I swore I'd never get a donor-cycle but I'm bored and have an extremely short commute to work, I think having a bike for the little surface streets would be fun. Good mileage too.

Since I'm a newbie I'm staying in the lower displacement category. The 600cc's are the best lookers but I don't want to die this year. So I'm considering a 2008 ninja 250r. It kinda looks like the fast bikes but it's pretty low on the power, and kinda sexy for the price. It's kinda the motorcycle equivalent to the 2g.

For those in the know, what do you think about that bike for me being a novice? I probably won't even take this on the freeway.

the 250 today is not the 250 it used to be. i rode a kawa 250 couple weeks ago and that thing is impressive for a little 250. it looks better compared to the previous models as well, and the mileage i was told is in the 50s on the highway. and speaking of highway, you can get up to speed just fine, just plan ahead on any passing (ie get a rolling start). now for the 600s, thats what i started on. i started on a honda cbr f4i. great bike for the beginner and experienced as well. its docile, rider friendly with the power delivery and once you get experience under your belt, just change out the gearing if you want more acceleration. when i did my gearing change i went -1,+2 and i could keep up with stock geared liter bikes up until a certain point. so if it were me i would choose a 600cc because once you become more experienced, you will get tired of the 250 rather quickly. a 600cc will be docile enough if you just keep your right hand under control. even a liter bike could be managed by a beginner as long as the person has sufficient self control. unfortunately you dont see that very often. also, whichever bike you get, BUY the proper gear then WEAR it. lying on the road with skin missing is too late. also, look in to a rider safety course, they will teach you the basics and normaly its on their bikes not yours so no worries about dropping it. good luck on your decision :)


edit: harley davidson has a rider's edge course that teach you the basics so if theres a dealership around go ask them. but be warned, dont let them fool you into buying one of their slugs hahaha (for terry)

As awesome as it is, i almost wouldnt suggest a sport bike for your first bike. They are so unforgiving if you make a mistake. Now sence you most likly wont look at a cruiser because your not a hundred and thirty years old, take a few bikes for a ride and find one that is comfortable. you say your trip to work isnt long which is good, because sport bikes start to hurt your ass after about 3 hours of driving. Other then that i cant say much else, Ive really only road a 2004 kowasoki klr 650 duel sport bike so i cant say much about all street bikes, the best advice i can give you is what has already been said, take a motorcycle training coarse, it will lower your insurance too. Ive got katana 600 sitting at my dads house but i wont be able to use or ride it until it goes throught probate and can gets put into my name, which will likly be some time in september which sucks.

Aprilia RS50 50cc man!
(or the RS125 or RS250)
now hear me out before you laugh at me because it sounds goofy at first but it makes good sense.
Aprilia makes awsome bikes in the first place and these were designed for racing, so it a full faring bike (sport bike look) but is under 100cc. most places have really lax restrictions on engines under 100cc, plus its quite quick for tooling around town. (make sure the first mod you do is "Unrestricting" the bike so you can have your top speed up closer to 80mph instead of 30-40.)
it has a 13 liter (3.43 gal) fuel tank so your $20 will actually get you gas and a drink again!
and if you really need more, a 70cc big bore upgrade kit is roughly $250 from the UK.
also the newer RS bikes have the exhaust mounted up under the seat so you really cant tell that the muffler is tiny, as opposed to some of the pre 06 models. (however im sure Somebody makes a mount kit for the older bikes)

For 2006, the RS 50 is packed with improvements and innovations. The following list shows just the most important:


New aluminium frame
New aluminium swingarm
New, lighter wheels with ‘Y’ spokes
New radial caliper front brake
New Euro 2, two-stroke engine
New fairing based on that of the RSV 1000 R
New analog/digital instruments

Originally posted by foggy45
Aprilia RS50 50cc man! (or the RS125 or RS250) now hear me out before you laugh at me because it sounds goofy at first but it makes good sense. Aprilia makes awsome bikes in the first place and these were designed for racing, so it a full faring bike (sport bike look) but is under 100cc. most places have really lax restrictions on engines under 100cc, plus its quite quick for tooling around town. (make sure the first mod you do is "Unrestricting" the bike so you can have your top speed up closer to 80mph instead of 30-40.) it has a 13 liter (3.43 gal) fuel tank so your $20 will actually get you gas and a drink again! and if you really need more, a 70cc big bore upgrade kit is roughly $250 from the UK. also the newer RS bikes have the exhaust mounted up under the seat so you really cant tell that the muffler is tiny, as opposed to some of the pre 06 models. (however im sure Somebody makes a mount kit for the older bikes)

For 2006, the RS 50 is packed with improvements and innovations. The following list shows just the most important: New aluminium frame New aluminium swingarm New, lighter wheels with ‘Y’ spokes New radial caliper front brake New Euro 2, two-stroke engine New fairing based on that of the RSV 1000 R New analog/digital instruments

damn i forgot to mention all about aprilia. ive been thinking of getting a 250 for road racing. sweet bikes

Thanks guys, appreciate your input. Well it seems the 250r is so popular that they are very difficult to find. Asked a local kawasaki dealership for a quote, we'll see if they have anything. Deciding on the color now, the plasma blue is pretty nice.

Insurance will only be 500 for the year. Nice! Now I have to go find some gear.

go to www.newenough.com for all your gear. good prices, good service

i like Joe Rocket for my summer riding stuff. the mesh full pad jacket rocks!
for true knee dragging leather i absolutly love my Dainese gear

for helmets if you have a $10 head buy a $10 helmet! honestly spend the money for a good one from Shoei or Arai (yes the $300+ ones)

another thing, check www.cyclegear.com and look for the ebay section. returned items at half the price. i've gotten some good deals when i was tight on money. but yeah, spend the money on the helmet. i have a shoei rf-1000 and a shark s500 samurai.





be safe and take the msf course!!!

later

Aprilia FTW

Believe me, I was willing to go all out on a helmet, until I read this article:

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/index.html

^That has a lot of very good info. I'll take experimental evidence over marketing/price tags any day. EDIT: So based on the article I'm thinking about a Fulmer D4. Like the style and the low G rating on the brain :thumbsup

Aprilia seems cool, but I'm pretty much sold on the Ninja.

Your avatar is relevant to this thread's interests.

I'm a big fan of using the Kawaiisake's as beginner bikes. Love my 500R, even though you couldn't do a wheelie in it if you wanted to, and sportbikers pantomime giggles at me at stoplights.

The new 250R is gorgeous and cheap. The insurance is cheap.

Check out Chaparral Motorsports, http://www.chaparral-racing.com in San Berdoo. They stock a ton of bikes, and you can sit on them all to see if you like them. Their prices have been really good for me, and the place is the size of a freakin Walmart.