Bike recommendations for newby, 125cc, 250cc...

Hi, I am considering chasing after my childhood dream of amateur road racing.

I have been looking at various bikes including GP bikes and converting road bikes to race spec or at least tuning them and prepping them for the race track.

I am interested in starting off in the 125cc or 250cc.

I’ve been told that I should start off with a used 1996~2000 125cc GP bike, a TZ125, RG125, or RS125.

Unfortunately this seems a little expensive for a beginner, 3 to 5k for a decent setup.

I had in mind to get a standard 250cc street bike like a Honda CB250, CBR250, Kawasaki Ninja 250, or a Suzuki RG250, and tuning it a little and using that to start off…

Does anyone have any suggestion or recommendation to guide me in the right direction so I am not wasting money and learning as much as possible???

Thanks

 

You can forget those street based 250 4 strokes,( and some of those are hard to find) look closely at a 125, even an older one, learn on that and then move up if you like it to a 95 or newer machine (RS) . I personally think that is a really good way to learn, 125 > 250 and so on....

 

A street 250 (Aprilia, RGV) or a 125 is about as cheap as it gets. Once you get the bike and your setup, you should be able to do a weekend for around $500 (depending on alot). We have a good Aprilia 250 for sale.

 

Ditto on those last two responses, stay away from the 4-stroke 250s. A cheap used 125 with spares is a good way to see if you enjoy it. Also, these bike tend to retain their value so a bike you purchase now will be worth WAY more than a track day 4-stroke down the road.

That said, I am selling my 1993 Honda RS125 with spares for $2000.

If you would like more info, see post below or drop me an email.

jack

 

There is a lot of maintenance on 125s. They're not toys like SVs or other street-based bikes. You have to be pretty close with your jets to be competitive and replace stuff* often or risk the bike failing which could be nasty, locking up the rear wheel from seizure or chain breaking. An SV would be a lot of fun.

*top end $113 every 300mi, chain $40 300mi, cylinder replace $600 or replate $250 1,200mi, Crank $300 1,200mi. And you have to constantly check reeds, sparkplug, tape the radiator for proper temperature, mix the fuel. There's just a lot of stuff to do.

SV650s usually go for $3-4k. Here's one on ebay currently at $2700 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180004456078

 

Yeah, but unlike an SV, 125 isn't a lame turd to ride

 

Hmmm.... my lame turd was 10 seconds faster than your 125 at RA...

But, who's counting...

 

I will give you that, you rode the turdbox well at RA. Still doesnt change anything

 

Um, To stay at the top of the hill on a four stroke you have to rebuild every 300-500 miles also. Think about that cost. You haven't looked at the service limits on the new bikes have you? The work done a 125 or 250 is preventive, on an sv its because its BROKE.

 

But it was also 6.4 seconds slower than a certain other 125 at RA.

but who's counting....

 

Oh, it was slower than a few other 125s... I'm not disputing that... only the "turdbox" status...

Besides, I have to give Alex some crap - he loves SVs, he's just afraid to admit it.

 

Oh, I love SV'S as much as I love cancer, or playing drunk russian roulette, or cheap bottle of vodka morning hangover........

One day you will see teh light best beginner bike, my ass

 

You Chris, is that you in teh background?

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts...0&album=0&adjust=-1&d=0&pphoto=0HG8001K0K0033

 

That it is...

 

If you want to develop your skill, both riding and wrenching, and experience a two wheeled sensation that you never imagined then I'd suggest the GP bike. The wrenching isn't difficult or necessarily expensive in my experience. When you get fast on a GP bike you'll be fast on any bike.

Operating costs for a year on a SV and Aprilia RS250 were the same in my accounting. The riding experience was far different.

 

well since an aprilia RS250 isnt exactly a GP bike......

 

Aprilia cup bike good way to get a taste though

I wanted to try a 2-stroke with not much knowledge or experience behind me from an fzr400. The Aprilia is a great bike and, while not putting out the hpa true gp bike does, it is a great tool for learning to go fast and to learn about and experience a two-stroke. Especially if you are daunted by the maintenance, which granted is easy from those who have done it a few times but maybe not for someone who is not scared of wrenching but does not know what they are doing quite yet on these machines.

I want to move to a gp bike and hope to find a mentor who can offer some guidance and answer the 'is this on right' and 'is it supposed to smoke this much?' questions. I would suggest you do the same as it seems the 2 stroke guys are always willing to share knowledge to get another into the 'tribe'!

That said- anyone interested in a 99 Aprilia 250, 2k miles in SoCal?
- anyone have a 125 or 250 gp bike for sale in SoCal?
- anybody in SoCal riding a gp bike that would let me ask em all kind of obvious questions and look at their bike?
Thanks and good luck!
Brian

 

rountree , dont ever ride a true gp bike , it will spoil you silly & wreck your mind forever , you will hate all other motorcycles & never feel right on anything else ever again .

 

say wha? From what I've heard from people going from 125s to 600s, the 600 is an easier bike to ride but it's more physically demanding.

 

How tall are you? You have an experience riding on the track (trackdays)?

Forget diesel 250's, they're total turds.