[Matt]

The usual reason for tubed tires is that you can’t have tubless tires on spoked wheels. Spoked wheels add an additional layer of suspension which makes them desirable to some people. Other like them because the look pretty.

(side note, a few very high end motorcycles, such as the BMW R1200 have spoked wheels that allow tubless tires, these are REALLY expensive wheels)

The extra suspension provided is one reason so many off road bikes still use tubes. So my question to you is this: Will you be riding your cruiser harder than these people ride their off-road and dual sport bikes?

Some performance bikes (Ducati 1100GT) come with spoked (and thus tube) wheels. Several owners have commented that swapping the wheels for lighter cast rims (which also allows the removal fo the tube from the tire, futher saving weight) makes the bike much more sporting. However, the fact remain that Ducati feels confident in the wheels and tubes abilities to stand up to the rigors of riding.

So yes, I think it is pointless to worry about this.

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[Matt]

Kymco is a Taiwanese factory that produces Hondas (and has for more than 30 years). They’re QA is just as good as Honda’s because, well it IS Honda’s. Service and parts will be entirely dependant on your local dealer. My local Kymco dealer is a pretty big dealership (They also sell Kawa, BMW, and Ducati), so service is great, not sure on parts.

A modern 250cc is a solid bike.

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[Matt]

Yea, I’ve seen those headlamps used as replacement lamps on crashed Ninjas.

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[Matt]

i’m guessing you don’t have prescription glasses… Anyone know if these flip down sunglasses fit over prescription glasses?
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[Matt]

Same way people used horses, buggies, and walking as primary modes of transportation: Patience.
If the weather sucks, you wait it out as long as you can. If you can’t wait it out, you endure it and call it “character building”.

I fully agree, riding in torrential downpours is rough.

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[Matt]

I recognize the aftermarket headlamps, and that front wheel is really skinny. What type of bike is it? What country are you from?

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[Matt]

Not sure I understand your question. But the D rings are *how* you attach the helmet, if that is what you are asking. threading the strap through the d-rings in the specific manner makes for a very simple and extremely secure attachment mechanism. Much much better than plastic clips use on bicycle helmets.

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[Matt]

Whatever fits your head.

I love my Arai Quatum II. The new ICONs are nice too.

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[Matt]

Mwahahaha we will take over the world!

Or at least Vermont… wait, I think we may already have Vermont…

I declare a celebratory kitchen party!
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[Matt]

Two thoughts on this:
Many survey’s have shown that the majority of people consider themselves to be above average drivers, often in the 80%-90% of people range. Simply put, we all over-estimate our abilities as drivers. I consider myself an excellent driver. Yet I know that even still I make stupid mistakes from time to time…

Secondly, driving skill, even driving observation, simply do not translate to the biking world. The sensory inputs you get on a bike are much more intense on a bike, and the required reactions are so different, and what you do in emergency situations are so different (in a corner, a car can slam on the brakes, a bike cannot), that the only true overlap between the two is reading subtle traffic clues (ie knowing that car A is about to cut across your path without warning).

What I am saying is: To be a good rider requires time in the saddle, and frankly, it requires making mistakes in the saddle. Intellectually knowing how to handle a situation on a bike is only useful when you have the time to think things through. When it really matters, you won’t have that time. You have to have done those mistakes before and taught your body how to handle it. The MSF only starts you on this path by showing you how to correctly handle a bike, and giving you some of the intellectual knowledge of how to handle “real world” riding.

You have a choice, you can chose a bike that is forgiving, and will let you make those mistakes without much more than a small scare, or you can chose a bike that is faster, more stylish, and expects you to already know how to handle those situations. With a SV650 or a 650R, it probably won’t out-right bite you like a ZZR-600 or CBR-600. But it will not be as forgiving.

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[Matt]

Absolutely not a good bike. It is simply an older ZX-6R. Read the “Why a 600cc is not a beginners bike” article.

At your size, you do not need a bike bigger than a ninja 250.

Having sat a ZZR-600, it is actually more cramped and less comfortable than a ninja 250.

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[Matt]

Technically, they did make a 250cc sport tourer, the ZZR-250.

What is a “sport tourer”? A bike that can tour comfortably for a long distance and be sporty in the twisties.
Frankly, there are two types of sport-tourers, big touring bikes with big sport bike engines (Concours, FJR, F800ST) and then are smaller sport bikes that are last gen, and have their head angles slackened and a more padded seat added (ZZR-600, Katana, VFR, although it was last a race bike 15 years ago and has just kept being developed as a road oriented bike).

A motorcycle is a motorcycle. People ride up to Alaska on cruisers, gold wings, CBRs, R6s, Ninja 250s and DR200s. People have circumnavigated the world on old 350cc Enfields and Nortons.

What can a VFR do that an SV650 with a windscreen and luggage cannot do? Or a Ninja 650 with locking givi bags (which btw, really is all it takes to turn that bike into a sport touring ride, lots of people really like the 650R as a sport tourer).

Take pretty much any motorcycle, change the seat to an aftermarket, and maybe put bar risers on it, and then add luggage, and you have a bike capable of taking you across the country.

Heck, a guy just posted on Advrider about his multiple trips across the US on a stock ‘busa, with his girl friend pillion the whole way!

The reason big bikes are used as sport touring bikes is simple: People want to load up everything they can, while still accelerating like the bike is unloaded and cruise smoothly well above the speed limit.

If you want one of the best sites dedicated to sport touring (and in fact, the people who designed the Sport Touring Advanced Rider’s Training course) look at CanyonChasers.net – Read their trip reports, and look at the bikes that come with them on their trips. Yup, lots of proper sport tourers, but also full on sport bikes, old standards, everything but cruisers in their ranks ( http://www.canyonchasers.net/travel/2008/md08.php ).

Read the roadwarriors section of advrider, or the quest section of ninja250.org – every bike imaginable has gone on a long, fun and rewarding trip.

Thinking bikes have to fit into some nothing more than specific niche is glossy marketing.
Ride what you bring.

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[Matt]

I was going to say “my next bike will have adventure aspirations, a Wee-Strom or a Versys type bike”… except, I prefer the seating style of my ZZR-250, and I’ve already learned it can do dirt and gravel roads… so yea… I have no upgrade plan. I’m simply enjoying what I have (I just wish they made Trail Wing tires for it!)

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[Matt]

Spaz, it is a good thing I wasn’t drinking anything when I saw that or you’d owe me a new keyboard!

Wow

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[Matt]

Rossi doesn’t stick his foot out because his bike is setup so his foot is high and back, hard to get it off the peg and straight in front of you. Sticking your leg out is about best using your available weight transfer. It lets someone on an upright bike move their centre of gravity off the bike and low. If he just crouched and hung off the seat (MotoGP style) his centre of gravity would be higher.

And as for defending the SM rider’s skill, I’m not. I’m just saying the technique is a valid one.

I don’t think anyone would say the Ninja rider is a MotoGP star either. But I’m not really in a position to critique his riding. Yes, following the inside line cuts visibility, but it gives you space with the oncoming traffic (I know when I’m leaning I much prefer to be as far away from that yellow line as possible).

For me, the point of the video was simple: It shows that in real world riding, a Ninja 250 can play with the bigger bikes and does not need to be treated as an “underpowered toy”.

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[Author]

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