Some may pass this off as being a troll, me being obnoxious or just plain annoying. Whatever your interpretation, I really want to understand something. I fully realize how potentially dangerous these kinds of questions are on a 250cc forum so I hope people give me the benefit of the doubt - I'm actually not trying to be an @rse about it. I just want to promote some healthy debate and get a few viewpoints without someone wanting to kill me. When we compare little bikes to bigger bikes, there are often responses such as "Anyone can go fast on a big bike so..." "It takes more skill to ride a 250cc because..." "My mates can't keep up with my 250cc because..." I'm sorry but what exactly is the deal with these kinds of answers? I don't know if people realize they're standard responses from almost every 250cc rider I've ever met. They're often in such a context it sounds to me more like some kind of self-justification for the fact you have to ride a little bike than a logical reason to ride a smaller bike. It's a bit like comparing a holden barina to a monaro. Sure, you can thrash the crap out of that little barina, work it to crap and maybe have some fun (or make some good times on a race track) - but why wouldn't you choose the monaro? I get it if it's LAMS, cost reasons, circumstances. What I don't get is why people would say the above and actively choose to ride a small bike if they could just choose to ride a bigger one? Would I be riding a 250cc if circumstances allowed me to get a bigger bike? hell no. Why would I? That doesn't mean I don't like my bike, like bikes in general, like 250cc's or have anything against anyone who does though. So... if I haven't turned the knife a bit and you're able to give me something to work with, I'd like to hear from you. But to me, riding is the skill. Transfer your good 250cc riding skills onto a bigger bike and you'll be exponentially better - you'd have to be IMHO.
<Insert Can of worms here> For me I started this community as many of the individual forums were dying out with little to no interest and I needed help with my Suzuki across. In saying that it became a passion \ labour of love as certain 250’s are some of the most amazing bikes I have ever ridden. If you have never ridden a modern 2 stroke hitting power band, then you wont know what I mean , Powerband is "Awesome Mode" The in-line 4’s and the 2 bangers excite me no end, they are lighter and you can ride them harder than the bigger bikes without attracting the big fines that go with them. If I kept my ZXR750, I’m sure I would be without a licence as that thing had some balls. Do I want a bigger bike..maybe, am I happy with my CBR.. yep I would easily swing both ways ( bike ways that is). I have an open licence so its not a LAMS thing. I dont belive these statements to be accurate "Anyone can go fast on a big bike so..." "It takes more skill to ride a 250cc because..." "My mates can't keep up with my 250cc because..." If I didn’t own this forum, I’m sure I have would have bought a Ducati 999 by now, but I wouldn’t have met all you awesome people, so the 250 wins it for me!!!
Things 250s are good for learning to ride learning to fix, work on , rebuild, restore meeting great people thru the 250 forum and having a ball on without scaring the crapper out of u. I don't need something that does a gazillion kmh I don't really want something that when I park at a show or event theres 101 bikes there the same as mine I don't want something that is so friggin big I can hardly lift my leg over If I had the cash to buy wateva I wanted these are wat I would consider NSR250 ... a classic Ducati 998 (or similar) ... has the X factor Triumph Daytona 675 triple .... love the style I would have these bikes because I like them .....not because they 'go fast'. I have a 750 in the shed ..... why? .... because I like it. On this forum theres a steady flow of people with their 250s bought as a LAMS bike but theres also a helluva lot of people here with 250s for other reasons Projects ... restorations, café racers Racing , trackday bikes Classics .... like NSRs and the other 2 smokers etc etc Ride a current single cylinder 250 Moto3 bike and tell me how fast that goes horses for courses And if your talking big bikes .... heres a big bike ...... and wat a horrible ugly example it is..... give me a 'small' bike anyday (at least I didn't post a Harley) Why do I ride an FZR250? .... because I can
Heh heh gotta love those worms, Chris - they catch good fish! Don't get me wrong the forum's great and all - everyone's pretty nice and helpful around these parts. I've been part of many riding communities over the years (although not as many years as some!) and apart from the odd troll here and there most of them are pretty good. But with that said I think it's less about the 250's and more about the community that makes it what it is. Nobody's gonna judge you for having a ZXR750 or a Duke 999, most people would be... jealous! I don't think they're accurate either, but there's always some sort of hesitation admitting you'd rather a bigger bike than the little one you're riding. I'm not all about power though, my old Z750 had really good brakes. I miss the brakes on that bike, they were very good. But I also miss the power. Riding on the freeway in traffic is a good way to get dead if you can't twist the wrist and get yourself out of a jam. So give me my bike with 4x the power and I'd be about set lol. @GreyImport that bike is horrible. Just Horrible. And there's plenty of original bikes you can have/restore/ride that are not 250's. Plenty.
