will a kz250 be enough?

Hi, my bike has managed to charm my gf into wanting a Kawasaki. She has never riden before so I figured a twin would be easier to learn on that a small 4, so I was thinking about the kz400/440's as there are a few of them around here. Then I found a really nice kz250 for sale within a 3 hour drive of us, and have started thinking about the 250 and 305's. She likes the style of the 250 ltd, and would certainly appreciate it's light weight, but would it have enough power to cruise at 60 mph if she weighs in at a healthy 175 pounds?

i shouldnt see a problem. ive had a little bigger than that and rode double..

9am53 wrote:

Hi, my bike has managed to charm my gf into wanting a Kawasaki. She has never riden before so I figured a twin would be easier to learn on that a small 4, so I was thinking about the kz400/440's as there are a few of them around here. Then I found a really nice kz250 for sale within a 3 hour drive of us, and have started thinking about the 250 and 305's. She likes the style of the 250 ltd, and would certainly appreciate it's light weight, but would it have enough power to cruise at 60 mph if she weighs in at a healthy 175 pounds?

Your 550 Spectre wouldn't be bad either...Russ
How tall is she?

yeah she's kinda short, she finds the 550 too tall and a bit too heavy. I also figure a twin would be easier to learn on since they have a little more power down low.

If it will help to get another bike into the family I say yes it should work. Shes the one that has to be comfortable cause if shes not then your not going to be.

from my quick google-ing (we don't have any kz550's in our kz information section) the kz400 weighs about 25kg less than the 550, which is pretty huge...the kz250 weighs almost 50 kg less than the kz400! she will love that, I am going to check it out

I'd say get her at least a 400. I rode my 250 quite a bit before selling it (including 1400kms in one weekend) and I am 160lbs. Cruising at 60mph on a 250 isn't a lot of fun, its a lot of work as you're within 10-15mph of the top speed. If you encounter any resistance at all (a hill, headwind, anything) you can barely barely keep it up to speed. You have to tuck in your elbows, crouch down behind the gauges, leads to more stress than enjoyment and its fairly impossible to just relax and enjoy the scenery.

The 250 is a fantastic city bike but if you're planning on doing more than 50 miles of highway get her a 400+.

Also, the 250LTD model is a single, not a twin. The twin is the earlier ~79 model and the "A" model. The C, D, G (LTD) models are all singles IIRC. What I said above applies only to the single so if you can find a twin, go for it as it has 27HP to the single's 16HP and a top speed of 90Mph instead of ~75mph

Good luck!

Oh, I didn't realize this about the 250's...the one I saw for sale is a thumper then. We do mostly county road cruising, so I think I will keep my eye out for a twin or a 400/440, thanks

the 454 ltd's have lower seats and are turning up for sale cheap for what your getting for your $...which is a real motorcycle...don't let the cruiser look fool you either ...it is areal motorcycle and can keep up....lower seat heigth sounds like the issue ...even more so than wheight,as it contributes to the top heavy squirly feeling for shorter legs.....the ex500(ninja if you will) twin, is the best beginer bike ever and can do everything a real bike can and be fun doing it.....hey wait? that's the same engine as the 454???hmmmmmmmmm...biased i guess...great entry level motor to grow into imo.....
read they're write ups ...good luck......250....gadget/around town toy....imo

yeah, the 454's have the "cruiser" look she is looking for. I would prefer a proper kz400/440 as I think they look better, but it would be her bike after all, and the 454 would have an easier time keeping up to me on the 1000. The only thing with the 454 would be that since they look more modern than the 400's they seem to cost more, and there are fewer of them. As much as I would like to stick with kwakas I saw a maxim 400 I think, it had the "modern" low slung look of the 454, but was smaller...and cheaper...but you are right, the 250 is too small, going 60 mph she would likely feel squirly and the lack of weight would become a detriment to her comfort on the bike.

And to think back in the day it was nothing to ride across the country on a Honda 350. I put 500 miles on my Honda 175 in a weekend one time but it wore me out. I would agree on the 2 banger at least. But if you get a deal on the single it would be a decent starter bike for the misses. If she is comfortable riding then you could upgrade later and use the thumper to shag parts for your other bikes.

I am going to leave the 250 alone I think cause it's a thumper. I talked to her and she wants a 400/440/454, so thats what I am looking for, and scratch my previous thoughts on the yammy, I felt ashamed after I wrote that...