My first bike?

[BiK3RChiK]

You will get very bored with a 125 very quickly IMO. Also, when most get their full, they upgrade anyway, so chances are you won't be having the bike for an extended amount of time. Best thing is to find someone nearby who knows their stuff about bikes and consider 'older' bikes as well. And as people have mentioned allow for the price of gear and insurance too.

All the best finding your new baby and keep the rubber side down...

[YLWDUC]

I would say the FXR is the best bet.

I'll second that. Although biased. Rode an FXR as my first bike, the speedo overreads by 10km/hr but it's nice and narrow, fairly economical at 100km/hr and has good resale value. cheap to maintain.

[dblancer]

But remember these are around 3700 NEW
and sitting around 3000 second hand.

Remember to factor in your gear, and licence fees and on road costs OH and insurance.

It adds up.

There is nothing wrong with older bikes if you do you research and know what to look for. Tho me Im prepared to get my hands dirting and change oil myself, do water etc... do all the easy stuff.

i was sorely tempted by the scorpio as its a solid commuter. Im not sure about the kick start, seems a bit agricultural

A good idea would be good actually LOOK and SIT on the bikes, that was a seller for me anyway.

[CookMySock]

One point I would stress is your will feel pretty inferior next to all the learners with 250's round town.

You will be kicking yourself if you undercut yourself powerwise, hills can be embarrassing if you can get up them. Get 250, it makes sense!

Not everyone is this self-concious.

However, I suggest that quite quickly you will get a hankering for the open road, and then you will feel totally inadequate on a GN or similar. And quite rightly so - little underpowered bikes have no place in open-road traffic.

Many of the 250's are just great on the open road, ie any of the inline fours and the GT250R's. They can tour all day, and pass cars and stuff, just like the real thing. You may not feel safe doing this right away which is not surprising, but the thing is, if this is you in three to six months from now, then you need a good sized capable bike, rather than a putt-putt one.

What ever you do, welcome to biking. You will have lots of fun.

Steve

[EJK]

Oh did you see "Target" program on TV3 last night? It was about a Lifan Scooter.

Again, stay away (way away) from Chinese brands...