2009/2010 hyosung 250r vs ninja 250r? which one would you get?

jedininja

Well-known member
hey guys I just passed my M2 and now its time to get a bike. My budget is about 4000 dollars inclusive of tax and I have found some nice bikes on kijiji. My question is if I can get a used 2009 hyosung 250r for less than 4000 bucks should I get it? do they have any known issues? I prefer the look of hyosung..I dont mind the ninja but I hate the skinny tire bikes.
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
 
Had a Hyo as my first bike. I had the '10 which is fuel injected vs. the '09 which is carbed. I put 20k on it in one season and had no major problems. Main thing for me was size because I couldn't comfortably fit on the Ninja.

You wont notice any handling difference between them, they are both ridiculously soft. Power/Acceleration is even par as well.

I would go for a '10 if you can get it for a good price. You'll still be covered under the 2-year warranty. If there is no warranty left I would go Kawi.
 
I dont mind the ninja but I hate the skinny tire bikes.

You can get a 150 tire on the back of the kawi... Heck... I've seen one with a 160 even (stock on the hyosung is a 150 rear)


If you plan on selling it and need a bike that hold some value after a few years then go for the ninja.
 
You can get a 150 tire on the back of the kawi... Heck... I've seen one with a 160 even (stock on the hyosung is a 150 rear)


If you plan on selling it and need a bike that hold some value after a few years then go for the ninja.

+1

hyosung dont hold their value well at all. They look nice, but will turn to rust pretty quick.

Definetly go for a kawi
 
+1

hyosung dont hold their value well at all. They look nice, but will turn to rust pretty quick.

Definetly go for a kawi

Have to mention much better parts availability on the Kawi as well.
 
I run a 150 on my Kawi, but only because it's the smallest size offered in the tire that I wanted, and others have recommended it. Don't fall into the stupid idea that a bigger rear tire looks cool; it doesn't. My tire is pinched on the rim, and it looks stupid compared to a 600 ss rear. Again, I did it for reasons other than looks.

The Hyosungs are great looking bikes. They do seem to suffer from quality issues, based on feedback from owners that I've read. As I've never personally ridden it, I can't really offer a comparison, except to say that the Kawi 250 has been nothing but good to me. I've put about 22k on mine so far. I've been slacking.

That said, if insurance isn't an issue, why not look at the SV650?
 
I would go with Ninja
 
I was cross shopping both of those as a possible first bike too. I'm definitely leaning more towards the Ninja 250R, although I do wish it was fuel injected. I saw one in red being ridden locally and it looks really sharp!
 
I sold my Hyosung for more than anybody I know sold their Kawi 250 for. Plus mine had waaaay more mileage. The market is saturated with Kawi's and their resale is going down a lot.
I gotta agree with this here. While my first bike was the 2008 250, I had also strongly considered the Hyosung. I sold it for a pretty good price cuz the new model was still in crazy demand. Now I agree there's much more out there to create some serious price competition.

As for the GT250R, i think some reliability issues were addressed for the 2010 model. And FI is an undeniable plus. But the plus' for the 250R are more abundant... except for the new price maybe....

You'll be happy with either, I'm certain.
 
pickup the newest motorcycle magazine, they do a full comparison of the ninja 250, hyosun and cbr 250....guess which wins???

NINJA boyo

the hyosung is pretty bad in comparison. Not to mention all the obvious downsides (not japanese, parts availability, less power, poor brakes, etc)

with some minor tinkering and zero $ mods the ninja is quite the little rocket. Put $1000 in to the ninja and you have a serious beast.

you have 4000$? get a cheap 2008 ninja for around $3000, and do this with the $1000.

Elka Rear shock & Sonic front springs - ~$500
Area P full race exhaust + jet kit - ~$650

ups it 12 hp, no dyno required, sounds vicious and totally changes the bike

and you can still sell the thing for near 4 grand in the spring.
 
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wow thanks guys for such great info...I really love this forum..I think I will get whichever one is a better deal..thanks again everyone:)
 
the hyosung is pretty bad in comparison. Not to mention all the obvious downsides (not japanese, parts availability, less power, poor brakes, etc)

LOL! Less power and poor brakes. I like that. You can tell he knows his stuff.

Now that I'm done being sarcastic let me tell you the GT250 has more Torque, and similar horsepower. It is faster, not by much, but faster none the less. And the brakes are not just superior, they are FAR superior. You can't compare dual front discs to a single disc. The hyo's front brakes tower over the Ninja's. Funny guy is funny.
 
Have a 07 gt250r
Power is great for a 250 and I have never had any braking issues or any issues with the bike overall
 
The video below is the only experience I have with hyosung. Its one of the two reasons I went with a ninja 250. The other is that the word kawasaki was known to me since I was a little kid while 6-7 months ago I didn't know what hyosung was... name recognition.


[video=youtube;WkqDzeCVkX0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkqDzeCVkX0[/video]
 
I ride a Hyo (well.. did before i broke my arm.. now i look at one in my garage lol) and I must say that I LOVE it! it's '09, so carb'd... so I jetted it, made enough of a difference to recommend. Had it since new... 15000 km so far and only problem was one fork seal which was easily covered under warrantee earlier this year.

I think Hyosung gets a bad rap because they are new and people like the kawi (and now honda) brands on the side. I doubt you would be disappointed if you got one.
 
Broken arm? GWS matt... we need to do a 250 group ride this season since I missed the last one about a month ago.... and would also like to check out a hyosung up close
 
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