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Japanese conservatism + useless American macho poser biker culture = very few cool bikes. The Ninja 250 has been selling extremely well for many years and only now are one of the other ones letting one model out. You know what would sell really well? Honda Varadero 250, Kawasaki Versys 250, Suzuki V-Strom 250, Yamaha Tenere 250. Or perhaps 400s. Basically baby adventure bikes for urban use, priced at or around Ninja 250s.
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Apr 21, 2011 20:16
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| # ? Jun 3, 2024 05:17 |
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quote:
I know it sound like a good idea and makes sense but I just don't think it'll fly in the US market quite yet.
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Apr 21, 2011 21:58
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Sadly, all it would take is some stupid reality TV show about small displacement racing or something, and the market would simply explode. Come to think of it, I'd totally watch that show, too.
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Apr 21, 2011 22:38
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I doubt it would explode, but it'd possibly see growth from a TV show. The Harley and literbike agendas aren't gonna be that easily defeated.
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Apr 21, 2011 23:35
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1992 Yamaha XJ600 (Seca II) It was red and had full fairings when I first got it one year ago. Tore it down, painted the remaining pieces black and upgraded some parts. I love it. Sir.Tucker fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Apr 22, 2011 |
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Apr 22, 2011 00:32
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Ola posted:Japanese conservatism + useless American macho poser biker culture = very few cool bikes. The Ninja 250 has been selling extremely well for many years and only now are one of the other ones letting one model out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTO2s7wyrFs
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Apr 22, 2011 03:00
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pr0zac posted:Holy crap, when did Honda decide to sell a 250 in the US market? Bout drat time we got more small bikes over here. Need to start paying better attention to moto news. Since the Ninja 250 refresh sold like hotcakes everywhere, and the CBR125R sold like hotcakes in Canada. (Swear to god, we're America's test market. Since I started paying attention to bikes, I can't think of anything outside the Suzuki TU250 that debuted in the US before it debuted in Canada first or at the same time in both markets. It makes sense, we've got roughly the same cultural tastes but a far smaller market to penetrate.) e: Dunno how well the 250R will go over, considering the 125R was styled like a wee CBR, whereas the 250R is Shamu with a 250cc thump
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Apr 22, 2011 09:41
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Chicken strips? what chicken strips....oh!
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Apr 28, 2011 18:36
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Ola posted:You know what would sell really well? Honda Varadero 250, Kawasaki Versys 250, Suzuki V-Strom 250, Yamaha Tenere 250. Or perhaps 400s. Basically baby adventure bikes for urban use, priced at or around Ninja 250s. I would buy and ride any and all of these bikes. That's exactly what I need/want for city riding.
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Apr 28, 2011 19:42
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oh god what have i done Picking it up tomorrow, will post more pics later.
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Apr 29, 2011 05:40
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My first bike   2004 VTR250 with brand new tyres and a Staintune exhaust. Sounds loving AMAZING.
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Apr 29, 2011 09:14
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Don Music posted:My first bike Nice one bud, I've got pretty much exactly the same bike as you, down to the exhaust.  Mine's a 2006 though.The Staintune does indeed sound fantastic, I posted a vid here when I fitted mine and as I recall it was well received. 
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Apr 29, 2011 14:28
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sewersider posted:Finally upgrading from my old cbr125 to a cb400. WHY CAN'T I BUY THAT IN CANADA.
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Apr 29, 2011 17:35
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ought ten posted:I would buy and ride any and all of these bikes. That's exactly what I need/want for city riding. Mexico. All day long. Perhaps some sort of free trade agreement could be worked out. Oh, wait... http://www.yamaha-motor.com.mx/fz16.html http://www.yamaha-motor.com.mx/deportivas.html
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Apr 29, 2011 18:29
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Well, I did it. I've been lurking craigslist for two weeks, when I spot an '02 Suzuki Bandit 1200S at a dealer site for cheep. I figure I'll pay the small premium to have a 90-day warranty while I thrash it out for problems. Picking it up tomorrow. Will post pix.
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Apr 29, 2011 20:20
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Ziploc posted:WHY CAN'T I BUY THAT IN CANADA. Dude, remember how many skylines you see around? I don't know if there's any legal reason you couldn't bring a CBR400 over so long as it was '96 or over. e: OLDER. Phy fucked around with this message at 23:36 on Apr 29, 2011 |
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Apr 29, 2011 22:56
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NipplesTheCat posted:oh god what have i done Let me know if you ever make it up to the Phoenix area 
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Apr 29, 2011 23:27
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 Bought some bags for $20 off craigslist. Really hoping the exhaust side doesn't burn through, but hoping to add metal spacers or something.
