250 noobie question

[Method]

Allright this is going to sound pretty newb but hey,
Basically my GS is going, end of story. Im basically after a sports bike to last me till the end of summer, a bike i can do a bit of semi-long distance on, and still have great fun racing round the town. Ive been speaking to a certain person and his view is that a 250 2stroke would have the same kind of top speed of my GS but would suffer under long distance runs... and 250 4strokes would have about the same performance and top speed of my restricted NSR? Top speed around 80-90mph with the acceleration to suit... please someone just give me a reliable answer lol 250sports bike, top speeds, acceleration, comparison, etc.. and ill love you lots! i promise!
____________________
CBT Aug '03 ... Gilera GSM 50 ... Honda NSR 125 Aug '04 ...
Full Test Dec 04... Suzuki GS500 Jan 05... Suzuki SV650 Mar 07... Gixxer 6 K5 May 08... Oh and my 'Rado
My Bikepics.com - No Brakes, No Gears... No Fear.

[palmer]

you can actually get some pretty nippy 4t 250's, ive seen some do cadwell at over a ton.

im not sure the names of any though... sorry

[veeeffarr]

FZR250

Just seen one near where I live get sold for 1500, Brembo brakes, Datatool etc.

They make about 40 BHP, have an 18500k redline, and sound nice as hell!

You will probably get about 115 out of it and I can imagine the acceleration would own the bollocks off of an NSR.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Of the 250 2 strokes, the TZR250, RGV250, RS250 and KR1S would all be substantially quicker than your GS500, with between 45hp and 60hp. The RS, RGV and KR1S seem to be reliable if treated well, but pistons are a service item. The TZR seems to be far more reliable, but is older, slower and poorer handling.

Of the 4 strokes the only modern ones imported really were the GPX250 and the ZZR250. These are both very close to 33hp (suspect that in reality they are under 33hp, but marketing claims were around 36hp). However you have to rev the knackers off them to get any performance, and they are barely any quicker than a full power 2 stroke 125.

There are also the 4 cylinder 250 4 strokes such as the CBR250. These are pretty quick, but again will mean revving the engine hard. Performance wise they would be quicker than the GS, but slower than, say, a TZR250 (let alone an RGV or KR1S).

Going older than that and you are looking at 250 Superdreams and the CB250RS, and the equivalents from other makers. On these a modern 125 full power sports bike would be substantially quicker.

Personally, fix the GS500.

All the best

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

[Frost]

2 stroke 250:
60bhp
120kg (very light)
Top speed around 130
About as comfortable for long distance as being repeatedly kicked in the balls by a football player.

Sports 4 stroke 250:
40bhp
135kg (light)
Top speed around 115
Not an idea long distance bike, but alot better than a 2 stroke.

Commuter 4 stroke 250:

NSR125
28bhp
130kg
Top speed 95mph

NSR125 (Restricted)
14bhp
130kg
Top speed 70mph


A 4 stroke 250 is a hell of alot quicker than a full power 125. Not as quick as a 2 stroke, but cheaper to run and better for commuting. bloody expensive though.

[winwick]

who ever you've been talking to is full of crap.
you cannot compare a 2 stroke 250 to a GS500.
my wife rides a gs and i've got a kr1 and had other 250 strokers.
the kr tops out at around 125mph but its the way it gets there that makes the difference.
2 strokes are all about PROPER riding technique, that is matching the gears and revs to the type of road your riding. get it wrong and your going nowhere fast, get it right and you'llbe an the tail of 600+ sports bikes(although the new generation of 600+stuff will kick your arse).
2 strokes will never be bikes that you can just jump on and ride like a GS, they NEED regular and proprer maintanace,although this is usaully quite simple stuff like changing plugs, checking oil pumps and powervalves are set correctly, if your not confident enough to do it yourself it can soon run up big bill as it will cost you around 2 hours labour charge at a dealers.
If its only gonna get you through the summer get yourself a KR1s, get it serviced and have some fun, you can get a decent one from around 600 quid,
failing that how about the yamaha FZR250? or the Honda CBR250?

Dont worry about 2 strokes and long distance runs, they are just as good as anything else as long as you look after them.
I used my KR1 for everyday transport for 2 years and thrashed it mercilessly at the weekends and it just kept going without a hitch.
one thing to consider is the added expence of the 2 stroke oil you'll need. You have to use the best you can which means full synthetic and it aint cheap, i would recomend silcolene pro2 or castroll TTS.

In all honesty a GS is a starter bike and they are pretty dull to ride, you may be better off moving onto a 400 sports bike like a VFR or CBR.

[Method]

Yeah, unfortunately the GS is going, thats allready decided i am looking to move onto a CBR400RR or a Clitoris400 at the end of the summer, the situation at the moment is that i dont have the money to move onto a 400 and am in need of a nippy sports bike for a bit of fun to enjoy the summer with whilst funds are a little low, before moving up to the bigger bike with some cash behind me. Thanks for the info guys much appreciated! Now ive just gota see whats about...
____________________
CBT Aug '03 ... Gilera GSM 50 ... Honda NSR 125 Aug '04 ...
Full Test Dec 04... Suzuki GS500 Jan 05... Suzuki SV650 Mar 07... Gixxer 6 K5 May 08... Oh and my 'Rado
My Bikepics.com - No Brakes, No Gears... No Fear.

[Laura]

Well I have recently purchased a cbr 250 rr and absoultly love it done just over 100 miles on it today and was slightly comfortable but nothing major. Is good fun and nippy revs to high heaven!
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Good girls ride motorcycles bad girls thrash them.

[Method]

Oh cool! i was looking at one on ebay actually, but thought it looked a little too, i duno, sluggish i suppose, small 4T's always carry that stigma to me... would love one though! as i adore honda's and the CBR's !
____________________
CBT Aug '03 ... Gilera GSM 50 ... Honda NSR 125 Aug '04 ...
Full Test Dec 04... Suzuki GS500 Jan 05... Suzuki SV650 Mar 07... Gixxer 6 K5 May 08... Oh and my 'Rado
My Bikepics.com - No Brakes, No Gears... No Fear.

[Gazdaman]

TZR250, great bike.

Picked up cheap, acceleration that could rip your arms off, looks good if you pick up a nice example.

I can't recommend them more, I think they're fantastic. Simple to maintain aswell, I've had mine in a million little pieces and it all went back together just fine.

Can't see them being very practical for every day use, but they are so fun. I rode one yesterday with a gixxer 400 and my XJ600 with me. I hooned off and they couldn't catch me. I didn't stop smiling for about an hour, it's SO fun.

Anyone with a 2t 250 will back that up.

Gaz