buying your first bike: POS vs pretty and new

[onlytb4ever]

even the instructor at the class said we do not let anyone ride the ex250. he was saying that the 250cc takes a while to outgrow and it has enough power to learn. THATS ALL. it has all the power u need to learn. and more power and you will have problems when ur learning.
.

the instructor said they dont let anyone ride ex250... and then he said 250cc has enough power to learn?

im a bit confused... ex250 is a 250cc bike right?

 

[MotoSW]

lol no problem once you quoted i realized my mistake lol i was just stating my experience and truthfully the msf course was my best asset besides riding a couple of styles of bikes. lol i really hope i didnt come off as saying get a 600>.> lol

For me a 600 for sports wise was the smallest in stature i could go from everything i found and i did search. might not be the best choice but for my frame and height ive felt full throttle and have every respect for the power it has^^ thanks for the concern lol and tryin to help

now to stop hijacking im sure ill seeya at an event sometime z3n

 

[CaliGuy2004]

what he ment is that the 250cc is plenty of power and right at the line. any more power and it wont be a good starting bike.

he said that they dont let anyone to ride it because if you have 125cc to learn on, then why learn on a 250.

They do let people learn on the 250, but you have to have some knowledge. the people that are not allowed to ride it are the ones that dont know anything.

the instructor said they dont let anyone ride ex250... and then he said 250cc has enough power to learn?

im a bit confused... ex250 is a 250cc bike right?

 

[Z3n]

the instructor said they dont let anyone ride ex250... and then he said 250cc has enough power to learn?

im a bit confused... ex250 is a 250cc bike right?

I think what he meant is that the instructors don't train people on ninja 250's, in the MSF.

MotoSW, thanks for being understanding in the face of my mistake...I do have a friend who started out on a ZX-10R, and he admits it's not the best choice for a bike, but he's very cautious on it, so...some people will make it out alive....but why take the risk? It's very risky to get a big bike to start...cut your teeth on your 250, and then move up.

Ride safe, everyone!

 

[MotoSW]

yea i hear you but when my knees reach the handle bars it brings back memories of bmx bikes lol ok alittle over exaggerated but you get my point, yea a 1liter would not be my choice to start on lol.....anywho just a simple misunderstanding nothin bad

 

[Z3n]

yea i hear you but when my knees reach the handle bars it brings back memories of bmx bikes lol ok alittle over exaggerated but you get my point, yea a 1liter would not be my choice to start on lol.....anywho just a simple misunderstanding nothin bad

Yeah, i kinda feel your pain...i'm about 6'0, but i've got stumpy legs, so that offsets it. I've heard the monkey f'ing a football thing before though...

Are you going to Doc Wong's clinic on the 11th?

 

[CaliGuy2004]

I'm 5'11 and my knees don't touch the handle bars on the ex250.....


what are u talking about?

 

[MotoSW]

my point was im 6'4 with long legs umm didnt see that clinic maybe! let me look if i dont have work or a prior engagement it wouldnt be outta the question im always there to learn

 

[jrace]

I believe it's about 22 on the nighthawk, and 38 at the engine on the 250. Around 28 at the wheels? Don't recall off the top of my head.

from: http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mccompare/250/spex.html

-jim

 

[CaliGuy2004]

from: http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mccompare/250/spex.html

-jim

thats why u get a ninja 250...

 

[saizai]

My '02 Ninja 250 was ~$1600. Or was it 18? I forget.

In pretty good condition when I got it a year ago.

Still in pretty good condition... but with some rash and a couple cracks. Oh well, I don't care 'bout looks too much.

Don't worry 'bout the fairings being pretty, but make sure everything else looks good. And a ninja 250 is a great first (or last?) motorcycle.

 

[Mike T]

well...find a bike that you like and try to find a good deal. i wanted my 1999-01 R6 and i found a pretty good one. it was salvage but its a theft and recovery salvage so theres no damage to the frame. i can say im pretty lucky to find my bike. my bike was pretty and it was cheap for its price....so im happy

 

[JakesKTM]

If you had to put your kid on a motorcycle, which situation would you rather have them in?

Of all the text you wrote this is the only thing that I found insightful and useful about your experience on bikes, because it gets to the core of our differing opinion.

The straight answer is: My son and daughter (I have both) can ride whatever they chose to ride if and when they are old enough to ride street and make that decision for themselves. I would certainly "advise" against any bike over 45 hp and leave it at that. WHEN they are old enough to work, earn, save, acquire insurance, take the MSF course and assume the responsibility, then they too are old enough to disregard the old man's advice and get whatever they want.

