I thought this could be helpful to those looking at the 250's and since they are 2009, they should be available used fairly soon :fiddy

2009 250cc Streetbike Shootout - Motorcycle.com

Hey everyone
My cousin is moving way up north were there's lots of snow and very bad roads, so he gave me a killer deal on his 2008 gsxr 600 for only $2000 including all of his gear. I went ahead and got it, so i guess this gsxr 600 is gonna be my beginner bike. I was thinking of a ninja 250r for a beginner bike but the deal for the gsxr 600 was way to good to pass.
I'm planning to take the msf course next week and gonna practice riding on my gsxr after i get the hang of riding the msf bike. But before i do, i heard that the 600 bikes have very twitchy throttles, and very strong brakes that could get me in trouble, Is there anything i could do to the throttle and the brakes to have lesser input when i use them?

I am picking up my first bike this weekend (EX-250). I have a 6x10-ish trailer to bring it home on. What recommendations can you guys make for strapping it on safely. I am planning on picking up some heavier duty ratchet straps but what else will I need. Also, where on the bike is the best points to tie down from. Thanks for the help.

Hello, I've been riding 2 years on a VTX1300 and have some experience in the past on some older suzukis and hondas(70's bikes) when I was younger.

Either way I have gotten bored with the cruiser...most of my riding consists of short jaunts around town when I can get away from the fam for an hour or two. I would like to get something a little more sporty and fun around town. My only thought is I may want a sport tourer for bags, since I tend to carry stuff around with me or take the bike to the grocerie store now and again. But not sure...I just want to be able to weave and zip around a bit..no need to break land speed records or anything..

All in all, I am looking for advice in a bike to start with, since my knowledge is basically cruiser based.

Thanks

Tim

I am finally getting a bike. Found a 2000 EX-250 I can afford and now just need to go through the process of picking it up and trying to transfer the title on a Saturday (screw working all week). Next step is gearing up (still need jacket/ gloves/ maybe boots) and getting in a BRC in spring, until then it will be parking lots and around town. Any books or DVD's I should pick up to get me started until the MSF gets going again?

Found a EX250 locally in decent shape for reasonable money. Going to look at it this week and want to know what to look for. I don't yet have my permit but that is really a matter of a morning and some paperwork. Since a test ride is out of the question, what do I need to look for when I am there?

ive spent just one riding season on my DRZ400SM and in that season put just under 4000 miles on it (3000 of which are twisty) now i know that this isnt alot of miles but ive also done 2 track days. (how ever much difference that makes) i find myself passing R6s and GIXXXERs all day like they are standing still, on any road thats decently twisty that is. come spring do you think i would be ready for a supersport? say a R6 or ZX6R?

I know this is a little bit too much in advance, but I think it is okay to start thinking about this now. I just want to know if a Buell XB9R (or 9SX) is too much for a beginner? I know that other bikes will probably be said to be better (such as the SV650) and I know Buells are not exactly well liked around here (or the sportbike world); but I have always had a fascination with Buell's and the bike feels good to me. I also want a bike that is more highway friendly (just in case I want to visit my family in another city, or go riding more), and another vehicle just in case one vehicle goes down (seeing as they're said to need very low maintenance, making it more "reliable" than my current bike).

I currently have 6 months worth of experience (along with 5800'ish+ miles, but most of that being highway and commuting miles), but I know I still have more miles to go (and things to learn/"perfect"). I also have taken the MSF BRC, but I hope to take the ERC in the next few months (or the BRC again, or both to sharpen the skills even further). I know my current motorcycle is not a sportbike by any means, so I know i'll have to relearn most things with the bike and never try to ride out of my "talent" (or lack of it seeing as I am still considered a beginner and all). If it adds anything, I also want to keep my current bike (so I can still do some trail riding, or some light off-roading).

Thanks for the help in advance, I hope I put all relevant information, and I can't wait to read your replies.

Hello

My name is Rick, and I have dreadlocks. I moved from Alabama after graduating in May from Auburn University with a degree in Rocket Science. I enjoy deep emotional conversation, long walks on the beach and candle light dinners.

My motorcycling history started in November of 2008 with:
My first bike: 1994 FZR 1000



My second and third bikes (I bought both on the same day, back in July): 2002 Ninja 250 & 2001 Ninja 250




I still have the blue ninja, but it will be gone in the next couple months (aka it's for sale)


1996 FZR 600
Everything done to the bike can be seen here: Sport Rider Article
but if you want cliff notes...

Offset ignition key for advancing the timing
Pro shift kit
Titanium Pro jet kit
V&H SS2R full exhaust
SDP HH+ sintered pads

I love this bike... beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I cannot get away from the FZR style. To me they are some of the most gorgeous bikes made in the 90s, and I love the bikes from that era.

