What color do you think is best?

[akshay11]

I'm buying a new 2012 ninja 650 in 3 weeks and am torn on what color to get. I like them all. I've heard some people say not to get black because it's not as visible.. true? I mean at night none of them would be 'visible' on their own.. Here are the pics.







I've seen the green in person and IMO the picture doesn't do it justice.. so heres a video to it if your curious. Looks better in the vid imo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyUQr...eature=related

And the red one just for kicks. I sat on this one at the dealership. Looks great

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93Ag9...eature=related

[greenaero]

The green ones are always the fastest. JK
Pick whatever you like best, ride like your invisible , the cagers never pay attention irregardless of which color your bike is.

[Jiggles]

Black is the best. You just cannot beat that sexiness. Have you ridden the new 650 yet? It's ****ing sweet, totally redesigned.

[Jiggles]

Oh and, if you want an easy sale, go through costco. I got my 650 for $7900 out the door plus $250 back in a costco giftcard. No haggling, I was in the dealership for 30 minutes and walked out with my new bike

[akshay11]

Well the msrp is already down 300 cuz of the rebate, so thats 7199.. and the dealer said out the door will be ~8k... plus discounts on gear there, no labor for adding frame sliders and switching the exhaust if i do that, plus theres room for negotiation on the 7199 price as well he said so should be able to get a pretty decent deal.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by akshay11

Well the msrp is already down 300 cuz of the rebate, so thats 7199.. and the dealer said out the door will be ~8k... plus discounts on gear there, no labor for adding frame sliders and switching the exhaust if i do that, plus theres room for negotiation on the 7199 price as well he said so should be able to get a pretty decent deal.

They aren't trying to charge you any dealer fees? Like crate, delivery, and set up?

Cali sucks

[nickjpass]

Now that I have looked at it closely, the 650r looks a bit bug eyed.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by nickjpass

Now that I have looked at it closely, the 650r looks a bit bug eyed.

That's the point

[Jiggles]

So what made you decide on the Ninja 650?

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

That's the point

Huh. Jiggles, do you have any vids of your bike on and revving?

[squaregamer476]

Id say Black. For daytime, keep your highbeams on. I see lots of ppl throw on their highbeams on during the day also.

Or.

Whatever matches your gear color....or your favorite color.

Black cuz its nice. Hard to take care on a Vehicle, not so bad on a bike.

[akshay11]

@Jiggles

They are. $199 freight and setup fees.. plus taxes and title. But they're willing to be flexible on the retail of 7199.. so I should be able to get it out the door under 8k, plus save around 200 on the gear and labor discounts. Going in next thursday to figure it all out.

Was looking at the 250 and 650 for a while.. ultimately chose the 650 because I will be doing alot of freeway riding. I also sat on both, and the 250 did seem a bit small for me.

[choneofakind]

Green. always green. You never have to ask. Green.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by akshay11

@Jiggles

They are. $199 freight and setup fees.. plus taxes and title. But they're willing to be flexible on the retail of 7199.. so I should be able to get it out the door under 8k, plus save around 200 on the gear and labor discounts. Going in next thursday to figure it all out.

Was looking at the 250 and 650 for a while.. ultimately chose the 650 because I will be doing alot of freeway riding. I also sat on both, and the 250 did seem a bit small for me.

Ah ok, most likely your taxes are less which is why they are quoting you close to 8k. What costco does is (at least in my area) negotiates the price to $7149 with no fees, just tax, then they give you 20% accessories and labor at the dealer and $250 back on a costco gift card. I think it would be beneficial to look into it, just find a friend/relative that has a costco card.

I own both the Ninja 650 and 250r and I am 21yrs old, 6'2, 200lbs so I can give you some good advice on these bikes. First off, the 650 has a **** ton of power and lots of torque. First gear is super jerky, and takes quite a bit of practice to control it. Since this is your first bike, you are going to make mistakes and the 650 wont be as forgiving as the 250r. I suggest staying in a higher gear than you need to be in while learning. That way when you inevitably grab too much throttle, it won't kick you as much. Riding conservatively, I'm getting about 40mpgs which gets me 120 miles before the low fuel light starts blinking.

Honestly, I would recommend getting the 250 first, or a used 250 to learn on and then upgrade to the 650. In the past 8 months I rode 13,000 miles on my 250, the majority of which was on the freeway. I never felt underpowerd nor uncomfortable on the 250, that being said, the 650 is "easier" to ride on the freeway, but the 250 will get the job done.

Anyway if you have any questions about the 650 let me know It's a great bike and you won't be disappointed.

[saxnbass]

I went riding yesterday with a group of 600 and 1000cc SSs and kept up, even on the freeway. Sure, I had to push my 250 harder than they had to push their bikes, but it's fun to push your bike hard.

Vid kind of related:

Link to original page on YouTube.


Don't take this as saying don't get a 650, I'm just kind of agreeing with Jiggles's post.

[EthioKnight]

RED BABY...EFFIN' REDDDDDDDD!

I ride with my buddy who's got a green 650 and I'm always the one catching the blown kisses from the ladies, the thumbs ups from the dudes and the "only if I could turn back the hands of time" looks from the octogenarians!
sh!t...red even looks faster whilst standing still!

[gilmorec61]

Green looks the sexiest If i was a chick and i saw you on that green one, id go for you, no homo.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by gilmorec61

If i was a chick and i saw you on that green one, id go for you, no homo.

So why you riding a blue bike?


