Need Some advice on first bike

[Dinga]

Hi all, i'm new to this forum and am looking for get my learners licence, I live in Australia and from what i've read alot of people on here are from the UK? in Aus we can get any bike that has a power to weight ratio of less that 150kw per tonne. A list of bikes approved can be viewed here (is quite big so didn't want to post it).
https://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/tests/motorcycleridertrainingscheme/motorcyclesnoviceriders.html
Basicly its all the 250's bar 4 and there is a heap of others upto 650cc's

I am quite big 6'2 weight almost 100kg and am well built so alot of the smaller bikes make me look a tad like a clown, i'm looking for a sporty road bike second hand, I will hopefully keep the bike for the duration of my L's (6 months) and most of my P's (2 Year's) so I dont want something that i will grow out of, so im just wanting any suggestions/comments/advice.

Thanks in advance

[Laura]

I am afraid I cant help you as I don't no what bikes are on you're list have you got a link?
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Good girls ride motorcycles bad girls thrash them.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Not sure on the list (cannot see a link). However given the restriction you have to live with I would be tempted with something like an early TZR250. For a sports 250 they are reasonably roomy. Failing that I would probably say a single cylinder off road style bike.

At least your petrol and insurance is dirt cheap! Pity about the cost of rego.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Dinga]

The link should work now, sorry about that, thanks for the fast replys though

[Dinga]

Oh come on can anybody help me? 61 views and 2 reply's (not counting mine).

Even if people give me a few tips on what to look for when checking a few bikes out, how many km's is too many? Anything else Ii should look for that would indicate whether a bike has been mistreated or not?

What do you people think about the Honda CBR250 or Kawasaki ZZR 250 for a learner?

[dainesefreak]

The CBR250 seems like a nice bike, not too sure how much room you will have on there though, I would say the same for the 250 2 strokes.

You would probably find that you have more room on the Kawasaki ZZR250, it looks physically bigger. Chatted to a priest who was riding one (don't ask). The 250 2 strokes can be a bit highly strung if you don't know what you're doing and need a bit of TLC.

The Honda CBR revs to somewhere around 18k I think, I'm not too sure what the reliability is like as I've never seen one in the flesh. Being a Honda it's probably not too bad, M1ke has one, drop him a line for some more info.

The Kawasaki is the most straight forward bike of the lot and probably not a bad bet.

Had a quick browse of the list but I'm not too sure about too many of the machines on there really. We tend to only deal with 125's, 600's, 750's and 1000's over here, most of the manufacturers seem to not import anything else to the UK and I've only ever owned sports bikes myself.

Good luck with the training.

[Dinga]

Thanks dainesefreak, I have been looking more seriously at the Kawasaki, maybe even a GPX 250, thanks for the help though.

A few of the bikes on that list are actually scooters.

Thanks again.

[Kickstart]

Hi

M1ke has a CBR250. Nice enough bike, and he took it on a track day recently and was not hanging round (one of the quicker people in the slow / intermediate group, but people were screaming past in on the main straight). However as a bike it is tiny. The ZZR250 and GPX250 would both be slower (but probably better on petrol), and are both also quite small, possibly smaller than the CBR.

Looking at the list there are not that many sports bikes. The VFR400 is on there, but at your height you might find that cramped (Stew had one, now owned by his better half, and he is a bit cramped on it). The older VF400 is also on there, and that might be better.

If you are thinking of the ZZR or the GPX250s then also think about a GPZ500S (on the list as the EX500). This is a similar engine to the GPX250, but a bit bigger as a bike. Sporting looks (but not a race replica). Handling is OK, brakes are, well, acceptable. Fuel range is VERY good (large tank and good on petrol). Kawasaki claimed 60hp for them, but my better halfs one managed 45hp at the rear wheel.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Dinga]

Thanks for the help, been doing a bit of research on the GPZ500s does look like a better choice than the other bikes, its a bit bigger has a fair bit more power which will give me some room to grow into it. Thanks again.