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Razz2525, go with the bike you feel most comfortable on. There's a lot to mental energy and coordination you need when you first start riding, you don't want your comfort to hinder that. And a 250 rebel can handle highway speeds just fine.
A 250 is a great bike for a beginner, especially someone who is concerned about physical size and weight. It's well known that people typically do not lose money when they buy a used beginner bike and sell it a couple of years later.
Indeed... the market for used 250s is probably stronger than any other used segment. They're not just for beginners either. 250 sport bikes like the Ninja and CBR handle like scalpels and are a blast to ride. They will also break 100mph. I really enjoyed borrowing a friend of mine's Ninja 250 for the twisties of Kentucky once. It went where you thought about going. Don't let the naysayers tell you you need to get a bigger bike or you'll be upset.
OP, I look forward to your post regarding how much experience you have. If it's your first bike, I think it should be used (trust me), and probably a 250. You will drop the bike, and if it isn't new and already has a ding on it, you won't feel as bad. You can use money saved to buy quality gear, your first six months insurance, and gas.
About the ergonomics of sport bikes... "Repli-racers" in the four-cylinder 600/1000cc range like Suzuki GSXRs, the Yamaha R6/R1, Honda CBRRs, and Kawasaki ZX-Rs are much different than the Ninja 250-500 or Honda CBR 250. The former are basically street legal race bikes. Think race bikes with turn signals. The bars are much lower, and the bike is much more dedicated to its job. The Ninja 250, 500, and CBR250 are not race bikes. While they're fast and handle extremely well, their ergonomic setup is much more upright. I commuted 200 miles occasionally on a Ninja 500 with luggage, and it wasn't so bad really. Those bikes have bars significantly higher, and there is significantly less weight on the wrists of the rider than the repli-racer bikes. Hope all this helped.
Razz2525, go with the bike you feel most comfortable on. There's a lot to mental energy and coordination you need when you first start riding, you don't want your comfort to hinder that. And a 250 rebel can handle highway speeds just fine.
A 250 is a great bike for a beginner, especially someone who is concerned about physical size and weight. It's well known that people typically do not lose money when they buy a used beginner bike and sell it a couple of years later.
when i started riding i was 5'8", 140 so not a big guy and handled the 800 intruder no problem. not saying its the right choice for everyone but a 250 is small and most people will outgrow it in weeks if not days.
the op also said her husband felt the 250's were toys if you wanna get outta that toy size and feel gonna have to come up to at least a 450cc.
as for not losing money buying a beginner bike and selling it who says that or how is that not widely known? if you really bargain to pick up your 250 and sell it for top dollar maybe you break even but i gurantee after weeks of trying to sell it on craigslist and having people claim they will come look or even buy and not show up most people are gonna take the first decent cash offer that comes along. and if you plan on trading the 250 in to a dealer i gurantee your gonna take a haircut on the bike. obviously 250's are cheaper to begin with so if you pickup for 1500 and sell for 1200 you only lost 300 bucks for using the bike for a few years but still your gonna lose money
when i started riding i was 5'8", 140 so not a big guy and handled the 800 intruder no problem. not saying its the right choice for everyone but a 250 is small and most people will outgrow it in weeks if not days.
the op also said her husband felt the 250's were toys if you wanna get outta that toy size and feel gonna have to come up to at least a 450cc.
as for not losing money buying a beginner bike and selling it who says that or how is that not widely known? if you really bargain to pick up your 250 and sell it for top dollar maybe you break even but i gurantee after weeks of trying to sell it on craigslist and having people claim they will come look or even buy and not show up most people are gonna take the first decent cash offer that comes along. and if you plan on trading the 250 in to a dealer i gurantee your gonna take a haircut on the bike. obviously 250's are cheaper to begin with so if you pickup for 1500 and sell for 1200 you only lost 300 bucks for using the bike for a few years but still your gonna lose money
You're still a half foot taller than the OP (and I'd guess at least 30-40 lbs heavier). That's pretty significant when you factor in just barely being able to flat-foot a bike when stopped.
I'm sure I've said this before, but if you get bored on a 250cc motorcycle, you're not doing it right! That is, unless all you do is ride in a straight line on a highway. Because, you see, there are these things called curves and they're extremely fun!
And, really, days or weeks? It takes that long just to get comfortable to ride around on public roads. No beginner will have the bike leaned way over in turns and be redlining it everywhere they go in the first few weeks.
I've only lost money on one bike out of about 5. And I didn't buy them cheap to fix up and sell. I buy a used bike in decent shape, take care of it, ride it for a year or two and sell it for the same price or even a little higher. That's been my experience and it has been echoed here and on many other motorcycle forums.
..but a 250 is small and most people will outgrow it in weeks if not days...
How, Exactly, do you "outgrow" a motorcycle? I mean, I'm at the top end of normal (6'4", have ranged between 240 and 280), and the bike Fits me physically without issue. The vast majority of humans on the planet are smaller than I am and aren't going to grow bigger. So they won't outgrow the bike that way.
If you mean that the 250 will no longer be fun to ride, it'll become boring... well, that requires a saying handed down in my family for at least 2 generations. "Only boring people get bored" And no where is it more true than with the 250 segment. 21 years into my motorcycling career now, 13 years as a professional motorcycle mechanic (read: I ride a LOT of motorcycles), 6 years where I roadraced with intent to win and a few years on either side where I was an avid track-day rider.... basically, someone who has a bit more motorcycling experience than average. The Ninja 250 is by far, the Most enjoyable motorcycle I've ridden on the street. I've owned 3 now, with only a couple months out of the last 10 years without one. It's what I pick 99% of the time when going solo somewhere, be that to the corner store or across the country. The other 1% I'm picking a different bike for Local riding only. Now, I know that all the 250cc bikes aren't created equal, and the cruisers do struggle to do freeway week for long stretches, but they're Hardly something that a new rider ought to feel "bored" with anytime before 10,000 miles/2 years.
