600 or 250 on long drives, sports bikes?

[Ryan]

I'm planning on getting my first bike after I finish my School . My girl lives approx 1000+ miles away and I want to drive there . I would like to start with the ninja 250r cause I have heard great things about it being a amazing
Beginner bike but I'm told it doesn't have the capability to do what I require . Is the ninja 250r more than capable ?
And if not what's a easy handling 600r or 500r sports bike that would suit my needs ? Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[BlutoB]

No sport bike for 1,000 mile trip. You'll be sorry! Cruiser, tourer, standard, dual sport or sport tourer.

 

[CosmicMasterMind]

Jeez, for a 100 mile trip I'd take the plane. You could conceivably do it on a 250, people have crossed continents on 50cc mopeds, but unquestionably a BIG engine would be far better. However, with you being a beginner I would not advise riding a full-sized motorcycle so soon.

 

[BuckarooBanzai1]

I agree with Bluto. Not a job for a sportsbike...or a 250cc anything. If you want a "sports bike", try a Sport Tourer like the Honda ST1100 or ST1300. While I'm familiar with those (I ride an ST1300), I believe you can find similar in Yamaha or Kawasaki. Sports tourers give you the advantage of being able to carry a lot inside weather protected cases and are made for trips like you describe. Other first bike, yet long-trip comfortable choices would be a Honda Magna 750 (sounds small, but that 4 cylinder will take you faster than you'll want to go) or a Honda Shadow 1100. The Honda Shadow 750 (V-twin) is about to its max at 75-80 mph (had one). My wife just took the MSF cource and rode a 250 Rebel for 200 miles to get used to riding...then she was able to quickly move to a 1994 Honda Magna 750 and it is a comfortable bike on the 75 mph freeways near us.