zackfreeflo

I'm in a bit of a tricky spot at the moment and this post might run a little long but honesty i believe is the best policy so here goes.

About a year ago one of my friends let me ride his tiny little 125cc delivery bike after teaching me the basics and after an hour of zipping around the yard i finally understood why motorbikes were so fun, i did not need to be going as fast as i do in my car to enjoy myself. So after doing a lot of research (50 hours or so cumulatively) i now know a bit about bikes. seeing as i am 18 years old and where i live no other high school kids ride i thought it would be the coolest thing ever, way better than getting a new car even.

So when i read that the Ninja 250R was THE BIKE FOR ALL NEW RIDERS i must admit i was a little disappointed especially after seeing the styling on the YZF 125R and kinda wished they had a 250cc. So i went to see the ONLY Kawasaki dealer in the whole of Zimbabwe and was quoted a new Ninja 250R at US$9300, way more than i was expecting. After looking around chatting to one biker who i happened to meet i found out that there are only two such bikes on our roads and both belong to ladies who have just started riding. Riding a chicks bike as he was implying did not bother me at all (i want to be an engineer when i grow up like my dad) so i find it silly when people call the Ninja 250R a 'scooter' you could kill yourself on one SO EASILY. So seeing as i am only home for another 14 months before leaving for college i needed a bike that would be generally easy to sell. The dealership is pushing me towards a 250R claiming they are high in demand yet whenever i go there every one to two weeks just to see and sit on the bikes i see them churning out big displacement bikes likes the ER6, Z1000, ZX-10R etc and have not seen a single 250R in 9 months. While i understand that the 250R is safe and agree i just really want something that looks good and wont be too hard to sell when i leave.

So i looked around and find bikes like a 2007 Yamaha R1 with 15000km selling for $10500 and a 2007 Fireblade selling for $12000. I believe i could handle a bike this bike up until i get scared and grab too much throttle or make mistakes while learning (i remember when i got my drivers license 1-2 years ago). Is getting a larger bike like the ones above and even a ZX6R and restricting it to 33bhp such a bad idea? The dealership claims that no such thing exists

Almost forgot i intend to learn and get my license soon but there is one guy here who used to do track racing and does one on one lessons on the local race track at $50 an hour, if he's as good as he says he is i do not mind spending that much. What do you think about his price?

Thanks for all the answers in advance and after reading a few threads i feel this is the only site where i'll get 'good advice' so i'm all ears.

silversurfer

you can hurt/kill/maim yourself on any bike no matter the size of the motor, find a bike that fits you take a few motorcycle classes and get with some people that have been riding for a while and learn from them and as far as the best bike anything that has kawasaki on and your golden

reaper636

ya i started on my 06 636 and couldn't be happier. if you can control your throttle hand and not push your limits a 600 is perfectly fine. i definitely second the classes will teach you so much in the long run and that doesn't seem like a bad price on the classes all on you and your mind set of the ride. gear up to man it can save your life man. stick with kawi and your good but if you find a good deal on another brand you cant resist cant say i would pass it up either

zackfreeflo

Thanks for the advice guys. I was wondering if there's anyone who's ridden a restricted ZX6R and can tell me what its like?

hellonearth

Dude those prices fucking suck u could buy a bike from the US or Europe and import it for way less then that. Brand new 250s in the us sell for like 4000$

zackfreeflo

Yea they are and if you import a motorcycle tax is 40% of the value, cars can be as high as 85%. Please keep the posts coming people.

silversurfer

Wow thats sucks man and I dont know what its like to ride a restricted 6r your going to have to wait for some of the UK people to chime in

Devils6R

welcome... i would also go with kawasaki

hellonearth

Yea but 40% of 4000$ is only like 1800$ so that's still 5800$ wayyyy cheaper then 9300$ from ur stealership

zackfreeflo

Yea can you imagine their selling a 2011 ZX10R for $25000, people here have money to blow. I guess i'll just have to import one from the US or UK.

hellonearth

25000.... WTF that's insane

zackfreeflo

You tell me, i wanna see what rich **** buys one.

silversurfer

You can find a good used low miles 636 in the states for around 4000 USD I found my 06 636 with 7k miles for 3900 after import fees and shipping I think it would still be cheaper

jinkz

I started on an NSR125, crashed that a few times, then moved up to a GSX600F and had that for 2 years, bought an RF600R which sucked and then, i've got the lovely Ninja.

Not sure how it would feel with a restricted one, if you have the cash, I guess go for it!

Nato

honestly, get whatever bike you please. remember, YOU control the power. doesn't matter what displacement the bike is, you can keep it 1/4 throttle and be just fine. danger comes when you decide to open it up. and i agree with taking classes. it will help you in the long run when you find yourself in a tight situation (swerving around objects, somebody cuts you off, etc).