Bought a Bike

Yesterday I went by the Kawasaki dealership to try to learn how long the wait would be on the Ninja 250R and how much it would cost. They wrote that all up for me, and said it would be 3 weeks or so. The offer from the dealer was MSRP, plus the typical boatload of fees. I wished I could sit on one. The dealer said the 650 was similar, since the 250 was based on the 650 [which actually isn’t true, but they are at least of similar size], so I sat on that. The salesman mentioned that everyone wanted a 250 since it was known as a “beginner” bike, and as a result they had three 650s sitting there, one of every color made! The 650s were on sale to try to move them; so much so that the out the door price was below the MSRP! I left with prices for both bikes written down.

Woke up at 5:30 this morning, knowing that I was going to buy a bike! and I had decided on the 650. Just the bigger brakes alone I felt justified the price difference, not to mention the better suspension and bigger engine.

I jumped up, got some stuff done for work, and timed things right so that at 8:30 I was in the car on the way to my credit union, and on the phone with my insurance agent! Got to the bank, secured the loan, went to the bike shop, and when they said “Can I help you?” I responded with, “Yes, I’d like to buy that bike.” They wrote me up a purchase order, explained that the bike had never been started, and they were going to prep it (check oil, battery, put in gas, give it a short drive to check the clutch, brakes, transmission, etc).

Next I was off to the insurance agent to give them the VIN and a check, got insurance papers, then back to the credit union armed with the purchase order and insurance info, got a check for the dealer, then back to the dealer to get the keys! just as I walked in the showroom they said the salesman was bringing a bike around front. Sure enough, it was mine. The trip odometer showed 0.3 miles, the main odometer still showed 0. He gave me a tour of the bike.

Then I had to drive the rx-8 to the office for work, promising I would pick up the bike tonight before the dealer closed.

while at work I unexpectedly found out I needed to pick up aiden from school. I got him from school and had to gas up the rx-8. It was certainly an interesting moment putting just a few pennies shy of FIFTY DOLLARS in the tank while thinking about the 60-70 mpg I can probably get on the ninja!

then we went home, grabbed my riding gear, my neighbor James drove Aiden and I to the dealership, they rolled my bike back out onto the parking lot for me, and I rode it home with James and Aiden following.

It’s nice to have good riding gear; even at only 25 MPH, I was getting pleasant breezes through my helmet, jacket, and even my riding shoes! It actually felt pretty good considering my car had been telling me it was 109 degrees on the way home.

Also, I was reminded that my rider training course was 6 months ago; I found myself taking all the turns rrreeealllyyy WWWWIIIIIDDDDEEEE. I’ll be definitely be doing some practice around the neighborhood before venturing into real traffic.

I kept thinking this bike felt really light; it’s only 393 lbs dry

You may be thinking “but wait, I thought you wanted a BMW motorcycle?” well I do, but I also decided I wanted to not stretch my budget yet also get a bike NOW so I can get some riding experience in. This bike was less than half the cost; it meets the goal of being a comfortable, cool bike to get some seat time on. And I think I won’t be bored of it in a few months.

turns out the trip home was 1.2 miles. The main odometer shows 1 now.

The bike fits in the garage, with room to open both passenger doors on the RX-8! This is despite all the stuff in there I’m trying to get “the ex” to haul off for me

• ninja