your more then welcome to get on craigslist in my area and check prices on them. you can get the ninja 250's for super cheap( way less then what the owner paid for them). Just because your area is one way doesn't mean it holds true across the country. So maybe you should be the one to learn something b4 shooting off at the mouth so that your not the one looking ignorant.

 

just because your area sux on em doesnt mean the rest of the country is I know ppl all across the country and on avg the 250 holds its value n ppl get what they paid or real close to it. I do my research or know my shyt b4 I post up

 

TBO if you buy a used 250 (not that hard to find) for like 1000-1500 bucks, you could ride it for about a year and turn around and sell it for practically the same thing ya bought it for .... so yea, PlayfulGod is right they hold their resale great really .... 600's do NOT hold value at ALL ... seriously they dont compared to a used 250 ... Get a used 250, learn all the basics of riding on it (even on a bigger bike everything's gonna work pretty much the same), and use the time you spend riding the 250 to look for (or even get) your next bike ..... hell the 250 itself is NOT a bad bike to have ... it's cheap as hell on insurance (they practically pay YOU to ride it, compared to any 600 ... which is the highest insurance class they have) , it gets great gas mileage (=great commuter bike) , is cheap as hell to fix if/when you wreck it from the learning process (and don't kid yourself, there are those who HAVE wrecked a bike ... and those that WILL wreck a bike) , and like you said you could even teach your wifey to ride with ya on it .... then she could upgrade and get a nice bike too !! ...

 

for general commuting you can't beat the N250... and they do hold thier value (at least the pre08s... it was the same bike from 88-2007.. parts are cheap and easy to find.. maintenance? Just like any other bike but the parts are cheaper...

forgiving? hell ya.. but you could still get hurt. If you get a pregen one.. ride until you want more.. then you sell it for pretty much what you paid for it.. mine sold to the first person that looked at it.

all that being said.. it wasnt 1/3rd of the bike that my F4 is.. but that is okay.. that's what I needed at the time... I never rode that bike to its potential.. and I will probably be the same on the F4..

 

I totally agree with 250s being a waste of time: MSF teach you on a 250--fine, as you're learning to ride. But, once you passed and recieved a license, a 250 will bore you--quickly. My instructor once said, "get a 600; something that will get-up-and-go when you need it." If you learned proper throttle control in MSF, any bike will do you. No matter how low you go in CCs, your reckless behavoir can't avoid an accident.

I suggest you get a 600 for a couple seasons, than a 250 for one or two.

 

yep, so do i. And trust me this area sucks for resale on anything, 250's, 600's, cars, quads. doesn't matter. no one around here has any cash. You put something for sale around here and you'll get 10 emails with people wanting to trade you stupid sh*t for it. Everyone wants it but no one can afford it, so your item stays listed for months while you slowly lower your price until you get reamed and someone buys it. I'm happy if the economy where you live is as great as you say it is. but around here its just not.

 

this is soooooooooooo not true... f4i's hold their value great.... look how old the bike is and how many miles it has...

a average 2002 minty f4i will run u around 4k give or take... in 2002 a new f4i ran for around 8k...

so your looking at a 4k drop over eight year... so thats 500 a year... which is AWESOME considering the second u roll a car off a lot its value drops a couple thousand...

 

I just know when ppl on my local boards or other boards put bikes up for sale, the 250s go within 2 or 3 posts if that. Other bikes ppl haggle back n forth on for pages lol.

@Bonifide, if they concentrate on learning to ride n not on how fin fast they can go they wont get bored and even more so if they ride the type roads I like riding on. Now grant it out in flatville where every friggin road is straight as an arrow, 90º turn, more straights, yea then anything would get boring real quick

 

+1..i bought my F4i for 2k with 13,000 miles on it, gave it some new stuff, turned around and sold it for 4k with 16,000 miles on it.. AND i learned on it. If you have a good head on your shoulders, it shouldn't be a hard task. i'm not saying it's EASY to learn on a 600, but I didn't have the option or the funds to buy a 250, throw it away and get a 600. but saying a 600 depreciates that much is a joke..

 

I'm just saying, how much learning do you do once you're licensed? Experience will become your friend now...and control is what you're aiming for. Don't get me wrong, I have a friend who rides a N250, and she can keep up with us where ever we go--so I ain't hating. But as the F4i was my first bike, I see 1st hand that it's a Gentle-Beast, and not a monster far off from a 250.

...and you must admit, those roads you be on is much more fun on a F4i!