[Tfug] [OT] WTB: motorcycle

[Chuck Boyer]

My experience with a Ninja 250 is they are good beginner bikes. I was
considering getting my wife one, but the market has such a high demand for
them they move like hot cakes. The only complaint I have heard about the 250
is you will out grow it fast. It will do fine in your standard commute, but
if you want to go to Globe or Patagonia you will be missing on having some
freeway legs. 

I have no experience with the GS500.

I have some experience with the Suzuki SV650. This bike is not as torquee as
it¹s GSXR equivalent, so it is pretty modest in the lower gears. They have a
half fairing look to them popularly called a ³street fighter² bike. It would
be a bike that you would still enjoy after your first 5000 miles.

I agree with Jim, if you get a full fairing bike, take the lowers off for a
while. They are EXPENSIVE to replace.

Chuck


On 7/9/08 2:28 PM, "Jim March" <1.jim.march at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 1:58 PM, Matt Jacob <m at mattjacob.com> wrote:
>> Jim, Chuck, et al.:
>> 
>> How do you feel about the Kawasaki Ninja 250? I can get a brand-new 2008
>> model for about $4000, and then I can be the first person to dent the
>> gas tank or put some scratches in the fairings. :-) I've heard it's a
>> good little beginner bike, and does particularly well around town. The
>> only downside is that there's a waiting list to get one because it's
>> proven to be very popular as of late.
>> 
>> Thoughts?
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> 
>> Matt
> 
> I'm not a big fan of the Ninja 250.  Basically, the motor is high-strung,
> high-RPM, and the valves need adjusting relatively frequently...4,000 miles I
> think?  And they're shim-under-bucket so it's a pain.
> 
> That said, it's not a bike that will kill a newbie.  It's powerband is very
> controllable and it doesn't have any bad handling quirks.
> 
> Try this: call a Suzuki dealer, see if you can find a GS500 (or GS500F) for
> the same price.  Unless they've changed recently, that's an air-cooled engine,
> lower redline, broader powerband, not that much more power over the Ninja 250,
> same basic two-cylinder layout (parallel twin).  Valves are screw-adjust and
> much easier to tune every 6,000 miles or whatever it is...check prices and
> intervals on valve adjustments.  The GS500 has been in continuous production
> since the late '80s and has been famous as a beginner's sportbike.
> 
> Apparently the newest GS500 variants come with a full fairing.  See if you can
> find last year's model (or the year before that?) still new but without the
> fairing.  Or if you do get the fairing model, get them to unbolt it for you
> and ride around for a while without it :).  You might flop over at low speed
> once or twice at first :).
> 
> Jim 
> 
> 
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