250 vs Boy Racer

[vtec]

I know what you mean about those HECTIC coro loops etc. After Loosebruce got killled and a few too many close calls of my own (and I think Sudeep and Tex are the same) I also decided it just aint worth it on the road. Man there have been some 'ohhhhh shit' moments...

Funny you mention what happened to HDT's bike with the fiarings in the wind...same thing happened to Tex on one of the first rides he did on his GSXR. RIding out to raglan, the underside of the fairing came loose and they ripped apart. From memory we found a piece of old No.8 wire and held it together...

You are right about Tex, that guy was pretty quick on a 250, although I know he mentioned you with high regard as well when we talked about who was a quick rider. Never ridden with you (except at trackdays), met you at the lights by botany once turning right off Ti Rakau Dr ino Ti Irirangi. DO you road ride much anymore?

I'm in Australia at the moment. I just ride my bicycle everywhere. I'm enough of a hoon on that hahahaha. I'll just get in trouble on a motorbike on the road I think, I can't just cruise, I'm addicted to the rush. Although I'll be back in December, and will try to borrow the CBR600RR that I sold to my dad Got a CBR250RR that I'll use aswell. Planning on selling my car.

I still race whenever I get the chance. Just racing 250's over here, but I sold my race bike back to the wreckers that I bought it off, because I'm not sure what I'm doing next year.

[Brett]

I'm in Australia at the moment. I just ride my bicycle everywhere. I'm enough of a hoon on that hahahaha. I'll just get in trouble on a motorbike on the road I think, I can't just cruise, I'm addicted to the rush. Although I'll be back in December, and will try to borrow the CBR600RR that I sold to my dad Got a CBR250RR that I'll use aswell. Planning on selling my car.

I still race whenever I get the chance. Just racing 250's over here, but I sold my race bike back to the wreckers that I bought it off, because I'm not sure what I'm doing next year.

Once I am back in NZ and settled down a bit I am going to start looking at a race bike. Don't really know what however. I thinking racing a 600cc or a 1000cc is probably a bit more 'serious' than I am willing to go now in terms of cash and tme out lay. 250's are much lower in maintenance requirements and running costs so will probably look at something like that. Having done both, what is your opinion?

[vtec]

Once I am back in NZ and settled down a bit I am going to start looking at a race bike. Don't really know what however. I thinking racing a 600cc or a 1000cc is probably a bit more 'serious' than I am willing to go now in terms of cash and tme out lay. 250's are much lower in maintenance requirements and running costs so will probably look at something like that. Having done both, what is your opinion?

If you haven't done a lot of racing. I reckon an F3 bike like the VFR400R would be the go. I personally don't like the SV650's, but they are faster. I like little light bikes. I'm planning on having a VFR400R as a road and a race bike. don't expect to win F3 though, even if you are an amazing rider you need to have a crap load of money to win f3 too, there's almost unlimited mods allowed.

If you want a level playing field and the opportunity to win, try streetstocks 250 fourstrokes. I loved riding those bikes, but it's not a class that I'd be proud to keep winning in. Although it's great because it's so cheap... tyres last a season.

Other option if you are serious about racing and competing fairly, have a look at Shaun Harris' scheme. He's going to assemble a stack of bikes, all identical with identical tyres and run a competition like that. $5g for all national rounds. I'm waiting to see what bikes he's chosen... My money is on a 650 twin of some sort.

Don't go for 600 or 1000 if you aren't already a legend. You WILL crash. You WILL spend a fortune. And you WILL lose. And it WILL put you off. Unless of course you are fully sponsored. Then you'd have a chance.

[Badger8]

Just thought i'd pop another word in..... since i forgot to mention that "250 hornets are decent 250's aswel"..........

Bit of a yes and no there........
Yes their a good bike,
But a 250 hornet will not keep up with a zxr250 or cbr250.... fullstop.
Maybe rider ability would help it to be faster off the line, but with the same rider a cbr/zxr is faster everywhere in its speed range than a 250 hornet...

a hornet would be around a second slower over a 1/4 mile(round 15 flat)..... thats a decent gap....

Would also have to disagree there... The hornet is a lot better than most people give it credit for, til they straddle her... Sure, it's not bred for racing like the CBR / ZXR... not tuned for peak horsepower, but gives a lot more useable power in most situations. Also, 99% of ZXR's and CBR's around are getting old and clapped out.
Skidmark gave me a hand one day cleaning my carbs and changed plugs. Now we all know he is a staunch ZXR fan, and if he could mount the tailpipe, he'd get one to have his babies. He took the Hornetto for a spin once she was all sorted, once round the block, pulled back into my drive, got off the bike visibly shaking, handed my helmet back. His only words before i took her round the block to see if the crabs were sorted? "Hold on..." He then needed to sit down...
Case and point? My low k's, well looked after Hornet out-pulled any ZXR or CBR he's ever ridden, and he's ridden plenty. I have only personally ridden one ZXR, and not hard, because i couldnt physically fit the thing comfortably. But it didnt feel like it had much more than the hornet up top, and it had a lot less useable power lower in the rev range.

