[kaotik78]

Hello,

First off I'd like to say this bike caught my eye while I was investigating how the other side of riders live.

I have a 2006 Sportster 1200C that I've owned for the past two years and in that time I think I've put on a total of 3800 miles, this year I've taken it out twice and not for very long. I don't think the magic is there for me.

At any rate I decided to call two shops up today and investigate on cost and availability in regards to the 250r.

One shop, freedomcycle said they did not have any available but did have a 2007 as a leftover for 4800.00, the second call yielded HK powersports in Hooksett where I found they have a 2008 for 3800.00.

Now I'm wondering why the dealerships are price gouging if that can be a term used here? The MSRP on the 2008 is around 3400 USD so where does the extra 400.00 come from in regards to the 2008 model, the 2007 price is ridiculous IMHO.

Has anyone been able to get a 2008 for a lil under 3400.00 USD?

My other question and this could be pure ignorance, is there a warmup period with this bike? My bike is not EFI equipped and I must warm the bike up before taking off like I would my car, thanks to the carb not being able to atomize the fuel as effectively. Is this the case with this bike as well?

Thanks!

 

[enzo_f1]

Hello,

First off I'd like to say this bike caught my eye while I was investigating how the other side of riders live.

I have a 2006 Sportster 1200C that I've owned for the past two years and in that time I think I've put on a total of 3800 miles, this year I've taken it out twice and not for very long. I don't think the magic is there for me.

At any rate I decided to call two shops up today and investigate on cost and availability in regards to the 250r.

One shop, freedomcycle said they did not have any available but did have a 2007 as a leftover for 4800.00, the second call yielded HK powersports in Hooksett where I found they have a 2008 for 3800.00.

Now I'm wondering why the dealerships are price gouging if that can be a term used here? The MSRP on the 2008 is around 3400 USD so where does the extra 400.00 come from in regards to the 2008 model, the 2007 price is ridiculous IMHO.

Has anyone been able to get a 2008 for a lil under 3400.00 USD?

My other question and this could be pure ignorance, is there a warmup period with this bike? My bike is not EFI equipped and I must warm the bike up before taking off like I would my car, thanks to the carb not being able to atomize the fuel as effectively. Is this the case with this bike as well?

Thanks!

Karaoke, I like your Harley. I'm surprised you would ever want another bike. Riding the 250 will help you ride the Harley also. Although the 250 is half the weight you will still be a better rider for being a 250 jockey.

As far as the prices. I have heard there are a few threads on this forum about this matter. I haven't read any of them but from what I hear they are informative.

The carb not being able to atomize the fuel is a major problem with these bike. One woman on here has found that grabbing one of the hoses (from the gas tank) with her hands and sucking on it makes a nice vacuum and will get that bike straight up, primed, and ready to go. You, on the other hand, might want to use the choke living way up in the north, where sunshine and warm is in limited supply. Kawasaki is working on an external atomizer that will help with the fuel problem but they are trying to keep costs down so if you would like to be the first to complete said atomizer many on here would be appreciative.

Have fun with your new bike and it is a pleasure to have someone with your intelligence and intuitiveness here on the forum.

 

[YeahImJosh]

LOL...its his FIRST post man, lets not ruin his hopes of the kawiforum and the Ninja 250.

kaotik78, you have a nice bike. In fact, there is a picture of a XL1200R Sportster on the 24oz can of Millet Lite I am drinking right now, cheers. First off, 4800 for a "left over" 2007 Ninja 250 is insane. MSPR on the 08 Ninja 250R is 3499. The 08 bike is in high demand, so dealers are trying to sell them for far more than what MSRP is. IMO if you found a brand new 08 on the showroom floor of a dealership for 3800, that is probably a better deal than what most have gotten. Wasnt there a post where a kid paid around 7000 for his out the door?

 

[TrueFaith]

Welcome to the forum, kaotik. I see Enzo's Welcome Wagon got here before me...LOL!

I live in central Mass. and when I saw your post about the 2007 "leftover" for $4800 I jumped over to Craigslist and lo and behold one of the first ads was for a 2007 Ninja 250 for $1800 less than that, including gear:

http://worcester.craigslist.org/mcy/769938102.html

Used (and new occasionally) Ninja 250s show up for sale all the time as riders move up to a larger bike, so don't limit your searching to dealerships. You have to be quick though, because they sell fast.

 

[Brook Trout]

kaotik,

Hi, I'm from NH, too (transplanted to NC, but NH's my home). I lived in Manchester fora few years as well as Litchfield, Nashua and Francestown. I was born in Nashua. Anyway, enough about me...

Also it wasn't clear to me that you realize that the 08 bike is 'all new'. A leftover 07 should not be commanding the kind of price that that one dealer is asking. The new bike is really sharp looking. A lot of people prefer the 08s styling over the 07 and previous. The 08 is the one that's going for a high price while any left over 07s shouldn't be commanding such a high price. The demand, btw, is driven by the fact that the 08 is (subjectively) one of the best looking and performing "small" bikes available and, at least as important, gas prices seem to be driving a lot of people into dealerships looking for small bikes. All of the rebels, v-star 250s, sz250 (I think that's what it's called), as well as all scooters are pretty much sold out around here.

Is that 3800 the out the door price? If so, you should jump on that. That is a good deal for an 08 in this market. Most folks are paying well over 4000 OTD, some over 5. If you didn't like it you could probably sell it on CraigsList for about what you pay! OTOH, it might not be the OTD price, so ask before you waste your time going up there. The OTD price consists of the bikes MSRP plus taxes, state and dealer fees. You might be able to get that 3400 OTD in a couple years, but for the next year or so (at least), the 250r is going to be selling for MSRP and above from tell, due to demand.

The 250r is carbed. I let my bike warm up for a couple of minutes in the morning, and maybe a minute after a warm start. I could start it and drive right off, but I like to give it time to get all its fluids cirulating. I haven't had to use any choke at all, but it's pretty warm here in NC, so that may change.