[Badbulls]

Hi,

My name is Gavin and I’m a total newbie to motorcycles, but have wanted to own and ride one since I was 10. 20 years have passed and after much persuasion to my reluctant wife, I’m about to finally get my license. Initially, I was thinking of getting a 900cc or 1000cc bike like a Ducati or Yamaha, that was until I researched more and came upon this website and decided that smaller is definitely the way to go. I have read that the Ninja 250R and the Suzuki GS500 are the best beginner bikes, however, due to the location that I am in (Hong Kong), these bikes seems to be very rare on the second hand market. I would love to get my hands on a 250R or a 500R, but have not come across any on the Internet or classifides, and I don’t really want to buy a brand new one either. The most popular brand in Hong Kong seems to be Honda. I am definitely interested in a sports bike and have come across a couple of used Honda RVF400 and CBR250RR. Are these 2 bikes suitable for beginners? There are loads of CBR150, but I don’t think there is enough power in the 150. I will be using the bike for daily commute which would include some freeway riding and plenty of traffic jams (similar to NYC I would imagine). Would a CBR600F4 be too big for a total beginner? If I am not able to find a suitable sportbike, then I will have to start considering a standard street bike like a Honda Hornet 250 or CB400, but ideally my top choice would be a sports bike. I’m 5 ft 9, 150 pounds, so a lighter bike should be a better fit. Thanks in advance. This is a great site!

[TrialsRider]

I read it has a gear drive valve train and gear drives are the absolute best design possible for valve drives. Things to be aware of; as beginner bikes go, CBR250RR has an extremely high revving engine and that usually implies they have a power band that comes on strong some point at high revs. The transition between very mild performance at lower revs and tons of power as it finds it’s powerband, can be startling to a new rider, possibly even lifting the front wheel in low gear, don’t over-react if that happens, use smooth throttle control until you become familiar with the engines characteristics, test it out on a fairly open road area or very large parking lot, if such a thing exists in Hong Kong ? CBR250RR also has very low and narrow bars, not the best for beginner riders because they force you into a tight crouch position, and provide reduced leverage for slow speed control, also not great for picking the bike up, if it happens to fall off the kick-stand or something. Motorcycle models in your part of the world are very different than those available in North America, and the law might restrict your selection until you have a full license. This might even be the most powerful ‘Road Racer’ type bike you can operate for a start.
Good to have you on the site, and do keep us updated on your progress.

edit: don’t consider one that is too worn out, they will be complex to work on and relatively expensive to service.

[Badbulls]

Thanks for the informative feedback. Hong Kong doesn’t actually have any large open car parks or spaces to practice riding unless I go pretty far out to the outskirts of town which would mean riding through some very dangerous traffic. If manouverability is difficult on the CBR, then I may need to think of another option as riding through traffic here can prove to be difficult enough. I’ll keep looking to see what other models are available here and hopefully come across something that would be suitable for me. Thanks!

[TrialsRider]

The CBR would not be dangerous to ride slow, only that it is capable of going very fast and you will want some room to really let it go. Any motorcycle with wider bars and an upright riding position is a little easier to learn on.

If roads there are as tight as I can imagine, you certainly don’t want a 1000cc motorcycle, mine rides comfortably between 140 -> 200 kph

[madjak30]

I would think a 200-400cc supermoto would be the best choice for that tight of urban setting…in Canada we don’t really have that tight of living…Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver might come close, but I think there is still more open space in those cities than there would be in Hong Kong…when the traffic and commuting issues are that tight, I wouldn’t want to be learning on a sport bike…get good at riding first, then chase the “cool” bikes…

Later.

[TrialsRider]

I’m from Toronto originally and learned to ride there, but to someone in Hong Kong our cities would almost be like living in the country. Toronto has green belts where Hong Kong would only have Black belts … ( humor intended

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