Trailer or Ride?

[MLecl0001]

So I have just been thinking. I can pick up my bike next wednesday, I have a few hours available to do it. I was just going to get a uhaul motorcycle trailer and haul it home, thinking it would be just $15 for the rental. But I still need to get a receiver and ball for my hitch, then straps for the trailer to secure the bike, then the insurance just in case some moron hits me and my grand total is around $50ish, about what delivery would cost.

Now its not that much money, however if I dont have to spend it I would rather not, even if it was $1. Or I could ride it home, I would take back roads, no freeways as I dont have my endorsement yet. It would be about 18.5 miles and google puts it at about 45 minute ride. Seeing as I am a new rider with no experience and I dont take my MSF until mid April I wasnt seriously considering this option. But lately I have been getting it into my mind that I could probably do it and save my self $50.

So do you guys think I should ride it home or just stop being cheap and just trailer it home?

[mholme]

By the info you provided, I think you answered your own question. Haul it home.

[EsrTek]

Spend the $50 to get it delivered to your door... It's MUCH MUCH cheaper than the outcome if you either get busted by cops or worse actually have an accident involving others, while not even having a endorsement. May even lose your regular lic if it was bad enough. Just not worth it!!

[dbking321]

ya if your dont have any experiance riding then haul it. Its not worth overwhelming yourself and mabey wrecking your new bike or getting a ticket

[FrugalNinja250]

Most people crash within a few miles of their home, why break tradition?

It's generally best IMHO to start out small near the house, that way if you have to push it back or walk back it won't be far, plus you feel more comfortable with the roads in your neighborhood.

[CynicalC]

Why make such a deal over $50? Just have it delivered.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by MLecl0001

........So do you guys think I should ride it home or just stop being cheap and just trailer it home?

Another reason against riding the thing home: if used, you don't know the condition of the bike; hence, anything could fail during those 18 miles, having to tow it anyway.

Learn how to load and unload the bike and how to restrain it properly without damaging the plastics or other fragile parts:

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_can...uck/trailer%3F

Best

[MLecl0001]

Originally Posted by CynicalC

Why make such a deal over $50? Just have it delivered.

Thanks for the advice guys, ya I guess I had a moment of weakness. I thought I would be able to get it seeing as I had driven only manual cars my entire life so I didnt think the transition would be as bad. Also I do have my permit which allows me to ride it, just not at night, on freeways, or without a helmet. Also insurance will be on the bike the day I pick it up.

As for the big deal on $50, my being cheap or at least trying to save every $1 I can is going to allow me to retire when im 45.

[EsrTek]

If your legal, then go for it... you'll have to worry about crashing every ride, and it's not like that stops any of us
Just take it easy and you'll be fine

[CalvinAmI]

I was in the same predicament.
I bought mine used and was going to just pick it up in a pickup truck (hauled 2 other bikes this same way). I asked the seller if he would deliver the bike (16 miles) for an extra $50. He had no problems doing it. This way, I got the bike home, all warmed up so I could see if it had any initial problems I needed to deal with mechanically. Upon arrival, I saw the bike was in good mechanical shape but needed a TON of work in the fairings as the previous owner took the liberty of spray painting it with the most God-awful orange color (note: i love orange... just not this carrot-yellowish kind). LOL... the fairings were held on by four, COUNT THEM, FOUR screws. The windscreen had 2 screws. All the rest was held on with zip ties. Needless to say, I got a good deal on the bike and have started stripping the paint and repairing the cracks in the fairings.

Long story longer... spend the $50ish and have it delivered. Less headache, and you can spend your initial energy introducing your bike to its new home.

[MustangGuy]

Have it delivered or haul it yourself. I have a 250 and a 650 (at least for now). I didn't ride either home because of the combination of distance and my experience level. You'll have a lot of time in the future to safely and legally enjoy your new toy... don't rush it.

[dbking321]

do you have a friend that could just ride it back for you?

[Whiskey]

If it's coming from a dealership ride on, it's been given a once over by the dealer.
If it's a private sale and you havn't been on bikes before maybe hauling it would be a better idea. (but you still have to learn sometime...)

Then again 18.5 miles isn't too far, take a drive out the road before so you get to know the route & can see if there's anything you should avoid (sand, gravel, potholes ect) if all's good you should be ok to ride it

[alex.s]

just wait a few more days, take the msf first, then ride it home.

[Sigma.40]

Originally Posted by MLecl0001

Seeing as I am a new rider with no experience...

You answered your own question.