I for one rate the hornets up there as one of the best all-round 250's (not just talking balls-to-the-wall power here), and a good bike as a stepping stone to a bigger bike.

My $0.02 anyways...

[wbks]

The GSXR is cool, but it makes things a little bit too serious sometimes.

Why do you say that? They real fast or something?

[woodhillkamikaze]

my zxr250 has a smaller front sprocket whicj helps with quicker acceleration... hence the odd occasion at the lights when full of themselve cage freaks rev their engines I end up laughing cos I'm through the lights and hitting second gear before they've had time to register the lights green. 90% of winning comes from skill and then having a nice little 250 with no '250' stickers to trick them into a race. Up to the speed limit as fast as you can go is perfectly legal cos of course 'what car? i wasn't racing... honestly officer I didn't see any car... lol' bikes are quicker through traffic to which is why i prefer a bike over a car... I hate being stuck on the motorway in a cage when i know the freedom of weaving through traffic laughing :P

[Brett]

Why do you say that? They real fast or something?

On the 250 on an average ride through the country, ie some good straights, fast sweepers and then the really tight stuff, you can basically just ride it to its potential. You can use full throttle a lot of the time, you can use complete full throttle even in tight twisty stuff and very very seldom will the rear start to slide or spin. They are just easy to ride.

On a decent 600cc bike or a 1000cc, giving the bike full throttle sees you doing very high speeds through long sweepers, on straights using much throttle will very quickly see you over the 200kph mark and then of course in the really tight stuff they are more difficult to manhandle throgh corners than a 250cc is. Don't get me wrong, they are a buzz to ride. Once you are off a 250 and you get to take out your first 600cc or 1000cc supersport bike, the acceleration is absolutely mind blowing. Basically, if you want to ride a 600cc or 1000cc supersport machine on the road and push the bike a bit, it becomes a lot more dangerous because the speed involved is higher.

Personally, I used to do rides on the weekends that could get very fast. Then, due to personal circumstances, I stopped enjoying it because one day the inevitable will happen, and I may not be able to ride again. This sort ot made riding stressfull rather than enjoyable. now I much more enjoy doing the fast riding at track days and going easyish on the road.

[Brett]

If you haven't done a lot of racing. I reckon an F3 bike like the VFR400R would be the go. I personally don't like the SV650's, but they are faster. I like little light bikes. I'm planning on having a VFR400R as a road and a race bike. don't expect to win F3 though, even if you are an amazing rider you need to have a crap load of money to win f3 too, there's almost unlimited mods allowed.

If you want a level playing field and the opportunity to win, try streetstocks 250 fourstrokes. I loved riding those bikes, but it's not a class that I'd be proud to keep winning in. Although it's great because it's so cheap... tyres last a season.

Other option if you are serious about racing and competing fairly, have a look at Shaun Harris' scheme. He's going to assemble a stack of bikes, all identical with identical tyres and run a competition like that. $5g for all national rounds. I'm waiting to see what bikes he's chosen... My money is on a 650 twin of some sort.

Don't go for 600 or 1000 if you aren't already a legend. You WILL crash. You WILL spend a fortune. And you WILL lose. And it WILL put you off. Unless of course you are fully sponsored. Then you'd have a chance.

Have thought about 250cc streetstock, but I am 90 odd kg. Have thought about the F3..actually have a CBR400rr sitting here that I am thinking of turning into a race bike..so that might be a goer...

I would be game to try a 600cc or 1000cc machine, however it is the cost that puts me off...tyres, chains, sprockets, CRASHES etc. etc.

Dunno, got other priories for the next few months anyway, but will reasess then I suppose.

[wbks]

On the 250 on an average ride through the country, ie some good straights, fast sweepers and then the really tight stuff, you can basically just ride it to its potential. You can use full throttle a lot of the time, you can use complete full throttle even in tight twisty stuff and very very seldom will the rear start to slide or spin. They are just easy to ride.

On a decent 600cc bike or a 1000cc, giving the bike full throttle sees you doing very high speeds through long sweepers, on straights using much throttle will very quickly see you over the 200kph mark and then of course in the really tight stuff they are more difficult to manhandle throgh corners than a 250cc is. Don't get me wrong, they are a buzz to ride. Once you are off a 250 and you get to take out your first 600cc or 1000cc supersport bike, the acceleration is absolutely mind blowing. Basically, if you want to ride a 600cc or 1000cc supersport machine on the road and push the bike a bit, it becomes a lot more dangerous because the speed involved is higher.

