Used 2009 Ninja 250 - Too many miles?

[sopranos]

Hey all! Great to be here...

I am looking at a black 2009 250 with 6K miles. Does this seem like too many for a first time rider to deal with? It has never been dropped and appears to be very well maintained (looks cherry) and the tires have at least 50% life left (they are not the original tires). Chain and sprocket looks clean and no signs of rust or any corrosion, etc.

Fires right up cold with no issues and the bike is pretty much stock. I guess my only concern is the throttle response seems a bit sluggish and the bike overall sounds like its moving fast but is not responding like it sounds. BUT I am relatively new to riding and completely new to a ninja 250 (sport bike in general) and this may just be the way it is (or supposed to be)? Also, I was shifting in the range of 6-8K (as it sounding like it was revving so high already at that RPM) so perhaps I didn't let it go high enough before shifting and that could be the cause of it feeling sluggish at times? Maybe I'm just being picky cause I have nothing to compare it to and no experience with other bikes (other than MSF course on a different style bike and I don't remember the specifics - and we barely got it into 3rd gear anyway).

What would be the symptoms of the clutch slipping or going bad? Or maybe just needs adjustment?

In a car, I would suspect the throttle delay I am experiencing would be a bad fuel filter or the timing belt. Would this relate to bikes?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Best.

[headshrink]

Of course it is difficult to say just by one's description, but it all sounds about right to me. I would venture to guess it was adult-owned, and had no performance mods?
If the clutch was going, I would be shocked. How much do they want for it?

[sopranos]

Originally Posted by headshrink

Of course it is difficult to say just by one's description, but it all sounds about right to me. I would venture to guess it was adult-owned, and had no performance mods?
If the clutch was going, I would be shocked. How much do they want for it?

Yes, adult-owned and no added mods (still has stock rear fender, etc) and always garage kept. I, too, am middle age and I want to try my best to get something that has been maintained (even if it has some miles on it).

There is another one (different color, same year) that only has 2K miles but there appears to be some surface rust on the exhaust tip, chain and rear sprocket. So while it has less miles, my gut tells me the other one with far more miles has been maintained a lot better. I did not ride this other one.

He will take $3400. Oh, and both are the same bottom line price.

[headshrink]

It sounds reasonable to me. $3400 hurts a little, as my 2008 MSRP was #3500, but they did jack the price $500 in 2009.

I don't know.... 2K miles isn't much, but the rust does make me wonder if it was kept outside of an apartment, or similar. You are probably right about the 6K mile one being kept up better. One thing to consider is the 6K mile bike is getting close to it's first valve clearance inspection. This is no big deal if you are willing/brave enough to do yourself, but will cost a few bucks at the dealership. You aren't looking at motorcycles to save money, are you? I'm not real familiar with the used market, but I suspect $3400 is a reasonable price. Don't fret too much over a couple hundred bucks upfront, as I have found you will end up spending much more on maintenance, tools, clothes/gear, FARKLES/upgrades, etc. If you only did the minimum upgrades, going to a 15T counter-sprocket, and shimming your needles (maybe removing the snorkel), will do a lot to improve the ride. And yes, you were shifting at around the minimum RPM (6 was too low).

I just noticed you are down the street from me. I'm in Folsom.

[KawiKid860]

Picked up my 04 Ninja 500 with 6500 miles on it, first bike, she's mint! Only problem is that 1000 miles later she was due for a service.... and 1000 miles after that shes finally getting it lol

[Jiggles]

If 6k miles on a 2009 is too many then what does that say about my bike???

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

If 6k miles on a 2009 is too many then what does that say about my bike???

Well loved?

[leed]

If you ask me.. 3400 is too much for it, even with 2k miles. Honestly, I'd rather buy a 2009 bike with 4000-6000 miles than one with 2000 miles, because you'll at least have a better understanding that it's being ridden. Idle bikes tend to have more issues, though this tends to vary quite a bit, as the owner could have started riding later even with less miles.

