If you remember, I bought a scooter (2008 Kymco People S 200) less than a year ago. It was my first owned scooter after many years of having a rider license, I learned a lot on it especially how to do the maintenance myself.
But I've been eyeing Facebook Marketplace for a while waiting for a good opportunity on a used motorcycle that would give me more riding comfort and more power for highway travels.
In preparation for selling the bike, I took my Kymco to a local waterfront at sunset to take some nice pictures. Sunset and sunrise are the best time for taking shots of your vehicle, not too bright, not too dark and nice golden color. It almost look brand new.
Three weeks ago, I finally found a motorcycle that suited my needs, the 2007 Kawasaki Eliminator (VN250 aka 250V) with only 23000 Km on the counter. It's a 250cc cruiser, quite small of an engine for a motorcycle but I'm not a speed devil and the 35HP, low end torque and 6 speed makes it cruise at Australian max highway speed of 110 km/h very easily. Apparently it's possible to reach 140 km/h with it but I can't personally confirm.
The bike was down in Sydney, 90km from my place so I had to take the train to go pick it up and ride it back up. The trip was not without hiccups. Firstly, I forgot to bring a phone holder so finding my way back home was very interesting, I've taken wrong turns or missed turns several times, having to stop on the side of the road every now and then to check the map. Then secondly, at one point, I stopped the bike to take out the laptop and get an insurance for it (almost forgot). After about 15 minutes, I went back on the bike ready to continue my ride back home but the bike would not start again! When I stopped the bike, I used the kill switch to turn off the engine but I didn't turn the key to off and stop lights and headlights were still on and drained the battery! Luckily, I was on a slope and managed to push start on first gear after two attempts. Pushing uphill an almost 200 Kg bike was not an easy feat for a guy my size.
All went well on the motorway and I got home safely. The bike reached 110 km/h with no struggle, the 6th gear made it very smooth.
Now it's time for some first maintenance work. As you can see on the picture above, some parts of the bike were painted by one of the previous owners and the paint is now flaking. So I've been stripping those off down to the chrome and will be polishing it later on. The rest of the chrome has some light surface corrosion but I got them back to mirror shine using 0000 steel wool, that stuff works like magic.
I decided to change the oil, it was a great idea, it was dark brown. The oil filter was also replaced at the same time. I also checked the tyre pressure and that was also a good thing I did it because they were way over-inflated. The owner's manual recommends 25 PSI at the front and 28 PSI at the rear but it was 40 and 42!
Next steps will be to bleed the brake fluid, change the liquid coolant, change the fork oil and lastly replace the rear suspensions (they seem OK so no rush for now).
Today, someone came to inspect and purchased my Kymco, I finally have some space in the garage to do some DIY work on the Kawasaki. My first project is to make a sissy bar or a top box rack. Then I will make some floorboards and maybe a crash bar if I find some spots to mount it on the frame.
So after almost a month riding the Eliminator here are my thoughts. The obvious things I noticed are that the Kawasaki is less nimble but more stable than the Kymco due to much more weight, lower centre of gravity and longer wheel base and I like that because I want to do longer ride with some highway sections.
Despite having changed the rear suspensions and fork oil on the scooter, the suspension system on the motorcycle was way better, the ride was much more comfortable and probably due to the extra weight, little bumps on the road were nothing when they usually push me off the seat on the scooter.
The Kawasaki front light is also wider, illuminating the entire road in front of me, the beam of light is almost rectangular as opposed to a smaller round shape from the Kymco. For more night safety, I've also added some silver reflective stickers around the bike on places where they would not be too noticeable during the day but would make me very visible at night.
The exhaust sound was great but I made it better (louder) by drilling a couple of holes in the baffler plate it has a deeper sound now although nothing compared to if it was a 500cc or more.
It's a good thing this summer isn't too hot or I wouldn't be able to ride this at all, there were days were it was better to stay inside but we had a lot of very enjoyable days this year and I took some rides after work.
I'm now looking forward to the weekend to do a longer ride to the country side.
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Nice upgrade for you riding journey, I would think about a new chain and sprocket set in the near future.
Your bike looks nice and I believe this one will serve you longer this time.
Thank you. Yes, I'm sure it will last longer. And if it does not, it's fine too as long as I enjoy it while I have it 😉
Yeah you're right cause nothing is meant to last forever but at least once it can serve you within it's life expectancy, that will be better enough.
I don't know much about motorcycles, but your latest ride looks awesome. Enjoy your future rides... and keep safe! :)
Thanks
I loved that bike it must be a great adventure that great I don't like to ride but I have someone very close who loves them so we ride together, I don't like speed but I enjoy it when I'm with him as I trust his riding skills.
That’s great to have someone who you trust to take you out for a ride. Enjoy
i had a Honda Shadow 750cc cruiser about 18 yrs ago. i loved it.
Enjoy your cruiser and take it easy.
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Thanks. Oh the Shadow is also a lovely bike! Are you still riding these days?
Well, i bought a Vespa scooter from @mountainhigh about 18 months ago, but had 2 punctures and have issues starting it lately, so not so much. But i think he'll fix the starting issue while i'm away so hopefully in the spring i'll start riding again.
