The new Ninja 250 is a really nice looking bike. Unfortunately, the plastics don't look so nice after the first crash, which is the major problem in recommending it as a first bike.
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June 6, 2011 8:00 p.m. MitchellC Dork
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June 7, 2011 1:40 a.m. flountown Reader
wearymicrobe wrote:
In california they don;t go for 4200 out the door, and nobody is doing gear specials on low displacement bikes, There is supposedly a line of over 20 people for both the CBR250r and the ninja 250r at the local dealer new.
Fair enough, it'd probably cheaper to hop a one-way flight, buy one on the East Coast and take an epic road trip back.
There are a couple of 04 - 07 versions with less than 8k miles going for under 2k in my area.
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June 7, 2011 7:26 a.m. Matt B HalfDork
MitchellC wrote:
The new Ninja 250 is a really nice looking bike. Unfortunately, the plastics don't look so nice after the first crash, which is the major problem in recommending it as a first bike.
Well, if we're talking alternatives and a problem with plastics, then there's always the naked Hyosung 250, which I've sort of been salivating over. I'm hoping/guessing that the resale will suck compared to the Japanese competition.
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June 7, 2011 9:01 a.m. AngryCorvair SuperDork
new bikes are neat and all, but i'm paying one hundred dollars for this basketcase which i'm told is a '95. i'm sure it will wind up naked.
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June 7, 2011 9:16 a.m. 93EXCivic SuperDork
AngryCorvair wrote:
new bikes are neat and all, but i'm paying one hundred dollars for this basketcase which i'm told is a '95. i'm sure it will wind up naked.
$100! Go get it NOW!
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June 7, 2011 3:31 p.m. flountown Reader
For 100 dollars, I'd buy it as well. I wasn't bagging on used bikes in general, just saying new bikes are often overlooked in certain situations because of the "New Mystique" that some people carry over from car valuation.
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June 7, 2011 7:32 p.m. AngryCorvair SuperDork
In reply to flountown:
i didn't think you were. and i didn't realize that bikes don't depreciate like cars. i'm just saying that i'm on a different budget than most of the other people in this thread. like, "move the decimal one place to the left" different.
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June 8, 2011 10:08 a.m. MadScientistMatt Dork
I normally ride a GS500F; the one time that I did ride a Ninja 250, what I really noticed was its light weight. Compared to my GS, this thing felt like a little dirt bike. Kind of like a Miata of sport bikes in some ways.
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July 14, 2011 2:27 p.m. JPD New Reader
I know this is a somewhat old thread, but just saw it.
I've ridden an '04 Ninja 250 for the last three years of college and would recommend it to anyone. I've owned other bikes in that time period, but I've kept the 250 around because it's so much cheaper to ride and maintain. From my experience, here's some points about the bike:
- Buy one in the wintertime. Around here (Upstate SC), you can pick one up for around $1k. Summertime is more like $1500 - 2k.
- Don't believe the 75 MPG that sellers will tell you. You'll get around 50 - 60 depending on how you ride ;)
- EVERYTHING you need to know about this bike is here: http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Main_Page
- It's the perfect starter bike, and an excellent bike to learn basic motorcycle maintenance and riding technique.
And here's a shot of mine:
