[dejavu]

Hello everyone. Ive been reading this forum for a while and decided its time to say hi. Hopefully ill be taking my MSF next month (Im a second alternate) if not ill have to wait til JUNE! for a guaranteed spot. Anyway have any of you got into the class as a second alternate? Continuing on... I am hellbent on getting a 500r as my first bike since all you fine people so highly recommend it, only problem is that i will have to take a loan out (another one) as i also have a car and i do not have roughly 3k to spend out of pocket. Is it possible to attach that onto my car loan? Also...With a loan does the insurance increase very much? Anyone my age in this situation? Oh BTW i am a 24 male, good diving record. Pennsylvania. As far as gear goes, i've been looking into the icon stuff. Anyone have experience with their gear? Ok enough questions, I appologize Thanks Guys n Girls!

 

[ekinnee]

Dunno about being second alternate...

It will most likely be a seperate loan. If it's financed you'll have to carry full coverage. Actually it depends on who loaned you the money, most have that requirement if the loan is over a certian ammount. I'm 28, have 2 at fault accidents and a speeding ticket. (Yeah bad streak of luck those 2 months) My insurance for liability is $101 for the year, full coverage would be $1000+.

As for gear, get what fits and is good quality. I seem to have mostly Tecknic stuff, but whatever floats your boat. I like that Tecknic has harder armor than most Joe Rocket stuff, hadn't seen Icon gear locally.

Oh, welcome to the forum.

 

[Dave 96TA]

Welcome. I didn't realize MSF had waiting lists. I better call the two locations around here tomorrow and get some details.

 

[ZX-2R]

BIKE LOANS

Should be chaeper on a bike loan...it is here in Kansas anyway. Kawasaki and Suzuki R&D have shared information and the 500R is almost the same bike as the Suzuki 500, except they have some newer stuff on their 500 like a full fairing. The Kawasaki is one helk of a bike though if you really take care of it an not just let it set around collecting dust. I don't know how tall or heavy you are or what you intend to do with the bike, but if you are only going to use it for commuting and for some nice scenic tours and not a cross country bike you could also set on a Ninja 250. It has more than enough power and speed to et you into some serious trouble if you aren't paying attention. You can get a speeding ticket in a blink if you arenot being careful. Set on one and seee if you can get a ride on one. It will save you lots of money on insurance, fuel and initial cost. In fact you may even find one that someone else has for trade in for a larger 500R. The 250R is a great bike! It has a full fairing, and should get you anywhere that you want to go, in the same time (LEGALY) that any other bike could get you there. It seems silly to get a bike like a ZX-10R just for commuting to-from work when a Ninja 250R would do the same thing but it's no more than a status symbol costing lots more in insurance, fuel, and maintenance. Legal speed limits won't allow ou to get anywhere faster on one bike compared to another, so it's just a matter of what you want and how much you are willing to pay for it...

 

[ekinnee]

I'm 5'11" and feel that the 500r is a little small. It's mostly because of the more upright riding position. I think some rearsets might help, since trying to lay over the tank is when it feels really cramped.

 

[michiganarft11]

I signed up for the MSF class a couple monthes ahead so I'd have a guaranted spot. I like the Icom gear. A guy I ride with has the hero jacket and the super duty gloves. He got the white jacket and it looks pretty sharp. Not really looking forward to spending the weekend on a Suzuki GZ-250 for my MSF class when I could be on my ZX-6, but it's better that they learn me a few things I guess.

I pay $290/ year for comprehensive through progressive and i have 2 tickets (speeding 5over, and going through a yellow light :roll: ) within the year.

 

[Curt]

. . . only problem is that i will have to take a loan out (another one) as i also have a car and i do not have roughly 3k to spend out of pocket . . .

I just posted on another thread about this subject, but there is great joy in buying what you can afford. I was 23 when I paid off my one and only car loan. That was 17 years ago. I'm doing pretty well financially now, and not having loans has been a significant part of that picture. I don't mind getting a loan for real estate or other investments, but I would hate to do it for a car or bike. It's just too much money thrown away. You could put that money to a lot better use, like paying off that car loan! I'll get off that subject now before someone takes offense.

