Long time...

[My Name Is Dave]

Man, I haven't been here forever. The new forum looks nice, so good job to whoever was in charge of that.

So we have had like 103 straight days of rain here in Portland, hence my absence. Well, maybe not that many, but it's been really dumping in the past few months. But I got to ride last night and today, which was nice. Something caught me eye, and I wanted to get some advice...

I saw this bike on craig's list and it piqued my interest:

http://portland.craigslist.org/mcy/127925955.html


Some may call the color scheme ugly, but I love it. It's really early-90s and reminds me of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. So I just wanted to know what people thought about this bike. 15,000 miles doesn't seem like a hell of a lot, and if it's in as good of condition as the ad says, it seems like a good deal. It would be a step up from the GS500 for sure, but over the past 3000 miles I have really learned a lot about riding and respect for the nike. shaZam!, I haven't even tried to wheelie on it. So are there any stron opponents or proponents of this? Just wondering...

Thanks everyone.

Dave

[My Name Is Dave]

This seems low, but here is what the NADA guide says it's worth:

   

January 24, 2006    

     Low Retail    Average Retail

      $1,505         $1,975 

[annguyen1981]

Well, it is a '91 bike.  plus it doesn't have too many mods on it.  $3500 is to high IMHO.

[pantablo]

seems high to me too.

it is a classic color scheme for that bike, and the dual round headlights...bike is heavy, dunlop 208's (if they're not the GP's) are crap. Real crap. make sure the bike's been rejetted correctly for the exhaust.

[My Name Is Dave]

Good info so far. I haven't heard back from the dude since last night, but I will let him know that he's asking a little much for it. I was just digging that color scheme so much that I had to ask if it was worth buying.

[My Name Is Dave]

And I suppose that if you can get a 2000 Kawi ZX-6 for the same price, something may be off.

http://portland.craigslist.org/mcy/127877537.html

[SmartDrug]

I bought an '89 FJ1200 after riding the GS for 3 years and putting about 6k miles on her, that was a huge jump, night and day.  Let me say a few things though that might help.  The ZX-7 is going to be a lot heavier and that isn't always a good thing.  You can't throw it around as easily, cornering will take much more concentration at first, braking will be much harder in emergencies (again, until you get used to it).  Lastly was something I hadn't expected before I went bigger;  due to the amount of juice that most of these bigger bore sportbikes have combined with the weight, I was constantly on the brakes.  I wouldn't intentionally speed, but you get going so fast so quickly that, unlike the GS, you couldn't just coast to a slower speed.  Due to this, it is MUCH more tiring to ride around in town as I feel like I'm constantly wrestling with the bike (this is something that newer bikes don't have, due to lower weight) to keep her safe.

Don't get me wrong, having a heavy bike has its advantages, esp. on the highway, but I would seriously consider that ZX-6 before I spent a dime over $2500 on that ZX-7.   

[Jake D]

It is so much cooler than that ZX-6, though.  I love the colors too. 

If you can get him down to near KBB, then go for it.

[My Name Is Dave]

Those are both really good posts. If I could get him down to under $2K, I would have to take it. Unfortunately, he probably won't budge much under $3K. So that leaves the option open and makes the ZX-6 look much better.

By the way, I have time, so there's no rush. I just really love the looks of the ZX-7 and it sounds like it's in good shape. But I can totally wait, and even sell the GS500 and wait until another good deal comes up. I could even enlist the help of Roadstergal and look for something under $3K and nice in the Seattle area. So I'll keep my eyes open.

[Jake D]

You'll have to keep your eyes open for RG, too. 

She doesn't visit here anymore.

[My Name Is Dave]

She WOULD just up and disappear. Typical.

[Jake D]

This was due to a spat.  She took Davipu with her.  They're both gone.  RG even deleted her account here.  Or both of them did.  Ashman registered a new davipu name to see if he was really deleted and he was able too.

Looks like they R-U-N-N-O-F-T.

[My Name Is Dave]

Are you serious? Wow, I really have been gone for a long time.

What was it all about?

[scratch]

It was over the sale, and the way it would be delivered out of state, of a gun.

Welcome back, BTW.

Here: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=23148.0

[My Name Is Dave]

So they left the forum over something unrelated to motorcycles? That's too bad; they were each valuable resources. I got good info from both, even from davidpu's sarcastic posts.

[scratch]

They will be sorely missed.

[Phaedrus]

They will be sorely missed.

..by many, but not all 

[My Name Is Dave]

They will be sorely missed.

..by many, but not all 

Yeah, I could feel that one coming.

[RVertigo]

They're still around though...  I went snowboarding with davipu last Saturday...  RG had "too much stuff to do" so she bailed out...  BOOOOO!  The good news is that Skoozi came with instead.     She's a pretty good snowboarder...  Almost kept up with me...   

[My Name Is Dave]

I pretty much decided to just pay off the loan on the GS right now, because I have the cash saved up (it was gonna be for a house, but I'm going back to get a Master's degree, which puts off the home buying process by a few years at least). Then I will own the bike outright and can decide to either keep, sell, or even trade. I figure that I may as well look into a 600 or 650 of some sort now while the value of my 2005 is still high and I have logged so many miles and have improved so much in my riding. I've seen SV650S's and older ZX-6s for around $3500, so I'll just keep an eye out for a good deal. Trust me, when I find one I'll be posting the link here and getting opinions. 


But then again, I may just hold on to it...

Everyone was really helpful, as always. Thanks again.

Dave