New vs. Used ninjette: who's got what?

[rusninja]

So im one to always try to study something and i was just wondering who here has bought a new ninja 250 and who has bought it elsewhere like craigslist and do you regret it, Due to previous owned not keeping the bike in shape or no problems?

[greatwhiteninja]

bought mine new.. at the time i was looking i couldnt find any descent ones in my area on craigslist or i would have bought used.

[akima]

I bought mine used, but the previous owner had only had it for ~4 months and had only ridden ~350 miles. It looked brand new when I picked it up. My comfort in buying it was further increased because I bought it via a garage: I should think they would only buy a used bike if they were sure it was in good condition.

My only slight regret is the colour. I like my colour scheme but I prefer the red ones. Red isn't an option in England though. I plan to get mine painted at some point down the line.

As for the break in. I don't know what consideration the previous owner gave to break in, but the garage I bought the bike from said he was an old guy who has been into bikes a long time, so I doubt he did anything extremely bad.

[HKr1]

Tried to buy used, they kept selling them before we could get there to buy. Even had my brother try and buy one for us(he was closer), the dude sold that one too. We gave up and bought new

[akima]

Originally Posted by HKr1

Tried to buy used, they kept selling them before we could get there to buy. Even had my brother try and buy one for us(he was closer), the dude sold that one too. We gave up and bought new

Wow! Ninjette's must be popular in Pensacola.

[greatwhiteninja]

popular in delaware too.. there were more ads on craigslist saying ninja 250r WANTED! then ones for sale..lol!

[Boosted139]

Bought used, but I mean only had ~400 miles. Originally I wanted new, but couldn't pass up a bike at used price with only 400 miles and some mods that I knew I wanted.

[akima]

Originally Posted by Boosted139

Bought used, but I mean only had ~400 miles. Originally I wanted new, but couldn't pass up a bike at used price with only 400 miles and some mods that I knew I wanted.

Yep. I had the same deal. Mine came with a seat-cowel, a tail tidy and tank pads.

[DiscoBriscoe]

I looked at both, but was afraid of used, unless at a dealer. The Memphis area dealers only had one, so I bought it ~4 days ago.

[choneofakind]

I've NEVER had issues with mine besides needing the carbs cleaned when I bought it. I love it

hopever, my friend bought an '01 with 12,000 miles on it in ROUGH shape because he jumped the gun and bought the first thing he found (and I was busy that weekend and couldnt test ride it for him or else I would NOT have allowed him to buy it) and he got scammed. Bike stopped running. Everything was half-assed put back together. tires weren't even inflated. that's how bad it was.

he ended up scrapping the '01 and buying a 2011...

[akima]

Originally Posted by DiscoBriscoe

I looked at both, but was afraid of used, unless at a dealer. The Memphis area dealers only had one, so I bought it ~4 days ago.

Congrats & welcome to the club

[kaiserz]

where's the I wish I bought mine used?

[EsrTek]

Bought, what looked like a good 2004 from a dealer for a decent price.... ended up being a bike that never should've been on road in it's condition. As a newb though I didn't know what to look for and ended up crashing (low speed) when the steering failed me. Traded it in >1 mo after buying it for a brand new 2011.

[Snake]

I bought my bike new in 05. Still love it to this day.

[rusninja]

Originally Posted by kaiserz

where's the I wish I bought mine used?

It got lost on the way.

[bluepoof]

Mine's used; no problems. Full disclosure, though: I bought it from a friend whom I trust and who I know takes good care of his bikes.

[clintalmighty]

a new 250 is a waste of money IMO. As is the case with almost every bike. For people who don't just have money to throw around, ya know

[10secdream]

Bought my 2009 used with 11,200 kms on it. The previous owner took excellent care of the bike and I knew it was properly maintained.There were a few new gen 250's with low kms on them but I am always hesitant about buying something a few years old with 250 kms on the clock. It has likely just been sitting without proper winterization...

[Meltoff]

Bought mine used with 400 miles on it, previous owner had high sided and decided to sell after that. Fairings are cracked, but have been professionally repaired, I also had a mechanic inspect the bike and the damage was only cosmetic; sure does cut down on the cost of purchasing. I hope to replace the fairings once I feel confident I won't put any more scrapes on them.

[Heed]

I'm still not sure whether I want to buy new or used. Know that there are pros and cons to either option, but the biggest thing that steers me away from buying new is that I will probably drop it within the first 6 months.

[JarJarBinx19]

I bought mine brand new off the lot with only 2 miles on it. Of course, Im young and naive and i got swindled by the dealer :/

[Heed]

I'm a little bit weary about buying used from a private party. If I find a deal on a used one from a dealer, I'll pull the trigger.

[rusninja]

Originally Posted by JarJarBinx19

I bought mine brand new off the lot with only 2 miles on it. Of course, Im young and naive and i got swindled by the dealer :/

how so?

[JarJarBinx19]

Originally Posted by rusninja

how so?

i didnt even try to haggle with the dealer and paid all the fee's, additional dealer markup, etc. and ended up paying $6500. I did have the extended warranty but i cancelled it and just gonna keep my bike in tip top shape. That was an extra $800

[OGjackafidy]

i would buy used. its your first bike and it would be an awful feeling to drop it as soon as you get it plus its not hard to find a used bike that is going to be problem free. i bought mine from a Harley guy who bought it for his wife and the second i talked to him i knew it was the one. if you look at a used bike and whether it is the owner of the bike or the bike itself that makes your gut say no the walk away. hell it feels to me like im the only one that has ever owned my bike and i didn't pay all those ridiculous fees. Try and find one used if you can but if your gut tells you to buy new then thats what you need to do

[Jiggles]

Where's the both button?

