Hornet 250

**f2dz** · 30th April 2013, 11:08

I recently had my bike written off courtesy of a cager in a minivan last week.

Once my insurance comes through I'll be on the lookout for a late 90s/early 2000s Hornet 250. I'm thinking the inline four and increase hp over the Ninja 250 will be a nice change.

I've spotted a few on TradeMe in the km range I'm after (20,000-30,000) but they all want 4k or over.

I'm looking to pay around $3,500 for a decent one in the km range I just listed. Preferable colours being white or yellow. Hoping to increase my visibility with those colours seeing as my first crash was due to SMIDSY..

Cheers.

**Glowerss** · 30th April 2013, 11:40

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-584553187.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-587565556.htm

Those two both meet your requirements. The 3900 one is a bit on the high side but I'd be willing to bet you could talk him down.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-584357279.htm that one's a bit high but I reckon you could talk him down. Been for sale a little while. The dual exhaust would sound nice

Shame you're a few months early! Another month or two and I'd be happy to tell you mine!

Goodluck with your search otherwise! Not a good time to be buying bikes at the moment. Not much for sale and a lot of it is really pricey compared to 3 months ago. Hornets don't seem to come up that often either.

**f2dz** · 30th April 2013, 11:47

Originally Posted by Glowerss

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-584553187.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-587565556.htm

Those two both meet your requirements. The 3900 one is a bit on the high side but I'd be willing to bet you could talk him down.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-584357279.htm that one's a bit high but I reckon you could talk him down. Been for sale a little while. The dual exhaust would sound nice

Shame you're a few months early! Another month or two and I'd be happy to tell you mine!

Goodluck with your search otherwise! Not a good time to be buying bikes at the moment. Not much for sale and a lot of it is really pricey compared to 3 months ago. Hornets don't seem to come up that often either.

I've seen all three of those on TM. That $3900 one is more likely what I'm after. When I get paid out I'm hoping I can go have a look and a ride and hopefully talk him down to my $3500 budget. Not sure what I'm going to do about a helmet for the test ride though, as my last one got written off and I still have to order a replacement from the states!

The other ones I wasn't really interested in, seeing as that particular one was the best example I found and the perfect colour to boot.

How do you find your Hornet? I've read they've got more power than a Ninja 250 and have a bit more useable power in the lower revs. Wasn't too sure about the naked styling but it's really grown on me lately. Plus Ninjas are dime a dozen in Auckland. Especially blue ones.

**Glowerss** · 30th April 2013, 11:59

I had a ZZR250 before the hornet. ZZR250 is basically the same thing as the 250 ninjas.

It's a significantly nicer bike. There's noticeably more power all the way around, but you also have an extra 4,000 RPM to play with. There's useable power around 5kish RPM, and it increases all the way up.

The ZZR sat around 9k PM on the motorway with a 12k redline. Hornet sits around 8 or so in 6th. 5th youll be around 9.5 and right around where the bike likes to be.

The Ninjas n things also buzzed and felt like i was raping the thing to death all of the time. Hornet is just nice n smooth with that beautiful F1 noise coming out the back

I didn't actually plan on replacing the ZZR, I was happy enough with it till a mate let me ride his Hornet. I couldn't not have one after that!

**f2dz** · 30th April 2013, 12:21

Originally Posted by Glowerss

I had a ZZR250 before the hornet. ZZR250 is basically the same thing as the 250 ninjas.

It's a significantly nicer bike. There's noticeably more power all the way around, but you also have an extra 4,000 RPM to play with. There's useable power around 5kish RPM, and it increases all the way up.

The ZZR sat around 9k PM on the motorway with a 12k redline. Hornet sits around 8 or so in 6th. 5th youll be around 9.5 and right around where the bike likes to be.

The Ninjas n things also buzzed and felt like i was raping the thing to death all of the time. Hornet is just nice n smooth with that beautiful F1 noise coming out the back

I didn't actually plan on replacing the ZZR, I was happy enough with it till a mate let me ride his Hornet. I couldn't not have one after that!

Yea I know what you mean about the Ninja. Lately it did just seem to be getting to me more and more, how much I was straining it.

Pretty excited to try one now actually.

With that particular example, the $3900 job, it has an aftermarket exhaust. Do you know if this is okay on the LAMS scheme? I assume that when you say 'F1 noise' that you have an aftermarket can? I'd love to have a louder bike to make it easier to hear me coming. The Ninja was way too quiet.

**speeding_ant** · 30th April 2013, 13:03

I could be keen to sell mine at some point soon. I'd be looking for around $4k. Has upgraded rear shock, front forks fiddled with, Metzler M3's, performance exhaust with jets, and wider lower bars.

