[dknite]

I just wanted a little feedback from you guys about a bike I am thinkin of gettin for my GF, its a 1996 Kawi Ninja 500, 7,000km absolutely mint, never dropped, runs nice,.. the guys is asking $4,500 obo for it. Now I have never owned anything other than a honda for bikes, so I am curious first of all if this sounds reasonable, I went threw the buy and sell and it seems fair,.. also i am wondering what kawi's are like for reliability and cost to fix,..
Any info would be moocho apreciated..

Thanks.

 

[thr1]

sounds reasonable, but hey what the hell do i know:laughing

 

[Bluestone]

sounds reasonable to me, given the low kms and condition. Kawis are very reliable, especially a model like the ex500 'cause it hasn't really changed in years. This makes parts readily available, and since it is not a full fairinged bike, beginner parking lot drops and what not will not cost an arm and a leg to fix. A 500 will have enough power to keep up to bigger bikes on group rides so a beginning rider won't feel too left behind if they don't want to be. A brand new Ex 500 is about $7000 or so? (If i remeber correctly)
so $4500 is pretty good, i would say.

Oh, and another point on servicing the bike, if you are planning to take the bike to a dealership for its maintenance, you'll save a bit because the technicians won't be charging you labour for having to remove the fairings every time!

 

[dknite]

Thanks alot for the info,.. i am gonna take it to a mech. this weekend to give it a good look over,.. if it checks out i'll pick it up for my gf,... then maybe she will get off my back about spending 10g on my 929.. hehe

 

[TeeTee]

Those are great bikes for a first timer. Just make sure she keeps the rpms in the lower half for learning. It's still a 500 and when the revs get up it has plenty of pep to keep her entertained for a few years.

With some suspension mods and good tires it's also a great handling bike that will let her corner at whatever angle she's brave enough to try.

And it's a Kawi, unless she drives it into a tree it's not gonna break as long as it gets any kind of care at all.