Entertaining Smaller Bikes

[kgm]

Evening all,

A friend of mine recently got his first bike - a 125 - and so I find I've been riding my own CG 125 a lot more on leisure rides with him (circa 150-200 miles generally) rather than just using it for commuting and local runs. I've got bigger bikes that I normally use but I'm finding the little CG is a lot of fun to thrash flat out down the more technical twisty bits. Probably because it takes a bit more work and is thus more engaging, Despite not actually going very fast compared to the bigger bikes it feels like you are on the wee bike.

The biggest issue with it is overtakes as cars are often slower in the bends. The opportunities are there but it generally means a long straight (and a cooperative driver!), nipping them mid corner or a bit of a run up which means getting stuck through some of the more twisty bits. A 250 would probably fix this problem most of the time.

I know lots of other folk here enjoy smaller bikes or lesser powered bikes also - so which bikes in the 250-400cc range (or similar in power levels) do you find most enjoyable?

[MarJay]

250 two strokes. End of thread.

https://cdn.bcf.44bytes.net/files/small11.jpg
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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.

[redeem ouzzer]

GSXR400RKSP. Can't post pics as Photobucket sucks.
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[owl]

usually take them out for dinner, buy them a few drinks before riding them like an animal
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[pepperami]

Any 250 two-stroke will fix that problem.
However there are so many more types/sizes of bike in the small bore category.
200 twins, 175 singles and twins and so on.

Being a bit large, I use a 250 as my smaller bike and I love it.
The CG 125 is not exactly the most powerful bike, so just get a slightly bigger bike, a 175 for example.

I loved my old Suzuki ts 250 , it was just fantastic on the old back roads.
I now have a Chinese pos (Honley RX3) as my small bore bike and it's great on the B-roads.
On the 125 note, I had a Sachs xtc 125 and it was a fantastic little bike for the B-roads.
The Sachs had White Power suspension, Brembo brakes and a Suzuki engine.
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[M.C]

Interested in 250-400cc bikes but all the good ones seem to be in the past. The new 300s might be a good shout when they come down in price a bit (on the second hand market).

In saying that had I not got a taste of big bikes during my DAS training now, I'd probably be riding a CRF250M now.

[stevo as b4]

Sure there's lots of small bikes that can be alot of fun, and on very different levels too.

As mentioned above, a 400 sports bike might be a good Sunday morning thrash tool, but then again so could a 500cc twin like a CB500, as power is similar but in a less capable but still good enough chassis to have fun.

Going smaller there's a myriad of fun bikes all for different things.

A tuned monkey bike or a sporty twist and go might be a right laugh for going to the shops on or doing unsuitable trips like commuting etc.

Trail bikes can be mildly fun on the back roads, as can the CG125 that OP mentioned. I've had my own fun on these in the past. Small capacity supermoto's, sports bikes, sand/beach bikes can all be fun in their own way too.

100cc two strokes roadsters, and 125-250cc two stroke and four stroke bikes can be lots of fun. I do kind of like 125's alot as there's so much scope for different kinds of bike and of different abilities and attributes too.

Sometimes a high maintenance, highly strung fragile bike is lots of fun for short blasts, and other times a frugal fuel sipper that you know you can thrash all day and it'll be rock solid reliable for long distances with the occasional oil change is fun.

A retro bike or traditional scooter can be fun for summer cruising or the social scene around them.

What most fun bikes have in common for me though is light weight. If a bike is light and easy to throw about, then it doesn't matter if it's 10bhp or 60bhp.

[Rogerborg]

I'm still enjoying my Ninja 250, it was a decent impulse purchase.

If you were looking for a single bike to do anything, I'd want to go up to at least one of the newer 300s for distance work. But as a commuter or on a hit-the-limiter ride, 250 is a giggle. The engine is surprisingly flexible, pulling 30mph in 6th, which I didn't expect. It's a generous tank too, with well over 200 miles in it.

Overtakes still need planning and commitment though, as there's no lazy acceleration on tap. It needs redlined, and you have to be prepared to change up if necessary.

That's the fun of it though, you need to work for it.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[M.C]

[Rogerborg]

Mmm, the Ninja 250 is 170kg wet. It's still the lightest of my current bikes, but lighterer would be betterer (absent cross winds).

