosquito pitch redline?

[Gremlin]

Also does the zxr have much over the zzr apart from mosquito pitch redline?

oh yes, you can't touch one. I was on the power earlier than them outa corners, could see myself gaining, then they just accelerated away...

better suspension too, and twin front disc giving them better brakes, physically smaller tho. Can't compare to other bikes, didn't have them.

[erik]

...A bike that feels fine in a straight line but tends to stand up strongly and go wide when the front brake is touched in a corner, is not a good bike for a newbie. .

What you describe is a very good bike for a newbie as it teaches a newbie to enter a corner properly and not rely on brakes or anything else once committed. It also encourages the use of throttle to control any alteration of line rather than brakes.

It only teaches them that stuff better than a neutral handling bike by scaring the crap out of them when they try going for the front brake.
That's if they're lucky anyway... otherwise it can end up a painful or fatal lesson that might have been avoided if the bike didn't stand up so strongly when the front brake is touched.
zzr250's tend to stand up strongly when you touch the front brake in corners. My brother has one and came off the day after he bought it due to going wide into gravel (luckily he wasn't hurt much). Another guy on the site with a zzr250 had the exact same crash on the same corner as my brother, also on a zzr250.
Two guys on here, Flyin and Korowetere lost their lives when they went wide into the paths of oncoming vehicles (2 separate accidents). Both had zzr250's.
It's impossible to say whether the bike's handling contributed to the crashes, or if they would've crashed on other bikes too. But I think the zzr250's handling probably played a part.

I think it's better for a newbie to have a more neutral handling bike that they can use the front brake in the corner without too much trouble, and let them learn better riding technique as they progress.

[The Flux Capacita]

i just got my learners a little over a month ago and have enjoyed riding around on a kr150 and the only real embarrasment i suffer is the amount of smoke it makes when i go faster than i need to hehe

these little 2 strokes are fast enough to get you a speeding ticket but not to fast that you end up racing boyracers and getting killed...tempting as it is because i fucking HATE boy racers...anyways best to start of with something small and cheap rather than spend $4000 on a brand new 250 and if your lucky enough to survive, end up writing it off like a friend of mine did last weekend...i've still got my little $1500 bike and plan to have it to the end of the year when i can afford and be skilled enough to handle a larger bike

cheaper that way and you can't really be a cow boy on smaller bikes so you have to learn to ride properly (safely that is)

PS if any newbies just got their license in hamilton i'm keen for a ride coz otherwise it's just commuting pm if ya keen for a cruise...because my mate who wrote off his bike has decided that motorbikes aren't for him anymore and he's not getting another one...SEE!!! just goes to show if you spend to much money on trying to look cool it will one way or another end your bikeing days before they even get started:P

[Edbear]

[QUOTE=Ixion]EDIT: Best learner's bike ever made - the BSA Bantam./QUOTE]






Couldn't agree more! Learnt to ride on my Mums Bantam, then my first bike was B31 350 BSA.

[Hawkeye]

Single pot, 250 - Cost $100. Spent another $300 putting new tyres on and getting her up to road legal. $400 in total for the bike. Spent double on safety gear (that is transferrable to the next bike).
Not powerful enough to kill me but has enough power to learn on. Very light and easy to handle. The first bike IS to learn on. There is no need to go out and pay a fortune for something that you are going to outgrow very quickly.
I've been riding for less than 3 months but have gained so much on the little CBX. It is very forgiving when I get a little over confident but still has enough to test me.

Don't over analyse the first bike. It's not worth it. It is only a stepping stone and should be used as such.

[willy_01]

Na my first bike was an rg250, getting it to start was a bit....... interesting some times, with out power valves it was peaky as hell, and it was tiny! I road the bastard from Hamilton to new Plymouth and back without too much drama. I reckon with the price of 250's buy something with nuts because if you buy a scooter with gears it’s not going to let you experience the main joy of motorbikes - going fast! and its to expensive to 'upgrade' to another 250.

so my advise, get a 250 that’s ruff as guts, that goes nuts

hey that kinda rhymes

[Ulaa]

I think the Hyosung GV250 cruiser fits all of the points raised by the OP to a 'T'.

Im a newbie and happy as hell with mine. Especially the 220KM per tank I can get on the new Shell additive fuel. Its got huge Torque low down, starts first time at the press of a button, no fairing, top end of about 140km/h, oil change and chain lube is simple, seat height 700mm, wider tires than any other 250 cruiser so it sits solidly on the road, it has great looks (I get stopped quite often by people who want to ask about it), there is an online Hyosung riders community and its cheap, only 6300$ on road.

It has its negatives but on the whole Im happier I bought it than the comparitively priced second hand Virago that was there on the same day.

[mini_flyer]

But what if the rider has friends who have all got bigger, faster and better looking bikes...rocking up on the GN is good for a joke but it really really sucks when all ur mates decide to blast off after sum harley that flies past you while you and ur GN are left sorta of trying to hold back but wanting to go o so bad.
What bout the rocketsaki if you and ur mates go out all together...is it the whole safety in numbers thing??

[Jantar]

But what if the rider has friends who have all got bigger, faster and better looking bikes...rocking up on the GN is good for a joke ...

But when you hit that patch of grit on a tight corner, and your friends have $1500 worth of plastic to replace, and you have a $25 clutch lever to replace, who has the biggest laugh?

A GN250 can easily do the legal speed limit, and can corner just as well as those sprot bikes, so I wouldn't be too worried about being left behind. But if extra performance is THAT important to you, the look at the Hyosung, or one of the older 2 strokes (RD250, GT250 etc).

[Edbear]

But seriously, I have been told by many people that I'm too mature for my age.

Yeah, I get that too...

[Jamezo]

I *do* hate to whore up a thread like this, but.....

There Is Only One........

RG150

It's got everything: Incredibly cheap, enough speed to get you in trouble, and handles like nothing short of a 125GP bike.

In summary: Teh Win.