looking for a bike for my gf

[2010FZ6R White Lightning]

first off, i hope this goes better than my last thread i obviously worded my intentions wrong and got flamed and secondly, i dont plan to buy until fall or winter for the following spring. but my gf wants to get into bikes, but she is weak. and is 130 lbs. she wants something that will easily maintain highway speeds for long periods of time but not over power her. she wants it to be very light and agile and not hard to control and forgiving to newbies.yamaha has nothing that fits the bill unfortunately, id love to keep to just yamies lol. i considered the cbr 125, ill mention at this time ill be buying new probably, unless i find the right deal. but the cbr i dont think would like highway speeds for long periods of time. so im considering the cbr250r, and im wondering if anyone knows anything about this bike. will it be good for highway trips, and be able to keep up with somewhat aggressive accelerations?

 

[FZ6R-Canada]

If you are living in Canada, take a look at the Kawasaki Ninja 400r. It has a little more pep than a 250, it's light, and seat height is relatively low.

 

[CrazyCawi]

well it all depends on what you call highway speeds, because the

2011 cbr 250 honda's Top speed: 87 mph (140 km/h)

So to keep up at say 55, thats not going to be a problem consistently, BUT speeds over that your going to way to high in the RPM's to really stay in the engines boundaries, your going to be pushing it VERY hard. Any of the 250 bikes are designed for inner city type commuting and driving. The bike will be very flickable, but IMO way to light on the highway esecially when she gets hit with a 15-20mph cross wind, shell be happy to have a little weight on the bike. IMO your better off getting her a GF 500 Suzuki, or you could even go through the fz6r mod option of lowering it with the link, lowering the forks, and shaving the seat. Itll be a little heavier than the 250, BUT she will most likely be able to manage it better. Not to mention the fact it will work excellent via highway, and give her a very upright position for riding!

 

[CDN6R]

You are right,, the CBR 125R is good for around town and back roads but not the highway. Top speed of a 125R is about 70 MPH and hills really kill it. The CBR250 was recently tested in the April issue oif Cycle World (250 shoot out, CBR vs Ninja). Basically the Ninja has more power,faster top end but being a twin needs to shifted and reved more than the Honda. However the Ninja does have a BIG following and lots of aftermarket stuff avaliable for it. The top seed of the Honda is 87MPH and the Ninja is 93MPH and the Kawi is faster in 1/4 mile too. However the testers say the Honda is a tight little package and seems to have a higher build quality. Me? If I had to choose the Kawi or Honda,,,give me the Kawi...it is proven.

 

[CDN6R]

BTW White Lightning,,, I am sorry (I hope to speak for us all) that you feel that you got flamed. It really was not my (our) intension. We all were just conserned about your safety and not knowing anything about you, we assumed,,, (yeah I know,, assume makes a ass of U and me) that you were new to motorcycling and not much experience... SORRY.. I hope that you stay with us and feel free to ask us any questions. Laurence(Laurie)Potter

 

[Rookasaki]

I would go with the Kawi 250R. In my opinion its the best bike. She will learn and grow on that bike... Heck, I wish I had one. It would be fun to take out the 250 now and then.

 

[CDN6R]

Yeah Rook,, I would not mind having one myself. The nice thing about a small sport bike (250-350-400) is that you can use ALL the power band (Ring it's little neck!) and have a blast doing it and not get your self in any serious trouble. In the past I had a 82 RD 350 L/C and a 83 RZ 350 and I WISH I had never sold either of them. They were so much fun to ride.

 

[CDN6R]

If you are living in Canada, take a look at the Kawasaki Ninja 400r. It has a little more pep than a 250, it's light, and seat height is relatively low.

I wish in Canada we could get this Honda (de-restricted) I think this would be awesome. CB400 | Naked | Honda Motorcycles Australia

 

[CDN6R]

I kind of like this too!CBR600F | Sport Tourer | Motorcycles | Honda (UK)

 

[Superzoom]

From everything that I have read on the CBR250R, it looks like a fantastic, if not ideal, beginner's bike. FI, almost as much power as the Ninja 250, light, optional ABS, and certainly enough power for a full year or more of ownership for a beginner who's not into riding really fast. I'm pretty sure these are a loss leader for Honda, as they are priced very competitively.

I'd look into one seriously.

 

[CDN6R]

I am sure that the Honda 250 is probably a good bike but the 250 Ninja (I believe) is made in Japan , where the Honda is made in Thailand, like the CBR 125R. I know people who had 125R's and some had quality problems with the transmission (false neutrals between 5th/6th gear) and popping out of high gear.

