learner

tatman · Derestricted Danger Joined: 20 Jul 2004 Karma :

I've only just got my learner's bike liscence and have never ridden before then. I just bought a Kawasaki KR-1 and have been told by a number of bike people that I'm going to kill myself on it. (I've also found out that its power to weight ratio is rnough that legally I'm not supposed to be riding it Embarassed

)

I obviously need to get good quick... any advice for making the journey a little less painful?

Laura · Playboy Bunny Joined: 28 Jul 2003 Karma :

Stop riding it get something yu're legal on end of story.
____________________
Good girls ride motorcycles bad girls thrash them.

Shaun · Likes 'em bent Joined: 17 May 2003 Karma :

Change the size of you avatar before I kill you. Yes laura is right, change the bike as you are not supposed to be riding it and nobody likes an idiot.

Spiral · Traffic Copper Joined: 17 Jul 2004 Karma :

Yup you might as well sell this unless u can trade it in for a legal learner bike i think tradeins get u a better price than if u sell it not sure if this is true though maybe somebody here has experience in this and could probaly give ya better advice on what to do!

tatman · Derestricted Danger Joined: 20 Jul 2004 Karma :

Well I've spent alot on it and I doubt I could get most of that back if I tried to sell it. I've become rather fond of it but I'm not planning on being an idiot rider.
It's smallish and rather light, just because it has alot of power doesn't mean I *have* to use it right? I can start off in third gear if I have to...

Spiral · Traffic Copper Joined: 17 Jul 2004 Karma :

Ok not to sure what im about to say is 100% fact but i think its close, if u do your test (do a few lessons read up) and pass.

You could probaly ride your bike you have to get a restrictor fitted and get a document in all for your insurance company.

After a year restrictor comes out and your good to go over here it is legal to do this but only if u have passed your test not sure if this applys on the mainland though!

MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

Can I just ask,
Are you from the UK?

Because if you are then you are being VERY illegal. You are not allowed to ride a bike bigger than 125cc on a learner license.

I would imagine that you are from Australia where a 250 is allowed on a learner license.

If you are riding it illegaly then I suggest you either pass your test or buy a different bike. Smile

____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

tatman · Derestricted Danger Joined: 20 Jul 2004 Karma :

Sorry I should have clarrified, I'm from Australia. Over here they have introduced new rules whereby a learner can ride anything up to a 660cc *provided* it does not have a power to weight ratio of more than 150kW/tonne. That's how I got caught out in buying the bike and then finiding out later that it's not strictly learner-legal!

As bad as it sounds, I'm kind of more interested in what I can get away with. Most cops don't have a clue about bikes and certainly couldn't recognise my bike as a KR-1 which is one of the few 250's that is deemed non-learner legal...

I'm more interested in my safety than that side of things. We don't have restrictor things over here (at least not that I've heard of)

Frost · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 May 2004 Karma :

So long as you take off all refferences to its capacity, or even just slap some 125 stickers on it then it should be fine.

so long as you keep the revs below 7000 then the thing should be fairly tame. as its a 2 stroke they have sid all power at low revs but go nuts when the revs get up high enough.

tatman · Derestricted Danger Joined: 20 Jul 2004 Karma :

OK, keep the revs low, I'll keep that in mind Smile

My bike has a custom paint job and no longer displays a big "KR-1" on the fairings which should help conceal things a little. The earlier KR250's are learner-legal because they were under the power-to-weight limit, so a cop would really have to know his bikes to pick me out...

Jammy-G · Banned Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Karma :

McJamweasel · BCF Junkie Joined: 22 Mar 2002 Karma :

dainesefreak · World Chat Champion Joined: 04 Apr 2003 Karma :

Be careful with it, two stroke 250's, especially the KR-1 can be a bit of a handful. They are twitchy little things that are knocking on a bit in age now and don't have the best handling and brakes.

250 sports were all built with GP aspirations and can be very focussed. They don't do a hell of a lot until revved but as a new and inexperienced rider you could quite easily find yourself in trouble fast.

It's a shame that you have the bike at this stage of your biking life as you would benefit more from something a bit easier to get along with. Then as you get more experience and time passes something like the KR-1 becomes something that quite fancy again, but more of a Sunday afternoon toy than daily transport.

Good luck and take it easy.

karen_moomin · World Chat Champion Joined: 11 Apr 2004 Karma :

tatman · Derestricted Danger Joined: 20 Jul 2004 Karma :

Hi guys, I have taken it for a few runs and I *love* it. It's alot easier to ride than the bike I learnt on (Honda CB250), handling and breaks are great and it has more than enough power and torque to last me for a long time.