So I'm looking at buying my first bike.

[olds]

...

You will be hot and miserable during the summer and you will freeze your ass off during the winter. Add in rain and snow and distracted drivers... yeah, you pretty much have to be a masochist to do this all the time. :twisted:

Unless it raining (I take the train) or I have an off site meeting that I need to haul some stuff to (drive my truck), I ride. But it's mostly about parking. About $240 a month to park my truck and $10 a month for the bike.
$6.20 a day when it's raining and I take the train.

The bike saves me commute time in that I can use the car pool lane and I don't have to sit in traffic. It's probably a wash on the commute time though as I have to gear up 4 times and that takes a few minutes. But I'll take that over sitting in traffic.

Personally, I think a 250 is to small to ride on the highway and definitely too small for the freeway. It can't even get out of it's own way. There are times when judicious amounts of power are appropriate to get out of harms way.

Right now the OP doesn't ride on the freeway but things change. What then, buy another bike? I like versatility. Probably why I ride a Sport Tourer.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Unless it raining (I take the train) or I have an off site meeting that I need to haul some stuff to (drive my truck), I ride. But it's mostly about parking. About $240 a month to park my truck and $10 a month for the bike.
$6.20 a day when it's raining and I take the train.

The bike saves me commute time in that I can use the car pool lane and I don't have to sit in traffic. It's probably a wash on the commute time though as I have to gear up 4 times and that takes a few minutes. But I'll take that over sitting in traffic.

Personally, I think a 250 is to small to ride on the highway and definitely too small for the freeway. It can't even get out of it's own way. There are times when judicious amounts of power are appropriate to get out of harms way.

Right now the OP doesn't ride on the freeway but things change. What then, buy another bike? I like versatility. Probably why I ride a Sport Tourer.

Yeah, I'm pretty much done commuting on my bike. It just isn't well suited to that task and getting clipped a couple weeks ago while commuting home from work just cemented that for me.

I don't have to pay for parking and I have a Fastrak pass so I can use those lanes if traffic is heavy and I don't feel like sitting in a parking lot. My hours are tailored to coming in at the tail end of rush hour and I miss the heaviest part of the evening flow as well. Although, that night I got clipped I left right at 5PM and traffic was horrible. Even the Fastrak lanes were stopped.

 

[olds]

I work 0630-1500 to avoid the heavy traffic.

 

[ProchargeMe]

Well I bought the 250 yesterday bit it was pouring down rain outside at the time and I'm having it delivered today. I can say with confidence that I will save money by taking the bike for my daily commute, and I can do about 80% of the maintenance myself. I picked up an Aria vector 2 helmet along with a nice padded jacket with removable liner and some gloves. Wish me luck on my endeavors lol. Traffic isn't incredibly bad around here but I will still be on my toes while I'm riding. I generally miss the heavy traffic in the morning and afternoon by an hour, and most of my commute is a straight line with a few turns and stop lights. I will post pics later on today, but the bike looks 100 times better in person.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Well I bought the 250 yesterday bit it was pouring down rain outside at the time and I'm having it delivered today. I can say with confidence that I will save money by taking the bike for my daily commute, and I can do about 80% of the maintenance myself. I picked up an Aria vector 2 helmet along with a nice padded jacket with removable liner and some gloves. Wish me luck on my endeavors lol. Traffic isn't incredibly bad around here but I will still be on my toes while I'm riding. I generally miss the heavy traffic in the morning and afternoon by an hour, and most of my commute is a straight line with a few turns and stop lights. I will post pics later on today, but the bike looks 100 times better in person.

Where do you live? Just watch out for vehicles turning left or pulling out. Still plenty of danger on rural roads.

Congrats on the bike man. :thumbsup:

Oh, and even if you plan on doing most of the maintenance yourself I would still take it to the dealer for the first service which is probably around the 600 mile mark. There are a number of things that need to be checked over on a new bike during break in, it is as much a safety thing as a break in thing.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Where do you live? Just watch out for vehicles turning left or pulling out. Still plenty of danger on rural roads.

Yep, a very common cause of major injury is the "I didn't see them coming" and having someone pull right out in front of you. And this is way worse than being clipped like Jules was a few weeks ago.

 

[ProchargeMe]

I live in SC. I put about 40 miles on the bike today, and yeah the guys at the dealer told me about the 600 mile break in/ maintenance. So far nobody has almost hit me lol but I am.watching everyone closely, very closely. The bike is kind of slow but it's got enough ass to do what I need it to do. My only complaint is that I wish the gear lever was a bit longer, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed my first ride
Pics as promised.

