Awesome, I'm going to use this as a resource while I plan my trip this summer which I'll explain in a little bit =) Thanks!
As for the OT...
I decided on a 250r for a number of reasons! Here is a little background, lets see how long winded this ends up
This will be my first motorcycle after falling in love with the sport as a kid a few years ago. I was introduced by a friend who owned a ducati sport touring bike that I don't remember a lot of details on, only that is was big and fast as snot. He also owned a moped that he let us take out solo, which was my first solo powered riding experience! First time he took me out on the ducati though was the seal on the deal, what an insane experience.
I started to look at bikes early this year as I had a pretty decent tax return coming with school finishing up last year and having a good few months in my new career under my belt. My goal was to get an entry level bike that I could spend a few seasons learning on, growing my skills and just exploring the biking culture!
My initial intentions were a 125r. I'll admit that my main reason for the 125r was i'd been scared away from the larger engines by just about everyone I'd talked to. "oh they're too powerful, death traps, you'll kill yourself etc etc made me a little more conservative than I should have been but I was content. I piled together my facts and started leaning more and more to the 125.
As my search continued, I decided that before I focus in on just one bike, I needed to set out a list of things that I wanted to achieve with my bike. The list included things like easy to learn on and a good weight for someone like me with a smaller frame. As time progressed, I started to consider my commute and added things like ability to maintain a decent highway speed and able to overtake. I also began planning my vacation time over the summer and decided that a roadtrip on my new bike would be a fantastic way to take the sport in, so that became a big deciding factor.
As my list continued, I started to push myself out of the 125 class. The engine size is great for city driving, but my commute is rural and I needed to be able to maintain speeds of 110kmh, which is pretty much top end on a 125 and doesn't take into consideration the hilly terrain i'd be seeing daily! I started to explore more powerful options so that I felt comfortable in the highway setting.
First started looking at a ninja 250 as they were the only option in the sportbike prior to this year, and in all honesty I hadn't even heard about the honda at that point! Spoke with a few dealers, sat on a few bikes, looked at used, but it just didn't feel like the right bike for me, especially after the initial lust I had grown for the honda 125!
So I went back and spoke to my honda guy and that was when i was first introduced to the 250r as a new bike entering the canadian market for the first time since the original 250s a few years ago!
I was sold on the 250 for quite a few reasons that fit my riding goals very snug.
- Price point, competitive and within my budget.
- Displacement was within my comfort range, yet able to maintain the highway speeds and takeovers I was looking for. I had heard top speed of 140 which is exactly what I needed!
- Fuel Injection, not having to mess around with a carburetor is a great feature to have. Start up and go in the morning without messing around is just a nice convenience
- Purpose built! The 250 class has always seen parts taken from other classes and kinda fit into a bike that was just seen as a stepping stone. To me, the 2011 250r felt like a bike built from the ground up with one purpose in mind, to be a great ride! The new engine is a great feature, not having the recycled dirt bike engine? Yes please.
- Honda reliability. I've owned 2 used civics in my lifetime. First one I drove to 375k km and sold for a very reasonable price. My current is at 100k and between both vehicles, I've never had an unexpected maintenance issue. This is such a huge plus for me and gives me a lot of confidence in the 250 going forward
- Styling! While I did consider a cruiser, I just felt that sportbike fit my style a bit more and when I was learning, felt more comfortable on a sportbike. This bike has a great look and I'm sure will turn a few heads, and who doesn't love a little attention =D
So there we have it! I settled on the 250r and while I haven't taken possession yet, I'm 100% confident that I made the right choice and can't wait to take it from Calgary to Charlottetown PEI this summer. 10k km of pavement just waiting to be burned =D
