First Bike - Kawasaki ZXR!

[Adam]

Well, I got off my ass and finally got my licence. A co-worker friend of mine had a 2000 Kawasaki ZXR250 (also called the ZX-2R or ZX-2RC in some markets) sitting at home, gathering dust. It'd only travelled 2,700kms (1,600miles) as he'd used it until he qualified for a larger bike (in my home state, you're restricted to 250cc or less for a period of 12 months).



He only wanted a pittance compared to it's market value so, we got it re-registered and serviced and now it's mine.

All I can say is that it's a lot of laughs. 250cc inline-4, 19k rpm redline and 6-speed. It's soooo much fun. It's also got a lot of the boy-racer Super Sportbike look fairings and the twin front brake rotors. It's surprisingly easy to ride, but tends to be more happy sitting around 10-12k rpm, so I tend to cruise in lower gears.



Damned thing screams like an F1 car at 19k though.

[Adam]

WTF? My pics got resized UP from 500x375?

[David]

Very nice! It's good to see that Australia has reasonable laws about what you size bike you can ride. It's amazing that anyone with the money or credit can walk into a US dealer and walk out with a ZX12 or 13 or whatever they are now.

I used to have a Yamaha FZR400 for the track. That was the most fun I've ever had on two wheels. It's amazing how high the redline has gotten on the small bikes.

[Rot 911]

Damn you had me worried that you had actually bought a ZXR as your first bike. I wish the U.S. had the same law that your first bike had to be under 250 cc. Too many people think they know how to ride a high HP motorcycle only to find out after they wreck that they don't. Have fun and remember "all the gear all the time."

[Spede]

I started off with a Ninja 250 back in college. Great size to learn on.

[deathpunk dan]

Very cool!

My 1st street bike was a 1990 FZR400..so I understand the appeal of high winding small bores!

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by Kurt V
Have fun and remember "all the gear all the time."

+1. Good helmet, gloves, riding boots (over the ankle), and jacket. Riding pants are also recommended. For casual commuting rides I went with armored jeans sold by Icon. For sporting rides in the turns go for all leather and armor.

Lots of fun on your horizon!

[arcsine]

Originally posted by Kurt V
Have fun and remember "all the gear all the time."

+2

Sounds like a great first bike. Before you spend any money on go-fast widgets for the bike, get yourself into a riding course.

[Rick Lee]

I just sold my R1150R last Saturday. It was my first real bike and I only had it for 6 mos. But I rode it a lot and finally felt comfortable with a 1200GS, which is what I wanted at first, but quickly realized it was too much bike for me. Anyway, I'm going to pick up my GS in NC next Sat. and ride it home 500 miles on Sunday. Should be a blast.

[Adam]

Originally posted by KurtV:
Have fun and remember "all the gear all the time."

Very good advice! I've spent up on good protective gear (helmet/gloves/jacket/boots and kevlar armored jeans) as I just turned 30 and the idea of nursing road-pizza wounds while at work didn't appeal. I didn't really intend on it, but I rode it in the pouring rain the other day (weather turned bad and I got caught out) and had a blast. I guess the best thing I can do now, is to get as much experience in poor conditions as I can. I'm just a bit apprehensive about cornering grip and lean angles in the wet... I guess the confidence will come with time. I find it's so easy to just jump on the bike and run errands or go out. If IN have to go anywhere by myself, I just take the bike - sadly, the 911 will get even less use.

Is it always so much damned fun to wind these things out going uphill?

My state seems to be very safety conscious here - I had to attend a (minimum) day-long rider course as part of my Licencing process (technically it's a Learner Permit) and I go back in a month or two to upgrade to a full licence, but will still have a minimum 12-month period where I'm restricted to 250cc or less, no pillion passenger and a Blood Alcohol level of 0%.

