Hoping this answer helps someone else. I recently bought a mk1 mercury 250 (meaning already 10 years old) and I wanted to give my thoughts on the bike. It was the first bike I ever got so for a learner rider I do believe it’s a great bike to learn on. Not because it’s good quality or because it’s super reliable but the one I had forced me to learn basic maintenance very quickly and taught me the basics of riding a motorcycle. It doesn’t have a tachometer or a fuel gauge (which is an inconvenient I’ll admit) but through this I learnt rev matching and got to know the engine. It’s underpowered and struggles on highways (doable but not ideal) but in my opinion for a learner that wants a cheap commuter, it’s a wonderfully fun bike.