Things I will never say....

[LuxMundi]

1. That's a nice house you have, I mean for a starter home. Someday, you can get a nice big 4,000sf McMansion like I have.......
2. That's a nice engagement ring, for a starter. You be happy when you can upgrade to more carats later......
3. Your girlfriend seems nice, I mean for a first relationship. You'll be ready to upgrade to a hot model with DD's soon......
4. That's a nice car, for a starter. You'll be ready for a 400hp Mustang before you know it.........
5. When are you going to trade those Kmart shoes for some Cole Haans?......
6. Good first job/degree; don't worry, some day you'll be a PHD with 100k salary, like me......

However, why do people think the whole $*#% about "beginner bike", "when are you upgrading", etc. is polite and even helpful. WTF?

[talldrink]

AGREED

[Racer x]

I like how they say the 250 ninja is a good bike for the money. Dose that make a Ducati a bad bike for the money?

[Hadyn]

People seem to pay too much attention to numbers. They hear '250' and think 'Wow! My bike has 2 (or 3 or 4 or 5) times that number! 250 must be slow and boring!' without ever riding one.

The funny thing is that even with a pre-gen nobody knows it's a 250 until they ask me what it is. I took Madeline in for inspection today (which I forgot to do when I got her last week - oops!) and had two separate people mistake her for a 500.

[Flashmonkey]

Originally Posted by Racer x

Dose that make a Ducati a bad bike for the money?

Yup!

Seriously, though....hearing this from non-riders may suck, but generally speaking saying that the 250 is a good bike for the money isn't that far off. To be honest, I'm not even sure I'd pay for a new one that costs $5-6k out the door....unless I planned on keeping that bike for like 20 years or something.

It IS a beginner bike...and that's exactly how it's marketed. If it's enough for you, then that's fantastic....but like the CBR125R, this bike is aimed squarely for the new-rider segment.

[Snake]

The people that make those comments have never rode a Ninja 250. Heck some have never even rode any type of bike yet they think they are experts because they have the T-shirt.

[backinthesaddleagain]

Its ok, a guy I know bought a 28' cabin cruiser and some boating friend of his said "Thats a nice boat, for you." He was like what does the "for me" mean.

[rockNroll]

When I had only the cbr1000rr.... when someone asked what kind of bike I had and I told them they would say something like "nice" or "sweet bike." When I had both bikes their replies were like" that's cool ... what do you use the 250 for?" At the moment I only have the 250 and I get replies like "oh."

[backinthesaddleagain]

A friend of mine who rides an interceptor 250 from years back told me he was at a track riding school one day and at the kick off meeting the instructor asked who today is on a 750 or larger bike to stand up. Then he said ok, half of you standing will be picking your bike off the ground at some point today. To the shock of some standing he said on this tight track the smaller bikes will carry higher corner speeds. My friend said some guys didn't believe it until they saw it.

[Rayme]

It's politeness, just like saying toa newborn's parents it looks just like him/her. LOL

[Snake]

Originally Posted by Rayme

It's politeness, just like saying toa newborn's parents it looks just like him/her. LOL

Sounds more like a back handed compliment.

[backinthesaddleagain]

Other thinly veiled put downs:
Thats a nice college, for your kid.

[Flashmonkey]

Originally Posted by backinthesaddleagain

Other thinly veiled put downs:
Thats a nice college, for your kid.

LOL everything can be a put down if you ad "...for you" or "...for your kid" at the end of it.

"That's a nice banana, for you." It's even worse when you add some emphasis: "That's a nice banana, for you."

Ah language is fun

[Chubbs032]

Never say never

[Sailariel]

Originally Posted by backinthesaddleagain

Its ok, a guy I know bought a 28' cabin cruiser and some boating friend of his said "Thats a nice boat, for you." He was like what does the "for me" mean.

I hear this all the time. "You lived aboard a 31 foot sailboat for 14 years and logged over 80,000 nautical miles. How did you do it?" I don`t have a clue. I have a great marriage. My two Maine Coon Cats handled the 14 years with ease, and life is good. I really do not think that we could have done 14 years in a bigger boat. Is an Island Packet 31 a beginners boat? Who knows or cares.

[bobguy]

I get more compliments on my bike than I do put downs. Talking to guys at the shop I find out that many people get their start on the kawi 250. Most people who are underwhelmed are people who don't even ride and don't even have clue what the 250 denotes anyway...they just like the bigger numbers because it sounds tough. They think a 500 means it goes twice as fast as the 250.

[beowuff]

I had a harley rider follow me off the freeway to a gas station one day. He thought my 07 ninjette was a litter bike. Boy did he not hide his shocked face very well when I told him it was a 250...

[Troobs]

all non bikers who ask me what my bike is say "how fast have you had it" and some try to put it down thinking "smaller is slower is worse" new bikers are the same, but veteran bikers can appreciate them and i get a lot of compliments and a lot of people asking for ago !