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Apr 29, 2011 23:41
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BlackMK4 posted:Let me know if you ever make it up to the Phoenix area I'll actually be up in Phoenix tonight and tomorrow with the new toy.
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Apr 30, 2011 01:00
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I'm still in Flagstaff until the 12th 
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Apr 30, 2011 01:01
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Here's my first bike, a 2005 Honda Shadow Aero 750, on the beach at Daytona several years ago. Not pictured, me scrambling like mad when the surf came in farther than expected and almost washed my bike out. In the process of cleaning it up to sell. I need garage space. My Kawasaki Mean Streak 1600 SE and my Ultra Classic. The Mean Streak is ridiculously fun to ride. The Harley....well, I always said I'd ride a new Harley if you gave me one, but I wouldn't spend that much money on one. So they gave me one. I won it in a raffle last year. Best $10 I ever spent. It's a 2010 Ultra Classic, and even in the color I liked. And dammit, if it isn't like riding in a nimble Barcalounger. The ACE in the pic is my buddy's bike, it winters in my garage. 
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Apr 30, 2011 02:50
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So people do win those raffles. How was the whole experience of winning a vehicle?
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Apr 30, 2011 03:01
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lancemantis posted:So people do win those raffles. How was the whole experience of winning a vehicle? Very surprising. I had actually bought the ticket at a local festival. I thought they were raffling it off that weekend, and I figured, what the hell, they won't sell a thousand tickets. Walked off and read my ticket and realized that the drawing was 8 months later. This was October 2009. I completely forgot about it, and missed the charity ride for the final raffle. It was a Shriner's Christmas in July ride. I was out fishing and hiking with some friends when they drew for it. When I left the park and got phone service again, my voicemail lit up. I had 7 or 8 messages from a bunch of folks I usually ride with. Now, I'm a doctor, and when I get a bunch of calls, at the same time, from a group of friends, it usually means somebody's hurt. So, I get my messages, expecting to find out someone's laid their bike down, and like the first 4 or 5 are just people screaming "WHOOOOOO!!". About the 6th message one of them said, "Holy poo poo you won a Harley, you rear end in a top hat. I hate you, Call me". I was seriously confused, because I had forgotten about the ticket I bought. I called and argued, "I haven't been in a raffle, I've been fishing. What the hell are you people going on about!". But, I really won it. Went and picked it up the next day.  I had more people cuss me out over the next week than in the entire rest of my life. Usually something like, "I bought 25 tickets for that bike, you rear end in a top hat!"
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Apr 30, 2011 03:15
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Whenever I enter those raffles I just want to sell the bike or get the cash equivalent lol ( though I'm not sure what the taxes would be 'worse' on ).
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Apr 30, 2011 03:25
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Yeah, it doesn't work out as well at you'd think. I could've taken $15,000 cash, and then paid close to half out in taxes. Or, I could pay the sales tax on the bike (came to about $1200), and keep it. Oh, and pay income tax on the dealer price of the bike. I could still sell it later, and come out ahead, but I kinda see it as my lucky bike. Plus, it's straight equity. I'll probably get a loan against it to blacktop my driveway later this summer.
Dr Ozziemandius fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Apr 30, 2011 |
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Apr 30, 2011 03:33
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Don Music posted:My first bike Whatup, black VTR250 buddy? (I think aftermarket exhausts on 250s are a bit stupid, but I do like me a nice VTR.)
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Apr 30, 2011 09:35
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Shouting Melon posted:Whatup, black VTR250 buddy? I thought it was stupid too. Until I heard it. I just tried going for a night ride with it, possibly the single most scary thing I've ever done on the thing. Definitely need some new bulbs and an aim adjustment.