Seeing as I said all those comments yesterday and this has popped up I will chime in my comments were ment to discuss that of course at a start a bike with nearly 2 and half times more ponies is going to leave u for dead that is fact and yes anyone can twist a throttle this is not a false statement but just because u have a 50 scooter or 1300 sport bike doesn't mean squat about enjoying what the bike is designed to do!!! A 250 is perfect for road geared right it can be as a good as any but I ridden a lot of bikes in my short time on this earth and one thing I found all and I mean all 600+cc bikes are not as much fun, as they are race bikes with lights u can't experience the full potential it was designed for on the road legally and no my mates can't keep up with me through the bends either not as much experience or the fact they try to follow everyone else line and all bikes are different Don't have to like what I said nor care it just my opinion Oh and I have had a full opens licence for over 6 years now and still wouldn't buy a litre bike for the road cause unless u riding it properly which is not possible legally it carries on like a pork chop
Last word the post I put these comments in that u are outlining was someone who interested in racing and was giving my opinion on the r6 factor and my short time in racing so far
I think in some ways its a personal preference...... I get massive enjoyment out of riding a smaller bike, lighter and nimble and you ride it to what you believe is its absolute limits and then realizing you can push it so much more. Where as when i had my blade i prob pushed it half of what i do on the fizzer(correction....did on the Fizzer...DID...its dead snif snif ) or ninja due to the fact it scared the sh*t out of my self each and every time i rode it and also i always had power to back up my failings on bends. i believe a 250 or smaller is a great way to start from a track, racing or road point of view. you will learn more from trying to go fast than actually been able to go fast if you get me....so when you learn to master that and marry that with a bike with power....well your unstoppable. i will look at some stage to get back on to a 600 or maybe even a thou but thats when i have some cash to do that....250's for me are cheap to maintain and race, heaps of fun to ride...no matter how slow they are but for me right now its also because they don't eat tyres for breakfast where as with 600+ its a set or two a weekend if your racing. i think you can be as good on any bike and have as much fun, but i think it comes down to personal choices and the ability to listen i love all bikes big and small.....i don't discriminate on bikes or people, sure i even like scooters I hope to have some sort of a 250 on hand no matter what (pref a 2 banger).......there is just something about them that appeals to me.
Def moo as I get more experience on the 250 racing I'm hoping to set up to f2 on a 600 but a lot to learn before that
@GreyImport pretty surey 7r is pretty damn rare.... Haha I haven't found one to park next too lol @Stu I love that I upgraded to my zx7r when I did love the power and huge rear tyre. Also I'm more confident in my ability and the handling on the 7 then I was my old zxr250 I know I take corners quicker now. Having said that I did ride the zxr250 with siezed brakes for quite some time and also it ran like ass. Horses for courses. I really should got something more comfortable as most my time is spent commuting down the freeway and the riding position isn't great when not hauling as thru a bend dragging a knee lol I did buy it because cheap speed and I loooooove the look of it , with the exhaust I have on it it sounds ******* awesome too!