As for pricing, I've yet to lose money on a Ninja 250. Granted, yes, I am a mechanic, but it's not like I'm doing anything magic. Heck, the 2008 I bought in 2008 as a used ("grew out of it", lol... saw the kid a month later with an assortment of scabs and a rashed up bike) but in perfect shape bike. It needed nothing, and all I did was a basic service and change the tires before selling it the spring of 2009 after adding 6,000 miles and I made $500. So long as a bike is legal, running decently and looks decent, it'll fetch in the $1500 range. Not hard to buy and sell within that range and have both of those transactions completed within a week. Buy anything that needs even the Slightest bit of work (tires, for instance) and change those out and you'll be able to sell it for more than you paid if the have some basic sense about you. Know anything about advertising and put the bike in a "needs absolutely nothing" condition, and yes it IS easy to get top dollar, eve on Criagslist (my average time on the market is 10 days, and that's high because I've had a few oddballs that took finding the right seller, most bikes are gone to the first person who looks and within 3 days).
I do love the amount of money I make from the "grew out of it" crowd though. By far, the single best segment of spenders. But it's their choice/want, not out of any need and that's where the rubber meets the road. Knowing what's Needed to do the job you want done.
not saying its the right choice for everyone but a 250 is small and most people will outgrow it in weeks if not days.
Gotta disagree with you there. Anyone going from novice to outgrowing - as in, the bike reaches it limits before the rider - a Ninja 250 in mere weeks is extraordinarily talented. I am a huge fan of people learning to ride small, nimble bikes first. Taking away the possibility of going fast by just gunning the throttle inspires new riders to become smooth and safe in their braking & cornering.
You're still a half foot taller than the OP (and I'd guess at least 30-40 lbs heavier). That's pretty significant when you factor in just barely being able to flat-foot a bike when stopped.
I'm sure I've said this before, but if you get bored on a 250cc motorcycle, you're not doing it right! That is, unless all you do is ride in a straight line on a highway. Because, you see, there are these things called curves and they're extremely fun!
And, really, days or weeks? It takes that long just to get comfortable to ride around on public roads. No beginner will have the bike leaned way over in turns and be redlining it everywhere they go in the first few weeks.
I've only lost money on one bike out of about 5. And I didn't buy them cheap to fix up and sell. I buy a used bike in decent shape, take care of it, ride it for a year or two and sell it for the same price or even a little higher. That's been my experience and it has been echoed here and on many other motorcycle forums.
i wish we had curves but here in illinois pretty nonexistant. if i lived in kentucky or something id go grab a cbr250 in a second, however here you dont have em unless you drive out to like starved rock or something in ottawa. the intruder is actually a relativelyhigh seat height. ive always like the yamaha vstars and felt they had a super low seatheight and would recommend them to new riders or shorter riders.
I don't recommend "cruiser" style bikes to new riders for several reasons. Even though they have a lower seat hieght, they're invariably heavier than a standard or a sport bike. The feet-forward riding position is also strange. When I first rode one, I didn't feel it was conducive to inspiring confidence, and I was a 14 year riding veteran at that point. You can't use your legs as extra shock absorbtion in the case of an emergency, or even a routine speed bump. Longer rake angles of cruiser bikes also don't lend themselves to handle as well as standards or sport bikes.
IMO (which is worth what you paid for it), I would not recommend a cruiser styled bike to a first time rider. Optimally, I'd like a friend to learn in the dirt first, but I realize that isn't possible for everyone. A newbie should ride a light bike with one's feet in a position that they can stand up if need be.
err, my s40 cruiser has a curb weight of 381 lbs, and iirc rebels are even lighter. ninja 250 is 375 for comparison
We both know that your bike an exception to this rule. Yeah, at the 250cc level, absence of liquid cooling and quality suspension can make for a lighter bike than a 250 sport bike. The Ninja/CBR will still handle more sharply (yes, I've ridden all of the American-market 250s).
Your local American orange and black bike shop routinely tells first time riders that their ideal "starter bike" should be an 883cc 550lb machine...
I don't recommend "cruiser" style bikes to new riders for several reasons. Even though they have a lower seat hieght, they're invariably heavier than a standard or a sport bike. The feet-forward riding position is also strange. When I first rode one, I didn't feel it was conducive to inspiring confidence, and I was a 14 year riding veteran at that point. You can't use your legs as extra shock absorbtion in the case of an emergency, or even a routine speed bump. Longer rake angles of cruiser bikes also don't lend themselves to handle as well as standards or sport bikes.
IMO (which is worth what you paid for it), I would not recommend a cruiser styled bike to a first time rider. Optimally, I'd like a friend to learn in the dirt first, but I realize that isn't possible for everyone. A newbie should ride a light bike with one's feet in a position that they can stand up if need be.
Yeah most sport bikes are gonna be lighter than cruisers although my intruder only weighs in at about 440 pounds or so which is pretty light.
As for cruiser vs sportbike I think alot of it is personal preferance and obviously different makes and models have diff seat positions. I find cruisers to be a pretty natural position to ride however the first time I sat on a sport bike I was so uncomfortable. Now granted it was a Hyosung Sport bike I havn't tried out many others but the reach to the bars was long and had me bent over pretty aggressively and also the pegs were behind the rest of my body with my feet vertical to the ground. I just felt very out of control in that riding position. Nt sure how hyosungs comapre to all other sport bikes though
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A 250 is a great bike for a beginner, especially someone who is concerned about physical size and weight. It's well known that people typically do not lose money when they buy a used beginner bike and sell it a couple of years later.
