Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hi,

I'm new to motorcycling. I started riding on my frineds r6 about a month ago actually. I just enlisted in an MSF course, and I CAN'T WAIT! Anyway, on to my question(s.)

I wanted to start humbly and small, I wanted to get a Ninja 250 R. My co-workers, and frineds laughed and said that I'd out grow it in 2 months, and want something better. They all said start on a 500 or 600. They also said that buying a 250 is a waste of money. I did some HW on it, looking on cycletrader.com an ebay.com for prices; Most fall between $1.8k and $2k.

With all that being said, I found a 2003, 2300 miles, 600cc Honda CBR for $3000, with 2 helmets. I figured that it'd be a good deal, AND, based on what my peers say, I would have a decent bike for a while. But I read the article on here about 600's being bad learner bikes. I'm kind of torn between what I want and what i should do to develop myself on a bike fully.

I'm in college, and whatever bike I get, I will probably keep for atleast 4 or 5 years, if all goers well of course. I want to be safe for sure, and I never want to leave the limits of my skill and hurt myself. And most of all, I want to enjoy driving around, just cruisin!

I plan to use this bike for occasional commute and pleasure.

Enlighten me.

You can sell that 2k bike for 1.9k when you're done learning on it.

The 3k gixxer was probably crashed.

Anyone who makes fun of you for the bike you ride does not deserve to ride a bike themselves.

hmm...you think i should get a new (or atleast deff. not layed down) bike for my first bike?

if that CBR wasnt wrecked- good deal? yay/nay

my dad suggesteted i get a real piece of crap to learn on, in case i do lay it down.

thoughts?

hey there. i have the exact same problem. i want a gs500 but think a 250 ninja may be best. do what you feel is right. dont worry about what people think. i dont think anybody will know its a 250 antway. have fun

I'd try a suzuki GS500, little more power than the 250, but definitely within the realm for beginners. GSJack has had his for years and loves it.
The important thing to look at concerning the engines and sizes here are the number of cylinders..
500cc GS500, is a 2 cylinder.. That means it doesnt have crazy horsepower that will get you intro trouble as a beginner. (about 43 rwhp from the dyno's Ive seen).

now, 600cc CBR is a 4-cylinder with 78-85rwhp. That is a lot of potential trouble for a beginner.

Ninja 250 is still a good bike in its own right, too. It is extremely maneuverable, and pretty quick considering its size.

Learning on a smaller bike will definitely help you become a better rider. It allows you to (more) safely explore and expand your limits without as much danger of throwing yourself off the bike. Granted, that danger is there on any size bike you ride, be it a 125cc or a 1000cc... Smaller bikes are just more mistake-friendly, and make it easier to recover. They also help you gain confidence in your riding.

Also, be weary of the bigger sportsbikes for sale cheap (especially with gear included)... that probably means the owner crashed the bike and is now too scared to ride. (Or almost crashed the bike and scared themselves). I see so many sportbikes for sale with the explanaition "Perfect, except for a little scrapes on the side fairing!".

That is another reason to start small... smaller bikes are lighter, easier to keep from dropping... and if you get a cheap starter, you wont feel so bad if you drop it.

The supersports 600cc and greater usually have a relatively jumpy powerband as well, making it difficult to do some things.

One of the things that really brought it home for me is a video I watched a little while ago in which 3 different motogp racers said they would not buy a 600cc supersport for road use.

These are the guys that ride the best most expensive bikes known to man. And they won't go out on the street on the knockoff/look-alikes.

It all depends. Do ya want to be cool in the eyes of squids who don't know much more than you do at this point or do you really want to learn to ride? If you want to learn get the 250. It will do all that you need for a good while. It will take you a couple of years to learn to use this bike to its full potential. When you do you will be smoking the guys on the 600s.

Your choice.

you might also look into a 650 twin. The SV650 and soon to be released Ninja 650. These have a bit more power than a 500 but are nowhere near as touchy as a 600 (70hp vs 120hp). Good deals on SV650s are not hard to find and there are a lot of them around so parts are easy to come by (plus it has a huge aftermarket)

jmillheiser wrote:you might also look into a 650 twin. The SV650 and soon to be released Ninja 650. These have a bit more power than a 500 but are nowhere near as touchy as a 600 (70hp vs 120hp). Good deals on SV650s are not hard to find and there are a lot of them around so parts are easy to come by (plus it has a huge aftermarket)

That ninja650 is being specifically marketed by Kawasaki as a second or advanced bike. I don't think you should be recomending it to new riders.

*Edit* corrected manufacturer

Sev is right the 650 falls into a gray area for first bikes. see the thread 650s are good beginner bikes/650s are bad beginner bikes.