Semi OT: I just bought a Baja Motorsports BV250 Sportbike

oso2k · 11-17-2007, 03:53 AM

Ok...so I'll probably end up eating shit for buying it, but I paid $1,479.99 (including tax, $29.99 non-negotiable dealer prep fee, half-priced $40 1 year PepBoys extended warranty) for a Baja Motorsports BV250 Sportbike.

Build quality seems OK to poor (a bit worse than what I've seen of Hyosung and their importers) but at beater, starter, it's ok if you trash it bike, it should serve my gf well.

The gf did the classroom part to her MSF course last week and has two 5 hour Sundays for the road training part starting this Sunday.

Things like a wobbly kickstand, cheap mirrors (look like they belong on a PowerWheels vehicle), chrome-ish painted steel and aluminum everywhere, and paper thin plastics, and a rear drum brake. We'll see how quickly this sucker gets upgraded. Display gauges are usable. The display tag list the bike as having 16.6 HP (vs. Ninja 250's ~24 HP). However, it only cost me $40 to extend the Manufacturer's 3 month warranty another year. The best part, the bike comes with an alarm installed by the factory and also has remote, keyless starter!!! I tell you, it's freakin nuts!

robert_s_hunter · 11-17-2007, 01:01 PM

That's insane funny dude.... A remote starter on a motorcycle?!? I'd make sure it's neutral interlock is absolutely dependable. I can't help but laugh at the idea of an un-manned bike suddenly launching itself across a parking lot, or flying out of the garage and down the drive, to only launch itself off the curb and through the neighbor's front door!!!

In all seriousness, I say why not, it's worth giving it a chance. Hell, anything else you could've bought at that sort of price wouldn't have been much by comparison. This way you've got a warranty if something does happen, and the less you've spent on something, the less likely you are to have a coronary if it gets crunched.

I look forward to seeing how it works out, this could be interesting, one way or another. And, tell your girlfriend I said, "Good luck, and have fun!!!".

LaBest1 · 11-25-2007, 04:54 PM

Got one a few days ago. For the price it is more than you should expect, I paid $1,170.00 for mine (new) plus prep fee $69.00 (what a ripoff).
PepGuard did not seem like a good deal to get. It only covers the engine and transmision but only if you take it to a shop of their choice leaving YOU to pay for the labor when you could have done it yourself if you had the parts at hand.

ZQ8Dude · 11-26-2007, 09:03 PM

Is that a Pep Boys sport bike? lol

LaBest1 · 11-26-2007, 09:13 PM

Better than spending $130.00 per week on your V8 Magnum truck.
You don't have to spend a small fortune on a transportation bike and it does transport you just as good and the expensive ones... mean while you can save up for something you like and the time can be well spent shopping and deciding what it is that you want. Not to mention that if you are new to bikes and you do something stupid like TRASH it.. It is no problem because you can treat it as disposable due to the price.
Now, can any expensive bike do that??

ZQ8Dude · 11-27-2007, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaBest1

Better than spending $130.00 per week on your V8 Magnum truck.
You don't have to spend a small fortune on a transportation bike and it does transport you just as good and the expensive ones... mean while you can save up for something you like and the time can be well spent shopping and deciding what it is that you want. Not to mention that if you are new to bikes and you do something stupid like TRASH it.. It is no problem because you can treat it as disposable due to the price.
Now, can any expensive bike do that??

I'm sorry, its just that the pepboys motorized vehicles have similar quality to motorized vehicles sold at Sam's Club. My buddy has stories for days about their gokarts.

I get the cheap price, but i couldnt trust my life to anything from pep boys.

uh my V8 magnum truck?? my uhm imaginary one?

oso2k · 12-01-2007, 02:31 PM

I've only had one opportunity to ride the bike since it's still unregistered and uninsured. The bike vibrates crazily at or near highway speed.

LaBest1 · 12-01-2007, 04:43 PM

You have to go over it and make sure the panels are properly installed. Also, some pieces are snap on and they have allot of play so you have to use some silicone or make a ruber gasket to keet it from vibrating.
I use it all day, every day on the city streets. I would not recomend using it on the highway. This is only a 250 at beast, it's just transportation for the city.
I run it at up to 50 MPH and it is doing great, I have brought it to 70 and it seemed ok.
The turning signal switch broke today, I will look at it to see what it will take to fix or replace or look at one from a better bike.
Other than that, it runs great and I have saved over one hundred and fifty Dollars in gas alone (so far), not to mention that it was ninety four per year for insurance, as oposed to two grand (for my car).
Thats all for now.

robert_s_hunter · 12-01-2007, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oso2k

I've only had one opportunity to ride the bike since it's still unregistered and uninsured. The bike vibrates crazily at or near highway speed.

