Getting acquainted; hints & tips for purchasing your first motorcycle

I am now onto my third motorcycle, so I am coming from some experience to say that there is no 'one' bike for you; the most important thing to do is get one! My first purchase was this 06' Kawasaki ZZR250, from memory it had about 42,000km, which is getting up there for a motorbike. The rough ratio I've always gone by is 30,000km for a motorcycle engine equates to roughly 100,000km for a standard car engine, this is because motorcycle engines are under a lot more stress as they rev so much higher. Many motorcycles can still knock up well over 100,000km, particularly sports-tourers or cruisers; sports bikes are usually punished pretty hard. The main draw-card the ZZR had on me was price... it was only $2,500 for a bike that was only five years old and satisfied all my needs; it is LAMS approved (Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme, on a restricted licence {which is basically P's for motorcycling} riders can only use bikes which have been approved under the LAMS laws, they are based on a power to weight ratio with a maximum capacity of 650cc), it looks great and is a lot bigger than most of the 250's out there and finally the reputable Kawasaki brand name gave me hope that it would be a good work horse and not be too much trouble mechanically.

For me the most limiting factor was money, I had recently got my licence and from there I just wanted to get out and ride more! I pounced on this bike which was one of the best I'd seen for the price, but it is common to get such bargains if you keep looking regularly, check www.bikesales.com.au, as well as Gumtree and Ebay, and magazines and local newspapers; searching for the bike is half the fun!

There are many number of emerging manufacturers which might be a tempting option to consider. I kinda fell in love when I saw pictures of a Megelli 250r for the first time... It looks like a mini Ducati 848 from certain anlges, but when I saw one in the 'flesh', it simply looked too small and cheap. Reviews of the Megelli were not very flattering, most journo's seem to agree that it feels like a cheap and underpowered bike to ride. The more recent models are water cooled, so they might be worth looking at, again the main reason I didn't look further into them was price (although quite cheap they were out of my budget); also be aware you would need to change the exhaust quicksmart, the stock note is disgusting... synthetic sound which is barely nicer than a mower. But with brands such as Hyosung displaying glimmers of hope with the GT650r etc.. some of the emerging Chinese marques might eventually prove themselves to be quality 'stayers' in the industry; after all the Japanese manufacturers had to go through that same period of proving themselves to be up to scratch compared with the established British and Italian's.

The best advice I could give for a first bike is not to worry about it too much, you are going to love the freedom that any motorcycle provides. So whether you decide that you want a machine that is more sports focused, or a cruiser, or a dirtbike (some people don't know that many dirtbikes are in fact road legal), it is more about what fits with your budget, and most importantly to ride safely. You can never practice too much, go ride as much as possible, taking it as slowly as you need to; I spent countless hours riding little scooters in South East Asia, and then riding my mates CBR250rr Fireblade in quiet streets around his house (before I had a licence :S) just practicing throttle control and clutch control, getting used to weight transfer and what the bike does when you give it too much gas heading out of a corner (scared myself shitless when I picked up my Honda VFR400 and changed up to 2nd mid corner and opened the throttle a bit too fast, the ZZR wouldn't have squirmed at all but the VFR instantly lost traction and kicked the back out by at least a foot; I knew instantly that I had to respect my new and very different beast or else there would be dire consequences!). You can own and enjoy many many motorcycles in your time, it does not have to be an excessively dangerous affair just so long as you ride within your limits. Constantly be aware and be assessing your surroundings, ride as if you're invisible to the 'cage drivers' around you whom get all too easily distracted by the many functions they have to play with in their vehicles. Motorcycles offer a pure driving experience, you are completely immersed in the surroundings, the feeling is unparalleled; and when you feel the need to go faster and faster; get yourself to the track.


Finally I'll give a quick rundown of bikes I'd happily endorse:

Sports Tourers: Kawasaki ZZR250 - was a great first bike for me, cheap and easy to maintain, great aesthetics and can throw it around with ease.
                        Kawasaki's new Ninja 300 - Is getting great reviews and really seems worth a look if you can afford a new bike; seems unnecessary to me as you will still outgrow its performance within the year of probation if you're riding a lot and then you lose all that money on resale.
                        Suzuki GSX650F - Nice big bike for LAMS approved, not bad looking, would recommend to the larger/older rider.

Naked Bikes:   Suzuki SV650S - I've ridden an early 2000 model non-restricted version (the LAMS version will have throttle restrictions or engine restrictions to keep it under the power-to-weight limits) and it was a wonderful beast!
                        KTM 200 Duke - I've seen a few of these around and they've got the great KTM eccentric styling, crazy looking in their bright orange livery.
                        Honda VTR 250 - Awesome looking naked bike! Looks a bit like the Ducati Monsters :P
                        Ducati Monster 659 - I have no idea how this is a learners bike, it must be restricted to a ridiculous extent to make it onto the list, but... for those who can afford, how could you go past owning such a beautiful bike from one of the most desirable marques in the game.

Cruisers:           Suzuki Intruder 250 - Rode one of these for a day as a loan bike when I was getting a service. Very impressive, if you're into cruisers this was a decent little kit. Any friend who saw it loved it.
                        Yamaha Virago 250 - Took a friends one for a brief spin just a couple of weeks ago, seems to do its job very well. They've been around for a while too so picking up a decent used Virago shouldn't be that hard.
                        Hunter Bobber 350 - This is my wildcard cruiser... I absolutely love the styling... That is all.

Sportsbikes:     Honda CBR250RR Fireblade - Going a bit retro here, but these bikes still sell in huge numbers and hold their value really well. They do this because they are great to ride, as I mentioned this was the first road bike I really got to exploit, good clean fun for a 250.
                        Yamaha YZF R15 (150) - This is a good bike, and it is cheap. I had one for a day as a loan bike when I was getting my bike serviced again, it can capably do 130km/h and not feel like it will fall apart and it even felt comfortable in its tracks in rainy conditions on its ridiculously thin tyres. Only negative I can say here; a friend crashed theirs on Nebo from pushing too hard, broke his femur which was then sticking out of his leg. That doesn't really reflect anything at all about the bike, but hopefully gets the message home to RIDE SAFELY.
                       Honda RVF 400 - Again this is getting a little older, but it's an amazing machine apparently; very similar to my VFR 400 but slightly heavier and this allows it to scrape by the power-weight ratio and make it onto the LAMS list. I only recommend this to riders who are somewhat capable to begin with and who will not ride beyond their limits; I know how hard my bike can ride and if the RVF is anything like it than it is a fantastic machine!

There are countless others as well: Honda GB500 is one I must throw in for it's amazing retro cafe racer style. You can get them delivered from Melbourne for under $7,000. I badly want to ride one and see if they're any good.

Thanks for reading :)

Paul Joshua