First bike... advice please

[Ryan432]

Go with the VTR250, naked is sexy!!! and definitley the VTR over the hyo, but if you must get one i recon the comet (naked version) looks cooler than the gtr, thats probably just my naked bias speaking tho... seriously tho i got nothing against faired bikes but for learning you are probably better off naked! Chicks dig nudity! lol

[Ryan432]

Holy crap!! about half of all my posts on this site have started a new page, im begining to think im cursed! lol

[Squiggles]

Plenty of naked grunty but learner friendly 250's out there for that sort of money... Jafa spent 3500 when he bought his bandit from colemans, that came with 3 months warranty.

Most of the time theres nothing wrong with buying second hand with no guarantees though, just take someone who knows what to look for with you and go from there.

[Zim_Invader]

Plenty of naked grunty but learner friendly 250's out there for that sort of money... Jafa spent 3500 when he bought his bandit from colemans, that came with 3 months warranty.

Most of the time theres nothing wrong with buying second hand with no guarantees though, just take someone who knows what to look for with you and go from there.

yeah... so within my price range, best pick of the nakeds?
vtr
bandit
scorpio
gn (not really too big on teh gn though.... ego.... yes, just maybe)

u reckon i could get a bandit at teh same price sa a scorpio? (mid 3's).... man.. there's a lot of thought on a "FIRST" bike.... i just wanna ride... gues u gotta dot he homework before right?

mileage on the clock are also worth considering though, right.... am currently runnin on the advice given (best to keep below 22,000 km)....

i liked the bandit enough to keep for a year at least.. but the scorpio, doesn't do it for me.... ya, the lame ravings of a noob.. u must get this a lot.

[Chrislost]

NSR300 (NSR250 with big bore kit), performance parts, race slicks. Then cover half the radiator and run it hot. Don't ride it in the dry either cos only wusses do that. Wait till the road is just damp then let the inner city gp begin. haha

p/t

oh come on!
you have to experience white lines in the dry to fully appreciate them in the moist environment that is winter.

best is those mossy roads out (senic drive) west where you dont actually need to steer cos the backs sliding perfectly around the corner in the moss.


GPXes are a kunt to get tyres for.
you have the choice of BT45s ($350) or shit ($poo)

plus their not exactly sporty eh?

[PirateJafa]

yeah... so within my price range, best pick of the nakeds?
vtr
bandit
scorpio
gn (not really too big on teh gn though.... ego.... yes, just maybe)

u reckon i could get a bandit at teh same price sa a scorpio? (mid 3's).... man.. there's a lot of thought on a "FIRST" bike.... i just wanna ride... gues u gotta dot he homework before right?

mileage on the clock are also worth considering though, right.... am currently runnin on the advice given (best to keep below 22,000 km)....

i liked the bandit enough to keep for a year at least.. but the scorpio, doesn't do it for me.... ya, the lame ravings of a noob.. u must get this a lot.

The Bandit will keep up with pretty much any other four-stroke 250 out there - along with the Hornet it's the sportiest nekkid bike out there. I loved my Bandit - $3.5k for 12,000km + 3mth dealer warranty isn't too bad.

VTR is less powerful, but torquier down low, and easier on petrol.

Depends on your style of riding really, and you won't know that until you've started riding - a bit of a catch 22 case there huh?

[Squiggles]

u reckon i could get a bandit at teh same price sa a scorpio? (mid 3's).... man.. there's a lot of thought on a "FIRST" bike.... i just wanna ride... gues u gotta dot he homework before right?

Yep, im not a fan of buying new, if i could, i'd buy after the first owner had it depreciate and had done all the warranty services. Else you end up dealing with any break in issues (even if under warranty, you've still got to take it back to them etc etc) and the costs of having them do the first few oil changes can be up there

not to mention the shit tyres most new bikes come with

have you got your learners yet?