Another thing.. I'm not sure why people keep saying why a motorcycle won't save you money.. It's saved me money.. Granted, the other vehicle I can operate right now gets max 18 miles per gallon highway.

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by leed

Granted, the other vehicle I can operate right now gets max 18 miles per gallon highway.

Not counting clothing/gear.... valve adjustments, oil changes, tires, chain/sprockets, clutch, brakes, rotors, and various other odds and ends.... all in 26K miles. I haven't touched my wife's Exploder in that many miles, not counting a door handle repair. Yes, it saves in gas, but it doesn't compare to the AVERAGE car in terms of overall maintenance cost. The worst was replacing the rotors... front and rear OEM rotors run ~$500! If you want to brave aftermarket rotors to save a few dollars, search for my post on the EBC rotors.... DISASTER! In $26K miles, I have spent more than the original price of the bike. I do all my own work too, so I save quite a bit on labor (not counting all the expensive lessons), so I'm only talking about parts here.

[Guoseph]

Originally Posted by leed

If you ask me.. 3400 is too much for it, even with 2k miles. Honestly, I'd rather buy a 2009 bike with 4000-6000 miles than one with 2000 miles, because you'll at least have a better understanding that it's being ridden. Idle bikes tend to have more issues, though this tends to vary quite a bit, as the owner could have started riding later even with less miles.

This. A regularly ridden bike should have fewer hidden gremlins as the owner would have had to deal with them over time. This of course assumes the owner is responsible enough to take care of said gremlins instead of letting them go and passing the problems to you. That's a judgement call you'll have to make.

I bought my other bike with 45k miles on the clock, if that makes you feel better

[DarC]

6K isn't bad at all. I would try to bring the price down but lately 250's have been going for a decent amount. I had mine on the market for $3500 (08 w/13k) and it was near impossible to keep up with the hits. If he wiggles good for you, if not then you are still getting a great bike that has been cared for, this can mean many saved dollars down the road.


As far as shifting, it felt sluggish because you were only near the halfway point of the power band. Wind it out to 13k and let us know how it goes BTW, don't expect rocket-like propulsion from these bikes, they are after all 250's, but DO expect miles of smiles once you get the hang of riding it

[Lil_Green_Demon]

6k miles isn't bad. Just make sure you get a price quote from your local bike shop about a valve adjustment. It's recommended you get it done around 7500 miles, though most people wait until a few thousand miles past that.

As for whether or not bikes can save you money... Idk. Compared to a car, you definitely do have to do a lot more work on a bike. Carbs, oil changes, sprockets, chain, etc., all have to be maintained often. Like @headshrink mentioned, all of these things must be replaced before you even hit 26k miles! Some people drive/ride more than 26k miles in a year!
Long story short, bikes are awesome, but if a person is looking into saving money for a commute, you'll be better off buying a used Civic or Integra, Corolla or Altima, Yaris or... Well, you get the point.

[Jiggles]

If I had never gotten into motorcycling, I would be about $9,000-$10,000 richer

[eddiekay]

I have about 16k on my '09 and just replaced a high beam bulb...that's the only thing that happened. 6k is barely broken in but $3400 is a littler bit high.
Winter is coming....maybe check out dealers in rural areas for a nice surpris.e on a leftover

[sopranos]

Geographic location seems to play a big part in the used market. I live in the Bay Area - California. This is actually on the lower end of what they are going for here... for a bike that has never been dropped with a clean title anyway.

Like I said, there are others with lower miles (sub 2K) for the same price that have not been dropped with a clean title but they do not look as well maintained.

So it boils down to (for the same price and year):

6K - very clean and well maintained

~2K - sitting and less maintained

Or, a 2010/2011 with virtually no miles but it has been dropped or salvage title already. These would also be in the same price range.

Thanks all for your input and replies so far!!

[sopranos]

Originally Posted by headshrink

It sounds reasonable to me. $3400 hurts a little, as my 2008 MSRP was #3500, but they did jack the price $500 in 2009.

