Welcome to the forum! It's great to see and hear from new riders. I think you've made a great choice and will have a blast on your Kawasaki! As IDRIDR mentioned above, you're sure to find some great info on here. Best of luck to ya!

 

Hi Elly_Dee, there's a lot of info on here for you. If you have any questions, just ask. The people on here are always very happy to help each other out. Glad to see another Canadian, Kawasaki lover on the forum!

 

Hi guys, I'm from the Netherlands currently owning a '09 KLX 250s, had lots of different bikes, cbr600f(2), zx7r, r1, zx636(2), and still currently own a racebike (600rr).

The reason I chose the KLX250s is to have fun offroad and onroad and to keep my license .

I've read a piece of your column, in Holland the rules have now changed so you can't start on a big bike.

When you're 18 you start with a 11kw bike, then after 2 years you can ride a 35kw bike, then after another 2 years you can ride a big bike.

I joined the forum because I found lot's of information for the KLX250s here and in Holland the bike is very well "unknown", parts are hard to get, so most things I have to order from the US or different country's.

 

Where can I buy a copy of this book? Motorcycles for dummies? xD haha jk. This is very informative. Thanks!

 

Although a bit long, that was well written.

 

Great advice! When aviation was new, everyone had to teach themselves to fly. Some figured it out, but many people died along the way. Anyone who learns on a large bike is adding risk to his/her learning experience. It can certainly be done, but why take the risk? Many folks new to this sport are young, with the attending lack of impulse control. That's just how our brains work, not a condemnation of youth!

I started off road, learning (painfully at 13) on a YZ250. But when I went to street, I started with an old Honda 160. Next came a Honda Hawk 400. THEN I saw an add for a KZ650. Getting off the Hawk, I punched the throttle on the KZ and took a wild ride, quickly realizing that the new bike was a beast with more power than I knew what to do with at first. So thankful to have learned all the ins and outs of riding in heavy traffic (San Diego) and all weather conditions on a smaller bike first. That in itself is a learning experience. Don't complicate it with more bike than you can control at all throttle settings and speeds.

 

ive been riding for a few years and your quite right my first road bike was a 89 vt250 honda was a great bike only capable of 105mph max im 6 ft tall 100kgs so was on the small side but i learned so much on it .I went riding with a guy a few years older he was on a 94 gsxr 400r and in a straight line i had no show but through a certain 10km section of road that was nice and windy i blew him to the weeds, man that wee bike could corner .So yea take advantage of the smaller bikes and learn as much as possible

 

Thank you for you insight.

 

Though long, the post is fantastic. And, it speaks to me.

Bought a scooter this summer to learn to ride. Then took the MSF basic rider course and passed with flying colors.

Had my heart set on a DR650, but my wife eventually put her foot down and said no. It took weeks of talking her into a 250 dual sport instead, as it's "the smallest bike ever made honey, come on!"

After riding for a couple of months in all kinds of weather, I can honestly say that I would have made a huge mistake in buying the 650. An absolutely huge mistake, and it would have turned me off to riding.

I am still exploring how to handle my KLX250s. I love it, but know that I am beginner. I will not try to trade up for at least two years.

 

On about a three month interval, a whole slew of questions pop up on the forum from potential riders trying to convince the community that a 600cc sportbike is a suitable first ride and then proceed to explain to us why they are the exception. I can almost set my clock to this pattern of behavior since it is almost swarm-like. I guess the newbies figure by swamping the forum with the same questions in lots of places we might trip up and endorse such a machine. Hasn't happened yet but they keep on trying.