They're bloody fun

**Glowerss** · 30th April 2013, 14:04

Originally Posted by f2dz

Yea I know what you mean about the Ninja. Lately it did just seem to be getting to me more and more, how much I was straining it.

Pretty excited to try one now actually.

With that particular example, the $3900 job, it has an aftermarket exhaust. Do you know if this is okay on the LAMS scheme? I assume that when you say 'F1 noise' that you have an aftermarket can? I'd love to have a louder bike to make it easier to hear me coming. The Ninja was way too quiet.

With 250s, you can do almost anything you want to em short of radically changing the engine. The "must not modify" clause is for 251cc-660cc bikes. They make a much nicer noise with a decent can then the ninjas do

Just make sure that it's been rejetted to suit the exhaust, or make sure that it's not running lean/rich.

**Tigadee** · 30th April 2013, 14:16

Originally Posted by f2dz

Not sure what I'm going to do about a helmet for the test ride though, as my last one got written off and I still have to order a replacement from the states!

I've got spare medium and large helmets if you need them...

**f2dz** · 30th April 2013, 16:22

Originally Posted by speeding_ant

I could be keen to sell mine at some point soon. I'd be looking for around $4k. Has upgraded rear shock, front forks fiddled with, Metzler M3's, performance exhaust with jets, and wider lower bars.

They're bloody fun

I'm looking at picking something up within the next month or so. I imagine judging by the youthfulness of yours you might want more than $3500 for it anyway.

Originally Posted by Glowerss

With 250s, you can do almost anything you want to em short of radically changing the engine. The "must not modify" clause is for 251cc-660cc bikes. They make a much nicer noise with a decent can then the ninjas do

Just make sure that it's been rejetted to suit the exhaust, or make sure that it's not running lean/rich.

Really? That'd be awesome if that's the case. I sent an email to NZTA earlier today to ask for that to be cleared up. I always wanted a slightly louder exhaust, not obnoxiously loud, just a bit louder for people to actually hear it. Wasn't really a fan of the sound of the Ninja, even with aftermarket cans on it.

Originally Posted by Tigadee

I've got spare medium and large helmets if you need them...

Might take you up on that. Mate of mine has a large Shoei that he's not using after his crash last year, but if for some reason I can't use it I might trade you some beers for a quick loan. Thanks mate.

**Glowerss** · 30th April 2013, 16:39

• All motorcycles with engine capacities of 250cc and under, except for those on the LAMSprohibited list above.
• Fully electric powered motorcycles with a power-to-weight ratio of 150 kilowatts per tonne
and under (this includes all fully electric powered motorcycles registered on New Zealand's
Motor Vehicle Register as of 1 June 2012).
• All motorcycles manufactured prior to 1960 with an engine capacity of 660cc and under.
• The following list of motorcycles with engine capacities between 251cc and 660cc - these
motorcycles must be in standard form as produced by the manufacturer. They cannot be
modified in any way to increase the power-to-weight ratio.

As seen here http://www.nzta.govt.nz/licence/gett.../lams-list.pdf

Bolded the relevent bit for you. Pretty straight forward with regards to 250s anyway.

**f2dz** · 30th April 2013, 16:48

Originally Posted by Glowerss

• All motorcycles with engine capacities of 250cc and under, except for those on the LAMSprohibited list above.
• Fully electric powered motorcycles with a power-to-weight ratio of 150 kilowatts per tonne
and under (this includes all fully electric powered motorcycles registered on New Zealand's
Motor Vehicle Register as of 1 June 2012).
• All motorcycles manufactured prior to 1960 with an engine capacity of 660cc and under.
• The following list of motorcycles with engine capacities between 251cc and 660cc - these
motorcycles must be in standard form as produced by the manufacturer. They cannot be
modified in any way to increase the power-to-weight ratio.

As seen here http://www.nzta.govt.nz/licence/gett.../lams-list.pdf

Bolded the relevent bit for you. Pretty straight forward with regards to 250s anyway.

Oh ok, I totally missed that somehow. Well that seems pretty black and white then, sweet.

Thanks dude.

Edit: Actually, that PDF words it a bit differently?

Any motorcycle modified in a way that increases its power-to-weight ratio is no longer LAMS-compliant,
regardless of whether it appears on the list. Failure to comply with the new rules may result in fines and
demerit points.

**Glowerss** · 30th April 2013, 17:31

Scroll down the page a bit further

That text is taken straight from the PDF. It clarifies it a bit further down.

To be honest, I wouldn't worry about it regardless. There are so many 250s/lams bikes with exhausts thrown on em, you'd have to spectacularly fail the attitutde test to get picked up on it.

I know of a guy who got pinged for speeding on a non LAMS approved 400 on his R with an exhaust on it, and the cop didn't even notice.