KTM have managed to get the Duke 390 down to about 155kg wet, but running with the same disappointing 10 litres of fuel I'd be down to 162 anyway.

Still, we can all have a good laugh at the new GSX-R250 GSX250R. 178kg wet, 24.7hp to the Ninja's 30+. Tuned for torque, sure, but if that's what you're after, Duke it out.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[ZX-7R]

[jjdugen]

For the price of these 'modern' 250 - 300's you could have a Honda cb250 K2 K3. There's a good reason that they are popular in the classic race scene, they go rather well! (And they look like a proper bike!)
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[Moo.]

I have two TTR 250s that i use for commuting and green laning. Nice nimble little bike that has a fair bit of poke, around 25bhp. One is fitted with road tyres and the other knobblies. Can overtake the cars well! It's a really fun bike to throw about, it narrow and tall and doesn't weigh much at all
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A2 Passed 18/6/10

[Robby]

As light as possible. The fun doesn't come from having any power (unless it's a 250cc 2-stroke), but from the bike weighing nothing so you can chuck it around.

I've always been fond of the Honda CB250RS for this reason, and generally being fairly rugged and forgiving. I used to enjoy powersliding mine on a long gravel drive when I was 17. Any bike I've had since then would throw me off.

My Kymco K-pipe 125 was fun for similar reasons, it weighed absolutely nothing - I think it was about 100kg. Like riding a BMX with an engine. Sachs MadAss is very similar, but taking the BMX-with-an-engine concept a step further.

One of these days I'll do an ultra light weight CB250RS. It will cost a horrendous amount and probably never get finished, but the alternative is spending more time with my family, so it's worth it.

[M.C]

I know where there's an abandoned CB250RS What puts me off old bike's the brakes. I was on the limit with the XR in terms of braking, any worse and I think I'd be making regular entries to the spill counter.

And yes KTM seem to be the only modern manufacturer concerned about weight

[-]

TDR250. The biggest giggle on 2 wheels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kxPuzho19g&sns=fb

That noise when it comes on song...Start at about 1.17 in.
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Jaguar S Type 3.0 V6 Sport R, VW Transporter T5 GP LWB Shuttle 140ps DSG.

[kramdra]

If its noise you want. www.youtube.com/watch?v=28U3emrTwbU&t=60

As for CB250 shit heaps... just why?!?!?

[lingeringstin...]

I've noticed that lately there's a few of the old Suzuki RG250 engines coming up on Ebay. I don't pay any attention to the full bikes as they fetch far too much "vintage" money these days but there does seem to be a few engines cropping up. Very small, will fit into anything, and as far as I remember were about 45HP. Surely somebody's got an old monkey bike around that needs an engine?

[redeem ouzzer]

[jjdugen]

X7 not strong!!???? CB250 a shit heap!!!???? You are trampling all over my youth!!!! FWIW, they were both the class leaders in their day, all without trickery or fragility. Maybe its that they were actually usable and reliable that you object to?
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The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?

[redeem ouzzer]

The X7 was never as good as the RD250. Sure it was lighter and possibly a bit quicker, but crap build quality and worse handling. The Yamaha is much stronger and easier to tune (as it's based on a proper racing engine).
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Be a REAL MAN!

[Old Git Racing]

Ultimate entertaining smaller bike has to be a 350 YPVS. Mine still makes me laugh in my helmet every time I ride it. Still valid on a twisty B road against anything.

OGR
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2022 Tiger Sport 660 2019 Street Twin 2003 K3 gixxer 1000 1998 Srad 600 track hack

[chickenstrip]

[smegballs]

I had great fun on an RXS100, which I would choose to use rather than the ZZR6 I also had at the time.

The fact that it was so ridiculously small for my 6'6" body and super lightweight, and you could cane it thru the gears all the time was awesome. Good in ice/snow too!

[talkToTheHat]

I have a friend I sometimes ride with who has a R125. Aside from thinking it's got the same block as an R1 as it says 1000cm3 on one of the case covers (it's the oil capacity) it's surprisingly brisk with an obscene pipe an ECU flash and some badly explained tinkering. I'm not sure he understands what was done, but he paid a fuckton for it to be done.
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