Is it a single cylinder engine? Does it vibrate like that whenever the engine reaches higher RPM? If not, I think I'd check the wheel balance....

robert_s_hunter · 12-01-2007, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaBest1

I use it all day, every day on the city streets. I would not recomend using it on the highway. This is only a 250 at beast, it's just transportation for the city.
I run it at up to 50 MPH and it is doing great, I have brought it to 70 and it seemed ok.

This isn't normally a constraint for a 250. I can run my GT 250R at 100mph for as long as I want, with nothing more than normal aero turbulence to deal with.

olds_cool · 12-02-2007, 12:41 AM

I have the exact same bike, only it's the Tank 250 2i. NO difference what so ever. It has a Rebel 234cc clone engine. Excellent on gas (I saw a high of 81 mpg's). Parts can be a problem, but if you can turn a wrench, don't worry about it. Make sure you LOCKTITE the ENTIRE bike! This is NO racer, but it will get up to 85 mph.

Just for the record, I've been riding over 26 years. This bike serves as my commuter only. For what I paid and the gas savings, I can't complain too much. I've had it since 12/12/06 and have about 4k mikes on it (remembering, it's just a commuter). If and when it dies, it will have served it's purpose. Good for your woman that she wants to ride her own bike!

oso2k · 12-03-2007, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robert_s_hunter

Is it a single cylinder engine? Does it vibrate like that whenever the engine reaches higher RPM? If not, I think I'd check the wheel balance....

I thought it was a parallel twin and that was confirmed by the guy who mentioned it was a Rebel engine. And the vibration is caused by the engine and runs up through the handlebars. The harder you twist, the more it shakes. Heavier bar ends might help it.

oso2k · 12-03-2007, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by olds_cool

I have the exact same bike, only it's the Tank 250 2i. NO difference what so ever. It has a Rebel 234cc clone engine. Excellent on gas (I saw a high of 81 mpg's). Parts can be a problem, but if you can turn a wrench, don't worry about it. Make sure you LOCKTITE the ENTIRE bike! This is NO racer, but it will get up to 85 mph.

Just for the record, I've been riding over 26 years. This bike serves as my commuter only. For what I paid and the gas savings, I can't complain too much. I've had it since 12/12/06 and have about 4k mikes on it (remembering, it's just a commuter). If and when it dies, it will have served it's purpose. Good for your woman that she wants to ride her own bike!

That's the reason I bought this bike. My girl decided she didn't want to sit on back anymore. Got a thread somewhere you have some lessons learned written down? Thanks for the input!

robert_s_hunter · 12-03-2007, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oso2k

I thought it was a parallel twin and that was confirmed by the guy who mentioned it was a Rebel engine. And the vibration is caused by the engine and runs up through the handlebars. The harder you twist, the more it shakes. Heavier bar ends might help it.

Yeah, I caught that too....

IIRC, the Honda Nighthawk uses the same engine design as well. I don't recall the Nighthawk I learned on as being that bad. No doubt it's the Chinese execution of the design that's to blame.

oso2k · 12-04-2007, 02:34 AM

I think I'm mildly screwed. I went to AAA to try to register the bike. They said they could do all of the services that I need from the DMV. They can write up the title, perform the frame inspection for the CARB label (required of all CA bikes otherwise the bike is deemed a "49 state bike"), and take my registration fees ($63 if I'm successful). That made me happy. However, I was talking the details over w/AAA's DMV rep. He said I needed to trailer in the bike for an inspection to get a "permit to ride the bike on the street". This was at the end of their work day. So went home to check out my bike in the garage.

DAMN! It's only DOT approved. I did put 11 miles on it. Crap! Now I'm gonna take the bike in anyways tomorrow to have it fail the inspection. The Store Manager at PepBoys told me it would register without problems or he would take it back. So I'm hoping the AAA/DMV rep won't charge me for trying to register it now (they let me leave w/o paying the $63!) and give me the paperwork showing that fails.

If that doesn't work, I'll sell the bike to anybody for $1259 cash only (I'll eat the tax, prep fee, and extended warranty that probably isn't transferable). There's obviously no title, but I'll have the Certificate of Origin, a copy of the original Sales Order, and I'll write up a Bill of Sale for my sale to you.