hi guys, please recommend me 250cc bike as this will be my first 250cc bike

kawasaki w250

if u planning to upgrade later,i suggest find used yamaha r25,plenty in the market,considerably cheap n easy to maintain.
if u not planning to upgrade,then buy new one,preferably cbr 250rr if u got the budget,best u can get now untill modenas launch modesaki ninja zx25r,well thats if your budget allows,easily 35k i guess.

thats if u want fairing bike.

for me i prefer naked one,not aiming for top speed but comfortable cruise at slightly higher speed than kapcai n easy to manuever in traffic..thus maybe mt 25 or z250 suit me better,both 2 inline.

your mileage may vary...in the end, check your wallet.

Wtf are you doing pipu asking for 250cc you go recomend until litre bike

@op Kawasaki Z250/Ninja 250. If you want the absolute best 250cc can buy CBR250RR but pricey.

This post has been edited by iambryan1234: Sep 3 2022, 01:56 PM

Kawasaki twin cylinders 250...be it the Z model or the Ninja model or the Versys X....any generation

The engine has been proven reliable for decades and the bikes as a whole are real good bikes. Almost any mechanic can work on them as that engine has been around for long enough where any issues it may have had wpuld have been resolved or there is an aftermarket fix for it.

Avoid any single cylinder 250s...most, with a couple of exceptions, have had severe issues from what ive read.

R25, not a fan...i feel the bike is overhyped as malaysians for some reason are super fanboys of the brand despite some major issues ive heard abt the bike as well as no improvement besides a facelift.

I wish we have R25M. Then can go up against ZX25R and CBR250RR.

But personally go for either z250 abs or cb250r if you're upgrading from a cub.

i personally use my bro z250 alternately for 2 years, so i think its better than r25 that i borrow my friend occasionally...but yeah i suggest to OP used r25 since i believe got many people selling instead of cbu z250.

thats if he wana buy used...if new,better avoid r25,not worth it for the price

No love for CB250R?

hmmm so used the r25 might be a decent option ehhh, also considering between these 2... weirdly i notice r25 used prices are abit higher than the ninja 250.
i asked around and compared part prices, overall upkeep seems to be quite similar.... basically both seem quite similar.

My current bike is lc135, don't think will upgrade bike more than 250cc
Currently looking at cbr250rr, but a little pricey compare to other 250cc bike, is it worth it? Most important is reliable for me

Any bike with ABS.

CBR250RR will be reliable as long as you dont expect it to run above 200kmh like a 650cc would and perform proper maintenance. Pricey, yes. But Hondas are reliable at least on the bike front.

Can't say the same for their ca-ohwait wrong forum.

search around then i found out this cfmoto 250sr/250nk with abs, the price is dirt cheap compare to other 250cc bike, is it recommended?

just went to honda showroom, seems need to wait at least 4 months for cbr250rr, but very tempting

It ultimately depends on what type of bike you want to ride.

The only way 250s can make decent power is to rev to sky high, which means your only logical option are the japanese parallel twins in the CBR250RR, Ninja 250/Z250, and R25/MT25.

most of everything else in the market in 250cc is a single, save for a few oddballs like the "classic" Pantagonian Eagle and Buccaneer, which dove rev at all since they are air coolled.

This is also why the japanese twins are more expensive, as a higher strung twins will be costlier to manufacture.

R25. Can't go wrong with a yamaha

best 250 is ZX25R not in Malaysia yet


we only get boring 2 pot 250 here, yamaha kawasaki honda they are about the same, go survey and see which you like.

yamaha x-max

honda forza 250

best bike ever

What are the major issues that you've heard about R25?
I'm still looking for a used 250.. Probably gonna head to shops over the coming weekends to search for some good Ninja 250 / z250

For R25, mostly I heard / read are:
- Teh tarik engine oil (coolant leaked into engine), expensive fix
- code 46 (something to do with the coil / rectifier?) - can ride halfway then kena and engine die

I think that's about it.. but enough to put me off from buying a used R25

What makes you say so?

same things uve heard... if not mistaken razrig's (youtuber) R25 had to do a major overhaul due to a major bearing failure (forgot exactly wat it was already). but his bike is high mileage at around 1xxk km when it happened as he travels daily seremban-kl-seremban. but still at 1xxk km, should not have that major of a failure...if its at 2xxk km i can understand abit la.

our very own Quazacolt has an R25 with a blown engine laying around.....but then again this is the kinda guy that red lines every gear, everywhere.

i think ive heard of a few other issues, but i cant remember what they are as its been so long ago since i researched this.

the only advantage of the R25 i can think of is the availability of aftermarket accesories coz its just overly popular.

and just FYI in case u didnt already know, the kawas common issues are stator coil (can be easily recoiled for around RM4xx - install a volt meter so u can monitor) and also the auto timing chain tensioner can be noisy . (not so common but can be replaced with manual, but u better know how to tension it properly). also kawa uses shitty key barrels, just need to remember to lube them up every now n then. try to search for the 2018 n above Ninjas, those have real good specs and power and my god it looks so good.

id also advise against using liqui moly in a kawa... those oils are also overhyped. i tried the street 10w/40 semi in my old z250....n swapped it out in less than 3k km coz it was rough as shit i couldnt tahan....swapped to petron mineral oil and that felt sooo much better than the crap liqui moly....and i used the petron til about 5.5k km and it was still smooth all the way.


