ZXR 250 - Will it be a pain in the @$$ to maintain/get parts? | GTAMotorcycle.com

ZXR 250 - Will it be a pain in the @$$ to maintain/get parts?

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m0hawk

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Hey guys so I'm currently in the works of purchasing a 1994 ZXR 250 (there's only one on kijiji if you wanna check it out) and was just wondering how much of a hassle its gonna be trying to keep this thing in solid running condition. Are these engines as reliable as their lower revving siblings? My assumption is that parts would have to be ordered online which would create an obvious shipping expense and lag time. Any good mechanic should be able to do the labor (I usually go to 109 cycle) so that shouldn't be an issue...

I'm kind of on the fence here. Is it worth the hassle? The bike looks pretty nice and I'm all for having fun with the high revving motor while not looking/sounding like every other 250 out there. I've ridden a 01 ZZR250 during my first season and would be looking to grab another 250 or a lighter cafe style sub 500cc bike. Not the biggest guy and speed isn't really what I'm after so I'm not looking for something heavier/higher cc...

Insurance quotes are in the works so that would be a part of the equation too. (not sure if grey market bikes cost more)

Opinions would be greatly appreciated!


Cheers
 
That bike has been for sale for a long time now. I would check it over with somebody who really knows their bikes. Parts are harder to find than most I-4 250cc Honda's of the same period and they don't have as much of a following online from what I've seen. Most of these were sold in Asia so that's where most of the spares are as well.
 
Psycho_Biker said:
That bike has been for sale for a long time now. I would check it over with somebody who really knows their bikes. Parts are harder to find than most I-4 250cc Honda's of the same period and they don't have as much of a following online from what I've seen. Most of these were sold in Asia so that's where most of the spares are as well.
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deejizzle said:
Unless you can wrench comfortably in a bike, don't bother.
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Yea this fits considering he's been VERY attached to the fact that I'm interested. He pretty much sends me multiple texts/emails if I don't respond for a few hours.
I'm comfortable with fixing my car, but when it comes to bike I'm ambitious but rubbish. I don't mind doing small stuff like oil changes and the like but wouldn't want to go into detailed engine work.

Looks like it's a pass for me... Thanks for all the help guys
 
I really like the idea of these bikes... but I don't like that this one has been painted. I also don't like when someone says that a vehicle has had "a lot of work done" and then fails to go into any detail about what that work entailed.

I do like that it seems to have an exhaust on it, which is going to be just about impossible to find otherwise (this is about the only time that an exhaust is a selling point)
 
I looked at it last year. Price seems to be where it was last year.
Cool sounding bike, but the paint job was very subpar (still had green peeking though in quite a few of the "should have taken the time to remove and painted all sides" areas). Seller's a nice guy, but the lack of attention to detail led my mind to wander.

They would be a solid "second bike" as you may ultimately be down for a few weeks for parts in transit (or pay for express shipping), and that was ultimately the reason I walked away from it as a first-year bike. Insurance wasn't cheap either--I picked up an ex500 for much less, pay much less in insurance, etc etc.

What was done last year for your info: " I have changed the spark plugs, throttle cable, tires, carburetor o-rings, air filter, chain and new battery this year. I got the paint job because i didn't like the oldschool color scheme and because a couple of the panels had some damage, nothing major. Every year the bike has received an oil change, stored inside and properly winterized. I would not change anything on the bike because i am happy with how it is."
 
Truth to be told .... They are fun, little screamers.

Although, they require a regular maintenance and are more finicky in various areas. Imagine 4 little cylinders, with 4 little carbs, and those 4 little carbs have 8 little needles .... LOL ... you get what I am trying to say.

I have one of those (FZR250) so I know what I am talking about. I love the bike, but I treat it as a special bike with problems to surface. If it doesn't work, I just roll it back into the garage and grab my other bike and fix the fizzer later.

As far as parts, ZXR was made in smallest series out of all I4 based 250's, so parts will be hard to come by. Depending what Kawi did, there could be some cross-referencing possible with their high production ZXR400, but it all depends what you will need and how much they went into parts bin catalogue.

If the bike has a short VIN, the only insurance who will talk to you is Intact, unless something has changed. Everybody else will say, sorry cannot do ...

Reading your 2nd paragraph ... I would say get something more modern and simpler to fix with parts available around. If it's your only bike you depend on, more so ...

Good luck.
 
m0hawk said:
I'm kind of on the fence here. Is it worth the hassle? The bike looks pretty nice and I'm all for having fun with the high revving motor while not looking/sounding like every other 250 out there. I've ridden a 01 ZZR250 during my first season and would be looking to grab another 250 or a lighter cafe style sub 500cc bike. Not the biggest guy and speed isn't really what I'm after so I'm not looking for something heavier/higher cc...
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There are some CB1s around, usually well maintained.

Motorcycle_honda_cb1_1992.png
 
I had a rare dual sport took me weeks some times months to get parts . That ment no riding and still paying insurance and half the parts were not avaliable and no aftermarket support . So keep this in mind glad i sold it.
 
CafeRay said:
There are some CB1s around, usually well maintained.

Motorcycle_honda_cb1_1992.png
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Not too many, and if they do pop up for sale people want typical "used bike Ontario" price for it .... I was watching this bike years ago like a hawk for 6 months ... One popped for sale, price was 4500$, if I remember correctly, and there was not much history to tell whether it was well maintained or not.
 
OP - for that kind of money you can get a much newer bike. If you like old school style than FZR400 would be probably a safer choice - more parts. Better looks too in my opinion if you get the model with dual headlights. If you don't care about what the bike looks like but want something comfy and low - EX500. You can find one dirt cheap.
 
Thanks for all the info guys!
Asked some more questions and confirmed pretty much confirmed what MSRP said. It's a shame he didn't at least lower the price a bit since he didn't offer the safety/had similar price last year. Seems like a nice guy that just wants to liquidate his depreciating asset while mitigating any loss.

That CB1 looks pretty sweet and is essentially what I'm after. Ex-500's are a little on the heavy side for me, rode one last year and I'm not 100% comfortable with muscling it around slow turns etc. Perhaps when I have some more experience under my belt I'll be looking into a GS 500/ EX 500. I find that confidence is pretty important when it comes to me riding as I almost shat myself when I tried to ride my buddies Z1000. Hopefully over the winter I can find some CB 1's/FZR400's for sale in the GTA...

Cheers

FYI: This is the response I got from my Statefarm agent (I'm 23, GM2, paid $1700 for my 250 last year)
"[FONT='PrimaSans BT,Verdana,sans-serif']No problem at all. We are ok with imported bikes as long as they aren't modified in any way. However, because it's a shorter VIN I'd have to get approval from you. That being said, you'd be looking at about $1667/year for basic coverage on that. Let me know if you're serious about purchasing and I'll be sure we can insure for you.[FONT='PrimaSans BT,Verdana,sans-serif']"
[/FONT][/FONT]
 
All sounds good but if you feel that you have to "muscle" a bike while it's moving then something's wrong. The only time you should (potentially) struggle with the weight is when you're stationary.
We're not talking about 800lbs pig cruisers here. ;)

FYI - CB1 is no lighter than the EX500, I think it's actually heavier, and FZR400 maybe 40lbs less.
 
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