[LilNinja77]

Oh bummer on losing the bike, I hope I never *have* to get rid of mine. Yeah the flame graphics are pretty cheesy, removing them was the first thing I did to my 07, made the bike look so much better.
[/quote]So, here I am, doing my best to make this bike more appealing to the outsider and helping other riders find out how easy this bike is to operate and maintain.

I like your outlook on trying to get the gz more well known/recognized, hence one of the reasons I would like to add one to my garage. I love my ex250, but it's not the only 250cc motorcycle I'd like to own. It's defintely my choice for an everyday bike, but I'd love the gz to have as a fun project bike. (springer solo seat, clip ons, cherry bomb muffler, whitewall tires, springer front end, railroad spike footpegs.......now that's my dream bike)

When first looking for a motorcycle, I was stuck between the virago250 and the gz250. I had heard of the ex, but was still undecided on how I felt about it. I grew up around Harleys, so I was already a fan of cruisers; but was also quite intrigued by sportbikes. But I thought, as many people do, that all sportbikes were super high-powered speed rockets.......and to an extent this is true when you are limited by the small selection of the U.S. market. I had ridden the gz in the MSF course, and had an absolute blast; but quickly noticed the lower back pain that the cruiser-style seating caused. One of the instructors let me sit on his CBR900RR and I quickly realized how much more comfortable I am on sportbikes than cruisers. I can ride far more comfortably and safely leaned forward than backward....better yet is to be sitting straight up like on the ex.

So walking in to the dealership I went and sat on the gz: instant smile, sitting on it had brought back memories of the MSF. I went and sat on the virago: instant frown; I could barely turn the bars before whacking my knees (a lot like a honda rebel). So I found the ex250 over in a corner and took a seat: instant decision, I knew this would be the motorcycle riding home in the back of my truck. I wasn't thinking of sportbike vs cruiser, I was just looking for which bike would best serve me, and I couldn't deny that the ex was that bike. The ex will remain my primary bike for sure, but what's wrong with having more than one :2tup:

I've been calling the ex250 a sportbike, but in truth it's really a standard with sportbike fairings on it. Take the fairings off and it looks like a large kawasaki-badged nighthawk. I doubt I'll ever buy a true full-blooded sportbike or cruiser, I just don't really like either end of the spectrum. I'm hoping to buy an old used gz sometime as a project bike, but rarely see many used ones in decent shape around my area (don't really have the funds to warrant buying a new one right now, maybe when I'm done with school).
Ride safe