** LAMS / Learners Bike Discussion **

[lam.666]

best practical 250 to get would be the VTR250 in NSW, doesnt look too bad, if you drop it no fairings to break, great on fuel and rego is sweet too, good resale value too like the cbr's. dont get an rvf400 because it looks horn, they are a nice bike, but rego'ing the thing is the same price as a 600cc not worth it in my opinion close to 1g, save yourself $500 and invest in some good gear.

also servicing the vfr/rvf 400's cost a bit, the plugs are quite rare and need some special tool to remove them, looking at about $15 a plug, and i dont think their iridium from memory.

i myself ride a NSR250, its light, has power and makes alot of noise so dick head drivers can hear you and not lane change in to you

also note, in NSW you can ride in bus lanes what ever the time and lane split whilst traffic is stationary.

safe riding!

[nvmee]

i commute 50km one way daily, so i do 100kms of riding a day. I lane split in the city, on the M5 i just use the emergency lane lol ! peak hour traffic sux, pass at least 1 or 2 cops a day and they dont say anything. But i guess emergency lane is better than lane splitting in m5. i hope they understand that


oh nsr 250? nice ive only ever seen the nsr150 and they are annoying :P wonder what the nsr 250 sounds like

[AKILYA666]

IMO honda cbr250rr. bought a grey import a while back and it was a good bike to learn on. a little on the low side but a good bike to learn on.... but yeah like everyone say's within 6 months you'll be looking at upgrading to a 600...

[Zdster]

wat about the hyosung 250s n 600s? im planning on getting one of those for Ls, but not sure if i should or not

The Hyo's arent bad, but have a search around the internet as there are some horror stories. One of the members on here has one though and is happy (cant remember who it is/was).

anyone know how the aprilia rs125's compare?

I would stay away from these (and especially the 250 which isnt being made anymore and is illegal in most states).

best practical 250 to get would be the VTR250 in NSW, doesnt look too bad, if you drop it no fairings to break, great on fuel and rego is sweet too, good resale value too like the cbr's.

I agree 100%. Great learner bike.

[lam.666]

traffic on the m5 in the morning is a horror, especially when ppl quickly change lanes when a vehicle is too slow moving up

if you find the nsr150 annoying my bike would be 2 times as bad once i get my other motor sorted, but its probably just as loud. i still have stock chambers and running a closed airbox

aprilia rs125/250's arent too bad, they look quite nice, not sure on how parts are like but they would be easily more attainable than a nsr250 as they share similiar motors to the rgv, 2 strokes arent too bad to work on if your handy with a spanner too, no cams to work with if you need to pull it apart, in the twisties the 250 would be able to keep up with a 600 or 1000 if the rider knows what their doing. only time those bikes would get away is on the straights

recommend going to track days too, safer than the street, no cars, no mountains to fall off, trees to hit, oran park has ride days ranging from $90+ (never been to oran park tho) but its not far considering its only in campbelltown area and cheaper than EC which costs around $250

[Zdster]

aprilia rs125/250's arent too bad, they look quite nice, not sure on how parts are like but they would be easily more attainable than a nsr250 as they share similiar motors to the rgv, 2 strokes arent too bad to work on if your handy with a spanner too, not cams to work with if you need to pull it apart, in the twisties the 250 would be able to keep up with a 600 or 1000 if the rider knows what their doing. only time those bikes would get away is on the straights

Have you ridden either of these. Definetly not bikes I would recommend for a learner.

I love people who say you should buy this bike as a learner because it is the fastest or you should buy this bike as a learner because you will be able to overtake someone if you ride in the mountains. How about you should buy this bike as a learner as you will gain a lot of skills without putting yourself in as much danger as if you got a bike with a ridiculous power curve, it is not as difficult to ride, if something does go wrong it wont cost you the earth to fix and is generally a good LEARNER BIKE.

[hisoka]

agreee with zdster , 2 strokes can be quite overwhelming to a learner~stick to 4 stroke 250 cc. cibby 250 i reccomend

[jeremyweb]

Have you ridden either of these. Definetly not bikes I would recommend for a learner.