The shifts are solid. The engine is smooth throughout the entire power band. It sounds badass. I think I found a keeper.




The kicker for me is that it's 13 years old and has 23000 miles yet it's still in far better condition than both of the younger ninjas with half as many miles...

I'm looking at getting a bike for traveling around during college... I'm going to take MSF classes pretty soon, and I was pretty set on getting the ninja 250, but I have heard that they are not very good on the freeway, nor are they good ride when wind comes into play.. unfortunately, where I am about to move to, I am going to have to travel a lot on the freeway and there is going to be a lot wind. Should I still go with the Ninja 250, or would I be better of in the ninja 650? Also, please don't recommend me a 600SS, I'm not willing to kill my self. Yet. :bitchslap

-SKC

I learned on a 1996 YZF 600. Great comfortable bike, very nice seating position and surprisingly forgiving in terms of throttle response and suspension.

What newer sportbikes best emulate these older 600s? I'm guessing things in the vein of the GSX 650F? Maybe.....the FZ6R (not FZ6)?

Thanks for any insight.

I am fairly new to the "street bike scene", I have always been an MX guy, I was raised a gear head as well, so I love cars, until recently I have never considered a bike for the street, to be honest I much prefer 4 wheels and a steering wheel, 3 pedals... heel toe and rev matching on the twisty back roads through orange groves:D. meanwhile I have always thought the best thing you can do on 2 wheels, was catching air on my dirt bikes

though now, I have decided to put 2 wheels on the street, not sure why I never thought about it before honestly..., but once I started looking into the "culture" a little, I noticed the very large amount of new riders, seems every where I looked, it was questions about the "first bike" and there seems to be a large divide between those who know, and those who do not.. about the true nature of production sport bikes, the manufacture websites are to say the least, misleading... and all you seem to see on forums are strangers asking other strangers a question, then the answer being given only to be dismissed by the person who asked, giving what ever reasons he can to justify getting the bike he really wants

It seems very foreign to people who are not "bike" people, that they need to buy a bike they don't want... before they can be allowed to buy the one they do want, the problem is made worse when they go look at these bikes being ridden by experienced riders, making it look so easy.. then they see some "idiot" doing wheelies and crashing, they assume the bike is easy to ride.. but very powerful if you are not careful (curse youtube), which is true HOWEVER.. they have no idea how to be "careful" due to lack of experience, maybe we do need a "restriction" system like other countries

which brings me to my point.. sort of, everyone will be different.. so we will forget the learning curve for now, that said, what exactly defines a beginner? having never ridden any bike at all? I caught a little heat when I mentioned riding dirtbikes, but I believe that is viable experience given you are intelligent enough to use it properly, what exactly are the common mistakes that new riders make? lets say you are somewhat experienced on 2 wheels, won't drop the bike trying to walk in backwards out of a parking spot for example, not THAT much of a noob.. what are the skills required to ride a bike safely, ANY bike, you have to be able to manipulate the throttle with your right hand rather than your foot, same for the front brake, rear is still your right foot, shifting with your left, blah blah blah

lets say you can do all of these things, you have enough experience and muscle memory to grab the front brake and manipulate the rear with your foot, in a panic situation you will not lock either brake up and go down, or worse, same goes for the throttle, you have to hold onto the bike with your right hand.. and control the throttle AND the front brake, a mistake I made many times learning on a little 2stroke 85cc dirtbike, my first "wreck" my feet caught in the mud, dragging me off the back.. doing my best impression of superman, laying on the bike twisting the throttle wide open, had I been more experience I would have been alright.. but no, i let go of the throttle and highsided because my left hand jerked the bar, thankfully I was fine, nice soft south florida muck :D

I learned from that mistake, and bent the front wheel of my bike -.-, that was many moons ago, and not my last mistake to learn from, the hardest part is learning to acclimate yourself to the control scheme, I believe this is the most common reason for the suggestion of a 250 or similar small bike to learn on, but personally I think it may be a better decision to get a dirtbike for this learning stage, better to screw up and grab the front brake going for the clutch(for example) in a nice soft cow pastor.. than on the street in traffic, or even in a parking lot, asphalt hurts you and your bike worse than mother earth

of course there are a lot of other considerations before jumping on a streetbike, you still have to learn more, dirtbikes handle completely different in a turn, the traction and input are different, you still have to push your limits on the street to a degree in order to learn what they are, this process will be less costly if you lowside a 2-3k bike learning how to get a knee down.. than dropping a 10k supersport, but does that necessarily mean you could not ride something like a CBR600RR and be fine on it? putting aside the whole track day thing, and attacking the twistiest.. but if you are not going to do that, why get a supersport

it is quite the conundrum, so many people wanting a supersport.. that will NEVER even ride by a track, muchless on one, so why bother getting such a focused and uncomfortable bike? because they are fast and cool.. I suppose? this must be where the hostility comes from towards new riders wanting an R6 or something along those lines, they have no idea what kind of machine they are dealing with, and no idea what its like to ride a motorcycle on the street, forget about the ability to interface with the controls, spend very long on one of these track bikes in drag, and you'll probably wish you had a comfortable bike to ride, rather than an insanely powerful one you cannot even use

