In love with the Ninja 650R

Message

jonbailey19808 · Tue Jun 20, 2006 2:38 am

I went to my dealer to look at a 650R Ninja last night. The only had a used one but i just wanted to feel it out.

I sat on it and oh my gosh that is the most comftable bike i have sat on yet. He let me start it up and oh does it sound sweet.

This one had 1500 miles and scuffs on both sides of the farings and he wanted 5300.

So now i have to decide if i want good, better or best.
Good = Ninja 250
Better = GS500F Suzuki
Best = Ninja 650R

4 days to MSF!

SuperRookie · Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:05 am

You may want to start out with a 250 or 500...the one thing the 650 has going for it is that it's used...but look at it this way...it's already rashed on both sides and ONLY has 1500 miles on it. It was probably someone else's first bike, so it most likely wasn't the best choice for them either.

If you start out on, say, a used 500 for a season or so, you can get your skills up and sell it for practically what you bought it for, use the dough toward a shiny NEW 650 and increase the likelihood that it'll stay that way.

VermilionX · Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:08 am

$5300 is that USD?

if yes, that seems too high for that 650R's condition.

#4 Unread post by **bok** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:09 am

i'll say it again....buy a 250 or 500 ninja instead and maybe your wife will have a nice bike to be handed down to her. this way a bike you pay a couple grand for can be used for 2 -4+ years and you could probably sell it for almost what you paid for it after all that. a bigger "first" bike may be great for you, but it's your first bike not your last, and a smaller ninja is still powerful enough to have a lot of fun on while you learn.

i understand the appeal of the 650...i almost bought one this spring for me, and to be used as a learners bike for my fiance, but after thinking about it I picked up the ex250 for her to learn on and when she is ready we will get her the 650.

VermilionX · Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:14 am

bok wrote:i'll say it again....buy a 250 or 500 ninja instead and maybe your wife will have a nice bike to be handed down to her. this way a bike you pay a couple grand for can be used for 2 -4+ years and you could probably sell it for almost what you paid for it after all that. a bigger "first" bike may be great for you, but it's your first bike not your last, and a smaller ninja is still powerful enough to have a lot of fun on while you learn.

i understand the appeal of the 650...i almost bought one this spring for me, and to be used as a learners bike for my fiance, but after thinking about it I picked up the ex250 for her to learn on and when she is ready we will get her the 650.

how can you sell a used bike for the same price you got it? how do you sucker people into buyingt it?

anyway... the 650R is ok for novices. i don't see the big deal. plus he said he wanted a bike he'll keep for a long time. he seems happy w/ 650R and it's ok for novices so it's a win win situation for him.

#6 Unread post by **bok** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:23 am

how can you sell a used bike for the same price you got it? how do you sucker people into buyingt it?

if the bike is in demand and has depreciated pretty much all it will, then you can sell it for pretty darn close to what you paid.

in my case i bought a 97 ex250 for 3000, i have four offers to buy it next spring for 3000. In this market i could also probably get more than 3000 for it if i messed around. even if i sold it for 2500 that's basically like renting the bike for a year for 500bucks which is still a great deal.

VermilionX · Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:27 am

bok wrote: if the bike is in demand and has depreciated pretty much all it will, then you can sell it for pretty darn close to what you paid.

in my case i bought a 97 ex250 for 3000, i have four offers to buy it next spring for 3000. In this market i could also probably get more than 3000 for it if i messed around. even if i sold it for 2500 that's basically like renting the bike for a year for 500bucks which is still a great deal.

ok i can see that but how much does a new EX250 cost over there?

#8 Unread post by **bok** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:28 am

new they are about 6200, the 500s are about 6700 and the 650s are like 8700.

CNF2002 · #9 Unread post by **CNF2002** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:41 am

Keep a bike in good shape and, depending on the market, you can easily sell it for what you bought it for.

That doesn't apply to 14K brand new racebikes, but for alot of the basic beginner bikes if you buy it used, you can sell it without much loss if you are patient.

I would never buy new again. Dealer markups are too high, depreciation is too great, and resale values are never close to what you paid.

I might buy a new bike if I had just the money to throw on a new toy, but I'd never get one for practical purposes. There are folks out there that will buy new, take the depreciation hit, and resell at a discount while its still got the new car smell

DivideOverflow · Tue Jun 20, 2006 4:03 am

The only reason I would buy a new bike is if it was a performance bike. I don't think I would trust random joe-schmoe to break-in a nice sportbike or performance oriented machine. Who knows if that was his first bike, who knows who owned it before him? Was all of the maintenance done? Was it abused?

I know someone who bought a used 03 CBR and when he dumped the oil, it looked like it was never changed!! He ended up having to replace piston rings as well... you just never know.