[[Anyway, I agree with the general advice that a 250 is on the small side but more because I think you’ll get tired of it quickly. I’d personally recommend something in the 400-600 range.]]
Have any of you actually ridden a Yamaha Virago 250? It seems like a pretty peppy little bike to me, from what I’ve read. Keep in mind I’m not planning to do any touring or major freeway riding on this thing. And I don’t think I’ll need to go 70mph in town much. As it is, I think the acceleration should be fine (a lot better than my mountain bike, for example) and I could pick it up easy if I dump it. So far I’m not convinced, as a new rider, that I need to have something a lot bigger. “Bigger is better” is definitely true in certain arenas, but I’m not talked into this one yet. - jill
I’ve not ridden the Virago 250, but have a little experience with the Nighthawk 250 and a few other smaller bikes. And you’re right, compared to the average car these are pretty quick, and around town are plenty fast enough as well.
In fact I’ll somewhat retract my previous advice with a caveat. If you are ONLY going to ride around town and will never carry another person on the bike, a 250 is probably fine. The Nighthawk 250 was a lot of fun and a big part of the appeal was in fact the small size and light weight.
However, if you ride on the highway even a little or ever want to carry a passeger, you’ll be stretching the 250 to the limit. It’s much more relaxing to be on the highway on a bike that is not running at redline to keep up with traffic, much easier on the bike, and gives you some safety reserve if you need to quickly get out of the way of some driver that doesn’t see you.
Picking it up if you dump it is probably less of an issue than it first appears. With the correct technique I’ve seen very petite women pick up a fully loaded Goldwing without much trouble. If you’re down to choosing between a few different bikes it’s worthwhile to check out the weight, but even more important IMHO is it’s apparent weight - that is, how heavy does it feel when you’re straddling it. Different bikes carry their weight in different places, and that can make some difference in how comfortable you feel with the bike at slow speeds (where you’re most likely to dump it, particularly starting out).
And of course a prefectly valid alternative is to start with the 250 and see how you like it. If in a year or so it feels too small, sell it and upgrade. If you can find a nice used bike and don’t beat it up you’ll be able to sell it for nearly what you paid for it.
** Didn’t one of the bike mags actually manage to run a quarter mile on a stock bike at just under 10 seconds a year or two back? Literally at 9.98 or so, with some test rider that weighs all of 80 pounds soaking wet that managed to hit the launch perfectly on a cool day with the wind at his back. Can’t remember the bike, though, maybe a GSXR-1300 or something. **
** Venkman ** that bike was a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-9R. It was done with perfect conditions and they fried the brand new clutch during the course of one day. That is why I didn’t mention it, AFAIK it hasn’t been repeated. Either way it is still fast.
Just an update, here. I’m taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation class this weekend (four hours on Thurs., five hours on the “range” on Sat. and again on Sun.) They only have 250s, which are awfully fun, but I am thinking it might be more versatile to get a somewhat larger bike. Still looking at that Kawasaki W650, which looks like the old Triumph Bonneville. The Virago is more of a cruiser style, which I’ve kind of decided I don’t want. I like the standard better.
Any suggestions on where I can find a good selection of used bikes in my part of the world (Southwest USA)? - Jill
Sorry in advance for the boasting, but I’m a middle aged woman so humor me.
I finished the bike class today. If you pass, you get a motorcycle endorsed driver’s license. Two out of the eleven didn’t pass. I got 100% on the written part and had the second highest score on the driving test - AND the course record in the class for speed - doing sharp turns, weaves, swerves and figure eights. Beat out a coupla teenage dirt biker boys.
