Going to look at a ninja tomorrow!

[NotTyler]

I'm going to look at a 2006 Ninja tomorrow, finally took my msf stuff to the dmv and got my license today. I think its a pretty good deal. It has 10k miles on it but the owner was nice and really seems to be into motorcycles, said he has a garage full of them. He said he would take 1500 for it, sound like a fair price?

He said it was dropped once, but didn't crack or bend anything. Just some minor scratches on one side. Sending me some detailed pics tonight. It has new tires, and has been recently serviced. Seems like he took great care of it. Thankfully I got a buddy with a truck (its 3 hours away) for th ride home. I plan on unloading it about 45 min. out and riding the rest of the way if i purchase it.

Any advice?

[Jiggles]

That sounds like a great deal to me! Be sure to inspect it (google motorcycle inspection checklist or something).

[csmith12]

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=64673

[NotTyler]

Thanks guys!

Just got off the phone with my insurance company, they quoted me liability for $120/12 months. Better than I expected, and I forgot to mention I had taken the msf brc.

[choneofakind]

if it's in good condition, 1,500 for an '06 with 10k is a great deal.

Things to look for (there's plenty of more detailed info on the internet than this, so these are just the big things)

SERVICE HISTORY! find out what's been done to it. at 10k, you've got some big maintenance coming up in 2k miles (valve adjustment, swingarm/unitrak service etc) see what's been done to it
sprockets/chain
fork seals
tires
carbs (has it been sitting, i.e. do the carbs need to be cleaned?)

over all, just remember, that there's loads of ninja 250's for sale out there. the first one that you look at isn't always going to be the one you buy. My buddy got dead set on a bike just because it was only 1200 dollars, and it was a hunk of junk. Now, he bought a brand new ninja 250R AND he still is stuck with the only one. totally his fault. Don't be afraid to walk away and find another bike at any time.

if it's already loaded up, don't take it off part way home. If you just got your license, get a little experience riding before you ride a brand new bike 2+ hours to get home.

[ForceofWill]

Originally Posted by NotTyler

Thanks guys!

Just got off the phone with my insurance company, they quoted me liability for $120/12 months. Better than I expected, and I forgot to mention I had taken the msf brc.

That's a really good price man. I've been driving over 10 years with a clean record and mine is $330 for liability. First bike though, both will go down in 6 months.

[NotTyler]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

if it's in good condition, 1,500 for an '06 with 10k is a great deal.

Things to look for (there's plenty of more detailed info on the internet than this, so these are just the big things)

SERVICE HISTORY! find out what's been done to it. at 10k, you've got some big maintenance coming up in 2k miles (valve adjustment, swingarm/unitrak service etc) see what's been done to it
sprockets/chain
fork seals
tires
carbs (has it been sitting, i.e. do the carbs need to be cleaned?)

over all, just remember, that there's loads of ninja 250's for sale out there. the first one that you look at isn't always going to be the one you buy. My buddy got dead set on a bike just because it was only 1200 dollars, and it was a hunk of junk. Now, he bought a brand new ninja 250R AND he still is stuck with the only one. totally his fault. Don't be afraid to walk away and find another bike at any time.

if it's already loaded up, don't take it off part way home. If you just got your license, get a little experience riding before you ride a brand new bike 2+ hours to get home.

Thats partly why I'm driving so far to look at this one, the guy I talked to over the phone seemed like he took great care of it. He is an older guy who said it has been garage kept, and ridden by him and his wife every now and then. Said it has been completely serviced and needs nothing.

Your probably right about keeping it in the truck IF i buy it, but its so tempting not too lol.

[kyrider]

Tyler,

That bike would look great slipping down the Natchez Trace.

[FrugalNinja250]

I, too, would recommend not riding it until you can give it a good going over after getting it home. And, as a new rider IMHO I think it's better to work up to long rides rather than jump in with the proverbial "trial by fire". Then again, I'm fairly risk-adverse; I didn't even get on the highway until I had over 1K miles under my belt. First ride was less than 3 miles on residential streets. Now I average over 1,300 miles a month less than three years later, with several 800+ mile day rides under my belt.

[NotTyler]

I fill in all the details later, but I bought the bike!

Ended up having to drive it all the way back home. Lol first time on a bike and I made a 160 mile drive, alot of interstate, through nashville. What a day it has been.

[kyrider]

Originally Posted by NotTyler

I fill in all the details later, but I bought the bike!

Ended up having to drive it all the way back home. Lol first time on a bike and I made a 160 mile drive, alot of interstate, through nashville. What a day it has been.

Damn Son!

[killamuf]

that is pretty amazing. hope it was a good experience.

[NotTyler]

now that I have a minute I'll give a more in depth story of how the day went lol.

So me and my friend with a truck head out at 5 am and drive out to the guys house 3 hours away near knoxville. Everything is going good, we get there and he pulls the bike outta the garage and wow, that think was spotless. You could eat off the engine, it was exactly as he described...but better lol. So after some careful evaluation and talking to the guy I gave him some money and took it for a test drive. It felt brand new, rode great, everything was smooth.

So when I get back we count the money and I get the title and I talk to him a bit more. Real cool guy, his whole family rides and his wife was the main one on the ninja. I leave and my friend follows me to the interstate (about 15 min. out) cause I felt like riding it abit. We stop to load the bike and that goes okay, then we get to strapping it down. I realize his bed has no holes in it for tie-downs and the ones I brought are way to big/long (we use them for cars). So we do the best we can an get on the interstate, I'm freaking out the whole time cause it looks wobbly. We go to pull off at an exit 5 min. down the road and the bike slowly falls all the way over. I dont even want to know the words that came out of my mouth when I happened.

So we stop and I just know that I cracked the fairing or broke something, but some how there was nothing wrong. I went from angry to happy in about 2 seconds lol. So instead of risking it failling over again we just unloaded it in the mcdonalds parking lot and I rode it the rest of the way home. Fortunately i brought all my gear with me just in case, unfortunately it was about 30 degrees and cloudy when we headed out lol. By the time we got back (after a few stops for gas/food) it was warm outside. So I went ahead and rode into town and got my tags/insurance.

I mentioned earlier it was my first time riding a bike. Well I've ridden one at msf brc and been out dirtbikes since I was young. I wouldn't have drove it back if I didn't feel comfortable on it. All in all it was a great, but cold, day!

Oh and the windy days and riding on the interstate arent much fun combined.

[choneofakind]

It sounds like an adventure

When life gives you lemons, ride the damn bike home!

[killamuf]

Sweet story man, I am glad you and your bike got home safely.!

[SlowBoyRacing]

Congratulations!

[Nemesis]

Man, either you got mad skillz spotting a Ninja or that Ninja sucks @ the art of being invisible.

Let me know when you plan on seeing another Ninja.

[greg737]

Everything is going good, we get there and he pulls the bike outta the garage and wow, that think was spotless. You could eat off the engine, it was exactly as he described...but better lol. So after some careful evaluation and talking to the guy I gave him some money and took it for a test drive. It felt brand new, rode great, everything was smooth.

Congrats!

You definitely did it right. Finding and buying a bike that has always been garaged is the only way to go in my opinion because there are a lot of other things that tend to go along with that arrangement.

When the seller is a home-owner he's also likely to be a responsible type of guy. He probably has a car he drives on bad weather days. He's probably kept up with the maintenance on the bike. Garage-stored bikes don't age nearly as fast as outside bikes.

That's how I bought my 2005. When the prior-owner hit the garage door opener and the door went up I immediately knew I was going to buy it. Both the bike and the garage were spotless.