Nobody will steal a Ninja 250 / 500 anyway, they're one of motorcycling's best kept secrets
And you're right that the EX series is more a 'sport standard' than a true crotch rocket
They're very good bikes, when in good shape, the only thing I dislike about them is the way the handlebars are mounted, makes it hard to change to a more upright seating position if you want to
for $280 I'd likely get it if it runs half decent (I've had 2 Ninja 5s, and would happily buy another, especially if I could get the last one back)

Turns out that the owner (or his father, in this case) never got around to titling the thing, so I'll have to wait till after Christmas so his father can title it. I'm not about to risk legal exposure over this. I ain't buyin' it without the title in the name of the man who's selling it to me.   Not sure exactly how that works, though. I would assume that one needs to title something (and pay associated taxes) before reselling it? At the least, it gives the documentation to cover me in case something goes wrong.

To beat all, the boy lost the key to the thing. Now ain't that shady!

In the ad, he said he had "clean title and registration." Hmmm...   It's a title, at least .

I'll give him a chance, anyway

Gotta be careful. There's a lot of scams and stolen goods out there on Craigslist. Buying cheap comes with risks.

cheapnewb24 wrote on 12/23/15 at 15:54:45:

That Kardashian girl's butt, is way too big....

One time I ran into a Craigslist scam. It was a cheap Goldwing trike. The "owner" or something   gave my Mom some crazy complicated story which included the bike being in a storage facility in some other state and the shipping being paid for, or some big bunch of crazy stuff like that. I went to checking it out, and it turns out that the bike was actually on EBay for way more money. That scammer just pulled the pics off EBay. Now ain't that something!

I concur with OR, my first Ninja 500 was annoying at freeway speeds, but it was OLD, and the baffles were likely half rotted
the 07 I had was nice and quiet, at 70-100 it hummed along beautifully
Only reason I don't still have it is long rides on it made my hips hurt due to riding posture (I have short arms and a long torso, so I am leaned forward more than most folks on these machines, and I have very tight hips)
The Ninja 250, 500, 650, 250, and 300 are all great bikes

One possible point of confusion ; Kawasaki has TWO Ninja lines
the true sport bikes are ZX600, 1000, 1400, etc
the 250, 300, 500 (now defunct) and 650 are EX models, and more sporty commuter bikes that true sportbikes
ZX models are all inline 4s, EX models are parallel twins

just so we're all on the same page RE Ninjas

Well, it turns out that, after procrastinating through the holidays-- and longer-- in order to give them the chance to get the title straightened out and give me a chance to deal with the one who legally owned the bike (his Dad), I gave him one more phone call to keep in touch.

Lo, and behold... the guy's Dad supposedly went to the DMV, and they wouldn't give him a title. Supposedly, he would have to file for a lost title.

Now this boy is talking about getting a company to part out the bike, and dropped the price to $100. He said he bought it from Craigslist.

I talked to my folks about it, and it seems to me that these 3 possibilities exist:

1. He stole it, knows it's stolen, doesn't trust the origin of the bike, or otherwise doesn't feel safe with it.

2. He's lazy and would rather take a loss and be done with it than bother with parting it out himself.

3. Any combination of the above.

"He" can also include his Dad.

I kinda wonder just how honest the boy is being with me.

I am pretty confident I'll just pass this one up.

And that's how you deal with shady deals-- You make your terms based on legal and common sense, and you stick to your guns. If it's a good, honest deal, it will work... if not, it won't. If they are offended, that is unfortunate. It's a litmus test, I guess.

The worst possibility is when you find out something bad, and the bad guy feels like he has to kill you to keep you quiet.

Maybe Dad was right to insist on going with me to meet this bunch (Convieniently, I never had to).


Times like that a fellow could use having a CCW. Gives sticking to your guns a whole new meaning.

Art Webb wrote on 01/01/16 at 08:37:40: