Also - the FAQ page from Ninja 250 has some good general info about bikes... have a read if you are interested.

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Main_Page

My other concern - if buying the bike is going to stretch you too thin financially. Not to be a spoil sport but consider the cost of gear ($400 to $1000 for your first set), insurance (~$200 for just PLPD ranging to ~$2000 for full which you may NEED on a new bike), plus registration and taxes... just numbers to be aware of when you are bike shopping.

Cheers,
Woot.

 

Thanks alot woot I'll make sure the bike is on the wheels!
I do have all my gear. I spent $600 at the end of june for everything. I had to have it for the MS course here cause they only provide the bikes. I still need riding pants, I wouldn't feel safe wearing jeans without any armor etc. Insurance isn't a big deal right now, I'm probably going to get a 30 day sticker for the bike since insurance here is absolutely killer.

 

Woot's reaction is typical of someone who knows how to transport a bike. Longime bike hobbysists and professionals cringe if motorcycles are not transported properly, and since they don't deal with that regularly, tend to have nightmarish visions when the subject comes up. If you do have suitable straps and a truck with acceptable anchors, then by all means transport the bike upright. Be sure to strap it down at the right places, though, or you risk damaging the bike. However, my answer was for someone with limited knowledge and resources. I would still recommend transporting the bike yourself, even if you did not have all the transport gear and vehicle. If all you have is a friend with a grand laredo and a set of wrenches, I would still recommend taking off the mirrors, fairing, possibly signals, and anything else that seems fragile, folding down the seats, throwing down LOTs of cardboard, blanket, and/or bubble wrap padding, anchoring with rope, pillows, and anything else you can find, and driving home very slowly and carefully over good roads. I mean it's a used Ninja 250 we're talking about, right? Not a Victory cruiser or a BMW Langtourer.

Anyway, my answer was to give you options other than paying for shipping by a moving company (that will probably damage your bike anyway, like my shipping company did to my Shadow). It's not like I don't know how to transport a bike. I already have the trailer picked out that I will use for mymove next year. But I am not a college kid trying to save a buck on getting a 250 home. With a little common sense, you can transport a bike with readily available items.

 

With that context I don't feel so bad about that plan... I was fearing someone laying it in the car with plastics on and smashing the hell out of it.

As for used 250 condition prices - here is a pretty reasonably priced bike with some cosmetic damage.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2007-...QQcmdZViewItem