Aprilia Rs250 Help - Good or Bad First Bike?

[Aprilia]

I'm really intrested in the Aprilia Rs250 and I'm looking to buy one. The catch is I've never been on a bike before. I read as a learner I can ride up to 250cc, thus the reason for my choice. It seems to be a great bike and has everything I want but I also have a feeling it might be a little more than I can handle as a learner. What do you think? Many thanks.

[froggyfrenchman]

Definatly more than you can handle as a complete green horn mate! Also, you dont really want a fairing on a learner bike, coz you will drop it as you learn, and the plastic costs HEAPS to fix or replace. Im sure you will get tons of advice as what a good 1st bike is, my 2c is a suzuki gn250, just for 6mnths while you master the basics. One of the easiest bikes to ride, no plastic and parts are cheap as chips and everywhere.

Welcome to the site anyway.
Frogman

[marty]

if you've never ridden before, i can see why you'd be attracted to it - it's one sexy beast. probably a bit of a handful though - they are a race replica bike, and need a reasonably deep mechanical knowledge (or deep pockets) to keep them running 100%. they are fast, italian, 2 stroke. for similar (or less) money, get a late model VTR250.

see my write up on the aprilia here>> http://www.motobke.co.uk/

[deathstar]

my 2c is a suzuki gn250, just for 6mnths while you master the basics. One of the easiest bikes to ride, no plastic and parts are cheap as chips and everywhere.
Frogman

exactly what i am doing and then just can pass it on to the next newb without really losing much money on it. would look at buying new if you have the cash and only lose $500 over a whole year of running

[hXc]

My 2c worth...

Bad newbie bike

[marty]

bargain

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/tr...&postid=466457

[Aprilia]

Thanks for your input guys. That’s a good read Marty, it made me want one even more. I don’t see myself as a big cc rider in the long run so if possible I’d like to get a good bike with the looks and a little go so I don’t get bored with it. It would be used to get to work and short runs and the odd getaway from the city to have a little time out, well that’s my thought at the moment anyway. So I guess my next question is would I be right to say it’s a bad bike to learn on unsupervised but with help through club training or a certified skill course, providing enough time is put in, could it then be a possible first bike? The last thing I want to do is drop it big time in the first week or end up dead, it would be something I’d put the time into learning to ride. If it's still not, then I will have to consider another, I’m definitely not looking to become a statistic and I’m very aware bikes deserve a lot of respect and discipline. Thanks

[marty]

it's an expensive bike to drop. my advice is, get something cheaper, like this>> http://www.motorcycletrader.co.nz/De...rcycletradernz at least for a year, then look to upgrade to the rs. it's like having a WRX as your first car, but it can fall over, and is only one wheel drive. i think you'll find it difficult/expensive to insure too. running an RS250 as your first bike will end up in tears.

[froggyfrenchman]

honestly dude, get a cheap bike, a brand new gn is like $3000. Not real quick, and a bit ugly but easy and cheap to fix. Everybody drops bikes when learning! By the way, bikes arnt like cars, for the 1st few months, 80kmh will feel like 200kmh, a gn or fxr will be boring after 6mnths, thats when you sell it and buy a sports 250.

Its not the speed that normally makes learners fall off, its learning bout traction and how the bike reacts in diferent suituations

[Aprilia]

Thanks Marty, That’s not quite what I had in mind as a first bike but it's not bad either, a change of colour and it could well do. After all, my life vs a year? It’s a no brainer really. Thanks for sharing your experience. Although one sitting in the shed for when the time comes couldn’t hurt.

[Timber020]

Get the aprillia, and put me in your will. At least I will get a colourful wreck!

[N4CR]

The 2004 aprillia rs250 had the highest power output in bhp per CC of any production bike... lets just say that I wouldn't want to ride that thing as a first bike, let alone a second bike. If you want something quick go for a Inline 4 4 stroke like a CBR/ZXR/FZR/GSXR Across etc. Plenty fast and when you get good enough ya can piss off all the bigger bikes in the twisties. Still has plenty of plastic to break so you might want to look at a nakid inline4 like a bandit. Up to you mate...

[SPORK]

You're fucken joking, right?

On that note, do u guyz thnk i shud by a 2005 ZX10R for my frst biek?

[N4CR]

You're fucken joking, right?

On that note, do u guyz thnk i shud by a 2005 ZX10R for my frst biek?

Would you want to ride a hard tuned 2 stroke 250 GP styled bike after riding a 'soft' by comparison 250 where it don't matter what rpms you do in a corner or how you treat the throttle (to an extent).

Sure i'd love to take it for a blat but thats about it. I don't like riding other peoples bikes anyway.

Actually - here I got some goats over in the corner you can blow.. - the zx10r is a great learners bike, gets loosers like yourself out of the gene pool. *Brunz*

[Mooch]

Just thought I'd throw another opinion in.
Went through a similar debate with my first bike years ago. We sat down and made a list of possible bikes of the time and sorted them by practicality.
The GN250 came out as the winner to learn on but I really wanted a sporty style bike. I ended up buying a second hand Kawasaki Kr1 250 two stroke.
The positives of getting sporty bikes is excellent brakes and handling and plenty of "highway" performance for safe overtaking / up hills etc.
The down side is that while you’re first learning you tend to wobble around a bit so dropping a fully faired bike can run into $1000's to repair.
Bike wise I kept it for 13 odd years. It toured all corners of NZ on it. Had lots of fun on it. I only used it for commuting for a couple of months during that time. I was fortunate that when I was learning I was surrounded by bikers that rode well that could offer opinions on progress. My wife was also helping out on bike handling skills courses so had plenty of free training. So if you do get one, do every course you can afford and hook up with good riders.

As for the RS250, you definitely wouldn't need a larger bike for some time. Would seem a bit of a waste to commute on and performance two stroke 250's aren't ideal for short runs maintenance wise.
Parking could be an issue for you. Commuter bikes run a reasonable chance of being knocked over by car drivers / drunk public / other bikes falling over (Wind in Wellington).A cheaper bike without fairing would be better for this.