How long did it take you to find your Ninjette?

[Heed]

From the day you started looking, about how long did it take you whether it was new or used?

[DjDiablo]

2 months!!!

when i took look at the bike a was in love with it!!!

My girl still mad but... I love to see her a*s up on to the passenger sit!!!

[azimmer11]

my parents told me i couldn't get one because it was "something i couldn't afford right now in my life", however my friend who owned one was moving to chicago for the summer and wanted to get rid of it fast. he gave me a deal that my parents agreed was too good to pass up so i didnt look at all =] it just popped up

[ninja250]

Saw on the Kawi website the Ninja had a new design.
Would have never accepted the old version (back then, I would now).
I saw the 2010 250R SE on the website and drove down to Chaparral and bought it. I had to chose between blue, red, green SE and my red/black SE.

I had been deciding on a Chevy S-10 pickup I was looking at or going to get a new bike, and went and got a new Ninja 250R instead of the S-10 pick-up.
Never looked back.

I almost bought a 2005 Ninja blue and orange several years prior in 2005, but the salesman talked me out of it because it only went 80mph. I had $4000 down and left without a bike at all because the idiot salesman talked me out of a ninja 250 pre-gen brand new. I came in looking to buy a gsxr with $4k down but had no credit so wasn't approved.
What a bonehead he coulda made a sale if he didn't talk the ninja down so bad that day.
I left and bought a used GSXR in 2005 as my first bike because a salesman talked me out of the ninja.

So in that respect, I think I had a ninja coming eventually since 2005. lol
But really when I found out they redesigned them in 2008, I looked on the site late 2009 and the 2010 SE just came out. I went down to chaparral and bought that sucker. The first thing it reminded me of was the street legal NSR... being a 250 with 6 speeds and all. I thought it was gonna be pretty fun when I bought it.

Next bike will be my fourth bike 600cc or greater..
Ninja is still fun to ride tho but I prefer inline 4i SS's.
This thing a bit squerrely for me to get too comfy in the corners.
GSXR plows through a corner with authorty

[YORCHI]

I spent a week calling dealers in my area for a black one and no one had one. Then I asked what one dealer had and he had a blue one. I looked at them online and decided it looked pretty bad ass and was worth getting. Got my loan approved and a couple days later I had it. So from start to finish with me sitting on it at home was about 2 weeks.

[pop0tart]

It usually take me 1-2 weeks to locate a bike. I use allofcraigs.com to search all of the craigs list ads for my entire state (and I check every day). The farther you're willing to travel, the more likely it is you'll locate a bike quickly. Also, I didn't have any firm requirements for color and wasn't afraid to call up a person that was askng $3200 to see if he would take $2600.
As far as new vs. used, I'll always buy used. Depreciation is a bitch, and I'd rather the original owner take the hit. It's not hard to find bikes that were babied by their original owners in like new condition, except for the odometer reading.

[ninja_sleeper]

I took the Basic Rider training course to get my endorsement in the beginning of June. Got my endorsement in the begginning of June, Bought my bike in Mid June. I had been shopping around for the best deals on craigslist (low miles, well maintained, newer year) and finally scored a decent price.

At the time that I was looking for a bike there was a blue 2009 Ninja with a little over 100 miles on it for sale for $2600. By the time I called they said it was sold 45 minutes after it was posted. It was a sad loss, because I wanted a blue one so bad at the time. The guy bought it for his wife, but she hurt her back and couldn't ride (lame excuse IMO).

There are awesome deals out there, just have to be in the right place at the right time. I don't think I will ever buy new.

It took me about 5 Days from the point I started looking.

It pisses me off when chicks ask me what kind of bike I ride, and then say, "oh I have been wanting one of those." (In my mind, if you have been wanting one, you wouldn't be asking me what kind of bike it is. You should know. And, if you have been wanting one, then get one. It's not hard. Took me less than a month. It's funny the **** some chicks say to me. I'm usually like, ya, uh huh. If they know their **** on the other hand, It would be sweet to chat it up!)

