New Honda CBR250R!

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by mole2

Well Yamaha still has the V-Star 650 Custom

Yea, that probably would qualify for some folks.

Being a small person, I pay attention to size and weight; my Shadow is about 425 lbs, the V-Star says 540........and it LOOKS much bigger than mine or the Vulcan 500, more like the Suzuki M-50, which many riders also consider a mid-size.......but I don't really.

[b1pig]

hyosung has a 650. i think is a yammie copy.

the ninja caters to the sport style market. yes, there are people that dont want the cruiser and will put up wth all that they must to get that racer-boy stance and style. (and insurance)
i rode a 250 ninja several years ago, and i liked it. havent riden a new one yet, though.

[dentheman]

I checked with Progressive and Geico to see the cost of Texas required motorcycle insurance as well as additional coverage above the requirements. The Ninja and GZ insurance costs were about the same in both cases with those companies. I was surprised how cheap motorcycle insurance is, even for a 500 or 650. I played around and checked several different motorcycles on-line and they wanted to sell me insurance then and there for a year, from around $99 for basic to around $465 for everything they could tack on (full coverage, uninsured and underinsured motorist, additional medical, additional property damage, etc.), for the 250cc bikes (prices are as close as I can recall).

[Water Warrior 2]

$99 a year for basic coverage !!!! :lol: Your heart would stop if you had to pay Canadian insurance costs. I have yet to find an explaination why our costs are so great but we have to pay to play.

[dentheman]

OK, I wasn't real sure of the $99 basic price from Progressive for a Ninja 250, so I rechecked; I was wrong, it would actually be $74 per year for me. I had to answer some questions: Zero years riding experience, no previous motorcycle insurance with them, no previous accidents or tickets, completed MSF course, age 61. I think Geico was about the same, but I didn't recheck them. I don't know where I got the $99 figure in my previous post, unless it was for some additional coverage.

The prices I quoted in my previous post were from memory of around a month ago, that's why the error.

My point is, the insurance companies charge the same for ANY 250cc motorcycle.

[blaine]

Originally Posted by Water Warrior

$99 a year for basic coverage !!!! :lol: Your heart would stop if you had to pay Canadian insurance costs. I have yet to find an explanation why our costs are so great but we have to pay to play.

I pay $185.00 per year for basic coverage.When I was shopping around I got quotes as high as $472.00 for basic coverage.That is for liability of $500.000 on any size bike up to 500c.c.Above 500c.c and it almost doubles.I have a clean driving record and no accidents.Some companies will not insure for under a million.
:??:

[dentheman]

Texas requires min. liability for injuries to 1 person of $25,000; bodily injury for all persons $50,000; and propery damage of $25,000; for any (non-commercial) motor vehicle. It varies quite a bit by state, but no state in the US requires $500,000!

[dentheman]

Originally Posted by b1pig

hyosung has a 650. i think is a yammie copy.

the ninja caters to the sport style market. yes, there are people that dont want the cruiser and will put up wth all that they must to get that racer-boy stance and style. (and insurance)
i rode a 250 ninja several years ago, and i liked it. havent riden a new one yet, though.

I want a very low priced, very low weight, easy on gas, freeway capable bike. The only one that fits ALL those requirements as far as I am concerned is the Ninja 250 (and perhaps the S40). At age 61 and 235 lbs I am certainly not looking for the racer-boy stance.

I don't yet trust bikes marketed by Korean or Chinese companies, but that's just me.

I am hoping this new Honda meets my requirements, but I am not optimistic at this time because of the single cylinder.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by dentheman

I don't trust bikes marketed by Chinese companies

:plus1: From personal experience.

Mine was so bad (Lanvertti) that the local bike shop where I bought it agreed it was a piece of junk, & got my money back from the main dealer, for me - (one day on the road, two days in the workshop every time I found something else wrong with it)

[dhgeyer]

A bunch of the newer BMW models are being made in China now. They had some problems with the chains early on, but now are pretty solid by all accounts. The Hyosung bikes (Korean) have been around for quite a few years now, and have been very solid and trouble free. Like anything else, I suppose, it depends on the maker and distributor.

Personally, I'd rather not buy anything more than I have to from China, but that's for other reasons.