Best LAMs Learner bike with comfy seating position

Hi guys,
ive scoured the net for a good learner bike

ive concluded that i dont want the fastest cbrrrrrrrrr etcetc
i dont care about speed or whatever. i only care about:

1) price
2) handling/performance in terms of easy to learn on
3) cost of rego - has to be <$500
4) looks decent, not like i built it in my garage by cutting a go kart in half.

most importantly, id prefer something with an upright seating position, as i dont want my asscrack showing or hurt my back (i know im only 24)

i like the VTR 250 but concerned about the seating angle, rego and the thin tyres. I understand thicker tyres are better right?

if im going to go for an sh!tbox, id prefer to keep it under $3k. that way i wont care if it gets thrashed or stolen

it will be for commutting to work. therefore i dont want to look retarded on it either.
i seriously doubt id ride enough to want to upgrade later on, so longevity would be good (unless you show me a $1000 bike that i can just throw away)

any tips guys?

thanks

I like the CBR125r, its looks really neat too

but isnt that even weaker than the vtr250

im tossing up between the kawasaki ninja 250r and the honda cbr250 second hand of course....i cant pass over the looks of the ninja! >< but i love the cbr
problem is. theyre both about 5k second hand. decisions decisions....

was originally going to go for a vtr250 or a suzuki but both not worth the money.

CBRs are worth the money. Theres a few on bikesales that are worth a look at. I use to own a CBR and rode my mates ninja, ninja just couldnt compare. Try old ninjas zx2rs, more HP than cbrs but very few in good nick nowadays. Just have a look around man, you'll find one thats nice.

GPX250/ZZR250

PLENTY under $3k.

You'll get bored of them in a month, same engine as the ninja just that the looks are outdated. Everything is pretty much the same, i would stick to a CBR250RR on my Ls then look to possibly upgrade to a RVF400.

VTR250 is an amazing bike to learn on, it'll only make 180/190ish but they're really zippy, heaps comfy and handle suprisingly well!
And as nAYEE said, when you're a good rider and you want the most power you're allowed to ride.. RVF400s are a weapon of a bike

RVF holds it value and has longevity, awesome bike, but not a comfortable ride on Syd roads, and if you bin it without insurance GG importing original panels.

Id consider a 650 lams approved. Look at the 08+ Hyosung 650's and the Kawasaki ER6n lams version. Good bikes.

Thanks for the input guys
i think i will settle for either a cbr250r or ninja 250
reason being the value and looks.
ALso with a newer model i wont have to worry about buying a shonky one with questionable maintenance. The looks will also be more refreshed

problem is i cant find many good ones in NSW! they all seem to be in QLD or VIC!
is there a way to buy a bike interstate and transport it here? i am not flying out to melbourne and riding it back to sydney lolz 11 hrs ride zz

Yes there's a few transport companies that do interstate transport for bikes. Costs around $400 from Melb from memory. Difficult part would be to cancel and re-issue registration here, not that hard actually, just a pain in the arse.

Please dont buy a Ninja 250 - btw, dropping one will result in an instant write off from what ive seen at bike auctions...

I don't think so, I own an 08 Ninja 250 and I love it, with an Musarri slip on it sounds bloody awesome and stand tall above the rest, I rip my mate's 2011 CBR250 with it. Yes the newer models have less HP but they are more reliable in term of engine age and maintenance. Try and sit on AS MANY bikes as possible before you decide to purchase anything. Every bike has its selling point so find what suits you. There are several articles online on how to buy second hand bikes (what to look for when inspecting a second hand bike etc). Have a good read before you go out and get your own, I did and it was worth every second. Hope my input helps. Good luck.

I own a complete stock MC22 tri-colour when I first bought it it felt like death! 3 weeks down the track and it already feels slow unless I'm up at 18,000rpm!

My bike history so far :01 vt250-->1989 Cbr 250r (MC19) -->2009 Ninja 250r-->2010 Ninja ZX10R (we all gotta grow up sometime)
Anyways......
Got rid of the VT because it was heavy and slow and just got bored of the whole cruiser look, noone's gonna think you're a bad ass bikie with a 250cc. So moved onto the CBR. Awesome bike, but it was old, and like EG52NV said unless you're revving the nuts off the thing it's gonna feel and more importantly be slow. That one lasted me about 8 months, paid 3500 and got 3000 trade in on it (pretty good i thought), and i ended up with the Ninja 250. Those things are fun at pace. Carried my fat ass around with no problems. I think that they're the best 250cc out on the market out today. Even better than the current CBR250r (flame suit on). They look good, go ok for what they are, they're all over the place in second hand market so you shouldn't have any trouble finding one in decent condition, but yeah depends what you want to spent. And finally after getting bored with the 250's i ended up trading in the little ninja for a bigger ninja, but that's another story for another thread.

Knowing what i do now, i wouldn't bother with the 250's, especially if you're going to keep it for longer. There are so many 400, 500, and 650cc bikes out there that are lams approved, both new and second hand
I ended up letting my 250 ninja go for 3000, needed a major (24000) service and few other bits and pieces, but otherwise a solid little bike

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...n/IMG_0075.jpg

That's just my 0.02, hope it helps and good luck. Keep us posted :thumbsup:

I'd grab one of the new CBR250's for the comfortable riding position, fuel injection, piece of mind its going to be safe and reliable.. Pricing is very affordable as well.
I'd spend my first year on a bike just focusing on just being smooth and controlled and not trying to be a hero.
My first bike was a NSR250 (beast) I think after the second or third week I ended up out braking my self on the Black spur and going of the edge! I was lucky not to be too seriously hurt.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nAYEE

You'll get bored of them in a month, same engine as the ninja just that the looks are outdated. Everything is pretty much the same, i would stick to a CBR250RR on my Ls then look to possibly upgrade to a RVF400.

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the ninja 250 has the same engine as the GPX/ZZR, however, the ninja is EFi and GPX/ZZR is carby.
for that reason, the rev limit on the ninja is lower, and it means it is slower.

i have drag my gpx with my mate ninja long time ago. gpx beats it, it also beat the hyo GT250r.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by connorling

the ninja 250 has the same engine as the GPX/ZZR, however, the ninja is EFi and GPX/ZZR is carby.
for that reason, the rev limit on the ninja is lower, and it means it is slower.

i have drag my gpx with my mate ninja long time ago. gpx beats it, it also beat the hyo GT250r.

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The new ninja 250 still has a carburetor but the new CBR250R has efi.

Are u sure?! 2010 or so Ninja has efi as I was told.

Are u sure?! 2010 or so Ninja has efi as I was told.
In USA, the ninja is carby, but Australian and euro are fuel injection.

1000% Positive
Keihin CVK30 x 2 Carburettors
http://www.kawasaki.com.au/motorcycl...012-ninja-250r

Quote:

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Originally Posted by S2kane

1000% Positive
Keihin CVK30 x 2 Carburettors
http://www.kawasaki.com.au/motorcycl...012-ninja-250r

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o shit, have a though about it, it was the Hyo GT250r thats gone from carby to EFi, not ninja.
oops haha

actually i just searched on the ninja 250 euro, it IS EFi, just we dont get the euro version.