Learner on a 250

[Moss46]

im looking for my 1st bike but cant make my mind up of what to get.
i live in new Zealand so the rules for a learner licence are that the bike cane be larger the 250cc. There is no power limit

Im keen on a stroker but dont know which is best (RGV,NSR or TZR).
The police in nz will do you for 111km in a 100km area but know nothing about bikes so i would be keen on puting in a 300cc bore kit.

is all this a good idea or should i just go for a 4stroke 250 4 like my brothers cbr any info would be great

[dotti]

I live in NZ too and have done a lot of riding. I use bikes as my primary mode of transport and average around 500km a week. The following are a list of the advice I would give somebody that is looking for a bike for their learner licence.

Due to the fact that you can get a full licence in 9-12 months, I would recommend getting something cheap and reliable for the short-term, and then moving up to something bigger, say a 400 or 600, in a year or so. If you follow this route then DO NOT BUY A TWO STROKE!!! My brand new KR150 lasted less than 2 years, before it was in such a state that I flogged it off to some poor bugger (I saw him pushing it over the Mount Maunganui harbour bridge once looking pretty pissed off about something... I wonder what that could have been ). The first problems started to become apparent after about 6 months, and by the time I sold it, I'd spent over $5,500 repairing a $3,000 bike. Likewise. my brothers RS250 lasted less than a year before it needed an engine rebuild.

The terrain over here tends to suit 4-strokes rather than 2-strokes. I've done the Tauranga to Hamilton ride over the kaimai's countless times on a variety of bikes and on a 2-stroke this trip can only be described as bike masturbation (you have to change up and down so often to keep the thing in the power band, even on the RS250). By comparison, the GN250 sat in 4th gear all the way up without complaining.

You're right that the cops over here know nothing about bikes. I got pulled over on the Impulse 400 on my restricted licence. The cop checked my WOF, REG, licence. Told me everything was in order and then let me go on my way . Should've been $400 and 20 demerit points.

When I started out with my learner licence, I started out with a KR150. I rode over 500km a week, and got 45,000km out of it. By that time I was on my restricted, and borrowed my brothers RS250 while I found a suitable bike. Eventually I got the Impulse 400, which I used up until going overseas. Got pulled over a couple of times, but the police never noticed.

Now am riding around on a 1982 GN250 and saving for a Boulevard 650. Whilst the RS was more fun to ride than the GN with it's top end power and rev happy nature, in truth the GN is far more practical on the hilly roads over here and more rideable, even with less than half of the peak power.

I think anything less then a 400 could become frustrating for you in the long run (it sure did for me as I had to go from Tauranga to Hamilton and back every weekend). That is why I would recommend a cheap 250 4 stroke for now, and a nice 400cc or bigger in a year or so.

Final note: Stay well clear of RGV250's. They manage to make even my old KR150 look reliable and cheap to maintain.

Hope this helps.

Paul
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Dangerous traffic offences spotted on 50-minute trip: Lost count after 100. Number of traffic cops spotted: One, sitting by a speed-trap camera

[G]

A few notes on the 2 stroke vs 4 stroke.

2 strokes will need more maintenance. If they do not get this, then they will not be as reliable as 4 strokes. They are less good for long repeated distnace work, thanks to these service intervals.

However, a 'major' engine rebuild may well cost less than getting the valves done on a lower powered 4 stroke! These will often be required less often then the valves need doing on the 4 stroke.


In the end, look after a bike (and ensure the person you bought it off did) and you should be fine, while if you buy an abused bike or abuse it, then it's not going to be reliable, 4 stroke or 2.

I'm not sure on what model the KR150 is, but a lot of relatively fast small cc bikes will have problems by the time they get to 45000km.

[dotti]

This is what a KR150 looks like. Once you've seen the colours you'll know what make it is. Apart from the maintainence they're not bad bikes really. I worked out that I spent about 12c (4p) in maintainence and repair costs per kilometre travelled though :

https://www.geocities.com/paul_ruk_tina/kr150.JPG
____________________
Dangerous traffic offences spotted on 50-minute trip: Lost count after 100. Number of traffic cops spotted: One, sitting by a speed-trap camera

[DM]

[mr jamez]

Not that I can comment much, but I have done some work on a TZR250, and it was very easy to spanner. A top end rebuild would be a doddle and they are very simple machines. The previous owner said rebuilds were cheap also (from what he said, cheaper than it cost to do my nsr125 )

[foulass]

4 strokes- require less maintenance, usually provide more torque which is handy if you are lazy and dont like changing gears, more suited for longer distances. can become a bit predictable and boring. (mainly low cc 4 strokes ie 250cc). cbr250 and fzr250s with inline 4s usually have trouble keeping all 4 carbies in tune. and if you blow anything up in the engine your looking at big dollars for repairs.

2 stroke- requires a bit of tlc, chews the fuel, requires engine oil every half a dozen fuel refils, but if you want a rocket on 2 wheels and a smile from ear to ear, go the stroker.

its a give and take thing. 4 strokes whilst they need less maintenance and are fairly economical, they arent as powerful and fun and cost a s*#t load to fix. 2 strokes need looking after, rebuild every 15000kms or so which is inexpenisive as you just pay for the pistons and rings usually and you can quite easily rebuild it yourself. however a 250 2 stroke is about as fast as a 400cc 4 stroke.

disregard the earlier comment about DONT BUY A SUZUKI RGV250. thats horse shizzle. the only problem with them are their powervalves, which if you look after and check every now and then you shouldnt have a problem. plus the later models have better powervalves and are a really good bike. Aprilia bought the suzuki rgv250 engine and that is what they run in their rs250s. so they cant be all that bad if aprilia uses them.

so its really up to your attitude towards riding. if you dont want to have to work on your bike and you just want it to go too and fro to work go the 4stroke. if its fun and excitement you want and you dont mind getting your hands dirty every now and then then go the stroker.

i own both. 4 and 2 stroke 250s. the 4 is easier to ride but the 2 stroke is the most fun youll have on 2 wheels

hope it helps

[Dom_]

Not the old 2t Vs 4t argument, they are both completely different machines and really shouldn't be compared.

If you do not have much knowledge on how to look after and maintain a bike then i say go for the 4t.

[Frost]

[dotti]

[stevo as b4]

Aprilia does use RGV motors but AFAIK they also re-designed the heads and barrels, for them, thats why they are 72bhp and not 62bhp like the late RGV's. The engine in RS250 form seems far better and more reliable for longer than it ever was in the RGV. I know if you look after the RGV and give it lots of PPM (planned preventative maintainence) it will be as reliable as any other 2stroke 250, but its reputation for failure goes against it, and to be honest id much rather take my chances on a KR1S than an RGV. If you want the best most reliable 250's of the lot i would say that the TZR250 Parallel twin and also the Honda NSR250 MC21/28 would take some beating. I love the look of the TZR250R V-twin too, but its very hard to de-restrict and the cranks dont seem to last that long on them.

[Moss46]

cheers for the advice your probably right a 4stroke would be better to start off with and perhaps get a stroker later when i earn more money

[foulass]

Ive never been quoted before *shucks*

i heard a duke 996 flog it past me today
i nearly creamed!
they sound so unbelievable

oh i wish i had the money

you can buy my rgv off me for AU$30000
hahahah

(roughly 10000pounds)
hehehehe