Need a little help picking a bike.

Looking for a 250cc 4stroke sports bike.
Preferably cheap to insure (Not a Ninja 250)
Age - Old enough to be cheap but recent enough so that its not constantly falling asleep.
Must be able to be restricted to 33bhp

I really like the old 2strokes but I dont know enough about them to make a decision.
Is the servicing of a two stroke really that bad?

Anyone got any suggestions?

Heres the list as it stands

Ninja 250 - Too expensive to insure
ZXR 250 - Perfect but rare and the one I was looking at got sold :frowning: (These things redline at 19k RPM! :w00t:)

You missed out the 33bhp bit of your “needs” bud … and I’m pretty sure that a 250 2 stroke will be way too much …

A derestricted RS125 (or in fact anything over on http://www.125ccsportsbikes.com/forums/index.php?act=idx) would tick all your boxes though?

EDIT : First one I clicked on in the for sale section over on that forum - 27bhp : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1999-APRILIA-RS-125-RS125-derestricted-/150797603338?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item231c3cd20a

Thanks mate, edited.
2 stroke 250s are around 60 bhp so I was thinking about an old TZR 125

being biased towards hondas i’d look to the following

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/honda_cbr_250_rr_1994.php

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/honda_vtr_250_2002.php

personally the cbr would be a hoot with the 15,000rpm redline but is a very dedicated riding position,if you can find one (older model as listed above) i’m sure you’d have a lot of fun,bit juicy tho

if your on a budget and want to step up from a 125 the late model vtr 250 would be the sensible option,big bike styling not so sporty but cheaper to insure and certainly more comfortable to ride.i think these are quite cheap new so secondhand bargains to be had for sure.

a sporty looking vtr 250…looks good with underseat pipe

Not being funny but a 250cc ‘sports’ bike (if you can even call it that) costs more to insure than a sports tourer/naked/tourer 600.

I want to avoid a 600 because it’d have to be restricted so I lose power but it still weighs as much as a 600 >.<
A 250 is lighter and doesn’t have to be restricted so far.
A 125 (stroker) would be decent but I’d have trouble explaining to my parental units just why i’m changing bikes.

I’d prefer a 250 4 stroke, a 125 2 stroke wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Now a new question =P
Is the servicing on two stroke as bad as ive heard?

DONT take Daniel to the shop he’ll only point at suzukis
DO take Daniel to the shop after you’ve chosen your bike for some serious juggling on the deal :smiley: :stuck_out_tongue:

and a proper 250 sports bike i.e rs250 or rgv250 would run rings around most bigger bikes with the right rider :wink:

all down to personal circumstances and choice,columbo is on a restricted license so he can obviously do the following

ride upto a 33bhp bike

restrict a bigger bike

fair do’s if he gets a 33bhp or less bike in a year or two he’ll be looking possibly at a bigger bike,where if he restricts a 600 for example he’ll have a heavier more expensive both on purchase and insurance and the bike will not pull through the revs like it should.

it’s a tough decision to make i’m sure,i went for the latter when i was 17 and got a vfr400 it was the best choice i could make because i’d always wanted a nc30:) insurance was a grand tpft and the bike set me back 2.5k,but realistically i’d have had as much fun on a 250cc as i was not that experienced at the time

2 strokes are finely tuned works of art,basic design so generally easy to work on…thing is they are rev happy and like oil.look after one and give it good oil and regular servicing and it’ll keep you grinning every time you ride.

sadly alot of smokers get abused…lack of oil and cheap oil,rode hard from cold and bodged top end rebuilds and abused clutches too :rolleyes:

when looking for a 2 stroke avoid the following wording

-just been rebuilt by my mate
-quickest bike lifts every gear
-got power bands in every gear …it’s rapid! ( really? :laugh: )
-never raced

look for serious amounts of paperwork to prove it’s been maintained properly regardless of cost be it a 125 or 250,yes they are rattly and tinny but extremley good fun if you can find a good one :slight_smile:

I don’t do 2 strokes. I like riding bikes not fixing them as I’m useless with a spanner :(.

I’m on a restricted licence too and my 650 was 1/2 the price in terms of insurance and the same price as a Ninja 250 at the time. Judging by his initial post the choice of a 250 is purely based on insurance. Not to mention you can get restrictor kits and when you take it out it feels like a total different bike… Mine did anyway.

I pay all of £320 for my insurance (full comp, £350 excess) and I paid £412 (full comp, £350 excess) last year, which is when I got my first big bike. The insurance for the Ninja 250 was £750. Didn’t make sense to me but hey ho.

Ninja 250s get stolen. A LOT!

CBR 250 was worse on insurance as it had just come out.

TBH in your position I’d only go for a 250cc if there was some sort of insurance deals, similar to the ones you see on new 125cc bikes. Your gonna end up burning cash when you change bikes in 2 years due to depreciation.

I would say get a 600cc tart it up just how you want it and keep it for 4 years instead of 2 years.

But the weight of the 600!
I’m gonna leave the restriction on unlike some misbehaving people.

cbr 250 has been around since the early 90’s and the older ones are most likely to ‘run’ better

@Columbo - The weight isn’t really an issue if I’m honest. Once your moving most of the weight just disappears.

@GP - I don’t buy bikes older than 3 years (4 years at a very big push, there has to be something very special about it) or older than my current bike, whichever applies and it can’t have more than 5000-6000 miles on the clock unless I know the bike’s history. Eg, my mate who is a careful rider has done 20K but always service his bike on time with top parts/fluids… Just a personal thing, not saying theres anything wrong with them.

600s arent all that heavy… Don’t be afraid of the weight. A lot of people ride 33bhp 600s and they manage just fine.

Getting a 250 is a bit pointless in my opinion, unless it’s a nice fruity stroker…

well depending on ‘columbos’ options a older bike might be a more viable option as i thought we was discussing potential bikes for him :Whistling:

budget columbo?

are you intending to sell yours to put funds towards the new bike

part ex

pay cash?

or strap yourself up with credit and put it on a card/loan/finance or whatever :pinch:

I’ll be selling the YBR soon and I hope to get around £1800 for it. Thats a little optimistic but whatevs.

The budget for the bike is around £1000 so I can spend the £800 fixing it up.

A 2stroke 125 or a 4stroke 250 seems the way forward if i’m honest. The insurance on a 600 is a little nuts and they cost more to buy. I’ll probably put it off until i’m in a better place financially…I’m 18, I need to build up a credit rating before taking a loan to get a nice 600.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201218468880313/sort/default/usedbikes/cc-to/400cc/model/zxr/make/kawasaki/postcode/tw46aj/page/1/radius/1500?logcode=p

They were a good looking screamer . Much nicer than the new version .