If a second job comes around...

[get_nick]

they are 3 very different bikes. i currently have a 2006 ninja 250. you need 6 gears because the top speed on the bike is about 110mph. freeways suck, but twisties rock. it all depends on what you are going to own later. if you are going to buy a sport bike, buy the kawi. if you are going to get a cruiser, get a honda or whatever.

what is your budget and how long are you going to own it before upgrading?

EDIT:if you are just trying to learn to ride and want to stay on a budget, get a 2003 ninja 250. don't buy a late 90's. people ride these things hard as hell because all the power is top end. i know i wouldn't buy a used bike if i had the choice. the older ones are uglier than the new ones, but you can find them for $2000.

 

[jamesA]

My budget currently is $0, so I really can't say what kind of budget I'm looking at. This is future reference to if I get a second part time job to pay off things faster. Most of my spare money will end up being dumped into the house now that I have that, but once I get moved in the parts i have for the Si will be installed (finally, yeah I know).

I have to pay off my consol. loan first, which without a 2nd job will take till 2010, with a second job I could dump as much into it and my car loan as I can every month. (179 - consol. loan, 250 - car loan). Without those, I have an extra 429 to play with, plus the second income.

I'd be looking at putting 1000 down on any bike I choose. So on a 3k bike a 2k personal loan will be fast to pay off.

As for modifying it, it really depends on the budget. I might do cheapy things here and there, exhaust pipe, etc. (uh... what are some worthwhile mods for a bike? haha) But I'd probably want to end up paying it off before seriously getting into modding it.

 

[reckedracing]

i wouldn't be afraid to go with an older 250
mine was a 1990 and i think the odo broke at 40K miles and it was ran hard its whole life and i never had issues with it

i found a local 1993 ninja 250 missing the lower shroud for 1300, but i'm real far from you

 

[SiR_crx]

just from my personal opinion on what i've done... pick up a used 250 ninja (trust me it'll be cheap) insurance isn't bad... kind of a quick little bike for its size... really fun to throw around on curved roads... not gonna get 70 MPG maybe 45-50 if your lucky... but its worth it... learn on it and sell it when you get comfortable... the motor is bullet proof... nothing to worry about...

 

[reckedracing]

not gonna get 70 MPG maybe 45-50 if your lucky...

i got better than that and i drove that bike on redline all the time

 

[jaylo]

dude don't buy anything less than a 600cc. most of the bikes these guys are talking about are not great bikes. If you buy a 250 or 500 I guarantee by the end of the year you are going to wish you had something bigger. If you become a bike enthusiast you will see what I mean when it happens. I have been riding for 13 years on sport bikes and have had everything from cbr600 to r6 to gsxr-600 to gsx-r 750 and now have a gsx-r 1000. Which if you are a beginner rider stay with a 600 because it is plenty enough power but not too much that will scare you. 250's and 500's are weak and they are ugly as hell. Get a real sport bike and get a 600 or above. I prefer GSX-R because they have a lot of power and are not over priced compared to Kawasaki and Yamaha. Honda's I think are the cheapest but I don't like the comfort of them. Good Luck

 

[get_nick]

dude don't buy anything less than a 600cc. most of the bikes these guys are talking about are not great bikes. If you buy a 250 or 500 I guarantee by the end of the year you are going to wish you had something bigger. If you become a bike enthusiast you will see what I mean when it happens. I have been riding for 13 years on sport bikes and have had everything from cbr600 to r6 to gsxr-600 to gsx-r 750 and now have a gsx-r 1000. Which if you are a beginner rider stay with a 600 because it is plenty enough power but not too much that will scare you. 250's and 500's are weak and they are ugly as hell. Get a real sport bike and get a 600 or above. I prefer GSX-R because they have a lot of power and are not over priced compared to Kawasaki and Yamaha. Honda's I think are the cheapest but I don't like the comfort of them. Good Luck

spoken with true ignorance. the guy hasn't been on anything with 2 wheels other than a bicycle.

you might be a rare case, but 99% of people who start on a 600+, wreck a 600.

do yourself a favor. get a 250, ride it for 3 months, move up to a 600. it's as easy as that. there are 324325652365 people who think the same as you and will buy your old 250 for exactly what you paid for it.

 

[jaylo]

spoken with true ignorance. the guy hasn't been on anything with 2 wheels other than a bicycle.

you might be a rare case, but 99% of people who start on a 600+, wreck a 600.

do yourself a favor. get a 250, ride it for 3 months, move up to a 600. it's as easy as that. there are 324325652365 people who think the same as you and will buy your old 250 for exactly what you paid for it.

guess what buddy when you want to see if I can ride or not come see me, I have been riding motorcycles since I was 5 years old, with 8 years motocross racing experience and like I said 13 years riding street bikes. A bike will only do what you make it do, I instructed a motorcycle course in Grafenwoehr Germany for 2 years and seen many people follow my guidance and gues what, no accidents. Most people who wreck bikes try to ride beyond their experience level in order to keep up with more experienced riders and those are the ones who crash. You can hurt yourself on any bike whether it is a 250 or 1000 all the same. But if you want to save yourself money in the long run start with a beginner sport bike like a 600 and you will enjoy that bike for longer than 3 months.

