Buell Blast, Honda Nighthawk, or Kawasaki Ninja 250R?

I'm considering on getting a Blast to be my first bike. It's a little bit more pricier than the Nighthawk and Ninja but is more stylish than the Nighthawk and has a larger engine than the Ninja.



The seating position appeals to me a lot and it looks like I could add a lot of features to it if I wanted to.



Also, being that I'm new to all of this, Buells are purchased at Harley Davidson dealerships right?



Also when I save up a bit more cash, the gear I plan on buying are. Gloves and boots by alpinestars. A jacket by icon or alpinestars. Would you recommend body armor? And for the helmet I plan on buying a Scorpion Exo.



I'll be riding around in an suburban area, westchester county, 20 minutes from New York city. There are many SUV's around here which are my main turn off for buying a bike right now being that I'm only 19 years old. I also need to look into the right insurance to purchase.



But............ Buell definitely is my number one choice. As well for any other style of riding I'd go with KTM. My main turn on for buying a bike is because it's kick *** and I want to be a part of the motorcycle family. =]Buell Blast, Honda Nighthawk, or Kawasaki Ninja 250R?
Buells are sold at Harley dealerships. The other 2 you mentioned are quiet a bit smaller in engine size than the blast. If you like the blast, then go for it. But I would also say check with your insurance agent as to which one will be cheapest to insure. Guaranteed it will be the Honda 250 Rebel. Cruisers are always cheaper than crotch rockets. Even the 250 ninja is considered a performance bike-I know, laugh if you want. But the insurance for a male under the age of 28 for full coverage for a performance bike will floor you per year. Think Thousands of dollars just for the insurance company to take you on as a client. Think hundreds of dollars a year for a cruiser.



As for gear-any quality gear-alpine star, Icon, Joe Rocket etc is fine. Yes on the body armor. Definately. Buy decent gear and a decent full face helmet. Buy armored gloves if you want, and kevlar armored riding pants and also boots. Then take the MSF beginners course. That will do as much for you if not more than all the gear. Because the MSF will help teach you defensive driving on a motorcycle. Good gear is great if you get into a wreck, but even the best gear may not protect you enough from all injuries -like internal ones from the sudden stop after impact. Defensive driving keeps you out of most situations that you will find yourself in.Buell Blast, Honda Nighthawk, or Kawasaki Ninja 250R?
If you're going to buy new then definitely go with the Ninja 250. If you can find an 08 at a dealership I'd go with that.



The 250's are always in high demand as there's always new riders looking for a bike and people like the styling of the 08+.



Thus, the 250 has a better resale value. You can probably sell it next year for about $200-$300 less than you paid for it.Buell Blast, Honda Nighthawk, or Kawasaki Ninja 250R?
You can't go wrong with the Ninja 250. The price will be much less than the Blast and you will find the long term costs are much lower on the Ninja.
I own a Buell Cyclone, and I really like the Blast, but I just can't get past the reliability issues I keep hearing about. Plus, they have terrible resale value. If it were my money and brand loyalty or buying American wasn't an issue, I would go for the Ninja, or step up to something like the SV650SF. It's a little bigger and faster, but it is a motorcycle that you would never really outgrow.



That Ninja is a sweet little bike tough. Go online and read some of the things the actual test riders say about how much fun they have with them at track days too. It will make you rethink how much you need that GSX-R1000. (I have one, and I will be the first to admit that it's overkill and has way more performance than I have skill.)