-I spent 15-20 hours practicing in my apartment parking lot and then my neighborhood before I even attempted to ride on the roads. This was also all after I watched dozens of hours of instructional videos and read hundreds of pages of online forums so I would know what to expect.

[MLecl0001]

Ya I decided to just suck it up and haul it home. Its not that much money, and I did just buy a truck so I may as well actually use it as a truck and not just a people mover. Funny thing is going over my financials, if gas does hit what its supposed to, and I start commuting in May with the Ninja I will save money. Kinda funny that buying a bike, getting insurance, and gear and in the end I will still end up saving money each month because my gas purchases will go down so drastically.

[EsrTek]

LOL that depends on the way you ride it.. these lil frakers can guzzle some petrol (but even then it's still better and a 4 cylinder cars mpg)

[billmi]

Originally Posted by FrugalNinja250

Most people crash within a few miles of their home, why break tradition?

I saw the statistics that proved that, so for the sake of safety, I moved.

[MLecl0001]

Originally Posted by EsrTek

LOL that depends on the way you ride it.. these lil frakers can guzzle some petrol (but even then it's still better and a 4 cylinder cars mpg)

Well I am currently driving a Tacoma and getting 20-21 mpg so ya the ninja by all reports eveb ridden hard should double that.
Posted via Mobile Device

[GreenNinja]

Originally Posted by MLecl0001

Funny thing is going over my financials, if gas does hit what its supposed to, and I start commuting in May with the Ninja I will save money. Kinda funny that buying a bike, getting insurance, and gear and in the end I will still end up saving money each month because my gas purchases will go down so drastically.

I don't know about that part. Have you done the math? You now own two vehicles to "save gas". I literally only have the bike as my mode of transportation and my wife has the car if we need to go anywhere together. I don't exactly see much in savings. You may save on gas but the mods, the gear, and the maintenance pretty much makes it more expensive to own the extra vehicle. The only "mod" I have on my bike is going to a 15th sprocket in front and getting a DB windshield.

What I'm saying is this: If you only drive your tacoma, calculate the cost of gas, and insurance, how much would that be for a year?
If you calculate the cost for the price of the bike, plus cost of gear, insurance for them both and gas for both vehicles to travel around in a year how much would that be? From what I read, it looks like you will have to purchase new gear every 5ish years since it deteriorates. Have you taken that into consideration too? I don't mean to trample all over your idea of saving money but you are actually spending more money than you think. Please don't take this as me attacking you, I'm just trying to show you the realities of having the bike.

[Malicious Logic]

Originally Posted by GreenNinja

I don't know about that part. Have you done the math? You now own two vehicles to "save gas". I literally only have the bike as my mode of transportation and my wife has the car if we need to go anywhere together. I don't exactly see much in savings. You may save on gas but the mods, the gear, and the maintenance pretty much makes it more expensive to own the extra vehicle. The only "mod" I have on my bike is going to a 15th sprocket in front and getting a DB windshield.

What I'm saying is this: If you only drive your tacoma, calculate the cost of gas, and insurance, how much would that be for a year?
If you calculate the cost for the price of the bike, plus cost of gear, insurance for them both and gas for both vehicles to travel around in a year how much would that be? From what I read, it looks like you will have to purchase new gear every 5ish years since it deteriorates. Have you taken that into consideration too? I don't mean to trample all over your idea of saving money but you are actually spending more money than you think. Please don't take this as me attacking you, I'm just trying to show you the realities of having the bike.

Why are you fueling up both vehicles? If you buy a bike for commuting and only really drive your truck/car when you really have to, you'll cut your fuel cost for the cage in half, if not more and the bike isn't that pricey to fill up. Granted, it's really case by case and ymmv but it can save money. More than you think.

[GreenNinja]

Originally Posted by Malicious Logic

Why are you fueling up both vehicles? If you buy a bike for commuting and only really drive your truck/car when you really have to, you'll cut your fuel cost for the cage in half, if not more and the bike isn't that pricey to fill up. Granted, it's really case by case and ymmv but it can save money. More than you think.

You are only looking at it from the small picture. People buy a bike to save gas hoping in the end to save money in the long run. You aren't saving money if you have to spend money to keep two vehicles insured. So you are saving money on gas but you are now paying for insurance on that extra vehicle that is just sitting in the garage. If you do a search on a gas saving topic you will see that I am not wrong in my calculations. Actually if you do the math yourself you wouldn't be debating with me either.