Yes, well said Moo. I have had a road licence for almost 40 years now and have had bikes from 50cc to 1100cc, but I get most riding enjoyment from smaller bikes. My reflexes and reactions are getting slower and I don't feel the need to travel at double the posted speed limit any more. I like to enjoy the ride by riding at sensible speeds for the conditions and smaller bikes are great for this. My Honda 1100 would do 100Km/h in first gear with four more to go (top around 280Km/h) but where could I ride it at those speeds? Certainly not on the 'series of interconnecting potholes' we call roads around here. With smaller bikes there is even the chance I may be able to pick it up if it lays down, not so with the 1100. The smaller bike is easier for me to ride, but it is harder to ride it for big distances. I take two short days to ride to Brisbane (620Km) rather than trying to do one big day and wearing myself out. The big bike was good for long distances, but a pain around town and short trips where I could not get up to speed. For me the small bike is big on 'fun factor', light to handle and easy to manuver, with enough speed to be thrilling without being fast enough to get into trouble.
@Mclaren nothing to do with what you said mate. I had someone try and sell me this spiel the other day and I started thinking "does this guy wake up every morning and feed himself his own BS in the mirror?" It irks me a bit, the whole concept that some people want to sell 250's as some kind of superior machine to make themselves feel good about themselves. I get all the reasoning and comments, and they're all genuine and valid. It doesn't matter what you ride, it's how well you can ride it - I don't buy into this "250cc's need more skill to ride well". They need different skill to ride well, not more skill. But that's just me. I suppose I just needed to have a bit of a rant so I appreciate everyone being so good about it.
All good mate no one will ever have the same opinion like all said horses for courses some ppl like to plod along and some want to ride to the limits
every body has their own opinion.i like riding and have ridden 50cc step thru,s to 1,000cc big bikes. as long as it has 2 or 4 wheels i enjoy it. as an aside-THERE ARE OLD RIDERS AND BOLD RIDERS BUT NO OLD BOLD RIDERS. an old saying but relevant even today.
People always comment that every time they see me on my bike I have a big grin. That is because late 70s through to mid 90s two stroke bikes (and sporty 4 strokes) up to 400cc are so much fun. Having ridden and owned many bikes over the years, nothing is more fun than my 1988 Yamaha TDR250. Rupert Paul the Performance Bikes editor said that he tested over 200 bikes and a modified TDR250 was the most fun. My Yamaha FZR1000 EXUP was good but it gave me too many 'oh ****' moments and so I sold it before it killed or maimed me. I regret that I didn't get a V-Twin Yamaha TZ250 when I was fast enough to do it justice. Anything faster should be left to professionals. My registrable bikes are: 1992 Yamaha RD350R - great comfy all rounder bike with more than enough power for two up touring - can ride it all day 1990 Yamaha R1-Z 250 - my sporty road bike with less extreme ergos than most sport bikes 1979 Yamaha IT175F - when we swap dirt bikes this is the one everyone wants to ride - so much fun - excellent competition Vinduro machine My awesome track bikes are: 1988 Yamaha TDR250 - heavily modified and on GP 125cc slicks - won lots of races including PCRA 1hr against 7 other teams 1988 Yamaha TZR250 2XT - heavily modified - 100kg and over 60HP - great predictable handling - fast 1979 Yamaha TZ350F - do the maths; 100kg and 75 to 80 hp - fast and unforgiving 1977 Yamaha IT400D Classic Dirt Track race bike - sliding and wheel standing beast - fun in a scary way Others in the shed: 1977 Yamaha IT250D Classic Dirt Track race bike - easy to ride weekend track fun 1980 Yamaha IT125G Vinduro - great engine - would have sold it on but I rode it and it was fun - will get better suspension 1984 Yamaha IT200L Vinduro - still getting it sorted - enjoyed the last few rides now I am going faster on it 1981 Yamaha RD250LC - when I was faster I did 1:54s around the Eastern Creek GP circuit and beat the TZs The only modern bike that interests me is the electric Zero SR.
