[Jeff in Kentucky]

The quality of the 250cc Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki cruisers and the 250cc Yamaha scooters is probably much higher, but these cost less and would be good for beginners on 55 mph or less speed limit roads:

http://totalmotorcycle.com/reviews/MotorcycleReview-KYMCOVenox250Cruiser2.htm

[madjak30]

Sounds like the cruiser version of the Ninja 250…10,500rpm on a cruiser…HOLY CRAP!!

So, Jeff…are we the only ones still in here…almost seems like everyone else has jumped ship…I hope it is just a lull…but last year at this time this site was pretty active…??

Later.

[Zim_the_Giant]

I believe you’re right (about the bike, that is). The high red line would give it a big power band, making the 250cc’s a little less noticable. However, I’ve noticed in my novice adventures that a lot of people like 250’s because they can get 70 miles on a gallon (sorry for the standard measurements, madjak). At 10.5k rmps, would it really still be that efficient?

[madjak30]

But not if you rev the crap out of it all the time…same as the Ninja…super efficient if you are just riding around normal, but if you need to move quickly…you drop a couple of gears and buzz off…but just shift back to the relaxed ride and it shouldn’t effect the overall efficiency of the bike…

I think it would be an excellent first bike option if you prefered the cruiser style and didn’t want a beast (I mean heavy bike)…the Hp rating is very similar to the Ninja 250, so it should provide the same amount of fun without being in the sportier position…

Later.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

Here is another alternative to the more typical 250cc Kawasaki or Honda, although you pay extra for the full fairing and the luggage storage, and the extra weight makes it more comfortable for long trips compared to the 250s:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/281/4552/Motorcycle-Article/2008-Yamaha-Majesty-Scooter-Review.aspx

[adri]

I’m a Venox owner. 25k km on mine so far, or about 15k miles in 2 years. Just replaced the tires with Metzelers. The bike was omfg-wow before, but it just got so much better.

Here’s the review I wrote after 10k km:

http://ourlittleadventures.com/kymco-venox-10000-km-review.html

I could probably write a whole new one about the 15k km ever since, filled with stories of her always getting me home no matter the weather and how much hell I put her through. Great bike, quality is on par with all the japanese bikes, and outmuscles all the japanese cruisers that’s for sure.

PS: redline is like 12k rpm, I think someone mentioned that, and yes, the powerband is excellent and the bike is really smooth. In North America we only get the carburettor version, elsewhere they get the FI. As long as you make sure your carbs are clean (I run some carb cleaner every once in a while as a precaution) and your throttle doesn’t have a lot of free play the bike is always responsive all round.

I’ve probably put easily over $1k into the bike:
The stock H4 headlight does a great job but I added a lightbar to be extra safe.
There are aftermarket exhaust pipes available but I like the stock ones so I modified them to let out a little more noise without effecting backpressure.
I added a sissy bar and a luggage rack.
I’ve added a 12V charger / cigarette lighter and a RAM mount for my GPS.
Modified the gearing to something more aggressive which actually improves top end as well as the bike comes geared a little too tall.

Does an indicated 155 km/hr… which is 147 km/hr verified on my GPS as all motorcycle speedos are off.

If you’ve got any questions let me know! My site has lots of Venox info so check that out too.

[Author]

Posts