I don't know.... 2K miles isn't much, but the rust does make me wonder if it was kept outside of an apartment, or similar. You are probably right about the 6K mile one being kept up better. One thing to consider is the 6K mile bike is getting close to it's first valve clearance inspection. This is no big deal if you are willing/brave enough to do yourself, but will cost a few bucks at the dealership. You aren't looking at motorcycles to save money, are you? I'm not real familiar with the used market, but I suspect $3400 is a reasonable price. Don't fret too much over a couple hundred bucks upfront, as I have found you will end up spending much more on maintenance, tools, clothes/gear, FARKLES/upgrades, etc. If you only did the minimum upgrades, going to a 15T counter-sprocket, and shimming your needles (maybe removing the snorkel), will do a lot to improve the ride. And yes, you were shifting at around the minimum RPM (6 was too low).

I just noticed you are down the street from me. I'm in Folsom.

Thanks all for the replies and advice!

So I bought the 2009 with 6K miles today

It seems very well maintained and I think my initial thoughts were due to my shifting too early (RPM too low in the 6K range to shift caused a little less throttle response) as well as the bike still being cold.

Haha I definitely hear ya about the money - I surely didn't buy one to save money... with all the maintenance, gear, etc I know it can be an expensive sport/hobby/transportation.

BTW - good to see a neighbor on here! Let me know if you would be wiling to stop by and test ride my machine and let me know your thoughts. It may help me understand what to look for when taking it in for service. And since you ride one you have something to compare mine to and let me know if it feels "mechanically" in shape.

Thanks again!

[Lil_Green_Demon]

Congrats. Pics please.

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by sopranos

BTW - good to see a neighbor on here! Let me know if you would be wiling to stop by and test ride my machine and let me know your thoughts. It may help me understand what to look for when taking it in for service. And since you ride one you have something to compare mine to and let me know if it feels "mechanically" in shape.

Thanks again!

Sure. I'm not sure if I would be much help in regards to taking it for service, other than encouraging you to get a service manual, and start learning to wrench.... although not everyone enjoys that. I'm a little allergic to dealerships, break out in hives actually. Seriously though, if you look at all the reviews of all the local dealers, you will be pretty discouraged. I have heard of a couple local small guys that others like, but haven't used them myself. As far as confirming your bike is mechanically sound, that should be pretty easy. Perhaps we can meet-up somewhere in a week or two.

[Purspeed]

There are bikes out there with 500 miles on the odometer that are trash.

I met a guy that had a 3 month old litre superbike who trashed the engine and then was planning on selling it (hopefully with full disclosure about the damage).

Maintenance is THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect to buying anything with 2 or 4 wheels.

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by Purspeed

There are bikes out there with 500 miles on the odometer that are trash.

I met a guy that had a 3 month old litre superbike who trashed the engine and then was planning on selling it (hopefully with full disclosure about the damage).

Maintenance is THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect to buying anything with 2 or 4 wheels.

How on earth does that happen?

[Alex]

Crash damage or no oil are about all I can come up with. Otherwise the bike would still be under warranty and have the engine fixed/replaced if there were truly a problem with it.

[Purspeed]

Originally Posted by Alex

Crash damage or no oil are about all I can come up with. Otherwise the bike would still be under warranty and have the engine fixed/replaced if there were truly a problem with it.

There are quite a few ways to damage a new engine (and clutch) and most of it has to do with stressing the engine components to failure.

This could be the result of overheating the engine, redlining, putting a tremendous amount of load on an engine that's cold.

The person who trashed his engine did a lot of street "racing."

As Alex mentioned, engines could also be trashed as a result of poor maintenance and impact.

Race engines generally last about 1 race and they are built with materials, tolerances and tuning not available to production bikes.

[jonthechron]

I dunno, I bought a 2009 with about 250 miles in 2009 for $3000 so.. hum..