Good thing you live no where near me. I'm irresistible before the involvement of any motorcycles

[akshay11]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

Oh and, if you want an easy sale, go through costco. I got my 650 for $7900 out the door plus $250 back in a costco giftcard. No haggling, I was in the dealership for 30 minutes and walked out with my new bike

I went through the Costco program today to see how much it would cost. They quoted me at about the same price, $7960 OTD with the $250 card back and 20% discount on gear. Not a huge diff though, since Kawasaki has the $300 rebate on new 650s through March 31st. Costco brought MSRP down to $7158, vs the $7199 with the $300 rebate. You do get that $250 card back though. Going to see if I can get the local dealer to match or go lower than this deal.

[Jiggles]

Tell them you want to combine the costco price with the $300 rebate!

I didn't think of that

[akshay11]

I tried but they said the costco price is prearranged non-negotiable. But what I'm thinking I'll do is this:

$7960 OTG minus the $250 from gift card is 7710. The local dealer here told me to make an offer when I was there earlier in the week, on top of the $300 rebate since that's done by Kawa. So I'm going to try offer that I want it for $7500 OTD plus the 20% gear discount. At worst I will ask them to match the Costco OTD price minus 250 because of the gift card, along with the gear discount. If they don't agree I'll just buy it from the other dealership and have them deliver the bike.

Btw, the local dealer has the red 650, and the other one had the black one. Yet to sit on the green one . I'm leaning towards getting black atm now though.

[Jiggles]

Good plan, either way you will get a good price.

And, join the dark side

[koenigcitizen]

What color is best?
Black.
Coz its the most dominant!

[bluesinorbit]

Green. Black is okay, but it covers up the styling, it gets hot under the sun, and it's near invisible after sundown.

I got my eyes on the green 650R for end of this year, and the girlfriend is going to learn to ride with the white 250R then.

As for dealing with the stealership, do not let them talk to you in terms of msrp. It's to their advantage because they balance out any "deals" they are giving you on msrp with their BS fees. Negotiate in terms of OTD price. I would go to multiple dealers and say, "I can get this same bike for such and such price OTD with no hassle at Costco. If you can get me a better deal by two hundred dollars, the sale goes to you." They might say it's unreasonable. Then say, "okay, here's my number if you change your mind," and leave. When someone bites, they'll say I can only match the price but I can give up this and that discount on stuff you can get cheaper elsewhere anyway. Stick to your gun and negotiate. You can walk out with a deal very close to what you asked for.

[Jiggles]

The 650R no longer exists, its now the 650, unless you are talking about an old model

[bluesinorbit]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

The 650R no longer exists, its now the 650, unless you are talking about an old model

Damn, they change the name so much. No, I want the new redesigned 650. Any chance you'll let me ride yours?

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by bluesinorbit

Damn, they change the name so much. No, I want the new redesigned 650. Any chance you'll let me ride yours?

You should start playing the lottery

[akshay11]

Originally Posted by bluesinorbit

Green. Black is okay, but it covers up the styling, it gets hot under the sun, and it's near invisible after sundown.

I got my eyes on the green 650R for end of this year, and the girlfriend is going to learn to ride with the white 250R then.

As for dealing with the stealership, do not let them talk to you in terms of msrp. It's to their advantage because they balance out any "deals" they are giving you on msrp with their BS fees. Negotiate in terms of OTD price. I would go to multiple dealers and say, "I can get this same bike for such and such price OTD with no hassle at Costco. If you can get me a better deal by two hundred dollars, the sale goes to you." They might say it's unreasonable. Then say, "okay, here's my number if you change your mind," and leave. When someone bites, they'll say I can only match the price but I can give up this and that discount on stuff you can get cheaper elsewhere anyway. Stick to your gun and negotiate. You can walk out with a deal very close to what you asked for.

Yeah I am talking OTD price. The Costco way is $7960 otd plus a $250 card and gear discount. So I'm going to ask for $7500 otd to the other dealer. Definitely no more than $7700 otd, with the gear discount which matches the Costco one

[Agger]

I like black on all bikes, but I think if you are going to own a Kawasaki then rock the Kawi Green!!!

That being said, the red looks sexy ass hell, I'm torn.

[Enfemus]

Red

[akshay11]

Originally Posted by Enfemus

I love the blue. The white would be my second choice.

????? Only red green or yellow

[Enfemus]

Originally Posted by akshay11

????? Only red green or yellow

Yup fail at reading

[cbdallas]

Too bad they didn't bring back orange for 2012. LOVE that color. Green, Red, Black..in that order.

[akima]

Red.

[akshay11]

Think it's gonna be a tossup between green and black. Depends what they have when I buy it. Might go ahead and pay for it this friday, and just have them hold off on setting it up and delivering it until mid april when the weathers better.

[cbdallas]

Originally Posted by akshay11

...have them hold off on setting it up and delivering it until mid april when the weathers better.

You have WAY more restraint than I do.

[akshay11]

Originally Posted by cbdallas

You have WAY more restraint than I do.

The wait is driving me crazzzzzzy. I could get it now but yesterday it just snowed like 4 inches and the roads went to ****. Granted it's all melted away now, but still the weathers is still usualy mid 30s. I'll survive 4-6 weeks... somehow. Been torrenting some MotoGP races from the past and watching them for fun lately haha.

[SlowBoyRacing]

I am one of those who likes the red

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by akshay11

The wait is driving me crazzzzzzy. I could get it now but yesterday it just snowed like 4 inches and the roads went to ****. Granted it's all melted away now, but still the weathers is still usualy mid 30s. I'll survive 4-6 weeks... somehow. Been torrenting some MotoGP races from the past and watching them for fun lately haha.

I just watch them on SPEED.

[Cazper]

Hmmm... I didn't even realize Kawasaki made anything other than green Guess you learn something new every day