Good starter bike?
 

Got my motorcycle license and have been learning to ride on my friends old suzuki 600. And im happy to say i only dropped it once :D

Anyway, the new kawasaki ninja 250R is due out this december, and it looks mean in green for only $3500! What do you guys think? should i buy this or are there any other bikes that are a great bang for the buck for a new rider. Price range being no more then $14K.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2..._Ninja250R.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...a250R_Left.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...250R_Right.jpg

Suggest you get a 600 like the Yamaha R6, you will outgrow the power of 250 pretty quickly, specially on highways.

I have to agree. You will be torturing that 250 in no time! :D If you like the sport bikes, I say buy a used Yamaha, or Honda or Suzi! They are all very reliable. Get a 600 at least. I ride a Honda VTX 1800. A heavy weight cruiser, but it's got some serious nads!!! I started, way back when, on a Honda CB350.........wow was that a long time ago! :eek:


Good luck on getting a new bike.....................and BE SAFE!!!!!


Sam

i agree stay away from the 250. you could get out the door with a 600cc ninja for around 10g. suzuki has a gs500 that makes a good started bike. but again i would start at 600. for a 14k max budget you can get alot of bike.





PLEASE TELL ME YOU ARE WEARING A HELMET. my brother is currently in the hospital after being sideswiped/ran over by a truck. he still has very critical injuries,but the helmet saved his life and the mesh jacket saved his body.

im not trying to scare you out of riding, infact thats the last thing i want to do. me and my dad both still ride.

just be sure to wear your safety gear.

I am not a fan of the new sport bikes
but if you like them buy used.

The new retro Triumphs look nice or a
classic BMW twin.

You can buy a used BMW K12-something for under $14k - then you'd get it all - refinement, performance..a bit heavy if you are really wanting a sportbike, but damm - that one time I rode a K1200RS - sex on wheels I must say (and popular among the Iron Butt crowd that I hang out with....)

-John

Would a 996 be considered a good starter bike?

I'm not a bike fan but I love Ducati's, probably because I see bikes like that green one whipping around in traffic through New Haven all the time.

I like the CBR1000RR, as a starter though I would say CBR600RR, if your very very very brave you could go with a ZX14 or Hayabusa (really don't recommend these as first bikes though, only for experienced riders).

Whoa - a 996? :eek:

CBR1000RR?? :eek::eek:

I'd look at a Vstrom 600. Or Ducati Multistrada 620. (I almost bought one last week and a couple days before I was going to go look at it again the owner laid it down. :eek::( Owner is okay, bike is not. :(:()

If you really want something inexpensive, get a Nighthawk 750. Indestructible and great bikes for probably $3K MAX, bet you could get a pretty decent one for $2,500.

Yeah but they sound so cool!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp9xPyI8mCY&feature=related

So your telling me a turbo charged Hayabusa would not be a good first bike?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwieel03c-w
:D:D:eek:

NOTHING sounds like a Ducati. Nothing. I am disappointed that 620 I was considering was laid down, but maybe that's a hidden message.

The bikes you named, just as you thought, would not make a good starter bike. :eek::eek: Unless you wanted it to be your last bike. :grim::grim:

Since you hang around here, I suggest you spend some time at bmwmoa.com. You might find a lot of similarities. I ride a 95 BMW R1100R, bought a year ago for a much less than your budget. And please take the Basic Riders Course from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation offered by your local community college.
regards,
Mark

i agree on the nighthawk. i ride a 750 and love it. i have one complaint. it doesnt charge under 1700 rpm. i paid 1500 for it.

follow the above suggestions. take the class. you learn to corner,brake,and avoid road hazards much better than you think you already do(i will bet money on that) my brother thought he knew all and didnt need the class. look where hes at now

Of course im wearing a helmet. The day my face is harder then the ground i wont wear one but until then id like to keep my brain in there :).

EDIT: my dad had bought me one a few months back so i could ride his suzuki gsxr 1100 but was to scared of the engine size.

Thats what my friend was telling me, but the price of the bike is what makes it very attractive.

the second choice was a yamaha YZF-R6S, im not to fond of the FZ6's styling. So i may go with that, once i get a couple years of experiance ill probably upgrade to a BMW K1200S :)