Beginner Bikes..

[ngsalvo]

250's not being powerful enough is quite a laughable notion.
I have a hyosung gt250r (in Melbourne Australia, a new rider has no choice. 250cc is it for a year or so!). I am 110kgs, and just under 6ft tall. This bike is the perfect size for me. I can flat foot it, and the thing is only 40kg's heavier than me, so if it ever does land on me, I could get it off my leg myself with a little bit of wriggling and screaming.

As for power, even though it's only a 250, it doesn't let many bigger bikes out of its sight without a good fight. The only cars that can outdo it at the lights are the fully sick turbo charged jobs, or cars that cost more than the average home.

The good thing about the hyosung range is that their 250 bikes have the same size body as the 650 versions. You don't feel like a bear in a circus on a hyosung, that's for sure.

The power is fine, the bike is comfortable as. They are worth the $$$; you'll pay only a couple of thousand less for a used Honda CBR 250 that has been dropped eight times and has 75,000k's on the clock. 3 year factory warranty with the option to purchase another two years! Who else offers that?

Here endeth the sermon.

[Super Dave]

But I've heard from a couple people that the 250 doesn't have the sort of punch you'd want to get out of the way of various highway obstacles. I've also heard the exact opposite -- that a 250 is fine.

250 or 500? Which would you pick?

I've found that people who say things like that have never actually ridden one, or they didn't know how to ride it properly. I've ridden the EX250 on big city freeways (L.A, Phoenix) and it does just fine. It's no 100hp sportbike, but can out accelerate most cars up to 85-90 mph. The trick to having good response is properly using the powerband. Many people are reluctant to run the engine in the higher rpm ranges (where it was designed to deliver the most power), and erroneously conclude that the bike doesn't have enough guts for the freeway.

The bottom line is either bike will get the job done. The 250 will obviously have less horsepower to play with than the 500, but will also come with a significantly lower price tag.

+3.....you are racking up the points