To upgrade or not to upgrade...

[neldy]

... that is the question.

But there is some facts to consider before answering...

Here in Queensland, Australia. You must hold a restricted licence for 1 year before you are allowed to upgrade to an unrestricted bike licence. (In short restricted licences are pretty much 250cc or 650 but with HP restrictions.)

I got my licence 3 months ago.

During a govt initiative to replace easily forged licences to 'smart' chip types, they messed up the start date of my restricted bike licence, therefore, I am eligible to qualify for my unrestricted bike licence in Oct.

Now I will be obtaining my unrestricted licence as soon as possible, there is nothing forcing me to upgrade my bike to a larger displacement bike. Should I, would you?

For what it's worth, I have my eye on a GSXR 750 to upgrade to.

[Ichiro]

Originally Posted by neldy

...I got my licence 3 months ago...Should I?

No

[Live2ride]

If you want to upgrade to a gsxr 750 then by all means do it. Don't let any of us make your mind for you. Just please don't upgrade then go off and get yourself hurt with all the power associated with a 750 supersport. Also, you may want to look at insurance rates between your 250 and the gsxr. If money is tight then don't spiral into debt when you can enjoy what you already have.

[rockNroll]

Originally Posted by neldy

... that is the question.

But there is some facts to consider before answering...

Here in Queensland, Australia. You must hold a restricted licence for 1 year before you are allowed to upgrade to an unrestricted bike licence. (In short restricted licences are pretty much 250cc or 650 but with HP restrictions.)

I got my licence 3 months ago.

During a govt initiative to replace easily forged licences to 'smart' chip types, they messed up the start date of my restricted bike licence, therefore, I am eligible to qualify for my unrestricted bike licence in Oct.

Now I will be obtaining my unrestricted licence as soon as possible, there is nothing forcing me to upgrade my bike to a larger displacement bike. Should I, would you?

For what it's worth, I have my eye on a GSXR 750 to upgrade to.

Ask yourself if you can answer these two questions properly....


A. Any chance this error might be caught, leaving you looking at a new 750 in your garage that you won't be allowed to ride?

B. Are you mentally mature enough to ride a powerful motorcycle?








sǝʎ˙q ou˙ɐ :sɹǝʍsuɐ

[rusninja]

Originally Posted by rockNroll

Ask yourself if you can answer these two questions properly....


A. Any chance this error might be caught, leaving you looking at a new 750 in your garage that you won't be allowed to ride?

B. Are you mentally mature enough to ride a powerful motorcycle?








sǝʎ˙q ou˙ɐ :sɹǝʍsuɐ

i say hop on a 1000 and you may be back on a 250 soon.

[neldy]

Originally Posted by Ichiro

No

Thank you for such a valuable and insightful input into my question.

Originally Posted by Live2ride

Also, you may want to look at insurance rates between your 250 and the gsxr. If money is tight then don't spiral into debt when you can enjoy what you already have.

Cost isn't an issue. I can afford the bike and full insurance.

Originally Posted by rockNroll

Ask yourself if you can answer these two questions properly....


A. Any chance this error might be caught, leaving you looking at a new 750 in your garage that you won't be allowed to ride?

B. Are you mentally mature enough to ride a powerful motorcycle?

Mature enough to keep myself contained and to learn the bike, yes, I would think I am.

And I doubt that the error would be picked up.

I guess the crux of my question is based on the knowledge that some countries do not restrict riders to smaller bikes to learn on, how does that work for those riders?

Originally Posted by rusninja

i say hop on a 1000 and you may be back on a 250 soon.

Where did I say I was going to get on a 1000? Not sure where that came from...

[bob706]

I say go for it. I've never heard anything bad about the 750 gixxer. Plus bureaucratic errors in your favor rarely come around so take advantage of it

[Xoulrath]

Originally Posted by neldy

Mature enough to keep myself contained and to learn the bike, yes, I would think I am.

I think the real question here is whether or not you have learned all you think you need to from your 250 before moving up.

Make no mistake, I was no master of my Ninjette when I traded it for my ZX-6R. I did, however, have a full year and 4,500 miles of mostly twisty, back road riding under my belt. Where I practiced techniques from several great books, this forum and one other, plus countless videos from people who knew what the hell they were doing. So while I hadn't wrung out my 250 for all she was worth, I knew I learned what I felt was more than enough to make the jump.

