Question by George: Ducati or Kawasaki?
I was looking at different starter bikes. I have taken a great interest in the Kawasaki Ninja 250r and the Ducati monster 695. I like the Ninja due to its price and it looks relitively good, but at the same time a Ducati is a Ducati and I love the look of the Monster. WHich one in your guy’s opinion is a better buy? Ill only be probably riding in the summer, it gets cold in chicago during winter, and I will probably only go short distances. Also, im a completely new to motorcycles.
Best answer:
Answer by SD Charger Girl
if you’re completely new to dirtbikes, dont go with either. those sound way too powerful, especially if you’re just learning. i recommend a Honda-150. those work so smoothly, and they’re great starter bikes. i recently bought one off eBay for $ 1,500! you’d be best to go with a Honda, those are pretty much the best bikes you can get.
EDIT: unless you mean street bikes??? wow i didnt even think that you could be talking about that. oops. i was talking about dirtbikes. sry. idk much about street bikes.
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7 users responded in this post
DUCATI 1098.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ducati_1098
There are three bikes made specifically for the beginer. The honda rebel, Yamaha 250 VSTAR, and Suzuki 250. The ninja is not intended for a begginer and has a surprisingly high powerband. Which, in conjuction with fork angle and other aspects takes a bit of skill to operate. The Ducati 695 would just be a death sentance for a beginer. In chicago trafic the Yamaha 250 VSTAR would probably be your best match. It has good off the line power for that stop and go trafic and reaches 70 MPH in decent time to handle higher speeds if needed. Although as you gain experience you willl want to move up in power.
If the choices are limited to the 250r ninja and a Ducati Monster, I would go with the 250r.
Here is why I would choose the 250r over the Ducati:
#1: The 250r is a much more forgiving motorcycle for a new rider. It is lighter and has much less power than the Ducati (40hp vs 73hp).
#2: More shops will service a Kawasaki vs. the Ducati.
#3: The maintenance schedule for a Ducati is more demanding (and costly) than a Kawasaki.
#4: If you were to drop the motorcycle, the Kawasaki would be less painful (financially) than the Ducati.
My personal opinion, I wouldn’t choose either as a good first bike for someone completely new to motorcycles. Ducati is higher maintenance, but more fun to ride. The v-twin torque can get a new rider into trouble rather easily. The 250r is not very powerful and you will find yourself wanting more power in a very short amount of time. I have a friend who was new to motorcycling. I talked him into a Suzuki SV650s for his first motorcycle. It is a good learning motorcycle. For a beginner, it has more than enough power. You won’t grow out of it for several years. There are a ton of them out there, you can probably pick one up for cheap. Parts are readily available. My friend is extremely happy with his SV650s.
You will either kill yourself on the Ducati or you will wreck it and then pay for the bike again in fixing it. Kawasaki is a great bike, plus parts will be a lot cheaper and more shops will work on them, plus they actually have a reasonably priced aftermarket. A Ducati is sweet and people will turn heads, but it is all just money. I would rather by the Kawasaki and have some money to blow on aftermarket and too take a girl out. But do what you want, its your money.
You will actully kill yourself on the Ducati, grab a second-hand street bike under 400cc and just ride on that for a while, or go to a Ducati dealer and try out the smallest bike first, you will find they have heaps of power, but work your way up to the 695, or if you do really want the Ducati Monster, get a smaller back sprocket, so if you bump the throttle you don’t fly off.
hope this helped!
I would look at the Suzuki SV650, great price, has plenty of power, V twin grunt, very reliable, low maintenance costs. and a good dealer network. I wouldn’t even bother with a 250 because you’ll out grow it so fast.
Just take it easy and you’ll be fine with a 650. Hell my first bike was a full out 1000 and I did just fine. Its all in how you control you right hand.
I would avoid the ducati simply because of parts and maintenance costs.
never, never, never buy any bike based on looks alone
everybody makes that mistake, then they find out they don’t like that bike later.
Make sure the bike fits you and ur comfortable on it.
Believe me, it will make the difference when ur 200 miles from home and ur back and arms hurt cause the bike doesn’t fit ur body.
To anybody I would highly recommend either the Yamaha FZ6, or the Suzuki SV650, both are small frame bikes that will fit any size body with quick and fast engines and are easy to ride and handle.
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