Now to find a bike! 250cc

[TheChorizo]

A few of you probably saw my post before on gear, but now to the interesting part.. a bike!

I am currently looking at the Hyosung GT250R 2011 model, simply because it looks like a wicked bike.
I know pre 2008 models had issues, but am I right in saying that the 2011 in particular is inline with its competitors (Honda CBR and Kawa Ninja)?
I have found one being sold with no damage and 4400km on the clock, that I am quite interested in. I have arranged to meet the seller sometime saturday morning. The ad is listed for $3500, but I am not really willing to go above $3200.

Is this an unreasonable offer?

At what price point would this become a 'bargain', a good price, a fair price, or too much?
A year from now, if I was looking to sell, would I have a hard time getting a good price for my Hyosung to minimise my loses?

On a side note does anyone know of any good, but cheap, insurance companies. RAC tell me it will cost 900 a year to insure up to 3,000 worth of bike with an excess of $200. Are there any people out there with a 250cc, and is your insurance cheaper?

Thanks for your help!!!

[Aussie Lass]

With both my two fifties I found Swan insurance as my cheap way option. $33 MonTh ( depending on your driving history I guess) for full comp and gear coverage. Haven't had to use it yet so I don't know how quick they are for claims or anything like that.

As for the bike. It's not a bargain unless you enjoy riding it.no point buying a bike just cause its cheap. With 99 Percent of bikes you will lose your money. Can't tell you much more than that as I'm sure other people have more dealings with that kinda stuff.


To be honest, use to search function a bit more. Heaps of people asking the same question. You'll find all sorts of information

[filbert]

Car Prices - Car Research - Search Car Prices & Values Online - RedBook.com.au will give you some idea of fair price versus bargain....

friends don't let friends buy hyosungs...

the sweetness of a good deal is soon forgotten when faced with the continued bitterness of poor quality.

[Huggy]

Why don't you let the guy know you're only willing to go to $3200 before you cost him his Saturday morning.

Instead of always looking for the cheapest option, how about you look at 'value for money'. It's essentially what you're asking, but it makes you sound like less of a cheapskate.
In the realm of motorcycling there is a lot to be said for spending a little bit more and getting something that will be reliable and will last.

I'm sure that Hyobung will be fine for what you need it for. Not my cup-of-tea, many a rider have enjoyed them as a first bike, one thing they all have in common in though is that they really enjoyed the day they got rid of it.

With insurance, UTFSE as this get discussed a lot, but you'll probably find that Insure My Ride will offer you the cheapest premiums. As someone who's made a claim through them, would I recommend them? No, not unless you couldn't find an at least comparable quote from someone else. When I shopped around for insurance I couldn't find anyone even in their ballpark for premium price and excess cost, so couldn't go past them.
They'll get your bike fixed, but don't expect them to be prompt or easy to get hold off. If you want them to follow up a matter where fault is arguable, then they are useless.

I think most people here would be envious of that RAC excess. For a rider of your experience you'd be looking at closer to a $1200 excess than a $200. Probably something in the order of a $3-400 basic plus ~$400 inexperience excess and/or age excess of about the same.

Third party insurance (which is a must have) will be fairly similar across the different providers and will probably only cost you $100-$200 a year.

[out_in_front]

Yep the Hyo would be fine for a first bike, but for an extra $500ish you could be stepping up to a s/h ninja or cbr which are a much better bike.

Insurance - I went through Insure my ride and they did an alright deal by me.

[whowalks]

My wife got a VTR 250 and thats a great first bike.
You should be able to pick up an older model in that price bracket.
I dont think they changed anything but the gauges between 1998 and 2008
The latest models have fuel injection.
Other than that dont restrict yourself to a 250cc with some nice LAMs bike out there now eg Suzuki GS500

[Huggy]

Yep the Hyo would be fine for a first bike, but for an extra $500ish you could be stepping up to a s/h ninja or cbr which are a much better bike.

Yeah, but the Hyo has the bigger frame so would make the step-up to an R-Class bike easier

[out_in_front]

Yeah, but the Hyo has the bigger frame so would make the step-up to an R-Class bike easier

Not really - bigger frame just means it suffers for increased weight, which isnt a good thing considering it is already underpowered - they also have other issues with suspansion and brakes also not being quite as good as the ninja or CBR. In reality you will have to adapt from any change in bike - an aprilia RSV4 might actually be smaller than a hyo!. FWIW I had a ninja 250r on loan from a mate, the Hyo felt like an overweight pig of a tractor compared to the ninja250, I eventually got a ZXR250 (for 3k!) which was better than both of them, they are a bit rarer now and rarely in such good condition.

[Bukefal]

step 1: decide what you are looking for in a bike: ergonomics, size, quality, looks, features, reliability, price, x-factor, resale, sound, etc - prioritise these things.
step 2: sit on/ride as many bikes as can to see how they feel to you
step 3: buy one

no, even the current GT250R models are not as good as the CBR250R or Ninja 250R in terms of quality, but they're not a huge way behind either. if you're after the best quality, get a honda VTR250.

i've had my bike for 3 years and have no intention to sell it. 250 bikes are better bikes than most of the people who ride them, so there's a lot you can get out of them if you take time to learn about roadcraft and how things work when you ride.

you really should search the forum for answers to your other questions.

[Maxo]

I am currently looking at the Hyosung GT250R 2011 model, simply because it looks like a wicked bike.

[Huggy]

[Rorschach]

http://www.perthstreetbikes.com/forum/f89/2012-cbr250r-165631/

[Josh93]

Sold my hyosung gt250r 2011 model for 3200, only to bugger it off would rather get less than wait around for it to sell, had 7200kms. Hyosung runs utter rings around the CBR and Ninja, but at the end of the day they're all 250s and I regret buying a brand new one because as soon as you ride with your mates on big bikes, you'll want one too.
Also, don't worry about people saying hyosungs are unreliable, maybe the older ones, mine had zero issues.. blew a headlight globe this one time?

[out_in_front]

Hyosung runs utter rings around the CBR and Ninja,

No just... No

[kenty]

buy ANY 250 as cheap as you can and buy something actually decent later, trust me you'll save money and heartache