[ninja250]

Gotta be very careful buying used in SoCal.
In some cases, it can cost you as much as buying new.

Sometimes it's worth it to just go get new.

Any bike I ever buy used has to get naked down to the bones 100% and rebuilt before I'll even ride it. You NEVER know how many bolts are loose on those things. I get scared of that stuff while riding if I don't rebuild it.

[LazinCajun]

It's been a couple years, but I think it took me roughly 2-3 weeks to find mine (used). I went into the search picky, but I happened to buy the first one I physically saw because it was almost exactly what I was looking for, in great condition, low miles, and a steal to boot.

[Snake]

The only new ninjette they had (this was in 05) was one in silver. I looked at the website and fell in love with the Midnight Blue and told the dealer that was what I wanted. He said it would take at least 30 days to have one of that color shipped to his dealership and if I took the silver one off his floor he would drop the price. I said I didn't care and would wait for the bike of my choice to come in. 30 days later I got to see the bike arrive at the dealership crated in a box. When I got the bike she was a virgin to me, no one had mounted her but me.

[Mountain Dew]

Took me however long it takes to drive to the Kawasaki dealer :>

[alex.s]

kawi dealer is about 5 minutes down the road from my apt. i walked in said "i want a blue ninja 250" they said "we only have green black and red in stock and the green costs more" so i said "i'll take red."

then there was about 3 hours of paperwork and that's without financing

[petiteninja]

i wasn't gonna buy new, that's for sure.

i looked through c-list for three months...new york city didn't have much in the used market. now remember this was back when the 08's and 09's we're flying off the sales floor. my bike came up for $3500 with 277 miles (2009) and i happened to be the first to respond. apparently he had three other people lined up. at the time it was the best deal around...

my husband had to test drive it for me. although i had my license and experience on my vespa there was no way in heck i was going to test drive a bike on the streets of nyc.

[bhalv]

about 4 hours, i love me some D.C. craigslist.

[CynicalC]

My bike chose me.

[leed]

Truly honestly, took me about 6 months.

[2011Ninja250R]

1 week, 4 days, 9 hours & 14 minutes. Jumped on the 1st brand new one I could get- a 2011 SE in green & black.

During that time I only actually found 2 other new bikes in southern Ohio. Both were sold before they got off the truck.

[Gorilla25]

2 months for me

[kevheads]

Little over a week,couldn't decide between a black one or green,As soon as I completed the MSF course I started looking for a new one, after calling 6 different dealers, I found the only one anybody had,(Green) about 80 miles away. Put money down over the phone and picked it up that weekend.

[squaregamer476]

about 2-3 months for me. bought it to refresh and train my girl. will transfer the title to her when i upgrade to a zx6r.

[Heed]

Originally Posted by Snake

The only new ninjette they had (this was in 05) was one in silver. I looked at the website and fell in love with the Midnight Blue and told the dealer that was what I wanted. He said it would take at least 30 days to have one of that color shipped to his dealership and if I took the silver one off his floor he would drop the price. I said I didn't care and would wait for the bike of my choice to come in. 30 days later I got to see the bike arrive at the dealership crated in a box. When I got the bike she was a virgin to me, no one had mounted her but me.

haha. It must have been awesome to see it come out of a crate. Like unwrapping a Christmas gift I'd imagine.

You guys are really convincing me to buy used. The only problem is; I'm not mechanically savvy whatsoever.

I'm not sure if I'm comfortable dealing with a private party, though. My parents definitely aren't, and I wouldn't know how to handle it.

I'm just scared that I might get scammed or there might be something wrong with the bike that I can't see which may get me killed lol.

Originally Posted by ninja250

Any bike I ever buy used has to get naked down to the bones 100% and rebuilt before I'll even ride it. You NEVER know how many bolts are loose on those things. I get scared of that stuff while riding if I don't rebuild it.

^ my thoughts exactly.

blargh. I'm so tempted to just buy a new one and get it over with so I can do what I want to do with my life before I have to store my bike away for the season.

I might be thinking way ahead of myself, though. I don't even have my license renewed yet! I'm still waiting for the darn completion card to come in the mail.

