Buy or walk away? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Buy or walk away?

jukon

jukon

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Hey all,

I found a nice Ninja 250 for sale. I have two (minor?) concerns though, so I'm kind of on the fence.

1- It has scratch marks on the end left handlebar and clutch, but the seller said it was never dropped.

2- There was an oil or grease mark as if it had been dripping from near the gearshift to the bottom of the fairing.

Other than that I didn't see any scratches or flaws. I looked very closely for scratches on the fender and how they line up near the blinker and it looked fine. It's a very low km bike with one owner, a clean uvip, and he will certify.

Could a scratched handlebar happen from anything else? Is the oil a concern? What do you think?
 
depending how bad the scratches on the handlebar are. It could be something as simple as scratching it up against a wall or something. U should have asked the seller about them and see how he reacts. Feel him out

And the grease, could simply be excess chain lube, i have the same on my bike

jukon said:
Hey all,

I found a nice Ninja 250 for sale. I have two (minor?) concerns though, so I'm kind of on the fence.

1- It has scratch marks on the end left handlebar and clutch, but the seller said it was never dropped.

2- There was an oil or grease mark as if it had been dripping from near the gearshift to the bottom of the fairing.

Other than that I didn't see any scratches or flaws. I looked very closely for scratches on the fender and how they line up near the blinker and it looked fine. It's a very low km bike with one owner, a clean uvip, and he will certify.

Could a scratched handlebar happen from anything else? Is the oil a concern? What do you think?
Click to expand...
 
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If it's your first bike I wouldn't worry about it.

When I was a beginner I was all hung up on that I didn't want a scratched or dropped bike etc.

Now that I have experience I would have just bought a piece of junk dropped ninja 250 for dirt cheap, rode it for a year, then sold it for close to what I paid and have enough experience to know what kind of bike I wanted for good (or 2+ years lol).

Cosmetics doesn't really matter. As long as the mechanics are sound (eg/ as long as they changed the oil and lubed the chain. Also make sure the scheduled maintenance has been done on time; receipts are always a plus) your good to go.

A few scratches here and there are inevitable.

Disclaimer: I am no mechanic

Edit: what year is the ninja? If it is older and had barely any KMs, I would be worried. It could need a carb cleaning and fluids flushed etc.

Make sure you know why it has such low kms!
 
Did you check for scratch marks on the fairing blinkers and your foot pedals? If it was dropped, they'd surely be affected as well. But definitely pursue the seller about the origin of the scratches. Who knows, you may even get a discount (happened to me).

I doubt this is the reason, but there is a overflow tube that goes from your fuel tank to the bottom of your bike, where it hangs. This could be the source of some drippy substances.

I bought a used 250R a few weeks back. The owner said it was dropped at stand still once and even showed me the replaced fairing. It seemed acceptable and I bought the bike for an amazing price. No problems so far. In short, the bike I bought wasn't immaculate, but it still turned out great.
 
I wouldnt worry about either issue. Could be scratched by a wall or something, and even if it was dropped its usually not a big deal as long as the frame is fine. I bought my bike with cracked fairings all around, just visual damage from drops.
 
Like twoth said, it might be that the handle bar got scratched against a wall when they parked it too close and it rubbed against it when the kick stand was down. Nothing big, just make sure the other parts aren't scratched or whatever. As long as the bike can still ride and there is no excess damage, it would be fine. Just ensure that it is saftied before you get it so you know it can still ride and you don't end up with a lemon.
 
The guy that had my bike said it was scratched on the way into the garage, but on further inspection handlebar is slightly scratched as is frame slider and mirror on same side, either way I look at it I dont care...its a starter bike, it looks brand new to anyone that sees it, and I dont have to worry about putting first scratch on it.....the second thing could be nothing either but if I was worried about anything that would be what I would check.

Jenn
 
I started with a pre-scratched ninja 500. As others have said, if its mechanically sound, i woudln't worry about it. As the saying goes theres only 2 types of riders, those that have crashed and those that haven't crashed yet. Don't invest heavily in your first ride.

The ninja 250/500's are usually bulletproof. I recommend bringing a friend with exp to see it. If you don't have any i'm sure theres someone on the form that lives near willing to help. Most riders I find are more than willing to help other riders, especially newbies, because they were once in your spot.

Good luck
 
grease mark is probably chain lube. My ninja had grease all over it. Also te bike may have not been dropped theres tons of ways to scuff that **** up. Finally keep in mind 90% of bikes on the use market are dropped anyways at some point. No matter how much someone insists their bike hasn't been dropped, just assume it has. Nothing wrong with a dropped bike if all the damage has been repaired.

Go for it.
 
lol well ive dropped my bike from a standstill 3 times and wiped out twice and its still going strong sooo, don't worry about a little scratch on the handlebar

my advice is to run it, crank up the choke have it idle at a few thousand rpm and if it sounds good and doesnt explode its probably good to go lol
 
wearelopey said:
If it's your first bike I wouldn't worry about it.

When I was a beginner I was all hung up on that I didn't want a scratched or dropped bike etc.

Now that I have experience I would have just bought a piece of junk dropped ninja 250 for dirt cheap, rode it for a year, then sold it for close to what I paid and have enough experience to know what kind of bike I wanted for good (or 2+ years lol).
Click to expand...

+1. Get it checked by a mechanic or more experienced forum member to make sure there are no major issues and then get it for the reasons above.
 
so did you buy or walk away?
 
I started with a 2000 DRZ400S all beat to **** - LOL! My question was "what's the worse crash you had?". I put on new SS brakelines, brake pads, changed all fluids, replaced wheel bearings, sprockets and chain, tires and was good to go. It ran like a champ! It fell over a few times and I didn't care. I wouldn't worry about a few scratches here and there - as long as it sounds, smells and looks good.

I went to look at one bike - as it was running, oil leaked onto the header pipe with smoke all over the place. :lmao: I walked away from that one!
 
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I don't know about the leak but dropping a bike means different things to different people. Forgetting the sidestand is different than parking it in a tree. I don't worry about the sidestand bit because if the PO hasn't done it I will and the $$ difference will be in my pocket.
Scratches detract from pride of ownership. What's that worth to you? Do you wax or ride?
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