 

[Greenman]

15 cubic inches isn't going to produce a whole bunch of horsepower. Any idea what the torque and horsepower are.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I live in SC. I put about 40 miles on the bike today, and yeah the guys at the dealer told me about the 600 mile break in/ maintenance. So far nobody has almost hit me lol but I am.watching everyone closely, very closely. The bike is kind of slow but it's got enough ass to do what I need it to do. My only complaint is that I wish the gear lever was a bit longer, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed my first ride
Pics as promised.

It looks about as long as any other bike. I keep the peg under the ball of my foot so I actually have to move my foot forward to shift or brake.

Edit-Now that I compare it to a pic of my bike it does look kind of short.

 

[ProchargeMe]

15 cubic inches isn't going to produce a whole bunch of horsepower. Any idea what the torque and horsepower are.

Yes. I guess you didn't read my name.

 

[Greenman]

Yes. I guess you didn't read my name.

I don't think I'd spend much money putting forced induction on a 250.

 

[Zenmervolt]

I can get about 5k out of a rear tire and maybe 7k out of a front. Add in valve adjustments every 7,500 miles and belts every 15k miles and it actually costs me more to operate my bike than my car.

It's things like this that make me happy with my Harley.

10,000-12,000 miles for a rear tire, double that for a front. Hydraulic lifters so no valve adjustments ever. 60,000 mile drive belt life.

A little 250 is going to be seeing tire life a lot closer to my Harley than to your Ducati and probably won't see the same amount of chain stretch either. Yeah, maintenance items will be more frequent on a bike, but I really think you're overstating the expense given that the CBR250R is designed to be about as cheap top operate as a bike can possibly be.

15 cubic inches isn't going to produce a whole bunch of horsepower. Any idea what the torque and horsepower are.

23.7 horsepower and 15.6 ft-lbs at the wheel according to the reviews I've seen. That puts it at about the same amount of power as the motorcycle used for the cross-country trip in the famous "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (a Honda CB77).

ZV

 

[JulesMaximus]

It's things like this that make me happy with my Harley.

10,000-12,000 miles for a rear tire, double that for a front. Hydraulic lifters so no valve adjustments ever. 60,000 mile drive belt life.

A little 250 is going to be seeing tire life a lot closer to my Harley than to your Ducati and probably won't see the same amount of chain stretch either. Yeah, maintenance items will be more frequent on a bike, but I really think you're overstating the expense given that the CBR250R is designed to be about as cheap top operate as a bike can possibly be.



23.7 horsepower and 15.6 ft-lbs at the wheel according to the reviews I've seen. That puts it at about the same amount of power as the motorcycle used for the cross-country trip in the famous "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (a Honda CB77).

ZV

Funny because I was talking with a guy at work who rides a Harley and he said he gets about 7-8,000 miles out of a rear tire. I won't even get into the stuff he has had break and had to fix due to design flaws. :biggrin:

I seriously don't mind buying performance rubber every 5k miles. It is so worth it when you're out in the canyons.

And I never said that his bike would be the same as my bike or even as my SV650. Just that there are other things you have to consider other than just fuel economy. I was just using my experience as an example.

 

[*kjm]

Sorry I didn't see this earlier.... the WR250X would have been a great bike for you!

It's a ton of fun in town, for me it was $92 a year full coverage, 26,000 valve checks, 3,000 oil change.... just fuel up and ride With your dirt bike background you know how to work on the bike and ride it. I'm 6' 183 and could get 80+ out of it no problem..... I have a KTM 530 now because I started racing a couple times a year and it's still street legal but the service went up but full insurance is still only $123 a year for way more HP at the rear wheel.

 

[Greenman]

It's things like this that make me happy with my Harley.

10,000-12,000 miles for a rear tire, double that for a front. Hydraulic lifters so no valve adjustments ever. 60,000 mile drive belt life.

A little 250 is going to be seeing tire life a lot closer to my Harley than to your Ducati and probably won't see the same amount of chain stretch either. Yeah, maintenance items will be more frequent on a bike, but I really think you're overstating the expense given that the CBR250R is designed to be about as cheap top operate as a bike can possibly be.



23.7 horsepower and 15.6 ft-lbs at the wheel according to the reviews I've seen. That puts it at about the same amount of power as the motorcycle used for the cross-country trip in the famous "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (a Honda CB77).

