GPx250R Tips and advice please

rocco · Post by **rocco** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:55 pm

Hello All,

its so good to see a supportive forum.

I am 33 year old male and recently purchased my first bike ever.

A GPX250R 2,000k's on it 05 model= $5,000

I luv the bike, just have some questions bout it.

I dont know if its normal to say this but i feel a tad embarrased riding it when other riders ride past on their gsx1100's and zzr1200's

Forgive the stupid question but I have to ask.

Is their in the bike world the same stigma in the car world where the guys in hot SS commodores and XR8'S laugh at the little guys in ford festivas?

The bike goes like the clappers and looks sporty to a degree but I feel like I may be viewed as a TRY HARD sports bike lookalike. I dont do anything stupid anywhere to look like a try hard ......merely just ride around enjoying a weekend ride minding my own business.

I have had quite a few riders as they ride past give a slight nod of their helmet to say hello and i have ridden past 2 guys chatting on the side of the road on their cbr600f's....no laughs just a stair from them of what looked like interest.

I chose the bike for obvious reasons on getting my L's months ago and now i am unrestricted. The low power of the bike doesnt phase me as I have no intentions of going 180km/h down the road.

Could I please have some honest comments about my post....

Please forgive the newbie questions.

I luv the hobby so much I cant wait till I finish work each afternoon to hop on and go out for a ride.

Thanks guys and keep up the great work on the fourm.

Cheers

Roc

Rossi · Post by **Rossi** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 12:08 am

Welcome to our world

Honest answer is no ....... the bike world is not like the car one, y'see it's like sex.....it ain't what ya got , it's how you use it

A lot of the 2fiddy riders on here that I have ridden with seem to have no problems on keeping up with my 9 ( I know , I know ....I'm an ole fart but I goes as fast as my eyes let me

)

Just enjoy your riding for what it is FUN well at least if it aint rainin or freezing ya bits orf ( when the fugg does it get warmer here ??)

Oh and update your profile to show where in the world ya are and you may find there's someone near you who may like a ride out.

Neka79 · Post by **Neka79** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 12:14 am

gday mate, and welcome...

well, as i see it , i dont find 250 riders as "try hards"..i mostly see em as "dudes on slower bikes"...now the funny thing is, i kno sum guys/girls who can punt little bikes rather well!!

i ride wit ha lot of 250 riders (mostly younger kids im trying to teach and help etc)...it also helps to slow me down (licence and fines etc are getting a bit sketchy)...

i think most bikers are just happy to see another biker out there, regardless of what they ride....we are all fighting for the common good, against one enemy....cages!!

neway dude, welcome, be involved..catch ya on the flipped side (ull get the joke when u kno me)....hey maybe that should be my new quote...

Tack · Post by **Tack** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:12 am

I reckon it's too difficult to generalise because there are a whole heap of different people out there who all have a hugely different preferences.

Some people like Harley's....I personally can't stand 'em. But I can see and appreciate that people have bought an idea, a concept, an image or maybe even a lifestyle. The Harley riders do 'em up and spend heaps on chrome etc and wear leather jackets with patches on em and tassels hangin from their arms and tight blue jeans and wear leather chaps over those and they wear cowboy boots...and an open face matt black helmet and they love it...

Other people like off road bikes...they go out in the bush and camp and build fires and get drunk and and run round naked and fall down and then get up next day and ride and do again....

Some people are into stunting and heavy metal (or noise..whatever)... and get into funny poses with their hats on back wards and they pants fallin down with their fingers at stupid angles...

Some like touring the country on their BMW's on freezing cold winter mornings and sipping coffee from a thermos while looking out at the ocean pounding against the rocks which make interesting shapes and they look at it in wonder......personally all I see is wave action causing erosion.

Some people even like Honda's????

So yes..I reckon there are some people who look at you and think your a plonker....my guess is that most understand that you have to get a 250 and think that one day you'll migrate up to a proper bike.....or their idea of a proper bike...whatever they think that is

So don't worry about what others think.....do what you like...just enjoy yourself...that's all that matters...and remember....

"Judge ye not on the size of steed ye fellow rider travel doth ............
but whether it is a Kawasaki or noth....."

Lainie · Post by **Lainie** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:07 am

Hello and Welcome Rocco.