I love people who say you should buy this bike as a learner because it is the fastest or you should buy this bike as a learner because you will be able to overtake someone if you ride in the mountains. How about you should buy this bike as a learner as you will gain a lot of skills without putting yourself in as much danger as if you got a bike with a ridiculous power curve, it is not as difficult to ride, if something does go wrong it wont cost you the earth to fix and is generally a good LEARNER BIKE.

Right on the money.For a strict learner with no experience u should be looking at cbr125r's,xr400,cb250f,vtr250r etc.
If you have motorcycle excperience,and are a "novice" i would suggest a cbr250rr or the like.I would avoid the 2stroke nsr's simply because on the road i see no use for a 2stroke power band,the 4strokes have a more linear power delivery generally but more importantly a healthy dose of torque.

[lam.666]

i just LOVE ppl that dont think before they post so theres no need to be such a knob, i was not saying that it was a good bike to learn on, i was just talking bout the bikes in general, you said not to get it with out a reason, if you hadnt already noticed i recommended the VTR250, my post might have been a bit biased towards 2strokes, only because i ride one, but no where in my post did i say to get them cos they were fast.

on your L's the rs125 and nsr150 are LAM approved motorbikes, which would be equivalent to a cbr/fzr/zxr 250, i've never ridden either, but my friend had said that the nsr150 was not as good as his zx2r, and another person i know also learnt on the rs125, their not bikes i would recommend either

safety first though, get a LAMs approved motorcycle your comfortable with riding which is easy for you to control, learn how to brake properly, take corners, u turns, slow riding, buffer zones, being aware of vehicles around you, what ever they test you in the course as all that stuff matters out on the road

[jeremyweb]

Just because the bike is LAM approved has nothing to do with wether or not it is safe or not.Politicians get these lists put together after all,so just because it is on the list doesn't make is safe or even controllable,CRF450x for example or ktm EXC's can be a handful to the inexperienced.
2 Strokes are great,used to race a cr125r loved the power band.However modern day 4strokes such as the crf250r are superior,hence why 2strokes are becoming obselete,even gradually in fmx ,as 4 stroke technology improves.
2 strokes are a less ideal application for road bikes,unless racing,as 2stroke motors are not efficient and maintatin constant velocity,they werent made for that,and as such suffer when trying to do this.This is not say that they cant,but simply they arent ideal,.
Even in road racing 2 strokes have become obselete.

This is factual.But beside the point are we making a list or are we arguing 2stroke vs 4stroke,The discussion has gone of topic a little

[lam.666]

yes it has, though i think the gearing on a road 2 stroke will be set up differently to a dirt 2 stroke, though i've never ridden either so i cant say for sure, and yes they are becoming obselete even in boating.

pollies dont know squat about bikes, most of them dont even ride. L's P's have no choice but to ride whats been listed.

back on topic, i find that the zx2r was heavy compared to the 250rr, so if your short and skinny you may find it hard to control like i did, but they have a better top end than the 250rr. the fzr250 i would say would be equivalent to the 250rr both ride the same and similiar in power delivery and top end speed.

[Feverpitched]

Technically speaking, a big fat Harley can be registered as LAMS.

To stress the point already made, buy a shit heap bike that you can drop/lay down without crying too much about it. Believe me, it is a matter of when, and not if, it ever happens. Therefore, get a scuffed up faired bike that is common (so parts won't be a hassle) or go naked.

Some models I'd recommend a learner which aren't priced through the arse on the private resale markets are:

CBR (shop around, there are too many jokers around with stupid ideas of what their bike is worth, uleh)
FZR (lesser known, hence cheaper)
ZX2R (refer to CBR, but are much rarer)
Across (heavier, tiny fuel tank but very common. Also has a boot, so you can store your man bag in there when not in use)

Suzuki Bandits
Yamaha Zeal
Honda VT250 (spada)
Honda VTR250 (they hold value real well, so consider it an investment. Try and find a model with a tacho)