250 starter bike recommendations?

[Niplet]

Hi guys, I recently joined here at PSB and was wondering what were your recommendations? I'm looking for sports mainly, with the only exception of the VTR-250. I'm looking to hold it for about 8 months before moving on to a bigger bike.


I'd prefer getting second hand, spending around $4000 - 4500 in cash, cos I was only thinking of holding it for 6-8 months tops.

My top few choices now are the CBR, Ninja, VTR.
Do you guys recommend any others I should look out for or look at? Like for those who rode the Ninja, why would you recommend it, why wouldn't you recommend it? Not looking for those 'Kawasaki all the way!' kind of responses, but abit more detail would be really relaly helpful. Not looking for top speed or how fast you can go on each, my friends are riding 848's and such, I won't be able to see them after they take off anyway haha.
And does anyone know why the older model CBRs are sooooo expensive? Gumtree had sellers of the 1991 models trying to sell for 4500-5500.


If you guys had a 250 you were willing to sell, feel free to post it here too!

[Desmo]

New to Riding? Looking for a 250? A guide for n00bs..

Is a good start.

[thro]

And even with that I don't really want a silly looking bike you know?(: What's a decent year for the bikes you recommended too, thanks for all the help guys(:

If you guys had a 250 you were willing to sell, feel free to post it here too!

I'd like to be an astronaut and drive around in a ferrari, too.


Seriously, go for something like a VTR250, Ninja 250 or CBR250RR (new one).

No, none of them are blisteringly fast.
No, none of them look like a brand new litre bike.
No, none of them will make you look cool.


However, all of them will teach you how to ride a bike properly given you spend enough time on them, which WILL help you significantly when you upgrade to something with balls.


You don't want to be that gumby looking fuck that we all laugh at who waddles their 848 around the carpark because they don't know how to ride properly, do you?

[Niplet]

Yeah those three bikes are basically my top choices, and the main purpose for this post, or main intent, was the ask other 250 riders out there who have tried these what were the pros and cons of these bikes. Not looking for the super biased reviews like 'My CBR owns Ninjas imho' but like, what they felt were good on that bike.
Like the new CBR has random stalls, do a large number of them do that or just a small population, people give alot of flame to the Hyosung GTR, has the bike fallen apart on you personally? This is the info i'm kinda hoping for from you guys as the more experienced riders.


And by saying I don't want a silly looking bike, I meant I don't want some dirt bike recommendation, because I still want a sports bike (or a VTR).

[Niplet]

*Edited the initial post.

[thro]

If you're after the best all-rounder you're probably chasing a VTR250, and here's why:

- they're about as fast as any of the new 250s in a straight line - don't let the lack of fairings fool you - up to say 150-160 (top end of usable speed on a 250 - yes, some will get faster if you have a long enough road, but....) fairings don't do much anyhow
- they are well made
- they have no fairings to break when you drop it
- they have 17" rims with a decent width, which means you can fit proper tyres to them. bikes with 16" or 18" wheels have a much tougher time finding good tyres. good tyres make a huge difference to how confident you'll feel on the bike.
- being a twin they have enough power and decent low-mid range. yes the 4 cylinders have more top end, but they have less low down, are all very old now and have twice as many cylinders (and therefore plugs, carbs, etc) to service and maintain.
- they sound better than the ninja 250
- if you pick one up for around 4k, you'll likely be able to sell it for around 4k in 12 months.

[Niplet]

Ah awesome, thank you(:
I've been watching Gumtree, PSB and Bikesales everyday for about a week now, The VTR's really hold their value, however just afew days ago I saw a 2008 model VTR on Gumtree, he had the after market exhaust and mirrors on, had about 12,000km on it and was asking 4,300. But that just so happened to be the day I was not free to go see and pay for it and someone else got it. So after that I really believe that I can at least get an 06 model for about 4000, but not really much luck thus far.

[Aufitt]

Back in the dark ages we didnt get a 848 or 675 after only 8months.. but good luck.

[Niplet]

Haha my friend just got an 848 after only about 5months of riding, lives in a good suburb so he practices up and down the street to get the feel of it. It sounds amazing!

[Desmo]

Do you have a book going on how long before s/he drops it?

[Niplet]

Haha, well see. Hopefully not! Got an extra set of fairings, so he's using those for now ( Not the original red)

[thro]

the random stalls on the new CBR are not commonplace as far as I have heard. I seriously doubt that honda would launch that bike to the world market with such as serious problem - they've been building bike engines for a very long time now.


if you can pick up a secondhand hyo cheap enough they may be worth a look, but personally for the build quality you get i think they are overpriced by about $2000 as new. they're not particularly nice to ride and not any faster than a VTR, but some people seem to love them, though I believe that its largely a case of justifying their purchase after they've bought it because it looks pretty (have ridden one, don't see what the fuss is about to be honest)

on paper the dual disc front brakes and upside down forks look nice, but they don't actually work any better than the conventional gear on the other 250s....

2c.

[Aufitt]

I'm the opposite, have had my open licence since 1984 and owned/still own/ride lots of big sportsbikes but just got a new cbr for a daily rider.. thoroughly enjoying all miniscule 23rwhp of it lol.
Shows an indicated 163 kph and neutral handling, apart fron nil rebound dampening its quite sporty. Nice single cylinder simplicity.

You can get a new non abs for $5800 ride away 24 month warranty.
Secondhand 250's in WA are stupid prices... generally lots of noob owners so dont pay more than 4k for a used 250.

[thro]

^^ also a good option.


paying a little more for something with warranty, brand new tyres, chain, sprockets, brakes, etc is also worth considering. pay money, turn key, go.

[Niplet]

Thanks for all the info guys, I really appreciate it! (:

[Aufitt]

The ppl complaining of stalling a cbr would stall anything.. its a well sorted fuel injected single, so better than any other single for newbies choppy on the throttle on a brand new (not run in) bike.

EDIT- You'll get ppl chime in and say a zxrrrrrrrrrcbrrrrrrrr2fzrrrrrrrrrrrr250rrrrrrrrrrr rrrrr is better blah blah.. then their next thread is 'How do I balance the carbies of my 20 yr old import 4 cylinde'r that they paid way too much for.

[Barfridge]

This gets mentioned in every single thread like this on PSB, and for a very good reason - go throw your leg over all of them, see which one feels the best to you.

[Aufitt]

This gets mentioned in every single thread like this on PSB, and for a very good reason - go throw your leg over all of them, see which one feels the best to you.

What sort of underpants should I get? and what colour?

[Barfridge]

Whichever ones give you the biggest boner.

[SilentBob]

$4000 is do-able for a VTR.
I just sold my 05 for $4000. Threw in 6 months rego and other extras.
That said at that price I didn't even advertise it and people who knew just called me.