[pop0tart]

You can't think of anyone you know or on the forum with enough motorcycle knowledge to check out a used bike with you?

Also check out guides to buying used:

http://www.essortment.com/motorcycle...ist-45506.html

But if you have the $$ to buy new, go for it. Personally, I'll never be rich enough to throw that much money away, but I also know what to look for when I buy used.

[Kevin2109]

Took my MSF, two weeks later had my bike Thanks to a member on here!

[Heed]

Yeah, I've got the money for a new one, but it's probably going to cost me an arm once after buying the rest of my gear and insurance.

I don't really know anybody who could check a bike with me. I know there are guide and whatnot, but I'm no mechanic.

[MotoED]

Hmm. It took me about 1 month.
As soon as I seen it, I fell in love with it, confirming that love at first sight does exist LOL
And a month later I have one

[SteveL]

I had been thinking of buying one from around September 2008 but as winter was approaching I decided to wait. February 2009 I went to the Zurich bike show on the Saturday and had a good look at the 250R, on the way home I passed by the importer only 5 minutes off the highway and got a test ride. Not much of a test ride as it was 0˚C with snow at the side of the road anyway I got to ride one. Monday I searched around on the internet and phoned dealers, Tuesday morning I found one in Lausanne went up at lunch time and bought it, I had to wait a week for them to unpack it and register it. When I picked it up it was just above freezing the roads were wet and I had 40 miles to ride, even with the discomfort I had a big smile on my face all the way home.

Steve

[BruceCLin]

Started looking around April both new and used. I was surprised at the OTD price of new and the over the MSRP price people ask on craigslist. Late July there are more reasonable priced used ones but lots in black, and some in blue, red. I've always wanted a lime green ninja. Then there it came a posting of a 08' 250 in kawasaki green with 5k miles asking $3000. Went to see in person. It had fender chopped, flush turn signals, seat cowl+backseat, motogp slipon. I was happy as a pig in mud, but kept my poker face on. Took a ride, said some thing about need new tires, chain/sprocket, labor, kbb value and stuff. Rode it away with a signed title for a final price of... $2000.

[Fly'in Ninja]

While on vacation and visiting my cousin, he asked me what's a good way to sell his daughter's bike. I said "let's take a look at it".

That was it...SOLD!! Drove home with the bike in the van.

[r311music]

Took me about minutes. I got lucky when I was bored on a day off and walked into a dealer looking for a ninja 650, and they had a 2009 Ninja 250 used that they had just got in a few days earlier. Sat on it, and I was sold!

[dp64]

Two minutes...cycletrader.com FTW!

[jupiter]

I look at www.statewidelist.com all the time. Its a craigslist search engine for statewide search. Pretty cool.

[AznJoJo]

I'm still looking :'(

[Heed]

Originally Posted by AznJoJo

I'm still looking :'(

You are not alone. :x

[Kevin2109]

Originally Posted by AznJoJo

I'm still looking :'(

Why still look? I'm right here

[AznJoJo]

Originally Posted by Kevin2109

Why still look? I'm right here

You're going to give me yours?! Awww, you're so sweet!

[Art Vandelay]

I started looking yesterday. I'll let you know.

edit: 8 days

[greatwhiteninja]

Spent about a week browsing Craigslist trying to decide what I wanted.. once I knew it was the 250 it took another week to find a dealer with one and actually go there and buy my white se..

[BFisher244]

I took my MSF course in September of 2001. I bought my ninjette in July of 2011.

Once I started actively looking for the right bike I found her in just under 4 weeks.

[choneofakind]

I got my temps. That night I walked into an MSF course and got in. A week later I had my license. 2 weeks after that, I found my green lady

[Lil_Green_Demon]

I took and passed the MSF. Two days later, I went with my girl & daughter to look at the Ninja 250R at the local motorcycle store. I wasn't planning on buying one but brought my checkbook along for the hell of it. I ended up buying the 2011 250R SE and nervously rode it all the way home. I stalled twice, FWIW.