188cm tall and in need of 250cc bike. Any Ideas?

[Chief]

Hi

I am thinking of getting a bike. Never riden anything before so I am starting from scratch. I have a driving license so I know the rules of the road, but the rest is all new to me. I have reseached the cost of licenses and lessons up to the restricted license. But I need your knowledge to help me with some more info:

What bike will be big enough for me?

The cost of said bike? (cheaper the better, I'm bound to drop it ;0)

Rough cost of insurance? (28 year old male newbie living in Auckland)

Cost of helmets and enough stuff to get me started?

Plus anything else I might need to know to get me started...

Any help greatly appreciated.

[Kwaka14]

Get something like a VTR or a Bandit 250 (naked to don't scar badly at low speeds), budget to get a resonable bike if you want it to be relatively trouble free(ish) maybe 4kish and for the most basic of basic gear - cheap jacket, helmet,gloves,trousers around maybe $700.00.

[Chief]

sorry I'm a bit lame at this who makes the VTR and Bandit bikes? I'll have a look on autotrader

[Kwaka14]

VTR is a Honda and Bandit is Suzuki, another one that's not too bad is a Hornet, the main thing is when you're larger than the average bear is to adjust things to suit your size, suspension settings, lever angles, foot control angles that sort of thing, nothing stock is a perfect fit on a 250cc Japanese bike if you're over 6" or heavier than 100kg.

[Chief]

nice one. Thanks for your help mate

[quallman1234]

Welcome to kb .

Just watch out for the chinese brands!, Go for a geniue well known Brand like.

Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki and so on.
The naked bikes are great, fast enough and handle well enough. But you wont dent your wallet if you drop it.
You could always consider a dual purpose 250. That might suit you better.
Main thing is get your learners and test ride (be careful) a whole bunch of bikes.
Trademe's a whole lot cheaper than things like autotrader but you dont know whats wrong with the bike if anything.

Good luck!
Your love it.

[fireliv]

HI Welcome aboard!!

My partners first bike was a Suzuki FXR150, nice little machine.... but grew out of it quickly, so when I decided to learn to ride, I got a bandit 250 and love it. COs $4000. My partner rides it now and then (He has his full, rides a Kawazaki ZX6R) and reckons on some roads its way more fun than his own. Small enough to corner well, but enough in it to not lag to far behind when riding with the big boys. Like was mentioned earlier, a naked bike so nothing is really going to break if dropped.

Good luck, lots of fun, just be safe.

[Squiggles]

yer, as the others have said, naked bikes would be best, the faired 250's will be rather uncomfortable to someone 6ft+

Insurance... err, well when i was 16, on my learners, and riding a rgv250 i paid $40 a month for full cover...

Gear, dont go for cheapy trademe stuff. I recommend Motomail (outlet) as i've had a fair few bargains from there. But if you buy the bike from a dealer you could probably get just as good of a deal from them at the same time.

Budget a couple of hundred for a helmet, cordura gear @ motomail for hanne set me back only $280 for a jacket and pants (dririder & rjays) Boots...who knows, i just have leather boots from the shoe place

[Mr. Peanut]

Hyosung GT250, perfect bike for you. They are really good.

[Steam]

The best bike for a tall learner is something like a Suzuki DR250, a Honda XR250, or a Yamaha XT250. No contest. If size is important, those are your best bets. Heaps of fun too because you can take them off-road as well as commuting. My next bike is going to be a dual-purpose, I am sick of being stuck on the road.

Gear, dont go for cheapy trademe stuff. I recommend Motomail

I totally disagree, Trademe stuff is the best for a learner who doesn't quite know what's the best, exactly what will suit him. He can get nice new gear when he's ready get the perfect stuff.
Trademe's so so cheap, and if you try before you buy you know exactly what you're getting.

[BigRed2007]

suzuki Gz 250 mate:P

I am about ur height and its awesome.

[DUCATI*HARD]

honda hornet mate!!!

[CM2005]

I've got a ZXR250 for sale, i'm 6ft, it fits. Otherwise definitely got for a dual purpose trail/road bike.

[discotex]

I'm just under 6' and the CBR250rr (Honda) and ZXR250 (Kawasaki) are on the borderline of comfort. I love my ZXR250 but I couldn't suggest one to someone any taller. Any of the bikes with a more upright seating position would be heaps better.

For total newb I'd say go with a VTR250. They're comfy and easy to ride around town thanks to the low-down torque. They'll do 100km/h+ on the motorway no worries too. The Hyosung GT250 Comet sounds ok too but I've never seen one.

If you want more power go for the CBR250 Hornet or the GSF250 Bandit as they're inline 4's with more top-end.

Insurance should be around $400 or less if you're lucky.


Helmets are a personal call. I consider anything that meets the standards will protect you ok. Anything more expensive is about comfort, weight, noise, venting and pretty colours. If you're lucky enough to find a $300 helmet that fits well you could get away with that but budget on around $500 and you should be able to get something decent. I'm pretty happy with my HJC CL-SP.

$500 for helmet + $200 for a jacket + $100 for gloves and you have the basics as long as you have a good pair of sturdy boots. From there you want to look at getting some bike boots starting around $200 and either kevlar lined jeans or bike pants.

[R1madness]

Year 2000 Kawasaki Veliminator. Biggest 250 on the market. they are not the cheapest 250 on the market but they are coolest (if you like the dragbike look) $6750. Email me for photos