[NDspd]

Congrats on the new purchase man!!!

[evi1joe]

Congrats.
I got my '09 SE for $2800 (+$340 tax, tag and title), but there was a mint >1K 2011 SE for $2999 at a dealership...I didn't know that I'd be paying tax on a private-sale or I'd have bought the dealership bike. There seem to be a ton of the '08+ models in FL, so they're pretty cheap it seems.

[Sailariel]

Joe,
That's an incredible deal.

I stopped by the H-D Honda dealer where I traded my Ninja. It is out there on the floor for sale. I assumed it was sold, but they had it at their other shop and now it is back. They have had it since Nov 2010. Asking price:$3800.

The bike is in mint condition and has some good additions like a Corbin seat, ZG Touring windshield, Slikdesignsusa telescoping mirrors, and green rim tape. The bike also has 12000 miles on the clock. I think that the price they are asking is a bit optimistic.

[leed]

Old thread is old!

But to revisit a topic that I had posted about before..

Originally Posted by headshrink

Not counting clothing/gear.... valve adjustments, oil changes, tires, chain/sprockets, clutch, brakes, rotors, and various other odds and ends.... all in 26K miles. I haven't touched my wife's Exploder in that many miles, not counting a door handle repair. Yes, it saves in gas, but it doesn't compare to the AVERAGE car in terms of overall maintenance cost. The worst was replacing the rotors... front and rear OEM rotors run ~$500! If you want to brave aftermarket rotors to save a few dollars, search for my post on the EBC rotors.... DISASTER! In $26K miles, I have spent more than the original price of the bike. I do all my own work too, so I save quite a bit on labor (not counting all the expensive lessons), so I'm only talking about parts here.

I suppose my issue is if I looked to buy a car at the pricepoint of our motorcycles, I would still, in the end, be spending more. For 3000 dollars I feel like I would run into more issues through 26k with a car than with a motorcycle. I could be wrong; perhaps I've just had bad luck with cars. Who knows? I've only just hit 10k so I'll see what's yet to come.

On the other hand, a friend of mine hit 24k on his Pre-gen 250 motorcycle last year and he hasn't had to do nearly that much work to keep his running. Not to mention, he bought it for 1000 with less than 500 miles on it.

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by leed

Old thread is old!

But to revisit a topic that I had posted about before..



I suppose my issue is if I looked to buy a car at the price-point of our motorcycles, I would still, in the end, be spending more. For 3000 dollars I feel like I would run into more issues through 26k with a car than with a motorcycle. I could be wrong; perhaps I've just had bad luck with cars. Who knows? I've only just hit 10k so I'll see what's yet to come.

On the other hand, a friend of mine hit 24k on his Pre-gen 250 motorcycle last year and he hasn't had to do nearly that much work to keep his running. Not to mention, he bought it for 1000 with less than 500 miles on it.

I considered spending ~$10K on a car when I bought my bike. I'm certain I have spent a least that on the bike. If it wasn't a commuter, it would be less, but unless you are talking about a $15K+ car, it still wouldn't work out, unless $ isn't your primary concern. If you run into problems in 26K miles with a car, it is a crap car, but like I mentioned before, there is a LOT of maintenance that is done in 26K on a MC.

[leed]

Originally Posted by headshrink

I considered spending ~$10K on a car when I bought my bike. I'm certain I have spent a least that on the bike. If it wasn't a commuter, it would be less, but unless you are talking about a $15K+ car, it still wouldn't work out, unless $ isn't your primary concern. If you run into problems in 26K miles with a car, it is a crap car, but like I mentioned before, there is a LOT of maintenance that is done in 26K on a MC.

I'm still not convinced I am 1/3rd of the way to 26k, so I'll be proven wrong soon enough!

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by leed

I'm still not convinced I am 1/3rd of the way to 26k, so I'll be proven wrong soon enough!

Don't forget to count gear.... a couple seasons of gear should run you over $1K.