If I hear the "I'll look funny" excuse one more time I'm gonna scream.
There are people in this world living with missing limbs or eyes or goodness-knows-what kind of physical deformities ... and people are insecure about how they will "look" on a motorcycle.
Pathetic. Gimmie a break.
That's the second dumbest thing I've ever "procreating" read. So we're not supposed to give a "poo poo" about how ANYTHING looks then, right? "It doesn't matter if it's red or blue... PEOPLE ARE BORN WITHOUT ARMS!"
the "it's ugly" or "i'll look funny on something so small" is usually the excuse of someone who thinks they need a 600RR or bigger as their first bike.
In this case, the original poster has already shown that they aren't being foolish in their bike choices, so in a case like this the look of the bike and them on it should play a part in it but shouldn't be the biggest motivator.
if it feels good when you sit on it, and it looks good when you look at it that is more important than how you look when you are on it.
i would hazard a guess that the OP doesn't want to look as "awkward as a monkey f'ckin a football" when riding either the EX250, ex500 or gx500...which of course won't be the case on any of those bikes unless you are 6'7" and 540lbs or something along those lines.
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Let the flames come out : )
I understand what you are saying, and I agree. But I think you misunderstood what I was saying. It is more of a comfort issue, but it does include the fact that I would like to be happy with my purchase. I'm sure most people have similar concerns.
BMF wrote:Let the flames come out : )
I understand what you are saying, and I agree. But I think you misunderstood what I was saying. It is more of a comfort issue, but it does include the fact that I would like to be happy with my purchase. I'm sure most people have similar concerns.
if comfort is important to you, you better start looking at cruisers and touring bikes.
i heard the ninja 250 actually fits bigger riders better than ninja 500.
the 250's tank shape is different than the 500 and the fit is actually quite different so it's best to sit on as many bikes as you can
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BMF wrote:Let the flames come out : )
I understand what you are saying, and I agree. But I think you misunderstood what I was saying. It is more of a comfort issue, but it does include the fact that I would like to be happy with my purchase. I'm sure most people have similar concerns.
Comfort issue?
Now THAT is a different story. I resepct that. I agree with you 100% there. You need to be comfortable on a motorcycle. Not fitting on the bike properly (big or small) can lead to an accident. So avoiding a bike due to comfort issues is something I think is legitimate.
As for flaming you - I wasn't. I was pointing out that being overly worried about "looks" on a cool new motorcycle is silly. Lots of people use Internet forums to flame and troll. Personally, I use it to voice opinions, make people think, and interact with folks who make ME think.
Back to looks and comfort - sit on that Ninja 250. See if it's comfortable. That's important. I guarantee you won't look stupid on it.
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I've riden both the EX 250 and own the EX 500 - both 2006. I rode my friend's EX 250 home for her since she wasn't experianced enough to ride on the streets yet. So my review of the bike may be a little skewed...since she had the bike lowered as low as possible before requiring the extra part, and on top of that she had her seat shaved about an inch. Anyway, the bike was way too small for me, and I'm 5'9"...I felt like I was scrunched with the foot pegs being so close to the seat. Also, the power on the bike is rather slow in accelerating...maybe because the engine wasn't quite broken in yet...I think it starts to red line at 13K RPMs, and for the first 500 miles you're not supposed to go over 4K RPMs...thus you're going probably about 25 or 30 MPH...then for the next 500 miles, you're not supposed to go beyond 6K RPMs, thus you're going about 40-45 MPH or so.
I own a 2006 EX 500, and I really enjoy it...it has a liquid cooled engine, where the GS500 is air cooled. The EX 500 is about 50 pounds heavier than the 250...and the EX500's seat is a little more narrow than the GS500...given that you're 6'2", you shouldn't have a problem with either bike. The EX 250's seat is a little wider than the EX500. Here's the thing...if you are going to get a 250, get it used...it'll be already broken in...and you WELL want to upgrade after about 2K miles...but wait until you put in 5K miles on your first bike before upgrading. I own an EX500, got it brand new...and have put on 1550 miles on it in 4 weeks...and I'm already thinking about what my next bike is going to be once I put on at least 5K miles on it. You're going to eventually want Fuel Injection, and probably an inline four engine. Right now, I'd be happy with fuel injection, and that's what the Ninja 650 has...but it's still a twin cam.
Another thing...if you do purchase either a EX250 or EX500 new, expect to pay about $300 for the 600 mile service...they will check the bolts, chain, change the oil/filter, and adjust the valves...another reason why you may want to go used for your first bike.
Lastly, I would recommend you to stay away from a Yamaha (sport bike) as a first bike...they are awesome bikes, but not intended for beginners...if you turn too much on the trottle (such as hit a bump), you can actually find yourself doing a wheely...not good.
Anyway, good luck on your 1st bike, and make sure to have them deliver the bike to you if you don't have any experiance riding on busy streets yet. Even if you purchase a used bike, you can pay the seller a little extra $$ to deliver for you.
First... sounds like the bike you rode isn't at all representative of ex250s ... heavily modified bikes aren't really relevant compared to stock.
Second... I've got more than 2000 miles on my ex250 and feel no need to trade it in. AFAIK dragonhawk had 16,000 miles on his before he upgraded. I plan to have 15-20K miles before I buy another bike... but I'm riding this one into the ground as a commuter. If you are itching to trade in a bike after 1500 miles... well, we each make our own hells they say.
My bike is now 64 days old and I have 4000 miles on it.
Break-in procedure sucks if you follow it. Go online and read up on engine break-in procedures (and the fact that Kawasaki prints a single break-in sticker for all bikes) and make up your own mind... personally, I didn't keep it below 4000 RPM very long at all. I did follow a careful "high intensity" break-in procedure that involved progressively higher throttle settings and RPMs over a sequence of rides.
As a new rider, the break-in procedure was a good training aid actually... it gave me reason to pace myself and stay out of higher speed/interstate traffic for the first week.