This is such a personal question. The truth is I felt ready for a 600 around 2,000 miles, which I put on in a bit over three months. But I wanted to get more out of the 250, so I kept it for a full year and more than doubled the miles while making those techniques instinct.

If you really feel you are ready, then by all means, go for it and be safe. If you feel you still need practice with counter-steering, or throttle control, or threshold braking, then you may want to at least keep the Ninjette to get in some more practice.

[setasai]

I'm in favor of the do whatever makes you happy crowd but be safe about it.

If you're asking about the differences between the 250 and 750 as a learner bike, well I'm sure you already know, can guess, or will find out by doing a couple searches.

Good luck and as always, have fun!

[ninja250]

In my case, if I could afford it,
I'd keep the ninja AND upgrade to a GSXR 750.

[neldy]

Originally Posted by Xoulrath

I think the real question here is whether or not you have learned all you think you need to from your 250 before moving up.

Make no mistake, I was no master of my Ninjette when I traded it for my ZX-6R. I did, however, have a full year and 4,500 miles of mostly twisty, back road riding under my belt. Where I practiced techniques from several great books, this forum and one other, plus countless videos from people who knew what the hell they were doing. So while I hadn't wrung out my 250 for all she was worth, I knew I learned what I felt was more than enough to make the jump.

This is such a personal question. The truth is I felt ready for a 600 around 2,000 miles, which I put on in a bit over three months. But I wanted to get more out of the 250, so I kept it for a full year and more than doubled the miles while making those techniques instinct.

If you really feel you are ready, then by all means, go for it and be safe. If you feel you still need practice with counter-steering, or throttle control, or threshold braking, then you may want to at least keep the Ninjette to get in some more practice.

This is the sort of advice i'm really looking for. Thank you I appreciate it.

I've done about 6000km (3700miles) so far, and my house is at the back door to some lovely, tight and technical twisties.

I read about technique online and good books as suggested on these forums and have watched as much as I can find. I'd have to say I feel good riding.

We'll see how I go after my advanced riding course in a couple of weeks and then again once I've test ridden a few of the larger bikes.

[neldy]

Originally Posted by ninja250

In my case, if I could afford it,
I'd keep the ninja AND upgrade to a GSXR 750.

Yeah I will be doing that, for one I want to teach the mrs to ride and she'll be on the ninja, second, you can't really beat the ninja for fuel economy.

Thirdly, and most importantly, It's my first step to filling the garage with bikes (:

[ratlab]

gsxr 750 is probably the best all around sportbike ever made-if it is a newer model you always have the power mode switch to play with-even with full power if you keep it under 7000 rpm it is a very docile bike and it handles better than any bike i have ever ridden-great choice,you will love it

[kingkang204]

Just a little personal insight.

I have an R6 and a 250r and I ride the 250r more because its more nimble. Since you have "technical twisties" around your house, wouldn't you want a bike that you can throw into corners? If you're like me you like winding a bike to High rpms, unless you dont care about tickets you really wont be able to do that on 600+cc bike because first gear goes like ~70 mph.

[2011Ninja250R]

[blink]

First question is how good of a rider are you?
1.Can you safely get from point A to point B?
2. Or assuming cars will not cut you off, could you fly through traffic at high speeds?

Many will find that irrelevant, but it is certainly true =]

If you are the 1. then no do not upgrade
if you are a good rider and can ride; then most certainly do!

[Ichiro]

Originally Posted by neldy

Thank you for such a valuable and insightful input into my question.

Considering that the only "valuable and insightful" information you presented in your post was "I got my licence 3 months ago...", what more did you expect?

[alex.s]

get the 1k.

[leed]

I'm not sure.. I'd say stick with the 250 for a little bit longer. It doesn't seem like you feel the need to upgrade to a bigger bike just yet, but that the option is there. I'd definitely upgrade your license, though. Keep in mind, the longer you wait, the more money you can save. Even though you may be eying that 750GSX-R right now, you may find something better or cheaper, later.

If you want to though, I suppose it really is up to you. If you truly feel capable, which can be a tough call for many, then by all means 'do you.'

[Lurkable]

Originally Posted by alex.s

get the 1k.

Just get the 1.4k (it's bigger).