New rider from Houston, TX

4521 Views 31 Replies 15 Participants Last post by chrmoody, Dec 12, 2012

Brooks

Discussion Starter · Nov 28, 2012

Hi guys. Just picked up my bike this afternoon. I managed to find a used one w/ 700 miles for $3k. It's a steal if you ask me. This is my first bike. Im terrified already. I almost died twice on the way home. Once when a guy turned left in front of me and I was in the straight lane and once when I got just mosied on into the lane I was in. I knew you were supposed to ride like you were invisible, but dang.

First questions:

How do I know if it has ABS? I think it does as the owner's manual that came with it said "CBR250R/A" and I think the last letter means ABS but how do I know for sure?

The insurance people said if I join a club, it decreases my insurance rates. You think this decrease equates to the cost to join? Any other suggestions for decreasing insurance rates besides MSF (already done)?

Suggestions for first modifications? Seems like it's almost perfect the way it is...

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jscott1

· #11 · Nov 29, 2012

Welcome! What part of town are you in? There's about a half dozen riders here in Houston area, but I have yet to hook up for a group ride. But I've only been riding since August and I don't even have 500 miles yet.

I figured in Houston I should be able to ride year-round, but I underestimated how cold you can get on a bike. Not that you can't do it, but basically need all the same cold weather gear as up north. At 70 mph the windchill is near freezing at anything below 50F.

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jscott1

· #15 · Dec 1, 2012

Brooks said:
Sorry it took so long to make it back, guys. A new discovery is that this bike does NOT pull well on the highway. Pretty difficult to navigate traffic when I have no oomph. Maybe it's cuz Im fat but I think it's a safety concern. I try to stay off the highway, usually...

Im not sure what the 600 mile service consists of. The dealer I bought it from said they had done an oil service to it.

Im right near the intersection of 290 and BW8. Probably won't go for any group rides since I work weekends

The 600 mile service is supposed to inspect/ set the valve clearances as well as change the oil. That was probably done to your bike.

I'm at BW8 and 288 on pretty much the opposite side of town. Just for fun I was going to circle the beltway 8, but that would be 120 miles and put me over the limit for my 600 mile service so it's gong to have to wait.

The little CBR250R doesn't have as much oomph as I would like either. Not that I want to race it or anything, but I found myself with a wide open throttle the other day and wished for a bit more. The CBR500 might be a better starter bike for those that are regularly cruising north of 80 mph. (for those that consider that illegal remember that we have freeways were the speed limit is 85 mph).

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jscott1

· #18 · Dec 2, 2012

Michael said:
Well, well, what have we here.

Yeah, yeah; sounds like good advice to a beginner.

I'm not suggesting a beginner hop on a motorcycle and test out it's top speed on day 1.

I can vividly recall less than 5 months ago taking my MSF class and being terrified to leave the parking lot going more than 20 mph.

However, having said all that, within 4 months I can already see where some of the CBR250R's limitations are. No I'm not flicking it in the turns anywhere near it's limits, but in wide open acceleration, on the freeway, up hill, into a headwind, a little more power would be welcome. In that respect I think the CBR500 would be a better bike.

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