First bike options?

[ahmedzakis]

Hi,

I'm a newbie to kiwibiker forums. In fact, a newbie to bikes!
I am looking to buy my first bike. What wd u guyz recommend? Would use it to get 2 uni and back in AKL city. On avg. 20 kms/day.

Things important to me:
1. Easy to ride
2. Low maintenance
3. Low fuel consumption
4. I am not 2 worried abt. power. I wil b happy as long as it can do 110 km/h comfortably!

I used the GN250 to do my basic handling skills test. I know that it is easy to ride but don't know abt. points 2-4.

Budget: <$2500 (Second hand)

Other 250s that I have heard abt. are the Honda CB250 and Yamaha YZR250 or something rather

Pls. gimme ur valuable opinion!

Thanx

[hazzy]

I got my GSX-R 250 for 2300 from tm, my first bike, defenitily great to learn on.
U might be able to pick up a VTZ relitivily cheap.

Go for a GN, they're cheap, low mantainance & easy to ride.

steer clear from 2 strokes, they can usually require a fair bit of maintanance.

[Karma]

First bike would be good to go naked, the bandit 250s are supposed to be ok

[Ixion]

GN250 or FXR150. No Yamaha Scorpios on the second hand market yet.

FXR150 is a bit more fuel economical (100mpg to 80mpg). But maintainence cost will be higher, and if you drop it (as you may well whilst learning) damaged fairing can set you back $1000. I reckon the GN250 is probably the best commuter for the money ever made. Go for an older , 1980s model, the design is the same but the quality was better.

Do'nt forget that you will need to budget several hundre dollars for helmet, gloves etc. But don't be frightened off by the stories you will be told that you will die instantly if you don't spend a minimum of $2000 on "magic gear".

[madmal64]

Im another for the GN route. Plenty of them around. Parts are super easy to source. Bloody near bullet proof and without all the expensive plastic they will take a knock or two which its always a good thing on the 1st bike.
Ride a few & see what ya think.
Have fun with the buying process. I always enjoy it

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

I would probably go down the GN route... you have riden one and know how they handle. They are a good comuter bike, that can handle a few trips as well... (I use to take on from Auckland to Napier and back regularly.... they are pretty good on fuel, and easy to maintain. There are heaps of 2nd hand ones about, and parts are available. Though they are pretty solid if you get an older model. (I don't know two much about the new chiness ones...)

Though say all this you need to look about and ride a few others... the CB isn't back bike either...

[Nasty]

Depends alot of your terrain where you live ... I had an FXR150 .. is a sweet bike .. extremly easy on the gas .. and has a full panel including fuel and gear you are in whcih is great for newbie ... they have less overall grunt than 250 but being in Auckland would have more than suffiencent for the terrain there .. and at least your winds are nothing like Wellington on a blowy day.

[ahmedzakis]

Thanx 4 da suggestions so far ppl!

NightHawkNZ and Ixion, I read elsewhere abt the thing that u have mentioned. i.e. abt. going for an older GN. Could you pls. tel me which model of the GN 250 was the last japanese made one?? Coz til now I thought the newer the better!

Also, In tm I c GN250s for sale and also the GN250E. Are these the same or is there a difference???


Cheers!

[Fub@r]

2002-2003 I think is where they changed over to Chinese made GN's (might be wrong). Main difference is the chrome is pretty poor on the chinese manufactured one. I washed my new one for the first time and all the chrome came off on the tailight.

I started riding 7 months ago and went for a GN. Cheap as anything to run, could get approximately 30km/ltr. GN was a good solid commuter but was a bit lacking on the hills, and seeing I caught the "bug" and progressed from cheap commuter to something a bit more fun hence why I traded it in and got something a bit quicker in the 250 range.

All 250's give good gas milage and I would say most average at 25km/ltr so there isnt much in it there. V-Twins are nice and have a bit more pep than the GN.

Best thing to do is try a few and get whatever suits your needs and you find comfortable.......not what someone else thinks you should have

Good budget for gear (new) is around $700-800. You can do it cheaper. That should get you a jacket, trousers, gloves, boots, helmet. Whatever you do don't buy a secondhand helmet and make sure it fits snugly

[Lorax]

Fub@r summed it up well.

I'm glad I bought a GN250, great first bike, although it's rusting as it's the Chinese model. So I'll be glad once I upgrade.

Going up a slight hill definitely slows you down a bit. Optimum cruising speed on my bike is about 105.

I guess it depends what style bike you want. Sports or Cruiser?
Good Luck!

[toymachine]

Personally, the best thing I ever did was not getting a GN when advised too... though my requirements were not quite as yours.

Testride a few if you can.

[Patrick]

First bike would be good to go naked, the bandit 250s are supposed to be ok

The Bandit 250's ARE better than o.k. Picked up my first one for $2800 but it was money well spent. No problems, would do 160 and fuel economy was OK...

Each to their own, but the GN got boring...quickly...

[Karma]

Yeh, I'll give credit to the GNs for being a reasonable little bike, but the serious lack of power, and quality of the later models lets it down I think.

I'd go for a 250 bandit or such like, you'll get all the power you'll need at this time, but still not have to break the bank if you drop it.

[RT527]

my first bike was a 250 kawasaki which looked like a gn but was far more superior and had a lovely belt drive, that lil cruiser could wheelstand lol.

Cant remember the model tho, jim2 might,think it was once his bike too lol.

[TLDV8]

I like the look of the Honda CB250 / CD250U.
They look like great fuss free commuters and seem to have no problem on the open road.
Twin cylinder 4 stroke would be good for power and fuel consumption around town with a nice flat power curve.
If it was only 20 kms a day something low key might be the go.