New member

[phatmanswingin]

Hello guys and gals,
I've been trolling for a few weeks now. I don't ride and I don't have a bike.
But...I want to learn and get a bike bad!!!!!!!!!
I really hope I'm not having a midlife crisis. I have always wanted to ride but just never did.

I have a question, though I realize this site might be biased.

Is the GZ250 really better than the Honda's Nighthawk and Rebel of the Yamaha v-star 250?

[alanmcorcoran]

What is your criteria? If you are looking for a good bike to learn to ride on that will do pretty much everything but high speed highway, you'll probably be pretty happy with the GZ. If you can get a used one for 2K, you'd probably be able to sell it at little or no loss if you decided riding wasn't for you.

I always wanted a "real" motorcycle and put it off until I was 50. Even though my best years are far behind me, I still enjoy the hell out of it and odds are you will too. Take a course or read some books - there's a lot you need to learn and it's best to get into good habits right from the start. No matter what anybody says, motorcycle riding puts you at increased risk for injury and death - but you can reduce your risk substantially if you approach it with respect.

Good luck and have fun - it doesn't really matter that much which bike you start on as long as it is in good mechanical order and you aren't getting in over your head. I think all of the bikes you mentioned are good newb options.

[5th_bike]

Originally Posted by phatmanswingin

Hello guys and gals,
I've been trolling for a few weeks now. I don't ride and I don't have a bike.
But...I want to learn and get a bike bad!!!!!!!!!
I really hope I'm not having a midlife crisis. I have always wanted to ride but just never did.

I have a question, though I realize this site might be biased.

Is the GZ250 really better than the Honda's Nighthawk and Rebel of the Yamaha v-star 250?

Welcome to the forum :2tup:

Just one remark, I recently looked into 'forum lingo' and I think what you mean is 'lurking' (checking it out without actively participating) rather than 'trolling' (posting messages pretending to need help, just for the purpose of getting peoples reactions). Lurking is OK whereas trolling is considered not so good.

Well if you still have to learn - if you can ride a bicycle, chances are close to 100% that you will be able to ride a motorcycle !
Depending on where you live, you may have to go to motorcycle rider class first, they generally recommended that here.

Congratulations, you do have a midlife crisis. I had that too, last year, and would up with a nice GZ250 as a consequence. :rawk:

I'm not going to tell you which bike is better, because I just don't know. Read around. Try them. You are the ultimate judge of what you will get.

[Water Warrior 2]

Welcome to the forum. Always nice to have a new member. Please remember all the replies to your question "which is best" will be biased towards our little GZ. I do have some saddle time with the Virago 250 and feel a little qualified to make a comment. Firstly all 3 bikes are good entry level machines with a proven reputation. All 3 will take you from point A to point B without breaking if ridden within their limits. They are not rockets sleds but very mild mannered forgiving bikes for the new rider. All 3 are widely used in training classes for just this reason.
Comfort and fit. I think the GZ is the winner here. It seems to be a smidget larger and has a little more wiggle room. The Rebel is the smallest from test sits and reviews I have read. The Virago is in the middle and not a bad mount for a rider(me) of 5" 10' at about 185 in my birthday suit. Had 30 hours on the Virago in a training class both parking lot and street riding with a bit of highway thrown in for good measure. It was a good ride. The Rebel is very popular and reliable but does have one trait which shows up in nearly all of them and Honda has never addressed the issue. The transmissiom hangs up when trying to go into 1st gear when coming to a stop. Easily cured once stopped by pressing on the shifter and shutting off the engine, restart and away you go.
Appearance wise the GZ wins hands down in my opinion. Looks the largest with a big bike presence if not parked beside a much larger bike. The Virago looks skinny with the smaller tank and narrow V-twin engine. Looks fragile to me. Rebel is just ho-hum.
Enough for now. Again WELCOME to the forum. WW.

[phatmanswingin]

Thanks for the responses. You are correct I was lurking :roll:
I definitely plan on taking a riding course.

[phatmanswingin]

Hey I forgot to ask. I am 5' 7" and 315(yea i know) is a 250 bike gonna hold me?

[alanmcorcoran]

yeah, but:

Don't plan on riding two up. I think I read on here somewhere the gross vehicle weight is 771 lbs.

[phatmanswingin]

Originally Posted by alanmcorcoran

yeah, but:

Don't plan on riding two up. I think I read on here somewhere the gross vehicle weight is 771 lbs.

Thanks no plans on riding two up.