Which First Bike

[grandpa_dave]

Like a few others I started on the paddock (or actually the race) on crappy farm bikes. Bailed off a few times by doing dumb things like grabbing a fistful of front brake or twisting the right hand too much mid corner, all of that is a few years behind me now though with a long period of no bike.
TO cut a long story short I got a VTR 250 which I have had for about 18months now and it has been GREAT. Did about 20,000k's in 8 months.
It sticks like shit to a blanket round corners (The pirelli sports demons might help) and corners beautifully. Took it for a ride around the coromandel peninsula and was QUICKER around the windies than my 2 mates (one on a '04 CBR600RR the other on a '03 Busa) although they did tend to pass me on the straights....
It now commutes in Auckland traffic daily and even carries me and my girlfriend on the odd occasion (not the quickest but still goes pretty well).
Had a GSXR 750 for a while but did the old lost licence thing on that and subsequently sold it again and am back riding the vtr, and although the 750 was heaps of fun the 250 is good fun in it's element aswell....which is to say Corners, and lots of them.

So at the end of the day, I would happily recommend one of these to anyone.

[ducatilover]

the vtrs are brilliant toys! if you want that wee bit more on the straights a spada gets the vtr...but i geuss its all a personal thing.

parts wise a vtr would be better cos i had to get my parts from japan! all i wanted was some brake pads and an oil filter but they had to get them from japan....

[Insanity_rules]

VT variant fan myself, I ride the mighty VTZ. The Spada is the evolved version of my bike and they just get better. Honda VT's R's Z's and spadas handle real good on Pirelli demons, I have a set too.
Parts wise they're pretty good too (www.econohonda.co.nz) so all in all a good 250 experience.

[MidnightMike]

I know i may be biased but id have to say the Suzuki volty,

Its easy to start, low maintenance, enough torque ( enough for a noob ), handles ok, and most of all economical to the point of madness , great size ( im 6' 5" and have mo problems ) , and no fairings. And its not ghey like a gn250.

[heavenly.talker]

only riding on perfectly manicured roads.

Just checking to see if these are New Zealand roads that you are talking about?

[heavenly.talker]

[QUOTE=Ixion] But, in reality, in Auckland anyway, this isn't practical any more. There is nowhere where a beginner and go and just muck around, finding how a bike works, falling off, getting into difficulties and out of them.
QUOTE]


Waiheke Island is a great place to blat around if you are learning. Hire one of the scooters or motorbikes just off the ferry, they go on grass, the beach, the roads, do jumps on the speed bumps, gets you around nicely. Great way to learn a few things. We have had a great time over the years going to the island for a day mucking around on these dinky wee machines.

P.S. My first bike was a Tu250 volty. Apart from being a little tall for my short legs, it was fantastic, we had much fun together. It was a bike that went everywhere!

[avgas]

TS185 or GN250
both will do about 130-140 lying down on the tank.
Both are vitually indesctructable and easy to learn.
Plus they hold value well

[ktee]

thoroughly enjoyed reading this thread. Everyone has provided worthwhile feedback. Thanks.

I thoughts looks were important when i bought my first bike! ..... We also made the mistake of buying one bike for the both of us! .... Kawasaki ZZR250.
As it turned out ... it was too small for hubby and too big for my small frame ... i.e being fully stretched on reach to handlebars, did not allow the correct steering capacity and me being so light ... the wind treated me like a ragdoll. Also unforgiving for a new rider ... as it is a sportsbike ... not good for learning the basic slow riding etc. (In my opinion)

After doing basic handling test, the chap convinced me to try a GN250 to compare ... I didn't want to because looks wise there was no comparison ... but I did buy one and was proud owner of two bikes.

What a difference indeed ... I loved the GN, how it handled, my position on it and it sounds good too. Still not convinced on the looks .... but I realised as soon as I rode it that it was the perfect learners bike.

After being sucked across two lanes of motorway and blown back across to the lane I started in (I did remain upright) .... I decided to sell the ZZR250 and am doing my time on the GN with a list of bikes to try after I get my full.

I agree that you start small, then upgrade, endlessly until one day you find 'THE' Bike ... and never look at another again.

Cheers