Is a Kawasaki Ninja 250R a good bike for a beginner?
It’s a good bike. Very light, very easy to manage, so it would be good for learning. BUT a 250cc bike doesn’t have the poop to keep up highway speeds. If you never planned to go faster than 50mph, the Ninja 250 is all the motorcycle you’ll ever need. But if your plans include the occasional long trip on the highway, you want something at least 500cc. Look at a Suzuki GS500 (Google it and have a look at a picture). It’s practically the same thing, just a big bigger. Physically and weight-wise, it’s not -that- much bigger. The Suzuki SV650 is also good, also the Honda 599 Hornet (CB600). There are a lot of ‘standard’ bikes in this category. Also I would recommend against buying a new bike to learn to ride. You’re going to be hard on your first bike. You will probably abuse the clutch, and you might even drop it once or a few times. Learn on a used bike and after 6 months or a year you can sell it for about what you paid for it, and by then you’ll know better what you really want.