It's no big deal, I want to truly master this thing before I think about moving up to a larger bike - but when I do, it'll probably be a 600 sportbike or something. This thing is reasonably dozy below 10k rpm - plenty for commuting, but to have fun, it needs revs! Under full-blast, it's quick - since it's only 140kg (~300lbs), but with 45bhp. It doesn't hit as hard as some 2-stroke bikes would, but the power comes on strong and it sounds great!

It's strange, though - the day I was doing my course two guys rolled up on a Honda Fireblade and a Yamaha R1, both with sport pipes etc and both wearing full leathers... We thought they were instructors, but they were there for the learner course as well...

Rick - sounds good! Do you have any pictures?

[Rick Lee]

Here's the old bike.



Here's the new one. Will try to get some photos on the way home.

[MMARSH]

Originally posted by Adam Chaplin
Very good advice! I've spent up on good protective gear (helmet/gloves/jacket/boots and kevlar armored jeans) as I just turned 30 and the idea of nursing road-pizza wounds while at work didn't appeal. I didn't really intend on it, but I rode it in the pouring rain the other day (weather turned bad and I got caught out) and had a blast. I guess the best thing I can do now, is to get as much experience in poor conditions as I can. I'm just a bit apprehensive about cornering grip and lean angles in the wet... I guess the confidence will come with time. I find it's so easy to just jump on the bike and run errands or go out. If IN have to go anywhere by myself, I just take the bike - sadly, the 911 will get even less use.

Is it always so much damned fun to wind these things out going uphill?

My state seems to be very safety conscious here - I had to attend a (minimum) day-long rider course as part of my Licencing process (technically it's a Learner Permit) and I go back in a month or two to upgrade to a full licence, but will still have a minimum 12-month period where I'm restricted to 250cc or less, no pillion passenger and a Blood Alcohol level of 0%.

It's no big deal, I want to truly master this thing before I think about moving up to a larger bike - but when I do, it'll probably be a 600 sportbike or something. This thing is reasonably dozy below 10k rpm - plenty for commuting, but to have fun, it needs revs! Under full-blast, it's quick - since it's only 140kg (~300lbs), but with 45bhp. It doesn't hit as hard as some 2-stroke bikes would, but the power comes on strong and it sounds great!

It's strange, though - the day I was doing my course two guys rolled up on a Honda Fireblade and a Yamaha R1, both with sport pipes etc and both wearing full leathers... We thought they were instructors, but they were there for the learner course as well...

Rick - sounds good! Do you have any pictures?

I get paid to ride everyday, then ride on the weekends. I talk and deal with alot of motorcyclists. I will also be an MSF instructor by the end of the summer. I wish we had the same licensing restrictions here in the US.

Here you pay your money and with zero riding experience can ride out the dealer on a 160 Hp sportbike. Alot of guys read the magazines and then have to buy the latest greatest. I can tell by your post, that even though your CC restricted your interested in learning how to be a good rider. Good for you. Keep the rubber side down and have fun.

[on2wheels52]

Nice looking ride, way different than the 250 Ninja here.
Not to be contrary but if we had similar licensing rules wouldn't there be whining on the order of "they're taking away my freedom to choose the motorcycle I want"?
Jim

[Rick Lee]

Originally posted by on2wheels52
Nice looking ride, way different than the 250 Ninja here.
Not to be contrary but if we had similar licensing rules wouldn't there be whining on the order of "they're taking away my freedom to choose the motorcycle I want"?
Jim

Hey, I firmly believe we should have special licensing for women who drive huge SUV's too. When I took my MSF class, there were people in there who already had bikes and just thought the course would help them a little bit and they were terrible. One guy even got sent home who already had his license. I was the only one in the class who got a perfect score on my road test and I hadn't ridden in 10 yrs. before that AND I was scared to death when I got my R1150R for the first time and had a 250 mile ride home. So I'm not so sure anyone with a fresh license should be able to go out and get anything they want. But by the same token, our car driver's license tests are a complete joke too.

[MMARSH]

Originally posted by Rick Lee
But by the same token, our car driver's license tests are a complete joke too.

Your right.

[Matt Holcomb]

This could be Adam's second bike: