Is the Ninja 650r suitable and can I get a used on for £2000

[markk21]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and completely new to the world of biking. I have wanted a bike for many years but just haven't been able to afford it.

However my brother will likely need a car from September for the year as he will be on a placement as part of his Uni course and the costs of running my car are just crazy. I have yet to ride any sort of motorbike but I hope in the summer I can go from complete novice to passing the test and getting the A2 licence. I am trying to decide on what bike would be best for me. My budget is £2000 but I may.. and I stress may, be able to stretch to £2500.

I have always liked Kawasaki Ninjas and after a good few weeks of research the two bikes that seem good are the Ninja 250 and the 650. They both seem to be a similar price but the price does seem to be £2250 and up. Would I be able to get either bike for lower than that? I know I would have to restrict the 650, any ideas how much that would cost to do?

Anyway, I hope that made some sense and I look forward to enjoying this forum!

Thanks,

Mark

[Rogerborg]

The Yanks call the 650cc twin bike a "Ninja 650". Over here, it's an ER6-f.

Yes, you can restrict it for a 35kW A2 license (the Ninja ZX-6R 636 is not suitable). You can (just) get them for £2K now. There are plenty around. Watch out for blowing exhausts and fractured engine mounts.

You'll need to budget:

~£120 for a CBT

£121.50 for tests (theory, mod 1, mod 2) plus possible resits.

£300 - £600 for training, entirely depending on the training school and how quickly you pick it up.

Helmet, gloves, jacket, trousers (jeans are the chocolate teapot of protection), sturdy boots = £150+ if you buy used from eBay / Gumtree. Buy the helmet new!
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Clutchy]

Ninja


They love a bit of marketing tosh over in yanksvile don't they
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Malaguti F12 Phantom-Dead, Suzuki AY50- Dead, NRG power DD LQ, CBR125.
*33 BHP restriction up on 10/12/14* Current bikes/car: SV 650 S/ MKIV GOLF
Guide to pass your test with no lessons!

[dydey90]

But it is a Ninja

If you find one for cheaps, it's probably dodgy or damaged. I think the cheapest one I saw (in a dealership) was just under £3000 and it had been dropped.
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This post is probably not serious and shouldn't be taken literally.
Past: CBR125,ER6f NINJA 650, ZZR600 Current: VFR750

[lukamon]

OP would be better off looking at another bike of similar power / style / engine (whichever drew you to that bike).

i.e. cbr 600f vs. thundercat

for the same money as scaping the worst of the bottom of the barrel f the newer ones, you'll get a MUCH better example of the earlier model
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killa wrote: Im an ass man myself

[Rogerborg]

Neither of those bikes are suitable for the A2 license.

There are relatively few fully faired bikes that are.

ER6-f
XJ6 Diversion F
GSX650F
SV650S with fairing lowers
400 twins.
CBR500R
Ninja 250/300.
GS500
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[markk21]

I always thought you could say 250r/650r as well. I find it easier to remember 650r/250r/300r and so on, rather than ER-6f, so I'll just stick to that.

I have budgeted the costs and for a £2500 bike it costs about £300 less than my current costs. That includes purchase costs, test, mot, gear etc. There is also the £1500 (at least) to include, which would be the costs of buying my brother a car. That makes the overall costs for the car £2000 extra versus the bike. The running costs over the year versus the car save me over £3000! The only main driving I will be doing is a 20 mile round trip, two days a week. Apart from that it will only be to the shops, library at Uni, on odd occasions and then just riding on a nice sunny day around Kent.

[Aff]

[guile]

You can get an 06/07 for just under £2000 if you haggle with private buyers on ebay. Don't bother with dealers. Restrictor kit cost about £15 - it is basically a screw which even the noobest of riders could fit themselves.

[Aff]

[guile]

[Rogerborg]

[markk21]

Aff - I either didn't explain myself correctly or you didn't read my original post. I said that my brother needs a car for this September and the costs of running my car are too high. Put both those things together and you'll see that my brother would get my car and I would get a bike, therefore saving money through the combination of not buying a car for my brother/continuing to run my car and saving a staggering amount on annual running costs. If I were to keep my car and my brother were to buy at least a £1500 car, it would cost my Dad almost £7000 compared to under £4500 for the bike.

Roger - I've put a maintenance budget of £100 aside. Is that figure too low?

[Aff]

[dydey90]

When did your dad come into it?!


Also, I was told by the dealer that the restrictor is a throttle-stop and an ECU plug-in combined. Apparently they need to remove a lot of plastic to get it in too.
Then again, this could have been a sales pitch. They ended up fitting it for free anyway though.
____________________
This post is probably not serious and shouldn't be taken literally.
Past: CBR125,ER6f NINJA 650, ZZR600 Current: VFR750

[Rogerborg]

[Aff]

[markk21]

Dydey - My Dad will help me with the costs towards purchasing the bike.

Roger - I would be doing roughly between 2,000 and 3,000 miles per year

Aff - My Dad would have to buy my brother a car for next September. It looks like it would be cheaper for him to buy me a used bike and give my brother my car.

[wots]

I've only just seen this. Regarding the restriction kit, and I have one here. It is indeed a small torx screw as a throttle stop and a plug that shorts something in the diag port, which apparently limits torque.

It is so easy, I rode up to the test centre restricted, undid one screw on the panel, removed torx screw (magnetised screwdriver is essential) and then removed diag connector. Pushed bike in to the test centre, passed test and then rode off. I was going from restricted to full A.

It has to be the easiest restriction kit to fit/remove.
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Currently: Yamaha DT 125 LC2,Repsol Fireblade, and Bumblebee MSX 125