Anyway, you can probably find lots of older bikes in the $1,000-$2,000 range, and many of them are quite capable machines. If you want a Ninja, but don't want to spend a lot, I highly recommend the 250R. At $2,999 new, they are really cheap used. My 2 year old (now 3) was $2,019.75 and it only had 514 miles on it. I saw older ones for as little as $1,100. Other than color, they look exactly like the new ones. Parts are plentiful, and since the bikes are so cheap, there are plenty of them in the junkyards. Just ask ZX-2R about that. In my opinion, the bike has plenty of power -- way more than I need, and it easily keeps up at highway speed with plenty of power leftover. If I'm doing 70 mph in 6th gear, then I'm at about 8,500 RPM's. That's the low end of the power band for this bike, so there's plenty more that it can give.

The 500R is a great bike as well, and if peer pressure is an issue, then you might want to go for that even if you can't afford it. I don't recommend that, but I'm not you, and you can make your own choices about your own life.
Curt

 

[dejavu]

Hey guys thanks for the replies.

Curt after thinking about it i agree with you 100%. I was weighing the options of getting a 250 over a 500. Since i am a new rider i think a 250 will suit me just fine for now. Plus the fact thats its price range is more appealing. So now i shop =]

 

[ZX-2R]

RIGHT CHOICE!!!

Saving money is the key not only for learning the bike but for learning about maintenance and bankroll, insurance, fuel economy, and the Speed LIMIT is something aceivable with the bike even in a head wind. I don't know about your size but if you are going on a long ride stay tucked in the best that you can and watch the mileage go way up. use a K&N really well oiled air filter the best plugs that money can buy, great gas and do the oil changes using 100% synthetic after the 1,000mile point. Wear a white helmet unless you want to bake your head (you can use decals or 3M reflective tape that comes in all sorts of colors) wear leather or heavy clothing, (light in coloring) military boots or at least 12" boots to protect your legs and ankles...do the daily checks, turn OFF you petcock when you finish riding for the day, keep the tires as inflated as you are supposed to...and WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!! Keep us up to date on your progress!

 

[Curt]

Well that makes me feel pretty good. I'm always glad to have a positive influence.

Banks already own your house, your car, your furniture, your stereo, and everything else you make payments on. Plus, they have all your money. Don't make them any richer by letting them own your bike, too! Loans can be useful for investments (such as education or real estate), but other than that, they are just too expensive in my opinion. Just look at all those fees! And don't even mention credit cards around me.

I had an attorney friend years ago who had just bought a Mercedes. He had the money, but he was trying to justify spending so much on a car, so he told me that it was an investment, since some Mercedes will appreciate in value. I told him that if he has the money, and he wants the car, then fine, knock yourself out, but don't try to tell me that it's an investment. I'm sure he spent a lot more in taxes and maintenance than he ever made in capital gain on that car.

Before you think I'm a miserly old *******, let me say that I have no objection to spending money. I regularly vacation in Florida. I own season tickets for the Vikings. I have a Lexus LS400 (new leather seats with massagers coming this week), a Martin guitar, a piano, a great stereo and TV, a camcorder, computers (desktop, laptop and iPaq), color laser printer, broadband internet access, cell phone, lots of great tools, and of course the Ninja. But all of this was paid for out of my abundance. Not one dime of it went to the banks.

But just because I can spend money doesn't mean I have to. The 250R can do 98% of what the 500R can do. Is that extra 2% worth $1,800? For some people it is, but not for me. I'm thinking about buying a couple of annual passes to the water park, and a new tapeless camcorder, and I have my eye on a pair of dirt bikes for my son and myself, and I'd rather spend the money on those things instead of putting all that money into one bike.

Okay, this is getting long, but the moral to the story is: buy out of your abundance, not out of your need. It is very easy for rich people (like banks and insurance companies) to take advantage of poor people. Don't be a poor person. Start now on the road to becoming a rich person. Start by throwing away less money.

One other advantage to the 250 is that if you wreck it, then you're out less money than if you wreck a 500. I wrecked the front end on my first car. I got an estimate for $3,000 to fix it. I fixed it myself (pretty good, but not perfect) for about $300. I didn't mind spending $3,000 on the front end, I just didn't want to put that $3,000 out on the road where someone could wreck it again. I'd rather risk $300 than $3,000. The same logic applies to bikes. I'd hate to wreck a 500 a lot more than I'd hate to wreck a 250.

You'll hear in the MSF course all about gear. Get it and wear it. Your life is irreplaceable. Your skin can be replaced, but the aftermarket human skin is not even close to the fit and finish of original equipment. Wear the gear.
Curt