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15 Posts
I'm very happy for all you guys who have bought clean used bikes for great prices and think everyone should do the same. But that's not for everyone, for a couple of reasons.
First, buying a used bike is a lot of work. Last spring my son wanted to buy a motorcycle, and his budget was $2000. I would have preferred that he start with something like a 350 dual sport, and would have been thrilled to find a clean Ninja 250. We passed up a nice XT350 the previous fall because he couldn't make up his mind.
So we spent months scouring the net and responding to ads, and finally spent an entire Saturday driving about 150 miles to look at bikes that had just been sold or were in much worse shape than advertised. Late in the day we checked out the last bike on the list, a very clean 86 CB700C Nighthawk for $1800.
It's a nice bike at a nice price, but it isn't what I would have picked. And I'd say I put enough hours into that purchase to just about make up the difference of what a new Ninja 250 would have cost. If that's your idea of hobby, fine, but to me it's just work.
Second, I realize there's no accounting for taste, but most previous years of Ninja 250 have color schemes that were clearly intended to make them appeal to girls. It doesn't bother me a bit to ride around on a little bike, but I'd prefer it not have pink wheels.
First, buying a used bike is a lot of work. Last spring my son wanted to buy a motorcycle, and his budget was $2000. I would have preferred that he start with something like a 350 dual sport, and would have been thrilled to find a clean Ninja 250. We passed up a nice XT350 the previous fall because he couldn't make up his mind.
So we spent months scouring the net and responding to ads, and finally spent an entire Saturday driving about 150 miles to look at bikes that had just been sold or were in much worse shape than advertised. Late in the day we checked out the last bike on the list, a very clean 86 CB700C Nighthawk for $1800.
It's a nice bike at a nice price, but it isn't what I would have picked. And I'd say I put enough hours into that purchase to just about make up the difference of what a new Ninja 250 would have cost. If that's your idea of hobby, fine, but to me it's just work.
Second, I realize there's no accounting for taste, but most previous years of Ninja 250 have color schemes that were clearly intended to make them appeal to girls. It doesn't bother me a bit to ride around on a little bike, but I'd prefer it not have pink wheels.