Good luck. A scooter is great too. I might come back to one one day who knows
Here it is on trailer after one of the punctures https://ecency.com/hive-104024/@mountainhigh/the-italian-job
Congratulation on your new ride my friend. Did you named it yet? :DD
Haha I don’t name my bikes 😝
hahaha okey 🤣🤣
Soooo cool
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Nice upgrade bro! that is awesome. I been looking at getting a cruiser also. Well done
They are awesome, so comfy. If you find an opportunity, take it
Do you need a specialised license in NZ to ride them?
I’m in AU mate, Central Coast
For some reason I thought you were in NZ. So sorry. How is it up there? we finally got through floods and things seem calm now.
Hello @quochuy friend! It's a beautiful machine!!... It's the kind of motorcycle you fall in love with and might even put a name to it!!! :)) ... I'm so happy for you friend, I hope you enjoy it... Beautiful pictures !!!...
This particular photo is a "visual poem", combining the luscious background with an excellent angle to capture the design lines of that lovely motorcycle!...
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Thank you. It’s indeed a great bike
Wow. First of all 🎉 Congratulations.
All, I can say is - Nice & truly a needed upgrade.
When I saw your last post about having it repaired, I wanted to suggest a bike but I hesitated.
I also did same thing like 4 years ago.
I have this bike - Bajaj Avenger 220c Classic Model.
Not as heavy & expensive as yours, but does the job for me (who goes out of the house once a month 😂)
source
source
Don't hesitate to add the add-ons/upgrades.
All the best for new journeys & adventures.
Oh that’s a nice bike too! It’s actually almost same weight dry as mine.
Actually Bajaj (India 51%) & Kawasaki (49%) were together till 2017. Just like Maruti & Suzuki.
Hey congratulations.
Your new ride looks awesome. I love it.
I wish you more happiness.
Cheers!
Have a safe ride!
Cheers mate. Do you ride too?
Kawasaki motorcycles are so much beautiful. Classic with modern touches. You will take some nice rides !!!
They have indeed great designs
Me encantó esa moto debe ser una gran aventura que genial a mi no me gusta manejar pero tengo alguien muy cercano que las ama así que paseamos juntos, no me gusta la velocidad pero la disfruto cuando estoy con el pues confío en sus habilidades de manejo.
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250cc is good, not a lower end, and kawasaki is itself fab. Of course an initial step for 1300 or higher power rides.
Nice bike you have here man
If I was close to you I would have been borrowing it for a ride. Enjoy bro
Your Kymco has certainly made a lot of memories in all your travels, and when you sell it, some of the memories will go with it.
But with "your new eliminator," of course, there will be even more opportunities to create some more interesting stories.
I know you really like to explore various corners of the countryside, and your eliminator cruise will be very supportive of all of that.
It's great to have a dream bike, and some initial maintenance on that Eliminator has shown a touch of attachment to it.
Congratulations on your new adventure with your cool motorbike!
good deal, ain't it?
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Congratulations on your new ride, buying stuffs for oneself can be pretty amazing, stay safe and enjoy🙂
Wow! That's one hell of an upgrade! Congrats, hope you have lots of fun (and ofcourse safe) kilometers on it! 😄
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Wow, it's good to hear you know how to maintain your motorbike.
I really appreciate you for that.
Buenas fotos 👏
Wow, congratulations on your recent upgrade to the Kawasaki Eliminator 250V! I love how you took the time to perform some maintenance on the bike and made it even better with custom modifications. The sunset and moon shots at the marina look fantastic!
I sold my bike to buy a plane ticket from Mumbai to Port of Spain nine years ago where I am currently reading your post😁
Muy bien, acertaste con tu decisión es bella tu moto, felicitaciones en Marketplace se consiguen buenas oportunidades para comprar, yo también quiero aprender arreglar carro, así arreglo yo el mío y no lo dejo en manos extrañas. 👍
Very nice!
This is change like from avionet to jet ;)
Bon voyage!
Switching from a scooter to a motorcycle is a big step and the Kawasaki Eliminator is surely a good looking urban motorcycle. The background of the pictures are amazing as well, the value went up just because of that. Wish you safe riding!
Your new bike looks very nice.
It is a great thing that you can do all the maintenance and changes yourself.
Absolutely amazing ❤️👍. Especially when you are with your bike, I enjoyed this very much. Just plain for fun! 😀
Dude, that's legit! I used to ride before I had kids, I started with a Sportster 883 and finished on a Goldwing GL1100 - and will probably get a new Goldwing when the kids are grown - what fun, riding through the mountains and open country! I'm super stoked for you bro, enjoy!
Big bikes for the big boys. I really love watching these big bikes like Harley Davidson and other brands. Although I love the Kymco scooter coz it suits a girl driver like me. I love to have my own Honda Scoopy though.
Gorgeous bike. I hope it has been running well for you.
It's just starting to warm up in my part of the world. Time to get my DR 650 ready for this years riding season. Safe travels, that's a beautiful bike! Enjoy it!
nice report and I wish you a lot of fun riding the Kawa and not stress at all
Seems to be a nice bike for relaxing trips.
Thanks mate