Virago, does that make me gay?

[phred]

My wife has one and loves it. Can't get her to get a bigger bike si I can sell hers for a profit. I am especially not telling her what Virago means. Shes hard enough to handle as it is.

[Irontusk]

The only 250 cruisers that even nearly look right are the VL250 and Dragstar, the way most of the rest of them have their engines mounted just looks so out of place, with one cylinder going straight forward and the other straight up. But the Dragstar looks kind of weird with the guards sticking out like that.. and at nearly twice the price I don't know why you'd bother.

I never test rode a Dragstar, but I'd recommend the Intruder, I'm over 6' and there is enough room. Still can't wait to upgrade though of course.

[Irontusk]

Just wanted to laugh at the moron who negative repped me for the above post, because he likes Harleys.. erm, I didn't even mention them, Dragstars are a YAMAHA range of cruisers.

[DMCD]

my riding experience is farm bikes, and scooters in thailand and indonesia. did a couple of full day missions on the scooters in indo that has given me this itch i need to scratch...

Hay chief

First of all, congratulations, I had a similar background of riding with the farm bikes to start with but found road riding a real motorcycle a different experience all together.

In my opinion the 250 cruisers are more than a tad disappointing, I am very glad I waited to get my full before a got a cruiser.

I found the best 250 for learning to be the Suzuki Bandit for sure but the Honda Hornets are also quite good, I personally road tested allot of bikes including various cruisers, the Ninja's, CBR's, 2strokes ect and in the end got the Bandit, after it was stolen I upgraded to a CBR250 but I'm glad I started out on the Bandit first.

PS, Just my personal opinion please don't flame me, I'm not digging on mini cruisers or their riders.

[Scorp]

Ha, this is funny. I'm a newbie and just about to buy my first bike, which one way or another will be a 250. My shortlist is:

1. Yamaha Virago
2. Honda VTR
3. Kawasaki Ninja

I'd love to go for a Honda Hornet but there's so few of them about under 10 years old for a decent price (and I want to get something less than 10 years old). Same goes for the Suzuki Bandit. At the moment I'm leaning towards the Virago because I think it combines the best of what I'm looking for in a beginner's bike. A good trainer that's easy to ride, looks good, revs low, and even the recent ones are cheap to pick up, which won't hurt so much if (shit, sorry... when) I drop it.

I love the look of the VTR. Great naked beginner's bike. But they're generally dearer than the Virago and harder to find.

I'm only considering the Ninja because all the beginner bike reviews rave about it, plus the fact that I've read several safety reports that seem to suggest faired bikes are more visible to drivers, and therefore safer. Not too sure about a higher revving bike though - I'm mainly going to be commuting round town.

My guess is that both the Virago and the Ninja will rate highest in the 'gay' stakes among most riders who've graduated to bigger better things. But frankly I don't give a shit. I'm going to test ride all three and go with the one that feels the most comfortable to ride/operate. If the Virago's ride position feels best, I'll happily ride one. If the Ninja feels good, I'll spring for the extra cash and feel a little safer too. Either way... happy days for a newbie biker!

Scorp

[peasea]

Ha, this is funny. I'm a newbie and just about to buy my first bike, which one way or another will be a 250. My shortlist is:

1. Yamaha Virago
2. Honda VTR
3. Kawasaki Ninja

I'd love to go for a Honda Hornet but there's so few of them about under 10 years old for a decent price (and I want to get something less than 10 years old). Same goes for the Suzuki Bandit. At the moment I'm leaning towards the Virago because I think it combines the best of what I'm looking for in a beginner's bike. A good trainer that's easy to ride, looks good, revs low, and even the recent ones are cheap to pick up, which won't hurt so much if (shit, sorry... when) I drop it.

I love the look of the VTR. Great naked beginner's bike. But they're generally dearer than the Virago and harder to find.

I'm only considering the Ninja because all the beginner bike reviews rave about it, plus the fact that I've read several safety reports that seem to suggest faired bikes are more visible to drivers, and therefore safer. Not too sure about a higher revving bike though - I'm mainly going to be commuting round town.

My guess is that both the Virago and the Ninja will rate highest in the 'gay' stakes among most riders who've graduated to bigger better things. But frankly I don't give a shit. I'm going to test ride all three and go with the one that feels the most comfortable to ride/operate. If the Virago's ride position feels best, I'll happily ride one. If the Ninja feels good, I'll spring for the extra cash and feel a little safer too. Either way... happy days for a newbie biker!

Scorp

When it comes to the 'gay' stakes you would have to rate the GN250 fairly highly. It's also good that you don't give a shit about other bikers opinions, coz IMHO all those bikes are gay.

Just my opinion though; I had to get in early before all those sports bike grippers got a word in.

[Scorp]

When it comes to the 'gay' stakes you would have to rate the GN250 fairly highly. It's also good that you don't give a shit about other bikers opinions, coz IMHO all those bikes are gay.

Just my opinion though; I had to get in early before all those sports bike grippers got a word in.

Exactly. Lets face it. To anyone who's passed the 600cc mark, all 250s are going to look gay. Full stop.

[Diavolessa]

i dont know much about bikes this will be my first purchase i thought they looked sweet, maybe they are smaller in real life then on the computer? anyways was looking at this one

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-239641285.htm

i thought it was a touch on the expensive side for the kms and year? what other bikes would you reccomend a newbie gn250 is the obvious one but the virago looks so bad ass and is a twin. also im 6 foot tall is this to much for the virago?

my riding experience is farm bikes, and scooters in thailand and indonesia. did a couple of full day missions on the scooters in indo that has given me this itch i need to scratch...

You can buy my bike lol
it's an 06 Hyosung GV250 - only $4500 ono
done just under 13000km
went round the south island carrying alot of gear and never missed a beat
had full services - oil, filter, air filters, spark plugs, value clearance etc

[peasea]

Exactly. Lets face it. To anyone who's passed the 600cc mark, all 250s are going to look gay. Full stop.

Sounds like you have a sense of humour, good on ya.
Welcome aboard.

[Jerry74]

250's are just a stepping stone to get a big boy's bike... gay no

Underpowered and slightly laughable yes

Keep the humour up

[porky]

Jerry 74 beat me to it, as he said not gay, just part of the process. I started life on an AE80 now that was .......... Daughters boyfriend had one of those "gay bikes" as you call them. He had an awesome run out of it.
Now if you want a kick arse bike, (and a classic) go hunt down an RD250 LC, no problems recovering your monie when you move up.

[pacificsky]

hi well i have a virago and they are good bike but ur tall and im a short arse lol suites me well the intruder however may be ideal for u might pay to go and look ....

[Scorp]

Got my eye on a nice Virago at a good price, but thinking of test riding an old Honda Magna. No idea whether they're a good beginner bike yet though.

[cold comfort]

'keeps up with a soft tail " -a truly interesting endorsement