I originally bought new because I didn't have enough money to buy used! I knew I would have enough money to pay off the bike later in the year but I didn't want to wait so I went with the HSBC kawasaki financing bought the bike, and its now paid off. Didn't pay a dime of interest either. Then I decided I needed a pregen to practice on as well so I went and bought one. Gotta say I love em both. The pregen seems to have better performance but the newgen is so sexy.

[rusninja]

Originally Posted by JarJarBinx19

i didnt even try to haggle with the dealer and paid all the fee's, additional dealer markup, etc. and ended up paying $6500. I did have the extended warranty but i cancelled it and just gonna keep my bike in tip top shape. That was an extra $800

dang :S

[rusninja]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

Where's the both button?

I originally bought new because I didn't have enough money to buy used! I knew I would have enough money to pay off the bike later in the year but I didn't want to wait so I went with the HSBC kawasaki financing bought the bike, and its now paid off. Didn't pay a dime of interest either. Then I decided I needed a pregen to practice on as well so I went and bought one. Gotta say I love em both. The pregen seems to have better performance but the newgen is so sexy.

I can take the new gen off your hands if you like the pre more. ;] jk :P

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by rusninja

i can take the new gen off your hands if you like the pre more. ;] jk

$25,000

[rusninja]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

$25,000

I refuse to pay any more then 24,999 when i have the money sir! if i ever get one finaly you going to ride with me :P?

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by rusninja

I refuse to pay any more then 24,999 when i have the money sir! if i ever get one finaly you going to ride with me :P?

I only plan on being in California for another 20 years but I'm not sure you'll have a bike before then

[rusninja]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

I only plan on being in California for another 20 years but I'm not sure you'll have a bike before then

so that leaves us with a year of riding! hopefully not x]

[Xoulrath]

Buy used, get a pre-gen, save money. Laugh at us suckers who got the new-gen with slightly better suspension (and definitely better looks) at the expense of the acceleration and fuel economy of the pre-gen for about double the cost.

[Lil_Green_Demon]

I bought mine new, but I wish I had gone used just because there are killer deals available everywhere if you're willing to wait.

[JarJarBinx19]

Originally Posted by Lil_Green_Demon

I bought mine new, but I wish I had gone used just because there are killer deals available everywhere if you're willing to wait.

+1

[rusninja]

Originally Posted by Xoulrath

Buy used, get a pre-gen, save money. Laugh at us suckers who got the new-gen with slightly better suspension (and definitely better looks) at the expense of the acceleration and fuel economy of the pre-gen for about double the cost.

lol id like new gen x] im 5'10 155lbs so i think it would fit me well and i dont need that much speed. My daily is a ford focus which is alot slower i can get a cbr250 and be faster then i am now :P but i wana ninjette.

[Heed]

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/poll....ults&pollid=50

Hmm...

About 60% have dropped it within the first year or earlier. Ugh.

[leed]

Originally Posted by Heed

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/poll....ults&pollid=50

Hmm...

About 60% have dropped it within the first year or earlier. Ugh.

You get over it eventually :P Ask me how I know!

I bought mine used, much cheaper, and came pre-dropped, hahaha.

[Heed]

Wish I lived in Phili.


http://www.barbshd.com/default.asp?p...&d=D&i=&l=&t=U

http://www.thomaspowersports.com/new...69&pov=2302194

[akima]

Originally Posted by JarJarBinx19

i didnt even try to haggle with the dealer and paid all the fee's, additional dealer markup, etc. and ended up paying $6500. I did have the extended warranty but i cancelled it and just gonna keep my bike in tip top shape. That was an extra $800

I think the Kawi warranty only covers the bike from manufacturing defects. Manufacturing defects occur during manufacturing, but could rear their ugly heads anything from instantly, to two years (default warranty), to four years (extended warranty) or later. Soooo... keeping the "bike in tip top shape" can't undo a defect that may have already happened. If your new bike does have a manufacturing defect then you just have to hope that you spot it before the 2 year warranty is up.

That was quite hard to explain for some reason!

Correct me if I'm wrong about any of that.

Originally Posted by Heed

I'm still not sure whether I want to buy new or used. Know that there are pros and cons to either option, but the biggest thing that steers me away from buying new is that I will probably drop it within the first 6 months.

Buying new may actually help you to avoid dropping it! If you adhere to the official Kawi break-in instructions then you have to ride the bike very slow for the first 1000 miles. It's hard to get your speed wrong for a corner and slide out, when the maximum speed you can go is like 40MPH!

You could drop it from being at stand still I suppose or during a slow speed manouver. I haven't dropped mine yet (I've been riding it for a month) and I don't plan on dropping it! I'm just really really careful. I can feel myself improving every day, but until I'm 100% confident I wont do anything less than be 100% cautious. eg double check the kick stand is down before getting off the bike.

I did my initial learning on a beaten up 125CC bike. I didn't drop the 125CC machine once, but I think during that learning period I was far more likely to drop the bike. Maybe you should learn on something like that? (if you haven't already)

Finally! New or used, it isn't nice to drop the bike and it still costs exactly the same to get the bike fixed. Some used bikes look brand new. Their are lots of loving Ninjette owners out there that keep their baby in show room condition!