Personally, I used to do rides on the weekends that could get very fast. Then, due to personal circumstances, I stopped enjoying it because one day the inevitable will happen, and I may not be able to ride again. This sort ot made riding stressfull rather than enjoyable. now I much more enjoy doing the fast riding at track days and going easyish on the road.

Making me look forward to next year when I get a full and hopefully a 600! I was actually asking about the gixa 250 I thought you were talking about lol. Its not like I have a 600 to compare it to but I know what you mean about it being fun to ride a 250 on its limits. Will be a bit of a shock for me going from being 13,000+rpm full gas out of most corners in the twistys at almost full lean... to high/lowsiding if I try the same deal on a zx6

[revlikeshit]

Would also have to disagree there... The hornet is a lot better than most people give it credit for, til they straddle her... Sure, it's not bred for racing like the CBR / ZXR... not tuned for peak horsepower, but gives a lot more useable power in most situations. Also, 99% of ZXR's and CBR's around are getting old and clapped out.
Skidmark gave me a hand one day cleaning my carbs and changed plugs. Now we all know he is a staunch ZXR fan, and if he could mount the tailpipe, he'd get one to have his babies. He took the Hornetto for a spin once she was all sorted, once round the block, pulled back into my drive, got off the bike visibly shaking, handed my helmet back. His only words before i took her round the block to see if the crabs were sorted? "Hold on..." He then needed to sit down...
Case and point? My low k's, well looked after Hornet out-pulled any ZXR or CBR he's ever ridden, and he's ridden plenty. I have only personally ridden one ZXR, and not hard, because i couldnt physically fit the thing comfortably. But it didnt feel like it had much more than the hornet up top, and it had a lot less useable power lower in the rev range.

I for one rate the hornets up there as one of the best all-round 250's (not just talking balls-to-the-wall power here), and a good bike as a stepping stone to a bigger bike.

My $0.02 anyways...

Out pull a zxr250,on a hornet..... B.S...

You can talk about usable power and torque all day long,but it means nothing because a hornet has none of that over a zxr/cbr.... hornets use a detuned cbr250 motor, basically they have the top end cut off, just like for instance a fz6 compared to an r6.

[Badger8]

Out pull a zxr250,on a hornet..... B.S...

You can talk about usable power and torque all day long,but it means nothing because a hornet has none of that over a zxr/cbr.... hornets use a detuned cbr250 motor, basically they have the top end cut off, just like for instance a fz6 compared to an r6.

The point i was making is that most zxr/cbr's are gettin old and tired, versus a much better chance of finding a hornet with lower k's and engine still rearing to go.
Not sure that it's a simple as "cut the top end off", the power is a bit more evenly spread. same age and similar k's, yes, hornet will lose in a straight line. to me that's not really the point... Meh...

[NOMIS]

Out pull a zxr250,on a hornet..... B.S...

You can talk about usable power and torque all day long,but it means nothing because a hornet has none of that over a zxr/cbr.... hornets use a detuned cbr250 motor, basically they have the top end cut off, just like for instance a fz6 compared to an r6.

your the expert drag racer arnt you?? get a ride on one and blat it down the 400m then say that.

They do go mate and im not talking shit when comparing them to zxr's and cbr's neither is badger. especilaly when i have mates with all 3 bike your talking about zxr and a cbr and hornet , what's in front/???

[Badger8]

Baahaha, and skiddie has his say...

The hornet is detuned yes, does it pull like a $2 hooker.... YES.

Fact is k's make things gutless.

less carb wear, valve wear etc etc, so many zxr's are thrashed shims never done etc, where as badgers hornet with 10,000 k's pulled so hard jews fell out my arse A) due to low k's B) it doesnt have 20 past n00b owners who didnt know how to maintain a bike.

skidMark. (t3h zxr mast3r3r)

That boy cracks me up

[revlikeshit]

All i seem to hear is people talking utter crap, ive ridden a zxr250 at meremere, and ran a 14.37@143(during the day,first time ever riding a 4cyl 250)...2.3sec 60ft.

Have any of u guys run ur hornets at the drags...... exactly, when u can run faster then come back and talk.... i know of a cbr250r hurricane(87 i think) 50,000+ k's that can do 14's all day long...

U guys would struggle to break into the low 15's..... let alone trap anywhere near what cbr/zxr's do...

Hornets have less torque and horsepower than a zxr/cbr through the whole rev range full stop.. Why do u think a hornet redlines lower....

Just the same as alot of nakd bikes,600 hornets,fz6's, z1000's etc. they use detuned(or as the manufactures put it "tuned for midrange"...B.S) engines out of previous gen cbr600's, yzf r6's, zx10r's etc.

[CHOPPA]

ive ridden a zxr250 at meremere, and ran a 14.37@143(during the day,first time ever riding a 4cyl 250)...2.3sec 60ft.

That must have been fun.....