Which 250 will ride at the legal limit without

[ukiwi]

sounding and feeling like its about to explode between your legs.
My wife currently rides a GN250, which is begining to feel like its gone about as far as it will go. She would like something that will do the weekend rides and weekday commute. Speed isnt such an issue but getting to and staying at 100k, without feeling like you should have another couple of gears to get through would be nice.
Have found a Kawasaki GPX 2007 for around $5,500 that we like the look of.

Any opinions suggestions ?

BTW, really looking forward to the Wednesday night Wellington rides and getting to put a few faces to the profiles and posts.

[bomma]

hey, my mate just sold his gpx and he had a tough time selling it so im surprised at the price of the one you guys are looking at...he bought his brand new and paid a bit more than that for it but found they dont hold their value....i would suggest a vtr250 if you are not planning to go beyond the speed limit. very comfortable, light, nimble and more than enough power. also is great on the gas

the hyosungs also seem to be doing alright but will not be as good as a jap bike. good luck with the search and hope all goes well

[ukiwi]

we thought about a hyosung but dont want to go much over $5000. The bike will only be used for maybe a year, 18 months so dont want to invest to much in it. Its really so she can enjoy the summer rides on something half decent, the GN she has now is like riding a tractor but with more noise and worse handling.

[The Pastor]

honda cbr 250 RR (mc22) 1992, best 250 out there.

limited to 180kph and easily does it!

[CookMySock]

we thought about a hyosung but dont want to go much over $5000. The bike will only be used for maybe a year, 18 months so dont want to invest to much in it. Its really so she can enjoy the summer rides on something half decent, the GN she has now is like riding a tractor but with more noise and worse handling.

You will get your money back out of the hyo, no worries. Consider also, what quality of experience you would like for the summer - a nice bike will make a summer to remember forever. The GT250R is a nice styley ladies bike for sure, but if she is lightweight it will be a bit bumpy, frustrating, and tiring for 400km stint touring - ours are about to get a suspension makeover for the summer. Theres a near-new yellow one on TM for 6k. They will sit on 120k all day and feel like the real thing for cornering, bar the bumpyness. Still, the GN feels like riding a flying stick insect in comparison.

Best of luck, whatever you choose.
Steve

[Tank]

Pretty much any reasonable quality 250 will hold its value. Buying near new is always better than buying new - letting someone else take that depreciation hit.

Hyosongs dont have the greatest of names and I believe that you will have a greater chance of not being able to get good $$$ when you come to trade it.

[blue eyed savage]

gsf250 bandit. just go to a dealer and test ride them all.

[JimO]

i vote for VTR 250

[oscarnz]

I have a 2002 GSX250 which is great.
As it happens it is for sale after I sit my full licence on Tuesday.
Its in your price range as well.

PM me if you want more details.

[Little Miss Trouble]

Pretty much any reasonable quality 250 will hold its value. Buying near new is always better than buying new - letting someone else take that depreciation hit.

Exactly.The GPX is a great bike, but I would say that!
All the bikes mentioned above will happily sit at (over) 100km/h so go test ride a few

[McJim]

Almost any multiple cylinder 250 will comfortably exceed the open road speed limit. The only ones to struggle are the single cylinder machines.

Twins are good for 140-150kph (VTR250, GT250R, GPX250, 250Ninja, GSX250)
Fours are good up to about 180kph (CBR250, GSXR250, ZXR250, FZR250, Balius 250, Hornet 250, Bandit 250, Zeal 250)

2 stroke 250s will exceed 200kph and will kill you if you're not careful/talented or both.

So as you can see there's a fair spectrum of 250cc capabilities.

[hmurphy]

My friend owns a GPX250 and I have ridden it. It is a great bike to ride, cheap on gas and comfortable for commuting. Also, it sounds great! Nice and quiet but with a bit of grunt with a few revs.
Also the Hyosung GT250R is another great commuter. I found it to be much more comfortable for the commuting than the GPX, and it looks much sportier!
If you buy a near new one of these bikes, you will lose almost nothing on what you buy it for, so spending around 5k is a good idea in my opinion.

Good luck!

[crs_is]

I would recomend a Vl250cc.. its perfect.. fits the bill in every way. plus they are awesom looking.. mind you i am biased as i own one.. but hey.. works for me

[Salival]

I put close to 17,000 ks on a GSX250 over about two years and never had any problems. Mine was bought new in 2005, and whilst it's a 'made in China' piece of kit, it's got plenty of life left in it (I sold it to a dude I know who's very happy with it).

Longest ride I did was Hamilton to Wellington in a single day (down highway four which is awesome by the way) and it handled it with ease. Cruising at 100 to 110 is busy in sixth at about 9k RPM, but comfortable enough.

My only real complain is passing ability, but you can't expect too much from a 250 in that respect.

Great little bikes and very comfortable. Wouldn't hesitate in recommending one, though there are a lot of good 250s around - GPX, VTR and ZXR models are all good contenders.

[retro asian]

I would recomend a Vl250cc.. its perfect.. fits the bill in every way. plus they are awesom looking.. mind you i am biased as i own one.. but hey.. works for me

Second that :-) Just got mine this weekend!!

But I haven't been up past 70 km/hr yet....