New learner bike/accessory advice?

[Sly_guy]

Hmmm, still not sure which i prefer to be honest !!!

I guess if there's the fairings on, it's an arse to maintain ?, having to remove etc ?

One thought... are most bikes electric start these days ? my old two stroke gave me a right leg like a professional wrestler !

[Qkchk:Me]

Hmmm, still not sure which i prefer to be honest !!!

I guess if there's the fairings on, it's an arse to maintain ?, having to remove etc ?

One thought... are most bikes electric start these days ? my old two stroke gave me a right leg like a professional wrestler !

Majority of the 250cc (and smaller) bikes are Electric start. With exception of the 250cc 2-Stroke Racers NSR, TZR, RGV etc.. The Scorpio has both which can be really handy if one forgets to turn the main ignition switch off.

[davebullet]

My partner and I recently bought a Honda VTR250. It certainly isn't as easy to handle when you are a learner like me on your BHS at low speeds compared to the old Suzuki GNs, but comes into its own for real world riding. At your budget, you won't be able to get a VTR newer than about 5 years old though.

I've never ridden a Scorpio, but I do appreciate the power / get up and go on a V-twin like the VTR. Being a naked bike (one without fairings) it is easy to clean / spot condition of the engine and other normally hidden areas before riding (I like to check my bike over before hoping on).

For the money, the Scorpio definitely is worth looking at.

Like you - I rode many years ago and redid my BHS recently. Always pays to learn from an instructor to get good habits & break the bad ones.

All the best and let us know how you go.

David.

[Sly_guy]

Thanks to Qkchk for sorting me out with the BHS test on Sat...

Suprising how strange it felt getting on a bike for the first time in 10 years..

I passed, but was wobbly enough to make me very concious of my own mortality on the roads... which I guess is a very god thing at this stage !

I've now been and picked up a road code for motorcyles, (and also found out that i'm down on the "database" as a woman..... and need a passport to prove i'm not.... don't ask...)

I never actually had to sit a Theory test in the uk.. as back in the late early 90's it was just a matter of being asked a few questions at the end of the practical test... I'm a pretty competent car driver, but clearly don't know the exact ins and outs of the NZ road rules.. and looking through the Road Code, it looks like i'm probably going to need to read it thoroughly and remember shit loads for the test..

Can anyone suggest any dummy tests, or anything like that, so i know when i'm up to the right kind of level to go and sit the test..

Help a man with $5k burning a hole in his back pocket to buy a bike...

Cheers

[Qkchk:Me]

Can anyone suggest any dummy tests, or anything like that, so i know when i'm up to the right kind of level to go and sit the test..

Give this website a go.............. Motorcycle Online Test

[CookMySock]

IOne global question though... is $5k going to get me a decent setup ?

Yes, but not including gear. However 6K will, so you might be better to save hard over the next month, and maybe delay another month, and then try to swing 6.5k or even 7k. 5 to 6 to 7k is right on the cusp of ordinary bike vs cool bike. The idea here is to have an awesome summer experience on a great bike, rather than have a mediocre end-of-spring experience, and a mediocre summer experience, on a fairly average bike - if you see what I mean. Spring is not that great time of year to be riding anyway. Only other advice - learn to steer with the bars.

Welcome to biking. Whatever you get you will enjoy it immensely.

Steve

[davebullet]

Make sure you don't scrimp on gear. I reckon $1,500 is probably about right for helmet, jacket, pants, boots and one pair of gloves. Good gear will keep you warm and dry while riding - very important to maintain concentration and adequate feel of controls not to mention enjoyment!

A decent jacket will have a wet weather zip our liner and good (ie. hard) armour in the elbows and shoulders. A back pocket for a future purchase of a back protector is always a nice feature to have.

Make sure you get boots. Not only do you want to keep your feet warm and dry, but you need to protect them in the case of an off, or even a slow drop on the driveway. This happened to my partner, bike fell on her leg. She was fine (not a scratch nor bruise) - boots with ankle protection took the weight of the bike.

Make sure your jacket / clothes are snug fitting. Not so tight as to restrict movement, but no bagginess that will billow and cause balance anomalies (and make you feel cold) at higher speeds.

Cheers,
David.

[Sly_guy]

Qkchk, thanks for the links to the Road Code tests....
I'm fine with the motorbike stuff (well, i think so anyway....), it's more the general Rode Code questions that i'm having to study at the moment... (of which there is a test for on that site also....)

Things you just take for granted when you've been driving for umpteen years, and also things that are specific to NZ (such as "The best way to check for hazzards is to get out of the car and walk around it..., and you can't park within 6 meters of a junction on an unmarked road. etc....)

I've just gone through and can get most of them right, so i think i might have a crack at the actual test this week.

Back to the bike front for a moment...
I know i'm looking at $4,300 on the road for a Scorpio....

On the second hand market, I can get something like GN250, 06, 5k, for $3k,
Do you folks think the Scorpio is worth the extra ?

Cheers,

[Sly_guy]

Well,

Just arrived back from the AA... with a temporary Learners License in my hand... ..

Glad Qkchk gave me those links.... and that I bothered to do some study on the road code... some, well, not that straightforward questions in there !!!

I think the only one i got wrong was about parking over a marked manhole cover !!!

[Rosie]

Congratulations!
Now you can go bike shopping

[Slyer]

Good work. One thing you'll notice when you get your license back is that it will say learner regardless of what car license you have!

[Sly_guy]

Well, no one can accuse me of passing my license and not using it ...

I decided to leave work a little earlier today (i've been doing lots of overtime) and go and have a peruse at Mt Eden Motorcycles....

Last night, I was thinking about the whole thing a lot (as you do when considering spending $$$$), and was wondering if maybe I should look at the possibility of slightly "higher" end bike than either the Scorpio or the GN250...

I've been out for a test ride on both a Kawasaki Ninja 250, and a Hyosung GT250R.. Just went for a few k's around the area, but was surprised i'd not forgotten how to ride too much.... and didn't kill myself, anyone else, or drop the bike... , which is a good start... (did leave the indicator on a couple of times tho.... it has been 10 years +)


Now, these were / are out of my price range.... and the whole fairing thing as a newbie potential "dropper" concerns me...
So, with that, and price in mind, I'm VERY very tempted to push the budget to the Hyosung GT250... I can get one for $5995 +ORC, and then spend around $800 on semi reasonable gear.

Now, I didn't actually get to test ride a GT250, (just the R), but i'm assured that the engine and the ride are virtually identical, other than hight handlebars (which again to me as a noob, is a good thing..)

Am I just being greedy ?, should I just settle for a Scorpio, or 2nd hand GN or similar while I still VERY much consider myself a newbie.


What are your thoughts for me ?,

Cheers!!!

[Slyer]

Have a look at the Honda VTR or Suzuki Bandit's.
Don't get a hyosung if you can help it...

I'm glad I bought an old cheap bike when I crashed it!

[Sly_guy]

Don't get a hyosung if you can help it...

I'm glad I bought an old cheap bike when I crashed it!

Really ? I read lots of places saying they're really good ?

The fact that it has a 2yr warranty is cool to i thought...

[Slyer]

They have a bad rep around these parts and have heard of their bad quality from plenty of places.
EG:
[youtube]WkqDzeCVkX0[/youtube]