Hello, new to the forum so I apologize in advance if this is in the wrong place. Im looking to buy my first motorcycle and have a coworker selling a ninja 250 for $700. I just wanted to see if the bike was worth purchasing. It has around 15k miles and is a 2000ish model. He has not had it tagged in years but it does run. He said it would need 2 tires to pass inspection and has been dropped so both the side signals are broke off. Is this bike worth $700? Thanks in advance!

Hi Aaron and welcome to Ninjette! :wave:

Worth it....? Depends upon how mechanically skilled you are. There may be many pitfalls awaiting you, based upon past history and maintenance. You may be getting a perfect bike or one that needs thou$ands in repairs.

1. get complete service-records for past 5-years if they're available.

2. take bike and records to reputable shop for pre-purchase inspection. Shop will be able to tell you what service it needs in next year so you can get an idea of what it's going to cost you.

3. check DMV for back-fees which may be due when you transfer ownership.

4. without above, walk away.... from any bike. It's very easy to pick up a money-pit.


Here's some common items that typically is needed, unfortunately, sometimes all at once after you pick up bike. Average shop-prices, can be much less if you can do yourself:

$100 - oil-change & coolant+thermostat. Very first thing I always do.
$200 - fairing-repair and turn-signals. Needs working turn-signals to pass inspection. Also check that brake-lights and horn works.
$200 - tyres, installation & balancing
$200 - brakes, pads, rotors, fluid-replacement and bleeding
$200 - chain & sprockets
$400 - valve-adjustment, the 1988-2007 pre-gen needs this more often than later 2008+ new-get models
$1500 - headgasket repair. Depending upon previous maintenance, you may very well have ticking time-bomb on your hands.

From your description, it will need tires and two new turn signals and wiring to pass inspection at a minimum. Also, these 250s have two small carburetors, with lots of small passages in them, and they tend to get clogged in less time than "years" when they sit unused, so it would be hard to imagine that you don't have a fair sized job there too, in removing and thoroughly cleaning and rebuilding them.

For a first motorcycle I'd think you'd be better off with something that's known to be in perfect or near-perfect condition, so you don't start out with a months-long project.

Welcome to the board, "Layton"! :)

Looks like our 2004 model.

We bought the same bike not-running with 250 mi about 5 years ago for $750. One broken turn signal, but otherwise in EX cond. Needed carb cleaning, fluids changed, other misc maintenance, and tires.

A lot of "what it's worth" is how much you can do yourself (as Danno suggested).

If you take it to a shop and say "fix it" it's going to cost a bunch.

If I were buying it as it sits, I'd probably pay about $500. Most likely it's going to need a fair amount of maintenance and there will be some not so obvious things than will need replacing or fixing (chain/sprockets, carb cleaning, tank cleaning/de-rusting, etc).

It's a deal if you are willing to do at least 80% of work on it. Time, patience, and a bit of money that bike is a steal. It's not going to be difficult to fix that up to completion.

The valve check and adjustment is easy on that bike compared to shim under bucket setup on the newer model. Just the typical tune-up after that.

This is all asuming that there are no back fees and the title is clean with some maintenance history.

Where in Virginia are you?

I've had 5 Ninja 250's over the years, pretty familiar with them.

$700 is a pretty decent price for a running Ninja 250, but how well is it running? Perfect condition it's a $1,500 bike. I've paid from $250-$500 for non running ones, got them running and sold for $1,000-$1,500

Like I said, where in Virginia is the bike, I'd give $700 for it.

I would buy it. It's very clean compared to bikes in worse condition, trying to sell for a higher price. Besides, this, is one of the friendliest forums i have encountered. Someone would help you with issues.one way or another.

I'm not sure if L8N is coming back.

That is a fair price if you are willing to get your hands dirty and do some work yourself. Half the fun of owning a bike getting hands on and seeing it going from an ugly piece of junk to a beautiful purring machine.

If I had $700......

I'm not sure if L8N is coming back.

I hope he's busy riding his bike.