In this situation, supplanting this young person's question on the BARF forum as one of my own kids' question - If either of them came to me and said Dad, I'm looking at this 1996 GS500 whaddya think, I'm not going to rant about how much fucking better a 250 ninja is and they shold get that. I'm going to say, it looks great son/sweetie, do you like it? I think you made a good choice. Let's go look at it whaddya say?

If a friend comes along and rants about a 250 Ninja, I'm not going to flame them and say, don't listen to him/her. However if that person rolls thier fucking eyes at me I'm going to come unglued.....as I did in this thread. I apologize.

That being said, I think you made your fucking point about the 250 Ninja, and flaming/extinguishing other's opinions seems to be your forte. Next time, I'll steer clear.

Cheers.

 

[Z3n]

Of all the text you wrote this is the only thing that I found insightful and useful about your experience on bikes, because it gets to the core of our differing opinion.

The straight answer is: My son and daughter (I have both) can ride whatever they chose to ride if and when they are old enough to ride street and make that decision for themselves. I would certainly "advise" against any bike over 45 hp and leave it at that. WHEN they are old enough to work, earn, save, acquire insurance, take the MSF course and assume the responsibility, then they too are old enough to disregard the old man's advice and get whatever they want.

So if your kid can get financed on an R6, an R1, Hayabusa, you're going to say "well, guess you're responsible enough to get credit, go out and buy it!"?

Honestly, to me, and here we are at the core of our differeing opinions...just because you have the money to do something, doesn't mean that you're ready for the responsibility of owning it. The MSF costs 150$, insurance can be covered under financing, etc. etc.

In this situation, supplanting this young person's question on the BARF forum as one of my own kids' question - If either of them came to me and said Dad, I'm looking at this 1996 GS500 whaddya think, I'm not going to rant about how much fucking better a 250 ninja is and they shold get that. I'm going to say, it looks great son/sweetie, do you like it? I think you made a good choice. Let's go look at it whaddya say?

Depends on the bike. I've got a fair number of friends who have ridden GS500's, never had the pleasure myself, but it seems to me that you're going to end up paying more money for an older bike, simply by the nature of it having more displacement. Given that i'm not going to have the chance to actually look at the bikes with the poster, i'd say that she'd be better off with a newer model over an older model, one that has more parts availibility, fewer miles, hasn't been rebuilt, so on and so forth. If my kid is saying that they want to spend 2k on a bike that's an old beater, i'm not going to turn around say "That's a great choice for a first bike", i'm going to say "That looks like an old beater, let's see what else we can find".

If a friend comes along and rants about a 250 Ninja, I'm not going to flame them and say, don't listen to him/her. However if that person rolls thier fucking eyes at me I'm going to come unglued.....as I did in this thread. I apologize.

That being said, I think you made your fucking point about the 250 Ninja, and flaming/extinguishing other's opinions seems to be your forte. Next time, I'll steer clear.

Cheers. [/B]

I had a few lines where i flamed a bit, and i'm sorry...your comment about not having an opinion until i have owned at least 10 bikes reeks of old man elitism. The rest of it was simply answering the questions you asked me. I ignored the potential cutting tone there, because it's easy to misinterprit things over the internet, and did my best to outline the reasons that i feel that a ninja 250 is a better choice for a first bike than a UJM. You don't seem to have any counterpoint to that. I was really hoping that you could come back and have a post that would explain why i was wrong, but apparently that's not to be.

If my kids (when i have them, ) come to me, I'll explain to them the upsides of the EX250, the upsides of the EX500, and the upsides of the SV650. Of course, by the time i have kids, we'll be talking about something else entirely, i'm sure, but the basic principal will stand. As it is, our OP's price barrier puts an SV650 in good shape or an EX500 in good shape (barring incredible luck) out of her price range. A UJM is a possibility, but for the variety of reasons that i explained above, I feel that she would have a much more positive riding experience on a EX250.

I appreciate that when you started riding the UJM's were the best thing since sliced bread, a huge upgrade over the britbikes of the past, and indeed, your choice of bikes seems to reflect that, but times have changed...

Furthermore, you seem to be entirely incapable of posting a response to any of the reasons that i recommended an EX250. I'd be curious to see why you'd recommend another bike, beyond some idea that she's immediately going to outgrow the 250 over the course of the 2 months that she'd apparently own it.

It does everything you claim it can't do...and i have the experience on one to know. Have you ever ridden one?