i think he said so coz like i said... malaysians for some reason are super yamaha fanbois.


best??? i have doubts.... honestly i dont see the point of a 4pot 250.... with such small pistons and short stroke, low end torque will suffer compared to the 2pots....and 4pots even at higher displacement is known to have not so good low end torque as its a trait of the engine config. if want 4pot get 500cc n above. at least ull have the displacement to compensate a lil bit.

i suspect this bike will be the literal definition of "bunyi macam ribut, pegi macam siput".

yeah i read quite a few issues too on R25, but can't remember much cuz I keep seeing the same issues happening to everyone in the R25 fb group, then just put me off then im not even looking at R25 anymore. Just looking at Kawasaki for now since CBR250RR is so pricey...

as for the issues that you mentioned for kawasaski ninja, I watched Ahmad Khan's videos about top 5 issues for kawa.. so expected
2018 & above ninjas = the modenas rebadge look right? I find that look too bulky for my liking.
I prefer the 2nd gen I think (not sure is it 2nd gen)
roughly from 2013- early 2018. before the bulky look

4pot is for hp lar bos, that is for top speed, need to use high RPM for the best of it, yes bunyi xzos mmg best, tp mmg "bunyi macam ribut, pergi macam siput", 4 pot mmg no torque

Even on my old FZR400 nothing really happens south of 8000rpm. And this was the more usable powertrain of the Japanese big 3 4pot 400s. A normal modern 650 twin makes more hp now at 8000rpm than it did at 14000rpm.

For a fun bike yes, for a daily, a 4 pot 250 is really going to be a test of patience.

Small displacement 4 pots sounds damn good though, but for the 38k you'd pay for a zr25r, you can pay a few k extra and get a gsx750 or top up a bit for the CBR650R and get a far more usable bike with more flexible power train, outright power and torque and sound just as good with a proper can.

The problem with the kawa is that I personally feel short-changed here. They get the 300 and now the 400 but we are stuck with the 250. That's why it looks bulky for a 250.

cuz no market for us..
250 is 249cc, B2 also can ride.
300 and 400 need to upgrade license.. nobody would buy when they can get something else..
unlike the US, some states maybe 1 motorcycle course then can ride anything you want..
so got more market there..

heck.. even if people brought in through grey import, who would wanna buy when ninja 400 is about 35k? :/
if not mistaken, saw it on mudah once..
35k can get ninja 650 used. or maybe even a used cbr 650 right?

Used CB650F runs at 28-30k. Ninja 650s don't go that high lol

yeah im saying if I have 35k to spend, I could have went with ninja 650 instead of ninja 400.
I know ninja 650 don't go that high. they are roughly 23-26k used.

CFMOTO is ok, neither good or bad, is a learner bike in EU and AUS.

When brand reaching Orang Puteh countries for their market, the product tend to be better than average Mainland home industry.


Only get CF Moto if you stay in Klang Valley or Penang Area, their SC expanding but these 2 area is where they having a foothold.

Spare part cheap if you buy online from shoppe/lazada/Taobao.. and most probably original ..

Ninja 400 was officially brought in by the previous Kawi distributors that are now Suzuki distributors. Now no more already because Modenas took over. Back in 2019, you could get a Ninja 400 OTR for around 31k or Z400 around 29~30k.

I owned a Ninja 400 myself until financial issues during lockdown forced me to let go of it. It was honestly the best bike I have owned and if I could keep it, I would have. Really convenient size-weight factor and more than enough power for Malaysian roads unless you want to race rempits with heavy modded kapchais/2 stroke bikes and superbikes.

I can't speak for everyone, but I'm the opposite of you: I wouldn't have picked any of the 650 twin Kawasakis over the Ninja 400/Z400. There's just something about that engine and the maneuverability of the bike that hits the right notes for me. After owning it, I can see why it's so popular everywhere else in the world. Just unfortunate that our licensing structure and prices don't make it feasible for most and we're stuck with the 250.

This post has been edited by blackbox14: Sep 6 2022, 07:02 PM

Is it? well that's sad. Its so rare to even see them on mudah.. only like 3 of them listed
but main issue is probably the license structure that we have. for that price, i think people would rather go for a used higher cc bike instead

I did spot one used for around 23k not too long ago but maybe now they are becoming a collectors' item.

And well, it's not just the basic idea of having a 250cc but with maybe 30% more power. When put into real life situations, it feels more like the 400 has nearly double the torque and hp of a 250 machine. I never had to downshift to overtake most cars and buses/lorries even on 6th gear, and for the most part I was cruising on highway @ 110~120kph at around 6000 RPM. With proper maintenance, that 400 would have lasted forever because the engine was not stressed as much as the 250cc version would be, at least with my riding style. Filtering was also much easier than ER6N, Versys and most 650s because it was some 30+ kg lighter.

I could gush about that bike forever but alas, have to move on. Maybe one day I will own a bike like that again that is within that Goldilocks-zone of what I enjoy in a bike - not too big, not too small.

I wish i have the luxury to own one z400/ninja 400. The power delivery is just nice without trying too hard. Ideal for daily rider as well.