Kawasaki Vs Honda

[Ur Most Wanted]

Hey guys. new 2 the forum here, infact, new 2 bikes hahah
My flat mate actually brought a Honda cbr 250 '91 its a beautiful bike, Sounds great, etc etc etc........ Now im in the process of buying a ZXR in the morning......... It looks freaking great........

You guys be able 2 give me a run down on both bikes, just before i spend 6k or so on my bike, if its gonna be worth it...

So like the title....

HONDA VS KAWASAKI!!!!!! ????

[Marmoot]

(If I got this correctly....If not, someone can correct me)

ZXR has more power (although not that noticable, for them being only 250) and better looking suspension (upside down front). but that's about it. Oh, also, usually most of them are still in better condition compared to CBRs.

CBRs got the better handling and better brakes (with the condition that the bike is still in good condition). The handling is superb and in the tight twistiest it can keep up with the bigger bikes.

If I were you, I'd choose CBR

[bikerboy]

I'm no bike expert but my feelings are as follows;

Ride them both and get the that you like the best. The performance/handling is most likely very close, with a difference
exploitable only if a great rider.

So... get the one that truely rocks your boat, whether that be looks, price or feel when riding.

[wkid_one]

My advice - ring a few wreckers and see which is the easiest to get parts for - being proactive.  Neither bike at that horsepower level is going to be noticiably quicker than the other - handling largely depends on what has been done to the bike, who has ridden it, and how they have ridden it.

Get the Manu Spec and set the suspension for both bikes to standard before you ride them - this will give you the best comparison - the ZXR may seem stiffer only due to the guy before you winding the suspension as hard as it will go.

Check the fork stanchions for crash damager as this is the most expensive part to replace and no one will do it so any crash damage is evident here for the life of the bike.

The Honda is renouned for being a road bike and a good one at that - the ZXR tended to have a race bias - hence the air pipes to no where etc.

Either will be good as the other - it will come down to the quality of one over the other - miles, wear and tear etc.

[750Y]

I'd agree with what BB said about get the one You like best but Marmoot did have some good info on the small differences between the 2.
Another things is that Hondas seem to have a more readily available used parts supply in case something ever breaks. both bikes are great learners type bikes that will go quick and handle good.
if that zxr250 is over 10 years old, 6k is probably TOP dollar unless the speedo's been wound back to 12,000kms and the respray is beautiful.(just take a look at the zxr400 in the classifieds section here for an idea) take someone that knows bikes with You to check it out and give You another opinion.

[Kwaka-Kid]

i say dont worry, as ur flatmate just bought the CBR250, and you are definatly buing this ZXR250, so who cares, but we shall see who becomes hte better rider - and yes Xyster i nkow its you, il lcome check the bikes out the weekend following this if ur back @ flat? - wanna go for a crap ass putt-putt? i got my old CB250RS up and running and shud b ready by this weekend, top speed on flat of approx 150-160 maybe, dunno, dont think ive been over 130, poor little single shakes too much :P hehehe. but id b keen

[Coldkiwi]

btw.. did you know you can buy a brand new 2002 GSX 250 for 6,650!?

I think (as you know) 6,000 is way too much to spend on any 10 year old 250.

I love the ZXR though and it does have excellent high speed stability and agility through traffic. Best to jump on both and go for a spin (not literally!) and see which is the most comfortable and fun

[Redstar]

Im a member of the AA so I can say whatever I like.

being bias to kawasaki is based on have tested all but honestly there are more hondas than zxrs so I would go for the honda for you. the kawasaki is more harsh.but much more fun. either way you'll be happy.
GSX suzuki is cool but built to a price (cheap) not a real contender but very reliable if a bit boring.

[Marmoot]

CBR250 can keep up with R1.

(aye? andy1? )

[Andrew]

Is it me or are CBR's a lot more expensive generally than ZXR's. And if thats the case why?

[Kwaka-Kid]

its just you buddy.

[Coldkiwi]

some rubbish about 'honda power' no doubt :P

That's all balls.... remember:

THERES NO REPLACEMENT FOR DISPLACEMENT!!!

buy a cheap 250.. have ya fun and get some skills up then get on to a bigger machine you can really enjoy. Afterall... the odds of you dropping it when you're learning (say up till you get your full?) are reasonably good so why waste $$ on a machine that will likely get scratched/crunched and loose over 1/2 its value in fairing repairs?

[Kwaka-Kid]

yeah true.  i went into mike @ mt eden motorcycles with the dude here after the zxr250, looks nice, really good. hes throwing in heaps of gear etc yadda yadda, so tis all good.  he gets it tuesday i think?