I am looking to a good, cheap starter bike. I have herd that the ninja 250s are good. They aren't real fast (good for me right now).
Anyone know how they sound? I have not herd one in person. Will a new exhaust make it sound any like a more powerful bike?
cough cough one for sale in the north central regional forum cough
do a bit of a search, you'll find a few recent write ups on this already, lotsa info in there.
as far as making it sound powerful, not much to make a 250 powerful sounding motor. leave it stock and when u get a bike with real power then enhance it. Or just buy a 600 to start with.
like said, there's no point in modifying a 250.
i bought my 250 for a starter bike. i plan on upgrading this year, after only having my 250 for only a year.
get a 250, learn how to ride. you should also realize whether or not you like it, and a 250 is cheap enough that you won't kick yourself too hard if you don't like it or dump it.
it is a perfect starter bike, and it sounds like that's what you need.
What's the deal with all the people asking about the 250 Ninjas lately?!
IMO....start with at least a 500CC bike. It's up to you, but I wouldn't waste my money on a 250.
500cc means higher insurance premiums
that and a ninja 500 is 5k
MeltdOwn350 aka cOdy wrote:500cc means higher insurance premiums
that and a ninja 500 is 5k
Correct!
Looks like I will be getting a 250 shortly!
Thanks, I figured that if I drop a little more than a grand on a 250, I can learn on it, have some fun cruzing, and then if I like riding upgrade later, if I dont sell it. Also I figure that if I run into money problems during school I can easily sell it...
They are not that much higher....at least they were not for me. I bought my EX500(Ninja 500) for $1700. Why spend $5K for a new bike if you are a new rider?!
Buy a used bike......new rider=Used bike. The 250s don't sound too bad with a pipe.....they sound better with a 2-1 system w/single pipe. I was going to put the slipons on my EX500, but went with a Muzzy 2-1 system and it was LOUD! Had to re-jet the carbs afterwards also.
i heard one 250 without the baffles installed. it was at a motorcycle shop in my area. the salesman was trying to tell someone interested in it that it was a custom performance exhaust! it was really loud, that's it. didn't even sound good with no baffles.
I miss mine, that was a fun, fun little bike. those were good times.
2007 Corvette Z51 | Suzuki Swift GTi SCCA racer | 2008 Edge
It may be the perfect starter bike but you will get bored with it real quick. I started out on a Katana 600. That was fun for the first few rides. Just buy something cheap to learn the basics and once you feel comfortable, sell it. I bought my bike for 2800 and turned around and sold it for the same price after putting a few miles on it. Don't waste your money buying a new 250. Personally, I wouldn't even waste my money buying an old one. Try to find something a few years older in the 600cc range. Who cares about insurance premiums. Compared to a car, bikes are dirt cheap. I think mine was 500 for 9 months.
Well I plan on buying a used 250 (unless I swing a good deal on a new)...
Additional reason.... conviencing parents...
^ good luck finding a 250 that looks like that for sale in america
just buy my bike, it's better
ChrisIDV wrote:It may be the perfect starter bike but you will get bored with it real quick.
Not if you live in a hilly area. 250's rock in the mountains.
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you need a 83' yamaha seca 650 (factory turbo charged), was my first bike, sold it to a friend and that thing is pretty docile when you are starting out, but if you romp on it and get that turbo boosting, it will scare the @!#$ out ya. good times
The Suzuki GS500 is another good alternative. Been around forever and looks fairly sporty. My first bike was a Honda NX250 dual sport and it was a blast and handled good with a sub 300lb dry weight.
my brother has one, he put F1 exhaust on it and sounds pretty decent. original exhaust does have to go though. to quite for my tast. we did top this out at 115 down hill with the wind behind us. but your right it is a good starter bike. The RPM's do get way up there though.
**changes are here**
Ian Brown Music wrote:^ good luck finding a 250 that looks like that for sale in america
just buy my bike, it's better
I can dream... But hey if you got your bike to pass MD inspection and then would take under $3000 I would seriously consider it!
Also I just got back from the local bike shop and they had 3 250's on the lot (one for sale, one on hold, and one in the service dept.). Don't look too bad in person, the one on hold went for $2,700... I also got all the info for the Maryland biker safety course!
I hope youre not a big guy, cause the 250s are small. Im skinny, but 6'2 and I look rediculous on a 250. I just bought a Yamaha R6, first bike, cant wait to get on it!
"Louis, you better watch who you call a child. Because if I'm a child,
that makes you a pedafile, and I'm not gonna stand here and argue
with a pervert" -- Peter Griffin
I am about 6' or 6' 1" and pretty skinny...
The Motorcycle safety course I am taking teaches you on 250s so I will see if I like or not before I buy my bike...
I had a 250 as a starter bike myself. it's a great starter bike and once you get first gear above 7,000 RPM you are good to go. We used to do all kinds of tricks on that bike. It's so light and nibble it's easy to learn and and fun to beat up. DO NOT BUY IT NEW THOUGH. That bike drops in value faster than you drop a dollar in a strippers g-string. Just find a decent used one in the low $1K price range. Also the sound isn't so bad, it sounds like a sport bike in my opinion. And don't waste your money modifying it. Ride it for this year, and get rid of either next year around this time or around September depending on how your riding season is so that you get the best value possible. After you are comfortable on the 250 taking a jump to a 600 is perfect. And take from my experience, unless you are racing don't go above a 600, my 1200 can't even get the slightest use on the street. (this advice only applies to sport bikes though)
^ Yeah I saw your post (after I had already posted though, I am search stupid).
The class I am taking in a few weeks has the 250s so if I feel it gives enough power to last me the year to learn on I will be good to go. I found a couple bikes locally that are around 2grand... I guess that is not too bad to spend if I am going to turn around and sell it the next summer to buy a 600 or something
