ZXR250

[G1_]

I know people get irritated with these which bike shall I buy thread, but...

I am going to go see a ZXR250 over the weekend. What should I look out for, etc ?
I'm assuming it uses many parts from the 400?
I may also be going to see a cbr250 and a bandit 400, similar questions.

Thanks for the help as I don't know as much about the 250's as some!

[WildGoose]

mileage and service receipts

chain and sprockets may give an indication of how its been treated

zxr250 and cbr250 being grey imports, its hard to tell how they have been treated on their home planet, so its always a bit of a gamble, but just look for general tidyness

and look out for rust spots, seized looking bolts, and check all the controls work, surprisingly cbr250 parts were fairly different to the 400 dunno what to expect with the kwaks

nothing major stands out, just work your way through a good once over check
____________________
So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[Robby]

Well, from what i saw of SA riders when i was over there, look for:

Crash damage, particularly minor scuffing on things like bar ends. Check the headstock for cracks. I'm not sure on how the law goes for lying over a sale down there, but make sure you ask the seller directly "Has it ever been crashed".

The usual things like tyre wear, chain and sprockets, check for banding on the brake discs and worn pads.

Also mileage - its a high revving kawasaki 250, so the engine is probably junk by 25-30k. It also wont be incredibly faster than your old RSA, and will have a lot less low down grunt.

Why not just get a bigger bike? you've done the 250 thing, and your one broke.

[G1_]

Thanks for the help!

[mtthwpez]

i used to own a 2xr250h and the only thing it shares with the 400 are its looks and the front forks!
it will do about 120mph,sounds wonderful cause it redlines at 21000
it also behaves like a 2 stroke which is a good thing!
all in all if you can find a good one and you dont mind searching for parts because kawasaki has stopped prducing them its a brilliant machine!

[G1_]

I mainly asked if it were similar to the 400 because I know that the 400 is the biggest. I was more or less wondering how big it was.

I should really decide this before I start viewing bikes but I can't decide which bike to get. I've narrowed it down to nc24, bandit4 or this zxr. I'm probably just being attracted by the zxr's shininess as it won't really be convenient for commuting in traffic when university starts

Maybe I can convince my dad to take me around a few bike shops so I can find out more about the above bikes.

Sorry excuse my rambling, I'm more or less writing down my thoughts as they come into my head.

[mtthwpez]

If you want my opinion go for the bandit4 its a real hoot so im told

[Robby]

Yeh bandit 4 is the best of those bunch by far. The only big grip people have over suzukis, and bandits in particular, is corrosion. You live in SA, its a touch warmer then over here.

If you can go for the bandit 400 with the red cylinder head- this is the variable valve timing version, which means you should get better fuel economy and a better spread of power. Should be a nice commuter as well. Otherwise the standard bandit 400 is still sound for a 400, and should be a touch less revvy than the other 400s. Wait for dem69 to put a reply on here, his RF400 had the decent bandit 400 engine.

NC24. Just no. Its a cunt to work on, the front suspension isn't very good, its quite heavy on petrol (40mpg avg with my riding), and the big back and small front tyres give it strange handling. Oh and no turning circle at all. My car has a tighter turning circle. If you want a VFR4, go for the NC30.

ZXR250 will have about twice the power of the RSA and the same torque. The power is only acheived by revving to 21k, a little more than twice that of the RSA, and all the power is about 12 grand or something stupid - see if goosey comments on here, his CBR250 needed silly revs just to pull away. So basically it can be quite fast, but not a relexing ride by a long shot.

Other ones to look out for would be CB-1, if you don't find it hideously ugly, ZRX400 and its ilk.

Have you looked at bigger older bikes? GPz 500 twin or 550 four are good commuters, the suzuki GS range, and most of the honda CB range. All should be cheap and last quite well down there, all should give a fairly torquey predictable ride, and have enough power, and above all you should be able to get parts for them at a reasonable price.

[G1_]

Ya I am very keen on the bandit (pleanty around here, compared with cb1,etc)
I have a number of good bandits in my list (including some 400v's). How much do you reckon a batery and can will cost?
There is one here for R8,500 (about £780) thats needs batery and zorst. The others are all around R12/13K.

Not really keen on something like a ZRX400 or older suzuki's/honda's. After the CB I am looking for something a bit smarter!

[Robby]

25 quid for a battery, you could get a new road legal micron or similar for about 150 quid for a can, less for a race can on ebay. A genuine one would probably be about 300 quid.

This is uk prices, i'd expect a bit cheaper in SA.

[G1_]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

[Kickstart]

[G1_]

Well I went to see a bandit today and was very impressed!
It felt a lot more powerful than the ol CB , so I was a bit nervous about taking it for too long a test ride.

As people say it does seem to lack a bit of torque at the bottom but certainly felt quick!

I don't know how long we can string along the seller but my dad and I decided that I should at least go have a look at some others before putting down any money.
But overall I could see myself with a bandit, quite possibly that one