Back in the day when I was a bulletproof grommet: I used to ride trail bikes around riverbeds, friends farms, and occasionally on the road (unlicensed of course). Had my share of learning experiences such as how to ride a bike with a broken clutch lever while nursing a broken right arm (kickstart only too), or that hitting the power band on a two stroke right on the edge of a big kicker encourages the rear of the bike to overtake the front resulting in an unexpected view of the sky beneath my tyres and landing not very gracefully. Last bike I owned was an XL500 and that was a lot of fun but moved into the city 22 years ago and didn't ride again until this year.
Present day: Petrol prices going up, the subaru is a thirsty beast, commuting for about an hour a day in Christchurch traffic (with most of that involving a slow idle between lights), getting older and wanting to regain the thrills of youth.... brainwave..... get a motorcycle. Discuss it with my other half and with surprisingly little resistance get the OK to fork out the $$$ for licensing, decent riding gear, and a bike.
So off I go ...basic skills test on a GN250 courtesy of Mainland driving school in ChCh + scratch and win = learners license, along with wishing I had sat my bike license 23 years ago when I got my car license.
Now the hard part...its time to get a bike of up to 250cc. Started looking at dirt bikes and came to the conclusion that they just weren't going to do what I wanted. So what did I want? a bike sizeable enough to carry my 100kg 6 foot frame aroound, something good for commuting, able to go for a spin across through the countryside, and able to comfortably travel 500+kms in a day if I wanted to. Looks like it was going to be a road bike. Do all the shopping around on the internet and at local bike shops and find a place called Just Motorcycles out on Bowhill Rd who have a wide selection of 250's available, which is actually kind of rare as most places only had 1 or 2. I explained what I was after and they reccomended several bikes for me to try. A Suzuki GSX-F 250 Across, a Suzuki GSX250, a Honda CBR250R, a Honda VTR250, and a Honda CBF250 (I think thats the right model name as I had a lot of difficulty finding any info on it except that it is also known as a Honda Jade).
Now I have to say I was a bit nervous when I first test rode a road bike as the geometry and rider position were totally unfamiliar and I still hadn't been on a bike for a long time. First up was the Suzuki GSX250, after a couple of stalls due to my pussy application of throttle I was off and moving. It was a responsive bike, felt comfortable, and handled well. To get anything out of it though you needed to get the revs up to about 10 000 + and then it really started cooking up to the redline around 15 000 (Note: big smile on my face at about this time). I didn't feel comfortable with the rapid deceleration on this bike though. As a learner rider I just felt that this was a bike that really needed an educated throttle hand and that it may not be the most suitable for me to learn how to share the road with other vehicles.
Next was the Honda CBR250R. Very similar in many ways to the Suzuki in that it is a nimble and zippy bike but I found the riding position on this particular bike a bit too cramped and didn't feel that it would be comfortable for an extended period of time.
Next was the Honda CBF250 (Jade). This was a really comfortable bike for me, with a more upright riding position on what felt like a larger frame with a good size tank to lie on. It didn't need to be wound so hard and just felt a bit torquier with power right through the range. This was now number one on my want list.
Now I'm feeling more confident and feeling the balance is coming back...kind of like riding a bike really.
Next up the Honda VTR250. What a sweet ride!!! Good power right through range from the V-twin engine, well balanced handling, very comfortable ride, and a huge grin from ear to ear. We now have a new favourite.
If money was no object it would have been the VTR on the spot, but as I have returned to university money isn't so free and easy. So it was time to shop around.
The Suzuki GSF250 Bandit. I really wanted to try one of these but there were none for sale that were road worthy. The only one I found was waitng on a new rear shock as it was like sitting on a pogo stick. Was really comfortable to sit on and felt like it was bigger than a 250.
Next up a Suzuki GSX-S 250 Katana. Felt comfortable to sit on so I ask the guys at Casbolts Honda if I can take it for a test run. Now that I have spent a bit of time in the saddle I am feeling a little more confident about riding these in line 4's and using the throttle on these high revvers. It hasn't been run for a while so it was a bit farty at first but once it found its rhythm it was a very agile bike. The riding position was quite natural for my 6 feet although I could feel that I was definitely leaning on my wrists, not unusual for the sports style of this bike.
Next was a 2004 model GSX250. I didn't really want to go to a full fairing bike as I kind of view it as being something extra to break and I really like the look of the naked bikes such as the Honda Jade and the Suzuki Bandit, but I was interested to see how an inline 2 cylinder compared to the earlier in line 4's. To be honest I didn't notice much difference but thats just my inexperienced view. The rider position was great and I didn't feel as much weight on my wrists as I did with the Katana. Big problem was the numerous grazes on the body work and cracks in the fairings with the explanation that his mates had been learning to ride on it and that it had only ever had low speed drops, even though some of the grazes suggested otherwise.
So now I have a decent idea of what I am after and I'm scouring trademe and find a 250 Katana down in Dunedin. It just so happens that I will be working in Dunedin over the following week so I arrange to go and have a look. Everything on it looked straight, a few paint chips, but no grazes, everything suggested that the owner was a responsible type and maintained the bike regularly. Took it for a hoon and it handled well enough, no odd noises coming from the engine and only 20 000km on the clock. Asking price $3300 (which is pretty reasonable in this world of overpriced 250's), so I shouldn't lose too much in resale in about a years time. It was time to haggle....I noted that the suspension and forks needed doing as it was obviously still the original fluids from 1991 and so there was definitely a few $$$ required and that it would need a new rear tyre. We settled on $2900 and I now had a motorbike that, although it wasn't the best bike I had tried, that honour went to the VTR ($6500), was a comfortable ride and I considered it good value for the money.
So home to Christchurch with my new bike....but thats another story.
I'm very happy with this bike and will submit a review on it soon. Thanks to all those whose reviews on different bikes I have read on here as it was really nice to get a bit of info on some bikes before going to look at them.
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