 

[2010FZ6R White Lightning]

thanks for all the input guys, and yeah i plan on sticking around. ive learned alot from these forums already and hope to keep learning with every visit. im hoping to keep the price range around 5 grand or less. used is not out of the question but i do prefer fuel injected over carb because i can already feel the headache coming on trying to explain how to use a choke to my gf lol. and they are generally less finicky all around. and yeah i read that article of the 250 shoot out between the cbr250r and kawa, between the 2 i think id rather see her on the cbr250r. 120 km an hour is the highest cruising speed we would maintain for a long period. do you thin kthe 250 is up to it? the other option is i still have my first bike, a 82 xs400

overall its in good condition but it struggles to maintain 120 with my fatass on it, and it needs a little tlc. it needs a battery, front tire, choke cable is seized, and will start first crank everytime above 10 degrees celcius, and wont start at all when its colder than that which is a pain in the ass. also im a sucker for creature comforts like a gas gauge. i thought about teaching her on this at all but im hoping to find something that cruises a little lower rpm on the highway in the same engine size/performance range.

 

[CDN6R]

Well since you have the Yammie 400,, spend a little $$, and let her give it a go.

 

[2010FZ6R White Lightning]

if thats what im going to do, i need to find a way to make it more reliable to start. im a mechanic apprentice by trade, but they dont even teach carbs anymore and i cant figure out why it only starts in the warmer weather. even on a hot day, if the morning was cold it wont start. but if its a hot morning itll start first turn over.

 

[jmun]

My first bike Jan of 2010 was the Kawi 500R- never rode a MC before then, 40 years old 5'10" 215 lbs. Did about 2 months of research and pricing, staring and comparing; appeared to be the best option for a beginner. Theres not so much power that it will get away from you but its meaty enough to run hgwy with 0 problems, extremely nimble and forgiving. I am approaching 20K miles since I purchased it- and it appears to be running just as smoothly as day 1. On this forum looking to upgrade to teh FZ6R- I would absolutely recommend the 500 to anyone starting out- you wont get bored with it after a couple months like Ive heard so much with the 250s. If you cant find a 500, they Finally stopped making them in 2009, then go with the 400 as previously posted.
** the 500 is not FI, the only drawback I have, takes a bit to warm up.
Good luck to you and yours!!

 

[iSpoolin]

My girl weighs 96 pounds and stands 5'4". She sat on a Ninja 250R the other day and she said it felt perfect. I took it for a test ride (Seeing as she has no bike liscense) and it held my weight just fine and picked up alot faster then I thought it would. Accelerated aboutt he same as a 08ish Mustang GT (I know its a bike to car comparison but thats about the only thing I can compare to as the 6r is the only bike ive road.) I weigh 174 lbs and stand at about 5' 10"and it was still a very fun little bike, but in 4th gear at 45 MPH I was already getting up in the RPMs :S

 

[DakinechicK]

Okay I have to put in my experience here....(I copied this from another similar post, so if it sounds repetitive, well, it is. )

I am 5'1" and 94 lbs. I have had both the Ninja 250 and the FZ6R and here is my 2 cents on them.

-The 250 I outgrew in a matter of 2 months. It was definitely a fun bike to have around, but not hardly enough power between the legs, even for me. I'm saying this from personal experience... it IS underpowered, even for a 94 lb chick.

-The FZ6r is SO similar except for the fact that it has more torque but can be controlled easily by a beginner!

-I lowered both the bikes and could flat foot on both of them. Does NOT change the way it drives, handles or performs. I don't like when people say that.

-I dropped both bikes the first week I had either of them. It's not a matter of how much the bike weighs. When it starts to tip wether a 250 or a 600 for someone our size....both bikes will go down. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that's the reality.

-You sit more upright on the FZ6r, so its so comfortable for a beginner, not being hunched over or anything. When maneuvering you won't feel a weight difference between the 250 or the 600. I'm light and they feel the same when doing U-turns or sharp corners, etc.

-The 250 is carburated so it takes a good long time to get it up and running while the FZ6r is Fuel injected so once started, it's ready to go!

She won't outgrow it as fast and after her first few rides will enjoy it a lot more than she would the 250. If you go with something that small, outgrowing it comes a lot faster than a 600. My fiance feels he wasted money on the 250 because I wanted to get something bigger almost right away. And, in a way, we did lose a little money selling it.

I know it sounds like I am against going the 250 route, and I'm sorry, but I am.
Keep in mind, I'm an extremely girly girl too, so it's not the fact that I'm this hardcore chick. I just want to have a good experience on the bike and the 600 is the one that does it for me. Good luck!!

 

[2010FZ6R White Lightning]

thanks for the input everyone. thats lots to think about.

 

[2010FZ6R White Lightning]

well now im going off topic, but i need a battery, front tire, choke cable(lubing it helped, but is still sticky) spark plugs, and a carb rebuild kit. does anyone know where i can find all of these items online, for hopefully cheap since no matter how much i sink into the bike its still a $500 beater bike.

 

[CrazyCawi]

ebay would be the first one shop stop