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Apr 30, 2011 10:00
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Shouting Melon posted:Whatup, black VTR250 buddy? Depends on what you consider stupid I suppose. If you consider it stupid because there's no power increase as a result of fitting it, fair enough, each to his own. The sound is so much more pleasurable, though, especially since when I started wearing good earplugs, I could barely hear the stock exhaust anymore.  I'll repost the comparison vid I made when I fitted my Staintune:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDYpPLmUf88 Don Music posted:I thought it was stupid too. Until I heard it. Exactly. Not to mention, I'm not a loud pipes save lives-er, but I am without a doubt easier to notice with this pipe. Not something to be relied on, but it certainly can't do any harm to be louder, within reason of course.I was similarly underwhelmed with the headlight on mine when I first rode with it at night. I put up with it, but recently decided to get a +50 style bulb for it, after deciding that the trade off of a possibly shortened lifespan for the bulb was worth it for a bit more light (bike bulbs are a heavy duty unit to cope with the vibration normally, i.e. thicker filament). I haven't tested them on the road yet but in the garage when I swapped the bulb the new one was clearly a little brighter and whiter. As it happens, I adjusted my headlight aim just this arvo. It was just a tad low which wouldn't have been helping. It's really easy to adjust, you will see a little pointer arrow sticking out off the front of the headlight bracket, it's part of the bracket itself. There is a line on the side of the plastic headlight housing, and the little pointer bit of the bracket is supposed to be in line with that. You only have to undo the big allen bolts on the side of the housing to adjust it. Ultimately, I may end up springing for an LED headlight unit for the thing. Sure to be expensive as gently caress but apparently very good quality and much, much better than standard bulb (though apparently not as good as HID, but I think that may be academic as the stock headlight is not a projector and is probably horrible for oncoming drivers with a HID burner stuffed in it). I'm probably going to hold on to the bike for another year so it may be money well spent in the end.. Where abouts are you located, Don Music? Here4DaGangBang fucked around with this message at 12:43 on Apr 30, 2011 |
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Apr 30, 2011 12:22
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Queensland, Australia. Funny that you made that video, I've been using it to show everyone what my bike sounds like!
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Apr 30, 2011 13:32
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Don Music posted:Queensland, Australia. Ah, cool. Thought if you were in Sydney you could join the Sydney bike goons for a ride some time. Haha, that's a coincidence. Glad to be of assistance. :P Enjoy the bike dude, I love mine.
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Apr 30, 2011 13:41
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Don Music posted:2004 VTR250 with brand new tyres and a Staintune exhaust. Sounds loving AMAZING. VTR250 was my first road bike, and my ex just bought herself a brand new one. Great commuter, great 250. Nice choice. I'm finally getting out on my Street Triple R again tomorrow, been over a month since I last rode, drives me nuts being immobile.
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Apr 30, 2011 16:54
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I got a thing today: 05 V-Star 1100 10k miles. The guy I bought it from was OCD about cleaning it so it looks brand new minus a really small scuff here and there. --VV Better shot of of the engine. 
Plinkey fucked around with this message at 18:06 on Apr 30, 2011 |
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Apr 30, 2011 17:30
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drat that looks clean. Nice find.
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Apr 30, 2011 18:00
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I picked this up on Craigslist for $800, loaded it up, and brought it home today. As far as I can tell the only thing it needs is a rear tire (losing air). Otherwise the thing is immaculate. It's super clean for being a 1985. It starts right up, has barely any rust, and you can tell the guy was meticulous about maintenance. His reason for selling was because he just can't hold it up anymore and is getting out of the game. Very cool guy. He was just glad it was going to someone who was going to enjoy it. Now, the problem is upgrading from a 550 to this thing. 1100cc of fury means I'm going to be sticking to quiet neighborhood roads for a loooooong time. I'm pretty intimidated by this thing.    
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Apr 30, 2011 21:46
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I feel like I'm repeating myself here, but drat, that's a nice find! Fastest production bike from 1985-88, that's pretty neat, especially with those dinky little front brakes. With 115hp from that engine, it must be a torque monster.
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Apr 30, 2011 21:54
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Wanting to get a bike that could handle the highway better I sold my GZ250 and picked up a GS500F. An '08 with 4500 miles and just a couple scratches and 1 crack. Besides a vibrating windscreen @6k RPM it's great. Now I don't slow down from 60 to 45 going up an incline or when facing a headwind. 
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May 1, 2011 01:27
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First motorcycle! 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 250R 
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May 1, 2011 02:07
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The new toy!
titanium fucked around with this message at 16:58 on May 6, 2011 |
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May 1, 2011 03:57
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I have no idea what that is but I like it
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May 1, 2011 05:08
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I'm gonna guess TW200. My youtube front page always recommends videos of modified Japanese TW200s like that for some reason.
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May 1, 2011 05:19
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