[Anonymous]

I am completely new to bikes and have done a ton of research in deciding what would be a good starter bike. I am 23 years old and fairly athletic if that helps at all, about 6’1, and 185 pounds. I also am gonna take the safety class and don’t want anything over 600 ccs as everyone says that is very bad for a beginner. Well these are my choices just want to see if there is anything wrong with any of them or if any would work for me.

Sport Bikes:
Ninja 250r
Ninja 500r
Suzuki GS500F

Cruiser Bikes:
Boulevard S40
Honda Shadow VLX
Vulcan 500

well you have no idea how long it took me down to narrow it down to 6 bikes from just doing research, finding out what would be safe, and what would fit my price range. So any insight would help I am basically just looking for some reassurance I am not making a bad decision. Right now I am really just trying to make the choice between sport or cruiser so it narrows it down to 3. If anyone could suggest which would be better out of sport or cruiser for a complete noob just let me know.

[ShannonG]

Just to let you know, I responded to this over in the other forum.

[smadaakram]

it’s really a matter of preference when it come to sport or cruiser. u need 2 sit on some bikes and see what feels good 2 u

//@R!<

[hbkblue3737]

I know for sure I want a sport bike now and I have been going to sit on them, but look at this…
http://www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/forum/kawasaki-streetbikes-sportbikes/76531-looking-first-bike.html

I want to the kawasaki forums to get more opinions it moves a little faster then this board, and every single person said get the 650 even as a first bike. Also everyone I have asked that rides at all says get something thats at least 600 or I will be bored in no time. Is that just a stereotypical answer I am going to get from people?

From all the opinions I am getting and seeing it is really confusing to know what to start on.

[shaggles]

Most msf courses use cruisers so once you take that you should have and idea what those feel like. In my opinion just sitting on a bike tells you very little about what it’s like to ride. As far as 600+ cc bikes goes Yes that is a stereotypical answer you’ll hear from a lot of people. How could riding a motorcycle every be boring? Read the post on why it’s not a good idea to start on a 600cc sportbike for a better explanation than I could give.

[Matt]

When you read people’s opinions on which bike to start out with, one thing you should look at is: what was the experience of the person making the recommendation?

If “Joe” started out on a Ninja 250 and progressed up to a GXR 600, he’s a good person to listen to when discussing starting on a 250. If he says he got bored really quickly and though he should have gone with a 650 first, it is a pretty useful piece of information.
If he says he had a lot of fun on his 250 and didn’t regret it, that too is equally useful.

I’ve had a few people question my choice of starting on a 250. The “you’ll be bored with it” comment comes up pretty often, and really, it is their only argument against the little ninja. Of the people who think I’ll be bored, none of them have ever ridden a Ninja 250 on the open road. Not have only ridden it for a short while, but never ridden one at all outside of a parking lot.

If all I knew of my bike was how it accelerated in a parking lot, and I knew how the BMW F800 (or even my old Honda VF500F) accelerated in a parking lot, then yes, I too might think the ninjette wasn’t going to be fun for long.

But the fun of the 250 isn’t in the point-and-shoot. I don’t slow down hard for corners then rocket out of them. The fun with the ninja 250 is just how smooth and easy it is to fling around corners. Move my shoulder off centre of the bike, apply some pressure, and hold that throttle. I’ve ridden several hundred miles on bigger bikes. I know that those bigger bikes would not have been as forgiving for the mistakes I’ve made. And I’ve had a ton of fun in the process.
Will I move up to a bigger bike? Yup, I’m not a 250-for-life guy. But I’m not waiting for that next bike, I’m enjoying this one too much.

Of the riders in my office who’ve expressed opinions on the 250:
-One rides a 1988ish Ninja 900. It’ll lift the front wheel without a thought, at any speed, in most any gear. The owner of it thinks my bike is the bees-knees.
-One is a true “Mountain of a man”, who rides a Harley Electraglide, and loves the little ninja having ridden many bikes like it 20 years ago.
-One calls it a “tiny piss-pot” because it doesn’t have a one-litre V-twin (and if it doesn’t have that, it isn’t a real bike).

The Ninja 250 exemplifies “you get out of it what you put in to it”. If you have no intention of improving your riding and just want to experience the rush of acceleration, then no, it isn’t the bike for you. If you enjoy progressing, leaning that little bit harder each time you take that corner, you’ll never run out of fun on the ninja 250.

Oh, and anyone who says you won’t fit on one, hasn’t sat on one. I’m your size (6′ 185 pounds) I find it very comfortable. The seat height is low, but the pegs aren’t high, so you aren’t as compact as on a “bigger” sport bike.

One last point:
Have you ever noticed that almost all the best MotoGP riders moved up from the 250cc class? Most formula 1 drivers started racing (and often keep in shape in the off season) by racing go-karts… There are good lessons in there.

[Marshy]

Great post Matt. I really enjoyed it.

I just passed my MSF course and after riding a 250cc nighthawk, I feel pretty comfortable with buying a ninja with a 250cc engine.

Another good point to look at for us broke guys is the price comparisons. A used ninja I think will run you anywhere from 1500-2500, which is a hell of a lot cheaper than pretty much any other bike. I dont want to spend 4k+ and find out I cant handle or don’t like a more powerful bike. I would rather get a bargain on a 250 ninja and see where it takes me from there.

[Author]

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