So Mr nick get your head out your ass and understand what I am saying. It's not always that easy just to get rid of a bike if your not in the right community without losing money and who the hell would want to lose money. You can buy a brand new bike for 99 bucks a month and be happy for a couple years rather than a couple months.

 

[get_nick]

guess what buddy when you want to see if I can ride or not come see me, I have been riding motorcycles since I was 5 years old, with 8 years motocross racing experience and like I said 13 years riding street bikes. A bike will only do what you make it do, I instructed a motorcycle course in Grafenwoehr Germany for 2 years and seen many people follow my guidance and gues what, no accidents. Most people who wreck bikes try to ride beyond their experience level in order to keep up with more experienced riders and those are the ones who crash. You can hurt yourself on any bike whether it is a 250 or 1000 all the same. But if you want to save yourself money in the long run start with a beginner sport bike like a 600 and you will enjoy that bike for longer than 3 months.

So Mr nick get your head out your ass and understand what I am saying. It's not always that easy just to get rid of a bike if your not in the right community without losing money and who the hell would want to lose money. You can buy a brand new bike for 99 bucks a month and be happy for a couple years rather than a couple months.

i wasn't talking about you not knowing how to ride dumbass. i was talking about the guy who started the thread. he hasn't ever ridden anything and needs to start small. if you think he can start on a 600, fine. teach him how to ride. and if you talk him into it and he wrecks, you can have that on your conscience.

 

[jamesA]

Jesus Christ, jaylo. You've been here for two months and I don't give a fuck about your abilities. I trust nick for more than one reason, I don't know you so your advice and bickering is falling on deaf ears.

If you're going to bicker in my thread get the fuck out and shut the fuck up, ok?

I'm a beginner and I have too much to live for to start off on a non-beginner bike.

I can guarantee you that I'll be happy with a 250 bike, I'm happy with a 160 hp outdated Si that is almost 7 years old.

 

[jaylo]

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

whatever man have fun

I just gave my advice and got jumped on by nick, whatever you do ride safe and have fun.

 

[get_nick]

I trust nick for more than one reason, I don't know you so your advice and bickering is falling on deaf ears.

I'm a beginner and I have too much to live for to start off on a non-beginner bike.

I can guarantee you that I'll be happy with a 250 bike, I'm happy with a 160 hp outdated Si that is almost 7 years old.

thanks man. me and wrecked both have experience on the 250. heres a few links for you to.

Kawasaki Motorcycle Forums

this page here made my decision for me. Main Page - Ninja250Wiki

R6-Forum.Com - R6-Forum Community

 

[get_nick]

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

whatever man have fun

I just gave my advice and got jumped on by nick, whatever you do ride safe and have fun.

i didn't jump on you one bit. all i said is that you are an exception to the rule. thats it. then you went on a rant about how good you are. bah. i hate arguing on forums. i'm sure you could teach me a lot.

 

[jaylo]

ok sorry man but seemed like you jumped on me, anyways I'm out so good luck

 

[jamesA]

Are you on that forum, nick? I think I'm gonna sign up, and thanks. haha I was looking at that wiki page earlier today.

 

[get_nick]

i'm on the r6 forum

you can hit me up on aim if you want. it's sil80nick

 

[jeffie7]

I can guarantee you that I'll be happy with a 250 bike, I'm happy with a 160 hp outdated Si that is almost 7 years old.

You'll be happy with it until you either ride with someone else or sit on another bike.
If you ever do, trust me you'll sell the 250 quicker then anything else you've ever owned. I've spent time on a ninja 500 and it was a nice little bike, super slim kind of like a dirt bike, no doubt a nice cheap bike but when it comes to really spending some time on a bike, I'd hate life if I had to spend any real time on a 250 or even the 500.

The thing that makes buying a 250/500 easy is they are as easy to sell as they are to buy.

As far as the helmet comments.

"You dont Need a Madd expensive helmet to get the same protection, the more price of helmets only go up because they add stupid crap like 50 vent holes or a better design, there all DOT approved"

a cheap helmet IMO (if its fitted right) will protect you just as well as a higher dollar helmet. however the difference is buying a pair of dress shoes at payless, after 2 hours you're feet will hate life, spend 200-300 bucks on a pair of shoes and you could wear them day in and day out and your feet feel great.

I have a HJC helment and a shoe-i talk about a world of difference.

 

[jamesA]

never had a problem with my payless shoes. lol

I don't have any bike friends, and the only bikes I've ridden on are harleys when I was real young. That's like saying you'll hate life in a civic after driving a faster car like a mustang or camaro. I've driven both and i still love the ol' Si. But I see what you mean.

 

[posol]

a 3900-4000 dollar loan on a bike isn't going to take more than 3-5 years to pay off.

IMO, you cannot afford a motorcycle at this time. You might want to re-think this whole thing.

If you don't want my word on it, ask Suze.

 

[jamesA]

IMO, you cannot afford a motorcycle at this time. You might want to re-think this whole thing.

If you don't want my word on it, ask Suze.

huh? I didn't say RIGHT NOW.

Second job... my getting... having more income...

??