Oh and a quick check of craigslist in the 1500-2000 range shows a ninja 250 that appears to be in good shape, and a few other promising bikes, all displacing around 600ccs, a goldwing, , and an 86 cruiser...I'm aware that a newer bike doesn't automatically mean it's in better shape, but 3-7 years of potential abuse is better than 13-17 years.

Seriously...if there's all these great UJM's floating around, where the hell are they?

 

[tuxumino]

www.motojava.com

I believe by next week they will have an inexpensive ninja 250 for under 2Gs.
It will have been gone through and be in great mechanical shape, but maybe not too pretty.
the perfect starter bike.

 

[Mickey_D100]

Why the hell is this thread so long? Girl posting?

 

[Z3n]

Why the hell is this thread so long? Girl posting?

 

[onlytb4ever]

what r u talking about..

im not a girl i thought weve already concluded that im a 9 year old chinese boy?

 

[onlytb4ever]

www.motojava.com

I believe by next week they will have an inexpensive ninja 250 for under 2Gs.
It will have been gone through and be in great mechanical shape, but maybe not too pretty.
the perfect starter bike.

thanks i just called them, guy was super nice

 

[JakesKTM]

So if your kid can get financed on an R6, an R1, Hayabusa, you're going to say "well, guess you're responsible enough to get credit, go out and buy it!"...just because you have the money to do something, doesn't mean that you're ready for the responsibility of owning it. The MSF costs 150$, insurance can be covered under financing, etc. etc.

Did you honestly read my reply? When did I ever mention to the thread originator or anyone for that matter buying or financing a super sport bike? I’m impressed with your knowledge of fees though

Depends on the bike. I've got a fair number of friends who have ridden GS500's, never had the pleasure myself......... and therefore I will withold any further opinion

fixed

Your comment about not having an opinion until i have owned at least 10 bikes reeks of old man elitism.

Do you have an inferiority complex? I’m neither old nor elite. I served as a grunt in the military, dropped out of high school, worked my way through college, and rode beater bikes most of my life. I am a public service schlep 12 years from retirement. What’s old and elite about any of that?

i feel that a ninja 250 is a better choice for a first bike than a UJM. You don't seem to have any counterpoint to that.

Yea I do…. the EX250 is a UJM chassis with an undersized engine. Get “any” UJM with a mid-sized engine was my point. That’s all. You seemed to be offended by this and need some line of rational logic to counter it? Jeez….

If my kids (when i have them, ) come to me, I will listen to your’s and other’s opinions about their kids riding street bikes because I respect their experience, Thanks. Until then I really have no opinion about how others may or may not coach their kids into the right motorcycle and therefore refrain from assuming that all parents on this forum dole out irresponsible opinions to younger riders about what is a good first bike.

fixed.....

I appreciate that when you started riding the UJM's were the best thing since sliced bread, a huge upgrade over the britbikes of the past, and indeed, your choice of bikes seems to reflect that, but times have changed.

.

What IS my choice of bike? Is this how you judge other riders, by what they ride? What if I rode an R6 would that impress you that I am worthy of posting a suggestion or opinion to a first time rider? Clearly your age and lack of wisdom shows in this statement. Times have changed? How would you know? IMO the only thing that has changed about riding motorcycles from 1973 is that more people are on the road and wear helmets and protective gear nowadays and participate on race tracks as a hobby. Improvements in technology are relatively moot. I could navigate my /5 just as reasonably fit in traffic as your Z6? What’s your point about times a changin’? That you can go faster now?

Furthermore, you seem to be entirely incapable of posting a response to any of the reasons that i recommended an EX250. I'd be curious to see why you'd recommend another bike, beyond some idea that she's immediately going to outgrow the 250 over the course of the 2 months that she'd apparently own it.

All I said was a 250cc bike is too small to hold onto for any length of time and why not buy a bigger UJM. Yea, I said it was only good for courier gigs and MSF schools, and that was exaggerated and clearly offensive to you I apologize. Truth be told, since you threw up the “my kid” scenario; If my kid took to the freeway, I’d rather have him on a GS or EX 500 than a 250.

It does everything you claim it can't do...and i have the experience on one to know. Have you ever ridden one?

Yes, and it was a fun little bike I have to admit. But a small bike nonetheless that one quickly outgrows.

Oh and a quick check of craigslist in the 1500-2000 range shows a ninja 250 that appears to be in good shape, and a few other promising bikes. Seriously...if there's all these great UJM's floating around, where the hell are they?

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/mcy/285842060.html found this one within 1 minute of searching, maybe not the deal of the century but the point is, there are many.

But apparently you get kickbacks from Kawasaki so it won’t work.

Boys need not post beyond this point.....