rs250

[farttie1]

ok i am going to do my test in 2010 and im not sure if i want to keep my rs125 or buy a rs250. with the rs250 what kind of things go wrong with them and are they a good idea as a main bike for the summer and then a car for the winter. are they more of a pain in the arse then the rs125. i just want to get a general idea of the bike what the good things are and the bad things are

thx

[Will-Radford]

They cost alot to keep maintained so not good as a main bike i wouldnt have thought

[Ali]

they need more maintaining than the rs125 i belive, also a good one goes for around 2k (am i right?)
Depends what u want to use the bike for.. communting i would say is a big no no, but to hoon about on it would be perfect if kept well maintained!

[Shelton#61]

should be just the same, just using a bit more fuel + 2 pistons/barrels/conrods etc if things go wrong

[70RSMAT]

rebuilds cost a bomb so try and get one with low miles or more likely a recent rebuild

[Pancho]

yeh a rebuild is around £1000 if u get someone to do it for you, £700 roughly in parts alone. so ur looking at least £2K for a clean one. the finish ont the cycle parts is very good tho, like a 125, and the components are top notch, brembo, showa etc

In terms of using everyday, its gonna use a bit more petrol and oil than a 125 but not much. insurance should be lower than a 600 too

[random0082]

Depends what you mean by 'rebuild' though. just to refresh the top end you can get the pistons, rings, small end bearing, gaskets etc a lot cheaper than that, and do it yourself pretty cheap if you use the Suzuki parts instead of the big A's.

Bit harder to work on as everything is a bit more cramped or covered by other things but overall still not too bad IMO

Generally will need more preventative maintenance than what you can get away with on the 125.

You can pick up a good mk1 model from 1200 upwards if you look hard, they really are a lot of quality bike for the money if you find a good one going cheap

[Mario/JustRelax]

^ Agreed with on that.

People who say they cost alot to maintain usually have never owned the bike, or have no mechanical sympathy for their machines, i have one, and can say on repairs/maintanence i have spent less than £300 in 7000 miles, including a piston kit!

All i have needed was the pistons, rings, small end bearings, gaskets (done at 10k miles as scheduled) £200
Couple of sets of spark plugs £35 quid
A dyno run and adjustments on carb settings and oil/fueling was about £60

I have obiously spent more on the usual stuff like a chain, sprockets, tyres etc but thats just general wear and tear that you get with any bike.

They are not too bad tbh, the only problem i have ever had with mine was that it ate a spark plug one time, none of these horror stories that you hear.

I was a complete novice when it came to maintaining bikes when i got mine, i had the 125 before and this was a very good step up. They are simple bikes, I managed to do the basic pistons, rings etc change myself with some help from Jonsey on here, if you have a manual its pretty straight forward, and i have had the engine out a good few times now just to have a nosey about and clean (unnecessary lol) as i am a bit of a freak when it comes to cleaning the bike.

I have made several trips to the peak district on it, for me thats about 120 miles up, then another 120 down, plus another 100 or so up there in a day without any problems. However be prepared to use a fair amount of oil, i go through about 1 litre of oil to every 3 or so tanks of fuel which can be pricey, and if you are used to 2 strokes you will know that they do not like to be held at high revs for long, 80 is an ok cruising speed (obviously when you want to cruise on the track and not on the road as that would be illegal )

Performance wise the bike is brilliant, the standard features on the bike are top quality, showa forks (1998 onwards) brembo breaks which are superb, beautiful frame and swinger, and the little suzuki v-twin engine packs a bit of punch, after 8k rpm. You really can give the bigger boys a run for their money round the twisty stuff, obviously down a straight a 600 will leave you in its wake but to me thats not the point of this bike.

I used mine as a summer bike and didn't regret it, all i use mine for is HOONING and love it, infact i don't know if i will ever want to sell this bike, it puts a huge grin on my face everytime i ride it. I got a minter with 4500 miles on the clock, arrow pipes, WP steering damper, bucket loads of Ti bolts and some carbon bits for £2300, i have now got 12000 miles on the clock with relatively little haslte
Just let her warm upto about 40 degrees before setting off (about 3/4 mins in nice weather) and treat her nicely and you will enjoy the bike.
There are also quite a few after market bits and bobs you can easily get should you wish to change any bits like the exhaust, body etc

Other options to consider are 400's such as the honda vfr if your on a budget, pretty decent little bikes same with the kwaka 400's but these are quite old and don't have the level of components as the rs nor the fun factor imo but will probably take more abuse and it wouldnt be such a shame to ruin one of those jap bikes

Go and test ride one, then have a go on some 400's, everyones preferences are different after all

Hope this little essay helps you in your decision

[Frazer]

2x more to maintain then 125

[Mario/JustRelax]

I didn't realise it had 4 wheels and 2 chains, i will check next time though

[Od_Geezer]

I've done 8k miles on mine since I had it, and bought 2 tyres and a set of brake pads. Pistons coming up of course, but it's never failed to start, stopped on journey, or given me a moment's pause for thought. That's about a thousand miles a month BTW. The naysayers have never owned or ridden one I would say. It's really not that radical unless you choose to make it so. Except the angles it leans at.