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After discovering the highway limits of my Ninja 250 today, I'm looking to move to something with a little more power / larger size. I'm 6'4" and 185. Would a 1998 BMW F650 have better handlebar placement for someone like me? Also, would the extra 25 or so hp give me a little more breathing room power for passing people?  Are there some other bikes that look this drat good and would step me up in power a bit? I've only owned my 250 for a couple of months, so I don't want to jump onto something that's gonna be a wheelie machine of death. I bring up the F650 because a local dealer has one, they're pretty, its within my means ($4500 asking price, $3500 kbb retail value) and its gonna be an easy comparison if I ride over there tomorrow and hop on it. "Flogging it like a rented mule" doesn't even describe what taking my 250 down I-35 was like today (WOT trying to catch up to my buddy doing like 85 is pretty sad). sklnd fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Oct 6, 2008 |
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Oct 6, 2008 01:50
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 10:04 |
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Entreri posted:What's a good price for a used 07 Ninja 250r? I've seen them for $2000-ish in my area, but I'm looking at a used one on craigslist with 17k miles for $1750. Looks really clean and the guy says it's had new tires and oil recently. It's potentially going to be my first bike. Should I jump on this deal? I was just in this situation a few months ago so I've got some (long winded) advice. That looks about as abused as my '04 EX250 is. Mine has rash in weird places, has a couple small tank dents, a right handlebar that's been welded back on at /slightly/ the wrong angle, cracked upper cowling, and both front signals were broken. In my case aside from the signals the damage hasn't been a big deal, though I've spent a little time and money repairing things. If you're like me, there's going to be a lot of stuff you don't notice about the bike until you've been around it for a week or two. With the fender-eliminator stupidity you no longer have a license plate holder or a light on that bike. I had the same problem (except the plate was attached to the bike with some angle brackets and some metal flashing), and I had to track down the stock license plate light from a parted-out bike to get the connector that connects up to the wiring harness. I soldered that to a LED lamp I picked up for $10 so I could pass inspection. I can't tell if the front signals are broken off or if those are flush signals. If those are broken off you can pick up flush mount ones off the web for like $50 or so, or you can get crappy ones and spacers like I did for $30ish. Also if they're broken, check the state of the wires going to the signals. The previous owner just ripped the broken signals off in a fit of retard strength instead of taking them off the wiring harness properly, so I had to solder a fair bit to get new signals on. It's a pain in the rear end doing that. Also, keep in mind plastics are expensive to replace! I'm looking at getting a new left side panel and a new upper cowling, which will set me back $300 or more. Check the mounts on the plastics in addition to inspecting for cracks, especially on the left and right side panels below the seat. Those are held on with one screw and three plastic mount things that break very easy, and one with broken mounts is really annoying as it'll pop out and look like crap. If you go with the bike you're looking at $100 or so in random fix-up stuff to get it street legal, $200 or so for an ok set of tools to work on it if you don't have them (metric sockets in 1/4" and 3/8" drive, metric wrenches, torque wrenches in ft/lbs inch/oz, spark plug socket, metric allen wrenches, a good set of screwdrivers that includes torx, a 3/8" drive breaker bar, vicegrips if you ever dream of taking the carb apart with the super-soft screws holding the float bowls on), and a few hours of work. I'd also suggest changing the oil when you get it regardless of what the previous owner says, just so you know what's in there and how old it is (and its a good way to get to know your bike  )Anyway, if the thing runs okay, the forks are straight, and the brakes are good I'd probably buy it, but then again I bought a 250 that was kinda beat up and then spent a few weekends wrenching on it to get it running well. I'd try to get the guy to drop to $1500 just because of the miles on a bike that has to be flogged to get anywhere on a highway, though. If you get the bike, faq.ninja250.org is an excellent resource for just about all of the questions I had regarding parts of the bike and routine maintenance.
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Oct 20, 2008 01:45
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Gnomad posted:There are processes in place to get titles, but it can be fraught with danger. You could be the guy trying to launder a dirty bike, so what if you didn';t steal it yourself, tell it to the judge. Some states, or at least Texas, have CYA regulations for this situation. I went through this recently. I bought a Ninja 250 in August from a fellow who purchased the bike from someone else last year, but never transferred the title to his name. Through some stupidity he wrote on the back of the title in such a way that I couldn't get the sale amended from the previous previous owner to myself. Effectively it meant I had no to way go through normal channels to title the bike in my name and register it. In this case, in Texas, you apply for a Bonded Title. You go down to the DMV with some documents (a Statement of Fact, a Affidavit noting the VIN, and the normal title transfer form). You pay them a few dollars, and they do a title search for you. You then go buy a bond from a bonding company for the 1.5x the value of the bike. This will cost you X% of the value of the vehicle or $100, whichever is higher. Value of the vehicle is assessed from the Make/Model from some KBB-like value listing. Then you take that to the county Tax Assessor Collector, with all your other paperwork. They send that to Austin, and around two to three weeks later you get a bonded title with your name on it. It remains a bonded title for 3 years, and the bond follows the bike in future sales. With that, if someone can prove in a court of law that they legally own the bike, they get the value of the bond. You keep the bike. I'm not 100% sure of other details beyond that, though. I don't expect to run into that myself as I've spoken with both the PO and the PPO. This might be completely different in your state, but I'd expect to find some sort of similar process. If you end up in that situation (again, at least in Texas), the only thing you really need to do is be very diligent in your paperwork. The lady at the Tax Assessor Collector remarked that I had the first completely correct Bonded Title Application that she had ever seen. It's easy to slip up and miss a document or not provide enough information. However, being a detail-oriented fellow I didn't have too much trouble with the process beyond missing half a day of work running around between government offices. sklnd fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Oct 31, 2008 |
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Oct 31, 2008 05:20
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Gnomad posted:Other states are kind of "well if you didn't steal it, OK".
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Apr 7, 2009 02:41
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I think I want a KLR650 as my second motorcycle specifically, a green 2001 Flying out to pick one up and ride it home tomorrow.
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Aug 15, 2009 00:01
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blugu64 posted:Hut sold separately. Congrats man, can't wait to see it! 
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Aug 16, 2009 01:51
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Becktastic posted:farkles! Seems like a decent deal. You could get a cheaper bike by going older (and jumping into the larger parts supply/extremely well known bike tent), but farkles are goddamn expensive and picking/pricing them is making me want to drink more than I should. Mine only came with the easy mods (12v accessory outlet below the luggage rack and a throttle lock). Right now my wish list is at $800, and its not near done.
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Aug 18, 2009 00:37
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Cant speak to Buells from experience, but I doubt you're too big for them. As for 250s on the freeway, depends on the model. I wouldn't take most 250s on a major city freeway, but on a Ninja 250 I found it to be no big deal (and for reference I'm 6'4" and about 195).
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Jun 11, 2010 15:14
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The new model have half decent front brakes, though.
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Jun 25, 2010 03:43
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My KLR doesn't get buzzy until right around 6k RPMS, which in 5th gear is well over the posted speed limits (70 is a hair below 5k). There's also a slightly buzzy spot between 3500 and 4k, but it doesn't bother me much. I've got no trouble doing distance on it at highway speeds. I'm not one to really carve up twisty roads, so I can't speak to how it handles doing it.
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Jul 5, 2010 05:45
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It died a proper death in Eastern Colorado
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Sep 12, 2010 01:43
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 10:04 |
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republic posted:I can't wait to put some miles on this thing. Sup fellow Boulder goon. If you need a riding buddy, I'm around.
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Sep 17, 2010 05:11
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