Edit: Here is a link for your reference
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/I%27m_g...uying_an_EX250

Now if you want to buy the bike just for the thrill of riding one then so be it. Buying it to save money is not one of them.

[Malicious Logic]

If you calculate in the cost of buying the bike along with buying the gear and are looking for the point you'll break even, at least in my case, it'll be less than 2 years after buying the bike that it pays for itself in savings. Sure, first year you have the bike, your expenses for that year are probably close to double the norm because you bought a new vehicle along with around $1000 in gear. However, the moment you start using your bike over the car, the savings begin. Like I said, could be one of those case by case things and maybe I just have a special case but I'm expecting to save quite a bit based on my calculations.

[MLecl0001]

I dont know how 1 little line got a debate going on savings. I didnt buy the bike to commute, I bought it as a toy. The fact that I can commute with it would save me a lot of money. I am looking at 350+ miles a week for work and what not, in my Tacoma thats 18-21 MPG, 4.5 times a month. With gas almost at $4/gallon and expected to rise drastically during the summer, that is a lot of money.

The little ninja does not cost me that much money, either in gear or purchase cost. I have been collecting gear for a while now, so I would go to a physical store to try stuff on to gauge my size then order the same items on line at closeout prices whenever and wherever I could find them. So I have gotten a good set of gear at a little under half of what I would have paid at a dealership or cycle store. I also got a good deal on my bike, and insurance for me even as a noob for this bike is basically nothing, I have a perfect record with not a spot on it and been with my insurance company for a while now.

So yes looking at my financials, even if I get only 6 months of riding time a year, being as I live in MN I am still looking really good.

And as I said, I didnt look to buying a ninja to try to save money. When you spend money you either lose it or you are getting more there is not spending to save.

[GreenNinja]

Originally Posted by Malicious Logic

If you calculate in the cost of buying the bike along with buying the gear and are looking for the point you'll break even, at least in my case, it'll be less than 2 years after buying the bike that it pays for itself in savings. Sure, first year you have the bike, your expenses for that year are probably close to double the norm because you bought a new vehicle along with around $1000 in gear. However, the moment you start using your bike over the car, the savings begin. Like I said, could be one of those case by case things and maybe I just have a special case but I'm expecting to save quite a bit based on my calculations.

Here is a quick calculation so you understand where I'm coming from. I financed my bike for $110 a month. Let us use that instead of the 3k to calculate so we can have a month by month calculation. Assuming I drive 1k miles a month on my bike and I get 55mpg on average and my car gets 21 mpg. For the sake of an easy calculation, gas will be $4 a gallon(it is 3.70 here). For that month I would spend $72 on my bike and I would spend $190 in gas on my car. My car is already paid off and if I bought a bike to save money here is a quick calculation with just gas, insurance, and bike payment. car: $190(gas) + $43(insurance) = 233
bike: $72(gas) + $18(insurance) + $110(bike payment) = $200
If you own the car and bike then monthly you would be paying $243 which in my opinion is more than $233. You may say yeah yeah $10 is not that much more, but the same can be said for $33.

If you have no vehicle, then yes you might be saving if you buy a bike vs buying a car. But buying a bike in addition to owning a car, you won't be saving. Notice I did not calculate the cost of my gear(which cost me around 1200 - 1500), tires(which needs to be changed every 10k miles), and etc.
Malicious Logic, I'm not debating with you because I'm bored. I'm making sure you actually understand it isn't as cheap as you thought. That two year mark is definitely a stretch. That 33 a month that I save in gas, I would be spending it to keep the bike maintained so in the end, I save no money.

[MLecl0001]

So I went and got my bike today. Made it home safe and sound..... Or almost did. Right into the last turn onto my road I think I may have taken it too fast and my bike tipped >< I was so pissed I stopped my truck and just started swearing. Surprisingly the people behind didnt honk their horn, I think they saw my bike tip over in the trailer and probably knew I was already pissed off and didnt want to aggravate me.

Thankfully there was almost no damage, it was a higher sided trailer so the mirror got folded in on itself and there is a little scrape on the mirror stem. Its barely noticeable unless you get your face in it. I will take picture later, I am sure a little touch up paint will fix it and you wouldnt even know anything happened.

Anyways glad I got it here, now I have to go back on a 1 hour round trip because they forgot to give me my temp license and I forgot to ask for it ><

Of course this beautiful day is supposed to turn into rain later so I may not even get to try it out........ I think some one hates me......

[GreenNinja]

Don't worry about fixing the cosmetics until you are extremely comfortable with the bike. There is a chance you could drop it while learning.