sport bike like FZR, or trusty old KTR? Thoughts?

[Rennes]

Where can you find a Honda Hornet 250 for 100K ? Not on ruten. Those bikes often are listed for 170,000.

[omerojs]

for 100k is a rare find.. actually those bikes are so nice that is not easy to get a hold of one... I had mine and bought it many years ago for around 160k and sold it for about 150k almost 1 year after.. by now they probably range fro 100 ~ 150k and you need to keep an eye in yahoo bid or Ruten for one..

[shawn_c]

May I suggest the AEON MY 125? http://www.aeonmotor.com.tw/motor-my.php

It's about the size of the Kymco KTR or SYM Wolf, and looks a hell of a lot better than either of them.

On Yahoo! Auctions, $73,800 on-the-road, for a brand-new one: http://tw.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/1229907143

Of course, you'll be surprised to learn that these Internet auction prices are always higher than if you go into your favorite scooter shop and ask them the price... your scooter shop will always give you a lower price (any scooter shop can get you any brand of new scooter).

[thedublyfe]

Hmm, well the aeon 125 is a nice little bike, but its just that, little. It would be better to get a mini wolf cuz they are at least 150 and faster. Looks are not the most important thing, though they do matter. Number one is Performance, number two is affordability. I consider reliability important too, but honestly all the bikes here are probably going to be pretty reliable. I really like the FZR and FZ as well as the NSR, except for the 2 stroke part. And have periodically been looking for these bikes on ruten, and have found a few decent ones here and there for around 30. Also, one thing that has got my attention is the cafe racer parts kits sold for the KTR, really worth a look. Totally changes the whole bike in my opinion, with the wind shroud and lamp housing, etc. This might be another point in the KTR arena, but still wishing I can get a bike is in decent condition, maybe even with an aftermarket bore done on it. There are allot of 180 FRZ and FZ's out there, just when I see a nice bike on Ruten, its hard to get more information. google translate just doesnt work to make sense out of the descriptions, if they even have one to begin with. Still probably another month until i can think about buying a bike though. But that doesnt stop it from occupying any less of my thoughts.

[maunaloa]

If you're buying used (which NTD 50K means), I would buy the first Wolf, Hartford, KTR you find that is in acceptable condition ... because for NTD 50K you won't be seeing many in good condition.

Uh? NTD 50K is quite a high price for a used standard Taiwan motorcycle. Of course its no guarantee, but there's no reason why that price would preclude getting a goodun. Used prices start around 10k.

As omerojs said, 10K is about right for a scooter. The OP doesn't wrench, he wants a bike that will run for at least a year, plus a few contract extensions of his teaching contract (I'm guessing that's your gig). Take a look on Ruten or Ocar. I think we have different meanings for the adjective, "good", in the context of "ready to run a few years with only gas and oil".

[shawn_c]

Post some links to the bikes you find, and we'll help you translate and maybe there's even a phone number for contact info.

Also, I would like to see some photos of this mysterious KTR-turned-cafe-racer... hard to imagine that skinny bike turned into anything other than a dirt bike. The SYM Wolf would much more easily be turned into a cafe racer. How about the Yamaha SR150 or the Kymco imitation, the Grand King 150? Those could easily, easily be turned into something that resembled a BMW touring bike.

Oh, also, a 2-stroke has double the output of a 4-stroke... so... a 180 2-stroke is equivalent to a 360cc 4-stroke. Something awesome like that.

[Ducked]

If you're buying used (which NTD 50K means), I would buy the first Wolf, Hartford, KTR you find that is in acceptable condition ... because for NTD 50K you won't be seeing many in good condition.

Uh? NTD 50K is quite a high price for a used standard Taiwan motorcycle. Of course its no guarantee, but there's no reason why that price would preclude getting a goodun. Used prices start around 10k.

As omerojs said, 10K is about right for a scooter. The OP doesn't wrench, he wants a bike that will run for at least a year, plus a few contract extensions of his teaching contract (I'm guessing that's your gig). Take a look on Ruten or Ocar. I think we have different meanings for the adjective, "good", in the context of "ready to run a few years with only gas and oil".

Sure. A starting price inplies that.

My query was with your original "because for NTD 50K you won't be seeing many in good condition" statement, which seems to imply that's a low price. That stands.

If you'd said "because even for NTD 50K you won't be seeing many in good condition." implying that it was hard to buy a good used motorcycle at any price, then that, (whether true or not), would have made sense.

[Rennes]

Just an observation on the KTR so far.....


I bought a brand new KTR. I am enjoying it, although I only have about 130 km clocked on it so far. I haven't pushed it past 60/70 really, since I was advised to keep that low until the first 300 km and oil change. I am not a motorcycle expert, and I know there are differing schools of thought on this.....


Anyways, one thing about the bike I don't like is the seat starts to hurt after longer driving.... It makes me even tempted to wear bicycle shorts under my pants (I'm not going to though).

On Wednesday a friend and I will start a ride heading from Tainan to Hualian. We'll be camping along the way. He'll be on a scooter.
I'm excited about the ride, but I'm anticipating a very sore butt........

[rk1951]

Anyways, one thing about the bike I don't like is the seat starts to hurt after longer driving.... It makes me even tempted to wear bicycle shorts under my pants (I'm not going to though).
...

They all do Rennes! The only small 150cc bike that it actually really comfy to ride it the shitty Zing cruiser style bike. I have ridden 2 NSR's, an FZR, a SR 150, and a CPI 250cc around the entire island and they all hurt your ass! You just have to get used to it. If I ride my CPI into the mountains it starts to kill my ass! It is part of the fun of owning a small CC bike.

[Rennes]

Do you recommend me replacing the seat?

I've heard in Taiwan that is actually really cheap. I don't know where I would go or how to look for one though.