zzr 250

Hello all. My son is trying to get me to loan him some money in order to
buy a kawasaki zzr 250 as a learners motorbike. Here in australia there is
a 250 cc restriction on learners licences.

Also, could i have some opinions on the bike? As in pro/cons, maintenance
hassles, if its too powerful etc....

It should be noted that i'm not quite computer literate and hence don't know
how to search effectively on the internet for reviews etc. Newsgroups are
used at work, and i discovered he subscribed to multiple biking groups, such
as this one, so it should be noted all previous and future posts in this
group will be by him.

Thankyou all

 

Oh it will be set in stone that the money will be forthcoming regardless of
how the bike is handled.....

But thats a very good point....
I'd be running with that one except he's been driving for several years and
has been very responsible with the car, thats not in question.

Thanks

 

Yeah, but he asked about the ZZR250. I think they're a great learner bike.

Nev..
'02 CBR1100XX #2

 

Good learners bike, not too racy, plenty of 2. hand spares, cheap to run,
all sound a bit rattly at idle, easy to work on, plenty aftermarket parts
available.
only NSW and ACT allows the power to weight LAM-bikes (Learner approved
M'cycle), all other states are still 250cc for learners.
Good choice bike for the start. GPX 250 as well.
Any bike with plastics is more expensive to fix than unfaired bikes.
cheers
pete

 

I had one for 1 year and in that time I put about 28000km on it.
I wouldn't say that it's too powerful for a learner unless he has no
self control in which case anything bar an automatic barina is too
powerful.
PROS:- easy to ride: it's good for learning on, plenty fast enough,
but forgiving should he make mistakes like we all do.
- easy for parts: they're more common than arseholes so parts are
easily and cheaply available everywhere. tyre sizes are common so
there's choice available.
- cheap to buy: Privately, you can pick a half decent one up for
$2500 though you're probably better off spending $3500-$4000 and get a
minter with low kms. In the dealers, expect to pay about $1000 more
for the same thing, I'd buy private.
- cheap to run: 12 dollars will get you around 300km, you can get
away with changing oil every 4000-5000km which is good.

CONS:- Maybe not quite fast enough to keep out of sydneys insane
traffic which meant after a few months I was thrashing the tits off
mine, so everything started wearing out.
- Build quality is not fantastic: They're made to a budget, the
fairings are thin and prone to cracking if not looked after, the
engine is old tech and makes lots of funny and scary noises, just
about every week mine had a different noise, rattle or knock, but it
kept on going admirably even under the immense torture I inflicted on
it.

Maintenance: compared to a car it is extremely high, but for a bike
it's moderate. If you want it to last you must change the oil AT LEAST
every 5000km, use good motorcycle oil and it will cost you about $20 a
time. I change mine every 1000-1500km which is every few weeks, you
can tell when it needs doing because the gear change goes to shit. The
zzr should go about 3000km before needing a change, 5000 if you're
very very gentle. expect to change the clutch($250 in shop, $110 DIY)
at 30000-40000km, cam chain($275 in shop incl. service) about
40000-50000km, engine rebuild ($$$) around 60000-70000km, drive
chain($100) every 8000km(if you do high kms get a scottoiler), tyres
every 15000km touring type tyres(read: shitty) , every 6000km for good
sports tyres, adjust valve clearance every 15000-20000km. I also think
mine had a blown headgasket at about 50000km but I didn't change it so
I'm not sure.
It is worth spending more and getting a lower km, and/or better
maintained bike, after 40000-50000km problems arise at regular
intervals.

All of the above is what I would expect under average use.

The ZZR is a good bike for learning on. If he can already ride, the
honda CBR250 is more reliable and has an easier time escaping traffic,
though it's expensive. All of the imports(CBR,ZXR,FZR) are better made
than the ZZR, though they're all less forgiving and more expensive.

I hope this is of some help,
Mark
ZZR250=>ZXR250=>ZXR400

 

I must say, this post generated a lot more feedback than i thought it would,
thankyou to all who contributed, getting a feel for the maintenance issues
of the bike from an owners viewpoint will hopefully be quite helpful.

Hopeful zzr owner, Adam.