I tend to ramble on from time to time, hopefully someone gets what I mean here, I am not trying to solve the "noob" problem.. or even reach out to them and "show them the light" I am still a "noob" myself on the street, I am just trying to wrap my head around what most of you probably already fully understand, the ambitious new riders point of view, and why they make the mistakes they make, anyway.. just thinking outloud and thought I would share, hopefully some of you out there can add insight, maybe even tell me about your learning experiences, im sure there are people that learned something useful on the dirt, that carried over to the street? if only the well imprinted knowledge of how the controls work, becoming second nature etc. etc.

in closing, some things you just have to experience to learn, my first time locking the rear brake up resulted in the rear stepping out, my left foot going down and dropping the bike, boy that was a painful watch to stretch... anyway, the next week I was locking the rear wheel up constantly for fun, I could not have learned that from a book or even someone telling me, just like many many things in life, you have to try it to be able to do it, and unfortunately on a bike... when you don't do something correctly you can pay for it with blood, and its next to impossible to do something correctly your first time trying it, at least in a car when you swap ends trying to take a corner fast.. you have 4 wheels and a cage, rather than an expensive body bag to "protect" you

Names alex, i just recently moved back home from college where i had a nice 08 ninja 250r that i put 5,000 trouble free miles on.
Now im living back home and im itching to ride again so i think its about time to get on another bike.
Right now i've got about $2000-2500 to play with. Locally i've found a few bikes that have caught my eye as potential purchases.
One is a 1993 Kawasaki zxr750. Priced just under $2000 with 13k miles.
the other is a 1999 CBR 900 RR priced at around $2200 with 14k miles.
Right now im leaning towards the CBR just because of the year and i like honda bikes (even though i owned a kawi i know i know darkside)
Anyone have any personal experiences with either would be greatly appreciated!
I should be about ready to pull the trigger within the next 2-3 weeks.
Wish me luck!
Cheers!:banana

Yeah, I look in here time time to see if anything is new (actually I get bored a lot). But, basically its the same comments every time. Someone wanting to get a 600+ for a first bike. Then everyone else says "this is the same old I want a...because I'm... tall, big, a fat shit, whatever." Does anyone else feel like it just goes round and round? Then it almost seems like just because an ignorant person asks a question he is stupid just based on the fact everyone assumes he wants.... or he just didn't know and the thread turns into him getting ripped on. I bet this thread turns into me or someone else getting made fun of. IDK, just something I noticed, didn't know if anyone else did too.Have Fun.

hi, ive heard a million times that a 600 is a horrible beginner bike and i want to know why everyone thinks that? i understand the aspect of buying a smaller bike ( like a ninja 250) to learn on but honestly everyone grows out of those extremely fast. i understand that their "lack of power" is good for people to learn throttle control and such on but why does that rule out a 600? honestly i learned to ride on a 600, ive been on dirt bikes and fourwheelers my entire life and eventually got the thought to buy a sportbike, but every where i looked on the internet people where always saying " sportbikes arent a beginner bike " or "600's are way too dangerous" so i began to look for ninja 250's, and as it turns out my cousin had one, i rode it and it was ok , easy to handle and decent power, then not too long after that my brother bought a ninja 750 and my friend bought a cbr 600 f4, i rode the 750 the first day he had it and it was 2nd nature to me, i was nervous on it and thought for sure i was gonna die on it but it was really easy to manuever it around and to ride, then i rode my frinds cbr 600 and it was even easier to ride than the 750, but the one thing i noticed was it wasnt like everyone on the internet had said, the bikes werent hard to learn on and they werent too much of a bike for me, within my 2nd day riding both bikes i was already takin turns at high speeds and riding around like i was born on a sportbike, so thats why i dont understand why every one says a 600 isnt a good starter bike cause in my experience i say they are, they handle extremely well and have the power to accelerate extremely fast and with a combo like that they can easily get out of a bad situation on the road if need-be, i think the problem is that people get on 600's and show-off and thats how they wreck, all i want to kno if yalls opinions on these bikes as starters cause in my own opinion i think 600's are great starter bikes as long as your not acting stupid