New biker chick needs advice

[Oakie]

Have a look at the Kawasaki Eliminator, EL250. Not the later V twin but the earlier (circa 1990 / 1993) parallel twin. De-tuned so not as powerful as some other 250s but dead easy to ride and will last a long time. (Mrs Oakie has one and loves it).

[Paul in NZ]

How tall are you and more importantly - whats your budget like?? 250s are expensive...

[Sanx]

Congrats on deciding to get yourself a bike. It's a decision you may come to regret one day: probably the day you have to justify buying a litre-class bike to your other half, plus full leathers, performance exhaust and so on.

CBR250s are great little bikes. Relatively cheap to run, but damn good fun on tight twisty roads. Fast enough to keep you entertained, but not quite powerful enough to get you into too much trouble unless you ride like a hooligan.

I'm not selling mine, but you're more than welcome to give it a go if you want.

[flat battery]

Honda VTR250

I have a VTR250 and it's great It's quite an old one but it's still going strong. I haven't tried many other 250s but I would recommend it! Hoping to have a pic up soon, it's fully faired, I think the newer ones are naked. Not sure what your budget is but it cost me just over 2K.

[90s]

If you search you'll find loads of people have asked the same question as you. And every time I have replied I add the same comment:

if you want to "lean forward" and don't want to pay much go for the RG150. Sure its 2-stroke, but for $2k you'll get $5k+ cbr250 performance. A no-brainer really.

[Sniper]

I dont think a CBR, ZXR, NSR, RGVR or any RR should be the bike for you. Not until you are confident with your riding

[Squiggles]

Mrs got a Purple ZZR250 for $1800, mint paint and only 30,000 on the clock
nice bike, too girly for me though

[MyGSXF:Me]

Welcome to kb chick!!!!

As some of the others have mentioned, & I thoroughly agree.. go round the shops & check out adds in the paper etc.. & sit on & possibly try as many different bikes.. styles, shapes, brands, colours.. as you can!!! That way you will end up with a good feel of what you really like.. or didn't like.

I did the same when I got rid of my old xv750.. tried ALLSORTS!!!! & even though my bike looked like an utter sack of shit when I first saw her (had been in storage...) as soon as I sat on her.. I KNEW she was my bike!!!!!!!!!!!! got her bloody cheap, spent a week with a friend cleaning her up & replacing bits & pieces.. till she looked beeeeeeeaUtiful!!!!!

Good luck with your search!!

Jen

[Rosie]

if you want to "lean forward" and don't want to pay much go for the RG150. Sure its 2-stroke, but for $2k you'll get $5k+ cbr250 performance. A no-brainer really.

2-stroke 150s are great little bikes to learn on.

[NinjaNanna]

Mrs got a Purple ZZR250 for $1800, mint paint and only 30,000 on the clock
nice bike, too girly for me though

I agree with Squiggle here, if you want to go as fast as possible on a 250, go for a CBR - but be prepared to pay more,

I think the ZZR is the perfect compromise between riding position, style and speed. My first bike was a 10yr old ZZR with 50,000kms, started it beside a brand new ZZR (even looked the same) and it made all the same noises and rattles.

Happy hunting

[Qkchk:Me]

oh .. and watch out for Disco Dan ... LOL

Probaly the best advice you could get...............

[WarlockNZ]

Probaly the best advice you could get...............

Thank you .. thank you ... I'll take a bow on that one ... mu ha ha ha

[Meekey_Mouse]

Hey Welcome to the site.

Trying bikes out is a really good idea, I bought my first bike with out seeing or riding it (not recommended, although the bike itself was great). It was a GSX 250... nice bike but not the right one for me I'm quite short, so the width and the height of the GSX just was not practical.

One thing to think about, if you're wanting to go for longer rides then half an hour (I'd say you would) is not just what the bike feels like for a short test ride or standing still but imagine what the position of the bike will feel like after 2-3 hours of riding. Every time I got off the GSX it felt like my shoulders had been stretched apart, as I had to reach for the bars all the time.

But I'm sure no matter what bike you get, you'll love it

[Baldyheed]

Don't be quick to part with your cash. Shop around, see who is doing what deals, any nice extras/gear thrown in free, or a nice bit of discount. Welcome to the fold, and have many many years of enjoyable bike riding.

[Str8 Jacket]

2-stroke 150s are great little bikes to learn on.

Yep, gotta agree there. After I "got rid of" my 250 I really learned alot on my 150 2smoker. Nice and light and alot cheaper than 250's. Though 2smokers can be a bit temperamental at times I never had any mechanical issues with mine. I reckon you probably want to try out a few different bikes and see what you actually feel comfortable on!