is this a good deal?

M

mathan

Well-known member
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Hey guys,
I did my course at sherdian last summer and succesfully got my M2. Now i am looking around for a starter bike to start of with in the spring.

The course is the only time I have rode a bike. I was looking in to a cbr125 to start with but im a 6' guy and was thinking its too small of a bike. so i then started to look at 250cc bikes and i came across as 2000 Ninja 250cc, with 14xxxkms. and the seller is looking to sell asap and he is willing to sell the bike as is for 1000$ or certified for 1500$. He said the only thing wrong with the bike is that the chain guard is missing but he has the part and just needs to be put on.

Is this a good deal?
What exactly does the chain guard do and how hard would it be to put back on.


Any input will be appreciated
 
If the bike is in good working order and all of the maintenance is up to date, then a thousand bucks sounds like a good deal to me.

My big question would be: why $500 for a safety? Sounds like he's assuming that there will be work that needs to be done to get it to pass.
 
Spread out your search outside of GTA. That bike for a grand looks like a good deal (saw it on Kijiji), but it's weird that it's missing a chain guard, and $500 to get it certified sounds excessive. Get it to a mechanic to be thoroughly checked.
The reason why I'm suggesting to look outside of GTA - there is 07 Ninja 250 with 8k km on it for $2000 in London (kijiji too). Delivery will probably cost you around 300 bucks, check with infernobuster on this site to see how much he will charge. There is also ex250 in Brantford for 1250, but it has 36K km on it, so the guy might sell it for 1k too.
 
Yeah, good deal on paper but a chain guard is like a couple of screws so if he has it, why not put it on?
It just protects your leg in case chain snaps, also keeps the dirt and lube in. You need one for safety. Even if he didn't have it, pick up a used one for $20.

As the others have mentioned, $500 for certified is excessive if the bike doesn't need anything. You can get a bike safetied for ~ $40-80.

Ask him why so much and why didn't he put the guard back one before selling the bike.

Keep in mind that those older Ninjas are fairly low bikes, seat is lower than the CBR. It is more comfortable overall though but I found it a bit too cramped personally, had one for 4 months and bought an SV650S.

If I were you, I'd look at the Ninja 500, GS500 and the SV. All of those you can find cheap, in good condition. $2,000-$3,000. Kinda depends on what you want to use the bike for as well (and how much can you afford to pay for insurance).
 
adri said:
Nathan how old are you? Any experience with bikes? Driving history?
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hey its mathan not nathan lol...

i am 22 years old. no experience with bikes whats so ever, and that is why i want to start with a fairly low cc bike.

I have one speeding ticket, and no at fault accidents.

i am currently a student and can not afford to pay huge amount for the insurance and that is another reason i am sticking to the lower cc bikes for now.

i just want to start with a small bike and learn all the basics. and once im done college is exactly a year from this month, i would be able to afford a bigger bike insurance and to pay for a newer higher cc bike.
 
ViperZ said:
Spread out your search outside of GTA. That bike for a grand looks like a good deal (saw it on Kijiji), but it's weird that it's missing a chain guard, and $500 to get it certified sounds excessive. Get it to a mechanic to be thoroughly checked.
The reason why I'm suggesting to look outside of GTA - there is 07 Ninja 250 with 8k km on it for $2000 in London (kijiji too). Delivery will probably cost you around 300 bucks, check with infernobuster on this site to see how much he will charge. There is also ex250 in Brantford for 1250, but it has 36K km on it, so the guy might sell it for 1k too.
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hey thanks for the advice, i will definitely look outside the gta, i did not realize i can get such a deal if i looked elsewhere other than the gta. i really like the newer ninja 250's but i didnt think it was reasonable for me to spend 3-3.5$ for a bike to learn on. beacuse after I have become more comfortable riding, i will be upgrading to at least a 500cc. but 2grand for that ninja seems lyke an amazing deal.

yea now that you mention the 500$ certification, it does seem sketchy, because when i texted him about to why the chain guard was off and he why he didnt put it back on, he ignored my text.
 