I also ride a GPX250 and LOVE it. Why would you worry what anyone else thinks or says about your bike

The main thing is that you are happy with what you have and enjoy it

I have found that I have been treated as an equal by most sports bike riders, never have I come across anyone that has said you ride a 250 and laughed.

Be proud and enjoy riding

Cheers

wazza1234 · Post by **wazza1234** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:14 am

Yet another GPX rider. I like my bike and there is nothing you can do to stop me riding it....well except buying it (refer for sale section). They have enough power to get you in and out of trouble and certainly enough to lose your licence on. Most importantly they kick arse in the twisties

mrmina · Post by **mrmina** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:33 pm

mate welcome aboard.

i'm 6'5" and use to ride a gpx250. theres no need to be embarrased. U gotta learn somewhere

Ratmick · Post by **Ratmick** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:02 pm

Mate the GPX is an old technology 250, the wannabe racers go the Babyblade or some exotic Aprilia 2-stroke. The fact you're on a GPX means that you're not interested in that sort of shit, you're there to ride, and hence may be worth knowing

.

They're a top little bike. I had one from new for 15 months, did 11,000km on it before my Ps ran out. I remember riding with my Ls and being outcornered by a postie with a full load on a CT110, so don't be put off by the bigger bike boys

.

mobile · Post by **mobile** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 10:07 pm

Rocco, same goes for me, im on a GPX250 and know full well that I can keep up with the 6ers through the turns, straights are a little different, but as Tack said it is too difficult to categorise, as Smitty says, ride at your own pace, that way you will ride for a long time

mike-s · Post by **mike-s** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 1:51 pm

Firstly congrats on getting a bike, that's the hardest move of all!
Secondly as everyone else has said, no one is that superficial as to look down on you for having a 250, if they do, then frankly i'd be questioning the value of their friendship.

You'll often find the majority of riders have a kinship (aside from those so caught up in their own little clique that is) and will happily talk to you as your filling up at a servo, stopping to get a bite to eat or even communally huddling under a bridge to get away from a torrential downpour.

Live it, Love it, Breathe it.

mohawk miss · Post by **mohawk miss** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 6:35 pm

Hiya Rocco,

I've got a ZZR250, and have been unrestricted for a while, but have no intention of upgrading. My BF has a crap Hoonda 600, and always asks when I'm getting a better bike (as in a Hoonda of some sort) , and his dad has a Bonnie and always wants to know when I'm getting a real bike (as in some kind of Triumph).

But NO biker I've met has ever laughed at, or looked down their nose at, my ride of choice.

Possibly because they're too busy laughing at my helment......

DEN MONKEY · Post by **DEN MONKEY** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 9:21 pm

Count me in for being a gpx learner. Found it to be a great bike and sold it after a year for 2 bucks more than I paid for it.

It had enough guts to move me around when I wanted to move and was nice and light to throw around. Actually I wish I still had it to jump on from time to time to do some tight work.

Alas she is gone but couldnt be happier on the 6 .

I do find that now I have upgraded I do get a few more nods and people chatting to me but its kinda about what you put in to.
If you see some guys on bikes, just stop off and say G'day. You will find most will be happy enough to talk bikes for as long as you want to.

Not to mention they usually seem happy to pass on a few pointers to.

Start with "nice bike" and they will talk for hours and love you from then on.

Enjoy it mate and laugh at all the nongs in their cars at the petrol station as you whizz past.

krafty55 · Post by **krafty55** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 6:44 am

Don't take any notice of the cbr or suzi riders, they're just jealous of you riding a kawasaki, and dont even give it a second thought about those clowns in cars, they're upset about you getting 25k's per litre and getting to the lights a little quicker lol
Enjoy riding its sometimes better then sex, (if you dont get any).

SnypR · Post by **SnypR** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 9:35 am

We are to busy laughing and looking down our noses at V8/turbo cars, to be laughing at other bikers.

The way l see it is, it is just as dangerous being on a 250 than a bigger bike. Cars seem to want to kill all of us, no matter what we ride.

Stereo · Post by **Stereo** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 9:45 am

One day when you are ready you will upgrade to a bigger bike.... I really enjoyed my GPX when I owned it..... I wasnt embarresed.... Its not what you ride, but how you ride it anyway....