[stu]

sweet. My SFV650 is ACA, the wifes Virago535 is not listed but the Vstat 650 is AAA…

[stu]

With my SFV650, I fill up each morning for 1.3gallons, I do pretty much exactly 80 miles a day. Thats 61.54 per gallon. 3.8gallon tank.. about 230miles per tank..

thats some 60mph straights, lots of 35-45 mph mountains.

[stu]

when you dont want to mess with getting the leg over, thats when you open the door on the sidecar, step in, and have one of your kids ride the bike

[stu]

just think, if you get a ninja 250R for a year, it wont depreciate so you wont loose money on it. spend a year on it, sell it and move on up if you feel the need..

[stu]

I have pazzo’s on my bike, and with my small hands need it closer in toward the bar for less fatigue. Wherever is comfortable is my liking

[stu]

don’t be afraid to buy from the local shop, it helps keep them in business and you never know when you might need them

[stu]

Well, it aint like the bikes in the MSF class. If you let go of the throttle it will throw you like a bronco. If you grab too much, it will throw you like a bronco. The engine braking is so strong on these bikes. They are twice as big and twice as heavy as the MSF class bikes too.

[stu]

don’t discount the SFV650 its a really great bike, just like its siblings its torquey on the low end, engine braking is REALLY strong, so strong if your town cruising you can go without brakes (bad habits!), dropping the throttle on it will stop it dead in its tracks its that strong.

its my first bike and I love riding it, I do find its 400lbs wet weight to be heavy but realised, ANY bike I’d be on, if its going down its going down.

[stu]

Hope it all works out for you, just watch out for that crazy dc traffic

[stu]

motorcycle.com tested some 250cc bikes and the johnny pag engine vibrated so much the bolts fell out of the cooling fan on the radiator and the bike over heated so if your lucky it might have some locktite on it from the factory (apparently they didn’t find this poor design fault until someone took one for a ride…)

—-

The electrical problem stemmed from cooling fan bolts that had backed out due to prominent vibration from the Parallel Twin. As the radiator fan worked itself loose, its electrical connectors were making contact with metal somewhere, causing a short. JPM recognizes this issue; so Locktite-ing the bolts are now part of its PDI servicing. For whatever reason, the bolts on our test bike didn’t receive this treatment.

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anyone on the different forums who has one either loves or hates it and those that hate it seem to have quite a few problems with them. To me that means really bad qa + design. Your shooting in the dark if you get one that is good or bad.

[stu]

I wouldnt put much stock in the comparison of the er6n / gladius, its really splitting hairs the bikes are that close.

I love my gladius, the biggest thing for you would be moving up so much in weight.

[stu]

whoa, I’d definatly stay away from the S83 (1300cc!!) as well as the vulcan 900 and maybe even the ninja 650R which has a lot of torque + hp…

[stu]

well, if your up this way, give a holler Dont think I’ll be riding to CA or TX anytime soon.

[stu]

If you lived near me you could come have a ride on my sfv650 glad

[stu]

motorcycle-superstore.com is your friend for cheap gear! read the comments to take notes on sizing etc.

as noted, dont buy used helmets. this is your life your dealing with, not a hard boiled egg.

do you have a mechanic friend? whom you could take with you to inspect bikes. used 250’s in the 1k price range may come with a lot of problems, just make sure you know what your getting into. find out when it was last serviced, what bits may have been replaced, how much tread on the tyres, brakes, how long has it been sitting unridden? if the engine is cold, does it start first go?

[Author]

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