Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hey guys,

The names Brian, 22, Sydney, just new to this whole forum thing. Just got my L's 2 weeks ago.
I was looking at getting a ZX2R, but all 6 out of 7 mates with bikes are brainwashing me into getting a CBRR250, the other has a Honda Spider.
I would just like to ask, as a first year rider.
Which bike would i benifit more from, which bike will i learn more from, save more money on - eg. re-sell value "when i want to upgrade to a 6 or 9", maintainenance "parts for the CBR are apparently cheaper & easier to find", get more performance on, and look good on. =P

I really want to get a ninja, but should I move from a CBR to a Ninja later?
Or start my knowledge with Ninjas.. with my first bike.



[Brian], [ba-nong], [daqui]

fuck em, if your hearts set on a baby ninja, get one. Take both for a ride and decide for YOURSELF which you like better, motorcycling is such a subjective thing that if you listen to your mates opinions on what would be a good bike and why, you may very well end up being put off riding cos you brought a bike you don't like to ride.

G'day Brian. If all 7 of your mates have Hoooooondas that should be reason enough to get a Kwaka, shouldn't it I believe the zx2r is more powerful than the CBR250RR (although I suspect there's not a lot in it), but there are some downsides.

- There were a number of Australian delivered CBR250RR's (lots are still grey imports but some aren't), so there is a supply of dealer parts, whereas the Kwak is a grey import only and dealers may not hold stock of parts
- The Kwak will be likely to be more expensive (we call it prestige, but we're biased )
- Both these bikes are getting quite old now

On the upside, the Kwak does come in green and doesn't have a Honda badge on it

If I were you I'd consider broadening my search a little in terms of bike models - a 4 cylinder 250 screamer will go reasonably hard, but for the $$ you spend on one you could buy a nice 250 or 500 parallel twin (GPX, ZZR, ER5) or even a 550 4 cylinder (Zephyr 550) - assuming you're in a civilised state that has LAMS rules - for about half the price of the zx2r, spend a bunch of money on rider training, good leathers, rider training, a quality lid and more rider training, etc, then loose fark all when you offload it in 12 months and buy a zx6r. All that said, if your hearts set on a 250 4 cylinder then ignore all the shit us old farts post and buy one

Welcome to KSRC Brian!

hey ba_bong i,m newish to this website and club as well its your choice wat bike u want funny thing i have a zxr250 c and its a awesome 250 4 cylinder one of the best , shit loads of grunt for a 250 4 stroker love it so much. oh and dam more better looking than the cbr250 and more powerful but not by that much.And i just like mine to bits .yes its hard to get parts and more expensive to run but your choice, fun finding.

hey ba_nong just buy one great bikes pletty of power so u won't get bored of it, oh and also once u go green u won't go back. kwakes rule

hey ba_nong just buy one great bikes pletty of power so u won't get bored of it, oh and also once u go green u won't go back. kwakes rule

i'd listen to dave, buy a zr550 and hose the lot of them , i had one for 7 years and it was a ripper. megacycle pipe and K&N filter and it was prettyfarkinhandy let me tell ya.

and no need to wory bout your mates - it would seem they have no taste anyway.

You could always go for one of the new Ninja 250's. They look great and probably wont be that much dearer than a ZX2R, plus you'll get a brand spankin new bike.
Only downside is that you'll probably have to wait until the next shipment comes in. My local dealer has presold all 13 of their first allocation and they have another 15 on order for the next shipment.

U gotta get wat u like, not watever one else likes! Cause after all u r riding it. Can u get lams ? if so why not something like an SV650... I know its a spewsuki, but u can't get ER6 cause its too powerful!! (well not in tassie u can't)

I had a ZX2R A and i loved the thing, went well, never had a drama, didn't cost much, sold it for more than i bought it so i was happy!

Always get what you like, it's the only way you will be happy. I've never owned either the CBR250 or ZX2R, but aM sure both are very capable bikes. The ZZR is also very capable, although not quite such a screamer.

Which ever you get, stick around here - we will give you stick for riding a Ronda, but it'll be in jest and you can learn a lot from some of the people here.

Also, it is very tempting to spend shed loads of hard earned cash on the 250 in both bling and go faster parts. Chances are you won't be wanting to keep it that long and you generally won't get that money back at resale. Non of the go faster parts will help as much as having a good rider. Get all the lessons you can, think about your riding and practice lots.

I always says, get a cheapo used bike on your L's because your going to drop it.... a few times...

+when it gets in your blood you'll want to upgrade as soon as your onto your full licence.

Used CBR250 - $7,990 + Stamp duty
Used ZX2R - About the same
Both bikes at least 15 years old and getting older. Imports. Hard to find parts. Not enough road or police sympathy to get anywhere near their redline or performance quarter potential.

New Ninja 250 - $7,439 on road. More drive off the mark and fatter midrange than any 4 cylinder, 4 stroke250. 2 year warranty and 12 months rego.
When you come to sell it, it's only a few years old not 17+.

If anybody out there is still considering which is a better option, I can put you on to a Zong Shen distributor so he can sell you 'The best bikes ever built'

Flywheels MC wrote:If anybody out there is still considering which is a better option, I can put you on to a Zong Shen distributor so he can sell you 'The best bikes ever built'

Yes Please

Hi Brian welcome to the klub
Mate as stated above get a cheep bike as your first, so when it gets dropped in the driveway in front of all your mates you can torch it & make it look like you you were ment to drop it I cant see the point of spending up big on your first bike with the risk of damage + the fact the a brand new bike will loose value pretty quick like when you exit the dealership! warrants a look at a cheep bike that will (if cleand up & kept well) retain its valur for a year of two so the investment means you can pretty much break even on the first bike
As far as make or model goes .........do what you want cause its such a personal thing

BikerBoy wrote:I always says, get a cheapo used bike on your L's because your going to drop it.... a few times...

+when it gets in your blood you'll want to upgrade as soon as your onto your full licence.

Yes I think that is good advice. I had a zzr250 which in retrospect I paid too much for. Didn't lose too much on resale, but I could have got something for a lot less.