Got an interesting offer....

[jaskc78]

This guy wants to trade his 2007 R1 with 11,000 miles and all sorts of aftermarket whoop-de-doos on it for my 2006 Ninja 636 with 8,000 miles that has lots of cosmetic aftermarket stuff on it, but no performance upgrades. He's basically looking to trade straight across, and it's a really nice lookin' bike, and I'm fairly certain that while I'm getting the better end of the deal the two bikes aren't so far separated in price that it's a completely unreasonable trade if he just wants a 600 and doesn't want to put any money down.

He came into my friend's shop today and offered to trade straight across for a 2008 Ninja ZX-6R that she has, but she said it'd be his bike plus about $1200, so he wasn't interested. I mentioned that I had an 06 636 and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, said he used to have a 636 and would love to have another one. Supposed to call him this weekend so he can take a look at the Ninja and see about trading. The R1 runs fine, it started right up and has fresh tires on it, and I couldn't see any damage to it. He mentioned it needs a turn signal relay (not a big deal at all) that he just wasn't worried about because he almost never uses his turn signals. It's got an akrapovic exhaust, rear sets, frame sliders, swingarm sliders, mirror block-off plates, integrated tail light, fender eliminator, and he said he has the dyno sheets from when he had the engine re-mapped for better low-end response. Thoughts, advice, etc? Thanks.

[BuzZz]

If you want a literbike, I would go for it.
And find out what blew that signal relay.

Other than that, I'd do it if it was me......(probably not the best example though....)

[jaskc78]

Yeah, I'm supposed to meet up with him on Sunday and I'll definitely take it for a test ride. On the plus side, I really like that it's already been tuned for better low end because that's the only real complaint I've had from the Yamaha's I've ridden is that their engines are tuned for the power band and just feel sluggish until then. The R6 I got to ride for a bit felt downright doggy after being used to my 636 and everybody I've talked to said that's pretty normal for the R6 and R1, it's just how they're tuned to run.

I'm definitely very tempted, to say the least. I'll probably take the trade so long as the test ride goes well and I don't get the feeling that he's trying to hide anything. Hopefully my friend Bryan will be there with me since he knows sport bikes a lot better than I do so I can get his take on it, too. Oh, and it's under factory warranty until 2012 so that's a huge plus in my book, too. Always better to have it even if you never need it.

[Wrider]

Shoot I'd do it too! Make sure it's in good shape, listen to the engine closely, and you should be fine if you trade across.

[jaskc78]

yeah, when he started it up at the shop i was listening to the engine and i thought it sounded fine but my friend Carrie was telling me this evening that she thought it sounded funny when he first started it up but she wasn't sure if it was maybe just the exhaust and the aftermarket tuning, so i'll be listening close when i take it for a spin on sunday.

[HYPERR]

Are you a dealer? If not, then the trade is a very good one for you....unless there's something latently wrong with the R1.

[MZ33]

I'd want to know why he wants to trade. What doesn't he like about the R1? What were his original reasons for purchasing it?

[MZ33]

And just why doesn't he use his signal lights much?

[Wrider]

Didja do it?

[jaskc78]

yep, traded yesterday and was riding around happily until right around dinnertime. was coming up on a stop light and bike just died. flat out engine stopped running. wouldn't kick over and start up, so called a friend to bring his trailer. will tackle the electrics tomorrow, hoping it's just a battery or a simple short where there shouldn't be one. not thinking it's a short because it still had enough juice to try to start, just not enough to actually get the job done. lights and everything else work fine, just no start. like i said, i'll tear into it tomorrow after i get the windshield installed on the victory and pick my truck up from the dealership.