May I ask why you'd want to start on 250 and upgrade to 500? 500cc bikes are beginner bikes too GS500/GS500F and Ninja 500R are both great starter bikes. And again, talking about buying the bike from far away from GTA - I bought my first bike (5-yr-old GS500F) in Belleville for 2100 when everyone in Toronto wanted around 3500 for one in the same condition. It needed new rear tire, so I picked up two new Michelins from Pete's. Add renting a U-Haul trailer (19.99) and paying for friend's gas (full tank), I saved over a grand easily.
 
The thing with buying stuff - bikes or otherwise - is that another one will ALWAYS come up. Patience will always be rewarded.
 
ViperZ said:
May I ask why you'd want to start on 250 and upgrade to 500? 500cc bikes are beginner bikes too GS500/GS500F and Ninja 500R are both great starter bikes. And again, talking about buying the bike from far away from GTA - I bought my first bike (5-yr-old GS500F) in Belleville for 2100 when everyone in Toronto wanted around 3500 for one in the same condition. It needed new rear tire, so I picked up two new Michelins from Pete's. Add renting a U-Haul trailer (19.99) and paying for friend's gas (full tank), I saved over a grand easily.
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i wanted to start with a 250cc due to cheaper insurance for the time being. would the insurance be roughly the same for a 500 cc and the 250 cc?
 
mathan said:
i wanted to start with a 250cc due to cheaper insurance for the time being. would the insurance be roughly the same for a 500 cc and the 250 cc?
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If I remember correctly, the insurance with my company (TD MM) was very comparable between 250 and 500cc - these bikes are not SS and do not have 400% surcharge on the insurance. The only company I know that charges by cc is StateFarm, so there will be a significant difference if you'll choose them as your insurer for the first bike.
 
ViperZ said:
If I remember correctly, the insurance with my company (TD MM) was very comparable between 250 and 500cc - these bikes are not SS and do not have 400% surcharge on the insurance. The only company I know that charges by cc is StateFarm, so there will be a significant difference if you'll choose them as your insurer for the first bike.
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yeah statefarm is the only company i have done a quote with so far. What makes a bike a SS. are they bikes that are 600cc+?
 
ViperZ said:
If I remember correctly, the insurance with my company (TD MM) was very comparable between 250 and 500cc - these bikes are not SS and do not have 400% surcharge on the insurance. The only company I know that charges by cc is StateFarm, so there will be a significant difference if you'll choose them as your insurer for the first bike.
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OP likely will not be eligible for MM.

mathan said:
yeah statefarm is the only company i have done a quote with so far. What makes a bike a SS. are they bikes that are 600cc+?
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SS = Super Sport.
Any size bike can be a supersport. There are 250cc supersports not available in Canada that would blow the piss out of our 500s lol. If you see aggressively seated bikes that look ready to race and make stupidiculous power, it may be a supersport. Other "sportbikes" may still make good power and look similar but not have the ridiculous insurance markup (Ninja 650, SV-650, FZ6, etc.) that's the layman's definition.
 
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$1000 for that bike even if it needs tires, chain and sprocket and a chain guard is a great deal IMO... Unless its crashed and in pieces snap it up right now
 
just be careful, you usually get what you pay for, although the off season is a great time to buy a bike. Price sounds quite low to me compared to the average, so it is hard to say. Like others have said, I strongly suggest either bringing an experienced friend, or bring it to a mechanic. Parts can get expensive fast, but is a newer machine, so you should be ok for the little bits like lines and bearings. If you can't bring it to a mechanic, ask the owner to remove the fairings and if possible, the fuel tank. Most entry level bike owners have entry level mechanical skills, so they may not know how/want to do this.

Take pictures before you bring it to a mechanic, so you can't get blamed for any scratches/dings.

It it difficult to tell what your getting when your not sure what to look for, so be sure to have help.

Bring a good flashlight, look for signs of case/frame damage or leaks. Bounce the front forks up and down, see if the fork seals cleanly take of the oil and don't leak. Check for fuel and oil leaks, drive chain and sprocket wear, and the throttle crispness. put the bike on a stand and grab the brakes to check for rotors for straightness. Once you get a bike, most maintenance is not that difficult, if your handy and want to learn, get the service manual, everything you need is in there.
 
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