[Ryan432]

what you want is for a middle aged man to have his mid-life crises and by the exact bike you want, and using all his oldman cash upgrade it to the max, and only ride it in the best conditions at 50kph. then once his wife finds out what hes done he'll have to sell it and thats where you come in! you by what is basically a new bike with all the expensive parts you want at 2/3rd's of the price!! but seriously VTR's are great fun!!

[Hanne]

what you want is for a middle aged man to have his mid-life crises and by the exact bike you want, and using all his oldman cash upgrade it to the max, and only ride it in the best conditions at 50kph. then once his wife finds out what hes done he'll have to sell it and thats where you come in! you by what is basically a new bike with all the expensive parts you want at 2/3rd's of the price!! but seriously VTR's are great fun!!

Yeah, that actually happens suprisingly often! Or, as happened with my bike, the partner just says it has to go and snaps up the first offer.
You never know when you will get lucky like that
(Ok, i admit the purple part might've helped my cause too, diminishing the number of male bidders.... )
So long as you have an idea what you are looking for and have peeled eyes

[motorbyclist]

quiestion.... what's the general opinion on the hyosang gt 250's? a mtae's buying one as his first bike.... (did my learners with him).... good move/not the smartest thing?

take a look at this.... it's obviously over that 10yr timeframe i wanted to keep within, but going by the probability of a crank snapping, or something seriously bad happening, being low (esp becoz of relatively low k's on the clock), wanted t know waht u thought?

zzr (red+white)
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-157609539.htm

that's a very nice lookng zzr


now don't get too concerned about cranks snapping etc - that is a very rare occurance. bikes tend to be very reliable unless there's been modifications or serious abuse in it's past

the only reason you don't see many bikes over 100000km is cars, not the build quality

you can't even trust the clocks on these bikes anyway - alot are wound back or simply had the speedo cable disconnected during it's ownership

10yr timeframe is BS really - my bike has got well over the 65000km on it's clock, is almost 20 years old and never misses a beat despite all the abuse i give it (though the battery does need replacing)


take someone who knows what to look for, no offence to kyle here, but he doesn't exactly know what a loose cam chain sounds like and probably won't check the wheel bearings etc nor evidence of crash damage.
plus squiggles seems to be a natural at bargain hunting

[motorbyclist]

yeah... so within my price range, best pick of the nakeds?
vtr
bandit
scorpio
gn (not really too big on teh gn though.... ego.... yes, just maybe)

u reckon i could get a bandit at teh same price sa a scorpio? (mid 3's).... man.. there's a lot of thought on a "FIRST" bike.... i just wanna ride... gues u gotta dot he homework before right?

lol best place to do your homework is right here!

i personally have a thing against the GN too. not a fan of the style, but they are surprisingly nice to ride and are good for finding parts etc, but you'll need to find parts which is an issue.

i'd say it depends on what you want, really...

bandit i wouldn't buy as it has a near identical engine to my old gsxr250 i had, and destroyed - but pirate jafa's one seemed ok (till he crashed it, mind you). if you must buy a hornet, preferably the ones with cam gears not chains as they will never mechanically fail on you (within the bounds of reasonable thrashing/abuse)
infact just don't buy a suzuki

scorpio would be good on the gas, but i havn't ridden one so can't say much fairly on it

again, very impressed with the vtr

and as frosty said, and i hate to admit, fairings are costly to fix - but do make it easy to write the bike off to insurance

if you can stand scratched fairings then get a faired bike - but you will drop it at some point.... of course with a naked the damage goes direct to engine and fuel tank and so not only can cost just as much, but means you can't get home either.

in short, my idea of an ideal start to riding is an fxr150/scorpio/gn, followed by a 250 of riders choosing after they've binned the fxr a few times and learnt how to keep upright, but starting on a gpx/gsx/vtr/zzr is all fine.

ideally you'd have offoad/track experience, a car drivers licence, and just be learning the nuances of a road bike

mileage on the clock are also worth considering though, right.... am currently runnin on the advice given (best to keep below 22,000 km)....

who gave you that advice? i'd like to formally ask what he bases that on

[vindy500]

i like my gpx

[Zim_Invader]

Yep, im not a fan of buying new, if i could, i'd buy after the first owner had it depreciate and had done all the warranty services. Else you end up dealing with any break in issues (even if under warranty, you've still got to take it back to them etc etc) and the costs of having them do the first few oil changes can be up there

not to mention the shit tyres most new bikes come with

have you got your learners yet?

got the skills test bagged... looking at sitting the scratch test tuesday, or mayb wednesday..... but know my stuff, so that's no biggie.

