The Two-Wheeled Motorized Vehicle thread?

[Dimitri13]

So a few weeks ago, I finally purchased my first motorcycle. This was about 2 months after I learned how to ride in the MSF Basic Rider Course. A Kawasaki Ninja 250R.



Needless to say, I'm having the most fun of my life and I can't get enough. In the short half of a month I've owned this, I've put over a thousand miles on it. That may not seem like a lot, but I live in an island. It takes roughly 3 hours to go completely around it.

Although it's a small learner's bike, and I'm still learning,, it can handle everything I push it to do (all in the spirit of learning, of course). I can say with confidence that my fear of wiping out will stop me before the limits of the bike will. There's a few decent twisty hills around here (I'm not going to the popular one though, because I'm not skilled enough for it yet), and I've leaned my bike over about as much as I'm comfortable with. my chicken strip is smaller than the width of my pinky, and I'm pretty happy about that

I'm not sure if I'll ever get rid of this bike. It's small, agile, extremely fuel efficient, and even a lot of seasoned riders say it's still fun. But when I'm ready to upgrade, I'm still not quite sure what I want. I was thinking of a GSX-R600 (yeah I know, another sport bike), HD Night Rod (who doesn't like a harley?) or a Ducati 848 (dat exhaust note). Either way, I eventually want to get out on a track and see how well I do.

Anyway. Anyone else ride? Or have any great stories?

[LJRoX]

Wow, that looks really sick. I really love biking and I'm thinking of getting one of these babies in the future.

[DarknessXoXLight]

Green!! I love it. Congrats. Take me for a ride pl0x.

[darkshark]

Nice! I got my first bike about 7 months ago. GSX1100...which is an absolute massive bike for a beginner, and I didn't even know how to ride at all either, I just hopped on and went xD

A 250 is probably too small for my tastes but certainly great to learn to take corners on. I'm looking at selling my current bike and upgrading to maybe a 2012 Yamaha R1; 380lbs 169hp, definitely a monster.

I've yet to wreck, and I do push it hard every once in a while. I've dropped it while parked a couple times, but nothing big. What's the top speed on a 250 anyway?

[Dimitri13]

1100? That's hueg for a beginner. You're lucky you didn't have an accident with it

A 250 is pretty small, but it's excellent to learn on, plus my main priority is commuting to and from class 5 days a week, so I need dem MPGs. According to Kawasaki, the top speed is a mere 95mph. Personally I've taken mine only to about 85, partially because the speed limit on the highway I frequently travel is 55mph, and partially because it's kinda scary being that fast on a small bike.

Thankfully I've only dropped my bike once. Even luckier it was in my garage because I wasn't paying attention and the kickstand failed to deploy, and because it's 375 lbs and I wasn't aware until I was past the point of no return, it tipped and threw me off. Very minor damage though, maybe $45 and a small scratch on the fairing. But I'm dreading the day I go down while I'm on the road. At least when it happens I'll be in full gear (because I never ride without it).

Oh, and I kinda pegged you as a bike rider. When I first posted this, I thought to myself "darkshark or drugstore cowboy is going to post in here, I know it."

[who_cares973]

I want to get a bike eventually. I've done some research but still don't know what kind of bike to get for someone my size and I still need to learn to drive stick which I don't think will be difficult

[darkshark]

95mph top speed is horrible lol I could never live with that. I've had mine up to just under 170mph, had to change my pants afterward rofl, anything 120+ scares the shit out of you.

375lbs for a 250 seems heavy, is that the dry or wet weight? At least I'm sure you can still pick your bike up once it tips over, mine weighs 575lbs, and I cannot for the life of me pick it back up by myself once it's down.

You'll get really used to the bike in a few weeks time, pretty soon you'll be taking hairpin turns like they're nothing, in fact, you'll seek them out. I commute to work on it 5 days a week (100miles round trip), never get tired of it.

NEVER ride without gear, sounds like you know this though. Only time I've ever not worn my armored jacket is just going up the street to the gas station and back, and even then I was regretting it because you never know what can happen. Stay safe and have fun ;D

[Reincarnate]

I've gone 120 mph before and it makes me wet myself. My adrenaline junkiness only goes so far before I realize I could be seconds away from killing myself.

[darkshark]

Originally Posted by who_cares973

I want to get a bike eventually. I've done some research but still don't know what kind of bike to get for someone my size and I still need to learn to drive stick which I don't think will be difficult

If you can't drive a stick, don't even attempt to learn how to on a bike, learn it in a car first.

[who_cares973]

yeah i dont plan on learning on a bike lol. my friend says he'd teach me but he's been laggin t im thinking of just getting manual transmission car and just learning myself

[Dimitri13]

@darkshark: 375 is wet weight. It may seem like a lot, but it's a pretty agile little bike. What it lacks in top speed, it makes up for in whipping around corners and curves like a madman.

@who_cares: Well, shifting on a bike is a lot easier to learn and do than in a car. Because the gearbox is sequential, there's less chance of mis-shifting, and because it's a wet clutch, you can ride the clutch without destroying it, like in a car. Since you can ride the clutch, it's more forgiving if you make a mistake.

That being said, shifting on a bike is really different than shifting in a car. I know how to drive a manual, and I basically had to re-learn on a bike. It becomes natural after a bit of practice though.

[darkshark]

I'd say first gear in a bike is much harder than in a car, the rest are really easy...most of the time I don't even clutch to shift from like 3rd and up unless I'm at wide open throttle.

Here's minez



Desperately need new tires x__x

[Syhto]

lmao a 250 is ridiculously small. ive been on motorcycles my entire life, had my license going on 10 yrs




never crashed. also I think it's pretty easy to ride a bike. stick doesn't matter. shifting gears is something that you can learn in a matter of minutes.

oh yeah and that's a 250 rebel, 1100 shadow and 750 spirit. i usually ride the 750