Hey everyone, I just want to let you know I come from a LONG line of forums, with all the hobbies I have. I know forum guidelines, and general respect. I know what it is to hate a newb, and I know what it is when a newb asks questions that have LITTERALLY been asked 500 times. Ive hated newbs, and so have you, however I cant help but say that I have never been more of a newb in sport-bikes in my life. Basically, I have been into cars, and always thought sport-bikes were sexy and VERY cool, however I always pictured them over 20K for one. I took a quick glance on Kawasaki.com and found that you can LITTEARLLY buy a BRAND NEW 08' 250R for under 4K. I am AMAZED. I was so blown away that the most population of these bikes are under 8K, that I HAVE to force myself to begin to soak in all the knowledge of these bikes.

My History: I have ridden dirtbikes in the past. I could control one very well, and used to jump em' and everything. So I guess you could say I have a background with motorized bikes. My dad, a few years back had a anniversary harley davidson, it was sweet. Brand new, i rode on the back with him for many miles, did many bike runs, and memorial trips ect. However I have never actually driven a street motorcycle. I have ridden dirtbikes on the road, but never a streetbike.

Fears: When I was about 12 years old, I went to our local harley dealer, and like an idiot, sat down on a brand new buell sportbike. I tried to pull it up and sit on it like I was riding it, and before I knew what i happened I was on the ground with the bike about 3 ft away from its position, tires rotating. Thats right, it was so unbelievably heavy, there wasnt a slight CHANCE of me holding it up. I was 12 then, so I guess i was alot smaller. Even though that was over 5 years ago, I still have this slight fear, of not being able to hold a sportbike up. I dont know why I couldnt, but its just kinda sub-concieusly there.

Questions: What is MSF? I read/see this all the time. How heavy are the ninja's? such as the 250, and 650? What is your personal opinion on me holding up a bike, I mean its pretty sad seeing a 70lb girl hold one up, hell if thats possible then I KNOW I will be able to, its just the last time I tried i was like 12, and very imature then. Do you ahve to be over 18 years old to get a motorcylce license?

Ok, and onto my story: Please bare with me, read slowly and try to properly answer these questions for me, as I am in need.

As of now, I am transportation-less. I have no car, or anything. Luckily I got a job down at little caesers, less then a mile from my house. Currently I am saving to buy a forum of transportation, and found Ninja 250's for under 3,500 new, and under 3K used. This is a LIFE saver. I can get a sweet bike, and its cheap. Ok now I need your guys' best opinion on what bike would suit my needs best.

-IfI got a bike, it would be used for LONG trips occasionally. My girlfriend lives almost 40 miles away from me, 10 of those miles is the straight up freeway, and the other 30 is a long stretch of route 66.
-I would perfer to have a bike that can hold two people no problem. If I need to give my gf a lift, or any buddies rides, I want that to be a possiblity not worrying about weight issues and what-not.
-My gf lives on a dirtroad, so I would have to drive about half a mile on dirtroad. How do these bikes handle on dirtroads? Should I go slow, walk it, or can I do 20 mph without crashing? Is it hard on the tires?
-I live in the city. Driving to work, places to eat, the mall, ect is all less then a 10-15 mile drive round trip each time. I hear this is best for the 250R, however, I hear the 250 is not best for those days when I go see my gf, the extended drives, where I will put 100+ miles on it in one day. Where I have to drive the bike for 30 mins straight on. I need a bike that can EASILY handle the need for 80+ MPH when needed.
-What type of gas mileage should I be looking at with a 250R or 650R? I choose these two bikes because from what I see, they seem the best for my situations.
-If I were to choose the 250R, will it even have enough power to get me up to interstate speeds? I am 230 LBS, almost 6'0 FT.
-I am only 17, so because of this I have a VERY little budget. I make like 5-1000$ a month at MAX. I CAN NOT afford to buy a bike that I will need to replace in like 4 months. However at the same time I cannot afford a 6,000$ bike.
-Any tips on holding up these bikes?


I am truely sorry for asking any questions that I could probably easily search for ( i did mildy search) i am just in a need of alot of answers for my situation.

Thanks guys, let me know anything you can. People say I should get a 250 because its cheap, and a great beginner bike, but others say if you go more then like 20 miles in a trip, youve got it 6th gear pinned because they dont go over 80. Also, any info about the new 08 250, if I were to buy a 250, the only one would be the new 08. I dont know what style its called, but the style of the new 08 250 is EXACTLY what i want.

Thanks

-Josh

 

First off Josh, welcome to the KF. From what I have read on the Forum, the 250R is quite capable of handling highway speed. From my own experience with street bikes, you should have no problem with going down a dirt road as long as you keep your speed reasonable. It won't hurt the tires as long as you have regular street tires on it, and not the soft spongy racing tires. Your gas mileage is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 70-75mpg (that's just a guess, based on the mileage of my bikes). It's probably the most economical way to travel. As far as long rides, 40 miles isn't a long ride. If I just ride around post, to work and back, and to the store, I'm putting almost 100miles a day on my bike. It's not a hard ride either. At one point, I had a Honda VTR250, and I had to ride that everywhere for a few days. I put a lot of miles on it, and had no problem doing so. It was pretty bad when I was getting left behind by my car, (the VTR250 tops out at 100mph) but it's still plenty fast enough to travel on the highway. And I know for a fact that a new 250R is quite a bit faster than a '90 VTR250. It is hard for small kids to hold a sportbike up, but with your size you'll have no problem at all with it. I'm 6ft and weigh 180, and I didn't have a problem getting up to highway speed. The 500R or 650R would be a better choice, just for the fact that you won't outgrow it as fast, but you still have to take into consideration your budget. MSF is the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. It's a course designed to teach new riders and experienced riders alike. I recommend it to everybody. I took the course not too long ago. I've been riding for over 20 years, and the course still helped me identify the bad habits I had learned, as well as teach me a lot about properly handling a motorcycle... things I didn't learn when I taught myself how to ride. I hope I've been able to help you out. Good luck on your choice, and as soon as you figure out what it is that you want, make sure you get the stealership to throw in some riding gear, and post some pics after you buy your new toy.

 

A friend of mine just bought a new 07 500R from a dealer for $4200 (list $5050). So make sure you deal with them if you go new.

On the other hand, I got my used 06 500R for $3800, and you should be able to get one cheaper if you take your time.

You can hold one up no problem, MSF is the motorcycle safety course, age requirement depends on your state but should be the same as a car, 40 miles ain't long and much more fun without a cage, 250 will suffer noticeably from a passenger, my 500R gets 50-55 mpg.

If you are budget conscience, the best thing you can do is get a used ride and take your time waiting for a deal. This is a good time of year to buy, just have to find someone willing to deal who does not want to store the bike thru the winter.

welcome to KF!

 

Thanks rocketrotary for your indepth, very helpful response. Thank you fizzit aswell for your input. The more I think about it, I think I would be better off with buying a used 650R. Like you said, I think I will get REALLY bored with it in like 3-4 months. Id like to have a bike, that will have enough power to excite me for at LEASTa year. Thanks for your info guys.

-josh

 

+1

 

Poodlenuts, you're such a wannabe *****. Can't fault you for that though.