[Zim_Invader]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zim_Invader View Post
mileage on the clock are also worth considering though, right.... am currently runnin on the advice given (best to keep below 22,000 km)....

who gave you that advice? i'd like to formally ask what he bases that on
__________________

haha, he said that was simply his preference, and i thought it a good idea to stick with.... (bearing in mind my bike know-how is minimal).... so ya.... i take it that number could be subject to some change...?

hey squiggles... so is that how things work with a brand new bike? sounds too bothersome.... also, why would you need to go to the dealer for an oil & filter change? generally speaking, it's simple enough, isn't it?

as for the scratched fairings issue... i'm not really bugged by it. a few scratches gives the rider character (haha... or so i kid myself.... ). even with the scratches, i think it's better as it reduces direct damage to the engine and all (and makes the bike look even sexier - not to say a naked bike lacks any appeal)

in any case, i'm thinking, despite the fact that i'm guaranteed to wanna upgrade soon after, an fxr would be the best way to go.... scorpio, i'm open to still, and the gn... well....... still... i dunno.... so the fxr or scorpio. the fxr is a bit cheaper, but less gutsy (not that a first time biker will really care about guts... not so soon anyway). as much as i wanna say i'll never bin my bike.... i'm getting the idea that it's a guaranteed... a, god-given, definately will happen.... haha.

"in short, my idea of an ideal start to riding is an fxr150/scorpio/gn, followed by a 250 of riders choosing after they've binned the fxr a few times and learnt how to keep upright, but starting on a gpx/gsx/vtr/zzr is all fine.

ideally you'd have offoad/track experience, a car drivers licence, and just be learning the nuances of a road bike
"

sadly, no off-road/track experience (not in nz anyway... did a bit of random rides here and there when i was with family overseas.... nothing extreme, or really worth logging though). am a pretty seasoned driver though... learnt to drive at a decent enough age.... still.. i'm liking your thinking..

"take someone who knows what to look for, no offence to kyle here, but he doesn't exactly know what a loose cam chain sounds like and probably won't check the wheel bearings etc nor evidence of crash damage.
plus squiggles seems to be a natural at bargain hunting"

haha.... i'm thinking i'd best join the uni club.. SOOON... if that'd be the best way to meet up with u guys.... man, if any of u veteren riders are keen to come view a bike i'm interested in, that'd be awesome (ofcourse, i'd prob upload all the details on here beforehand... haha, the chances of one of u knowing the owner are prob pretty high anyway)..... haha... agian, no offence to kyle. he's been a legend at getting me started... and i'd prob still be taking him out to see the bike, as he's my first contact with biking... what can i say, i'm loyal to the brother..haha.(bout a month or 2 ago, i was completely lost with all the letters in biking, it was like a bloody english test for a kindie kid.... and i felt like the class dunce or some shit..... .... haha... but building my way up there. am loving the biking arena. ).

[Zim_Invader]

what you want is for a middle aged man to have his mid-life crises and by the exact bike you want, and using all his oldman cash upgrade it to the max, and only ride it in the best conditions at 50kph. then once his wife finds out what hes done he'll have to sell it and thats where you come in! you by what is basically a new bike with all the expensive parts you want at 2/3rd's of the price!! but seriously VTR's are great fun!!

hahaha........dude. that sounds like cinderella.. haha (hey... i was young, and very naive!)... more so... i can't believe it really happened.... man, so a purple bike huh? is that the stock colours, or the cover up paint job to hide the scratches?

man that's classic... haha