Whats a good starting sports motorcycle?

Question

I was looking at the Kawasaki Ninja 250R

Answer 1

my son bought a new 2006 Honda CBR600f4i this summer for his 1st bike, and he loves it, the fuel injection makes it very easy to learn on, its so smooth. He has over 3000 miles on it now and has no regrets.
the CBR600RR replaced it, but he did not like the seating position on it at all.

Answer 2

I have answered this question a few time on yahoo answers and it always gets chosen as best answer but here goes again.

The 250 Ninja is good if you are not driving freeways. I'll explain why in a moment.

Here are some rules to go by...

For long distances on freeways the higher the cc the better. For example a ninja 250 has 250 cc engine. So for freeways you need at least a 600 cc motor.

Now..here is why. The ninja 250 is very light and will drive freeway speeds but its kinda scary. I know, I own one and have done it but it's not fun.

However if you use it for mostly streets (and you can go long distances as the darn bike is very very very good on gas!) it is the PERFECT bike.

So yes it is a perfect starter bike but its also very light. About 300+ pounds. That is good and bad.

Bad if you are driving freeways as the buffetting from the winds from trucks and big passing vehicles is relentless.

GOOD if you are driving streets (Even 70 mph speeds its good) as the gas mileage, once again, is AWESOME.

Lastly remember these tips my friend!

Higher cc's in a motor = less mpg
Lower cc's = higher mpg

Lighter the bike more the winds buffet it
Heavier the bike (Like the suzuki katana which weighs in over 500 lbs vs ninja 250 at 300+ lbs) the less it is affected by buffeting winds

The more cc's the higher the insurance
The lower the cc's the lower the insurance. For example a Ninja 250 can be insured for a full year for around $175 dollars or less!

Go to the site below for pics and riding tour of the Ninja 250

Answer 3

Good choice.

I've ridden a Ninja 250. It's hands down the easiest sport bike out there to ride, and as long as you have a good supply of curvy roads, it's a lot of fun too. It can keep up with freeway traffic, although you do have to rev it to the moon to do this. There's nothing wrong with buying one, riding it for a year, and trading up to something faster, either. You'll probably be able to sell it for close to what you paid for it, in fact - their popularity as a first bike makes for a lot of potential buyers.

The next class up, and one that's still OK for a first bike, is the 500 cc class. There's three good sport bikes there - the Ninja 500, Buell Blast, and Suzuki GS500F. I ride a GS500F, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a beginning rider. These have no trouble on the highway at all - although the Blast doesn't have a windshield, which could make a long highway trip uncomfortable.

The 600 cc four cylinder bikes are over 100 - sometimes over 130 - hp, with grabby brakes and aggressive suspension to match. They're a big jump from the 500s, and not something I'd recommend as a first bike at all. They're designed for getting an experienced rider around a race track quickly, not for making it easy to learn how to ride.

Answer 4

i highly suggest no more than a ninja 500 if the 250's handle bars wont clear the knees when feet are on the pegs. anything else u just cant handle at this time, and i suggest u dont try. here is a small report from a parts manager at a harley/honda dealer not far from pittsburgh about a noob that got a 600 ricer, and ignored the advice given to him on site.
http://www.harleychatgroup.com/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=33605&highlight=accident++steel+city+harley

ur money, ur bike. but if u value ur life, ignore these morons that dont know what they're talking about. no rookie will live long on a bussa, a zx-14, r-1, r-6, 1000 or 750. the power band is extremely twitchy, throttle response is instant, and it will wait until u make a mistake....and then it will kill u.

i also advise u to look at this little item: http://home.ama-cycle.org/membersonly/magazine/story_dl.asp?id=815

yanno what....it's these reckless squids that are practically BEGGING for the government to step in and ban these bikes off the road. one day, it could very well happen.

Answer 5

a 250 is a great motorbike to earnings on, yet I do question why all people buys them new. with the help of layout, they at the instant are not made for intense highway use. they're going to hit an uncomplicated a hundred mph, yet for something greater effective than 40 miles or so at real highway speeds (75ish), a 250 gets tremendously up there. I (and infinite others have) found out on an EX500. Suzuki's GS500 is greater effective finding, yet in addition down approximately 14hp on the uglier EX. the two are reliable motorcycles to earnings on, and could save you as much as velocity in any (legal) challenge. i've got owned 5 motorcycles interior the final 4 years. The EX500 is the single i've got stored the full time. it somewhat is in basic terms too useful to eliminate... sufficient potential for highway using, low sufficient potential for my fiancee to earnings on. great gas mileage, and that i don't care if it gets knocked over at paintings. i'm useful no person needs to scouse borrow it. i've got additionally owned 2 600cc supersports. rode one on the line for style of three weeks in the previous making it music in user-friendly terms, and going returned to the trusty 500 for the line. IMO, a 500 twin is a great motorbike to start on. a 650 twin is a great place to step as much as, yet not too efficient to start on (even nonetheless you suggested you're a hundred and twenty lbs. A 500 is plenty efficient sufficient) i could verify out here 4 motorcycles, and purchase USED: kawasaki 'ninja' 500 suzuki GS 500 (the n or the f form - in user-friendly terms distinction is how they seem) kawasaki 'ninja' 650 (truly useful motorbike for highway use) suzuki SV 650 (if i had to possess in user-friendly terms a million motorbike for something of my existence, this could be it.)

Answer 6

Go with your gut feeling and buy the 250. I had a choice between what ever I wanted but good sense told me to buy a 250 and learn to ride and be comfortable in all conditions. I can easily wait another year for my full license knowing that I will be ready for something bigger and that I'll be able to ride it with confidence. And something to look forward to is that next years bikes will be so much better than this years.

Answer 7

Look at a sport tour, it's still a sport bike, but it's a little less power and a lot more forgiving because of. A good one to look at would be on the lines of a Katana, or similar.

Answer 8

Starting out/ the best Bike out there is a Harley-Davidson Sportster!
883 or 1200 are sound bikes and good investment to 5 years down the line maybe give a bigger bike a try!!

Answer 9

You'll be bored real quick, id atleast go with a 500 suzuki or kawasaki or something like that. But first off, have you ever rode a motorcycle before? Because if you dont have more than a yr or more of consistant riding experiance, you should definatly get a dirtbike first and ride it every weekend, atleast, before you get on the rode!

Answer 10

Good choice and responsible thinking, you can always sell the 250 when you are ready to move up and on.

Take the MFS beginners course and you will be on your way to a rewarding time on motorcycles. Good luck and welcome.