ZV

I couldn't imagine getting on the freeway with only 23 ponys to make it happen, though I'd guess that 250 weighs several hundred pounds less than my V-Rod.
Any idea what the 0 to 60 time is for it? Is it possible that it's under 10 seconds?

 

[Zenmervolt]

Any idea what the 0 to 60 time is for it? Is it possible that it's under 10 seconds?

8.5 seconds according to most reviews. But that's probably in the 9s for most riders (myself included) who aren't experts at launching a bike.

ZV

 

[Greenman]

Better than I would have thought.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Better than I would have thought.

I see people riding on the freeway all the time on them. They aren't THAT bad and certainly are capable of freeway speeds.

 

[pauldun170]

I live in SC. I put about 40 miles on the bike today, and yeah the guys at the dealer told me about the 600 mile break in/ maintenance. So far nobody has almost hit me lol but I am.watching everyone closely, very closely. The bike is kind of slow but it's got enough ass to do what I need it to do. My only complaint is that I wish the gear lever was a bit longer, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed my first ride
Pics as promised.

I didn't see a mention of motorcycle boots.
Proper motorcycle footwear can make a world of difference when shifting.

 

[pauldun170]

It's things like this that make me happy with my Harley.

10,000-12,000 miles for a rear tire, double that for a front. Hydraulic lifters so no valve adjustments ever. 60,000 mile drive belt life.

A little 250 is going to be seeing tire life a lot closer to my Harley than to your Ducati and probably won't see the same amount of chain stretch either. Yeah, maintenance items will be more frequent on a bike, but I really think you're overstating the expense given that the CBR250R is designed to be about as cheap top operate as a bike can possibly be.



23.7 horsepower and 15.6 ft-lbs at the wheel according to the reviews I've seen. That puts it at about the same amount of power as the motorcycle used for the cross-country trip in the famous "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (a Honda CB77).

ZV

Thats is the nice thing about Harley. Very low maintenance bikes.
Belt drive, no valve checks decent gas mileage.
Unfortunately too many owners screw up the bike with mods.

On my ZX-11 I'd do more sport touring. I think on the last set of Metzlers (M3?M4) I got about 12,000 miles out of them before they started getting sketchy. Tires before that had about 8000 miles on them.
On the Stradas that are on it now they have about 3000 miles on them and very little wear (bike is unregisterd garage queen now).

On my CBR1K I have Q3's on it. Previous Q2's were worn out at about 5K. Same goes for the tires before.
However, its a choice.
I could probably pick up a pilot road and get twice the mileage.

 

[olds]

Thats is the nice thing about Harley. Very low maintenance bikes...

A co-worker has two Harleys. About once a month he brings one or the other to work. In the back of his truck. To drop it off at a shop because something major is broke.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Congrats on the new ride. Glad to see another rider join the ranks. Nice paint scheme, sorta retro.

Put some frame sliders on it. You'll thank me later.

 

[pauldun170]

A co-worker has two Harleys. About once a month he brings one or the other to work. In the back of his truck. To drop it off at a shop because something major is broke.

Is it stock?
What is the issue?
How many miles is on it?

 

[Gillbot]

I couldn't imagine getting on the freeway with only 23 ponys to make it happen, though I'd guess that 250 weighs several hundred pounds less than my V-Rod.
Any idea what the 0 to 60 time is for it? Is it possible that it's under 10 seconds?

I think it's possible really. I drove my Ford Festiva on the highway and it was rated at a whopping 40 or 50hp, yes it is a bit more but it's also a car. You just need to be better at anticipating when you need to accelerate, then start your acceleration about a month before you need it! :biggrin:

I see 250cc bikes all the time on the highways here cruising along just fine though so I don't think it's that big of an issue.

 

[manimal]

I think it's possible really. I drove my Ford Festiva on the highway and it was rated at a whopping 40 or 50hp, yes it is a bit more but it's also a car. You just need to be better at anticipating when you need to accelerate, then start your acceleration about a month before you need it! :biggrin:

I see 250cc bikes all the time on the highways here cruising along just fine though so I don't think it's that big of an issue.

yes I rode the autostrada on a gilera 125 and it hit 100kph.

I love little bikes and think 250s are great to really wring the fun out of. They are the bike equivalent of a british sports car from the early 70s. I used to prefer to take out my rz350 over my bigger bikes when I had it because of that reason.