Question:
Getting into riding, and Motorcycle Financing?
Colton
2012-12-12 17:55:31 UTC
I am current 17 years old, but I'm about to turn 18 in July right before my senior year of high school. I really would love to buy a sport bike, like a Kawasaki ninja 650r at about seven grand. I wont be able to pay it all off right out the door, so I'm interested in financing. Once i turn 18, I can qualify as my mother's care taker by being paid no lower than $1,500 (which I do everyday anyway, because the care taker isn't good at all) along side of a job (most likely; looks good for college). My goal would be to pay off the bike within a year to lower interest. Now the thing is, I have to start from scratch by getting a licence(in WV). I know i could do a down payment of no lower than $1000. For all i know i might do a lot more. Any tips for financing with no credit? I can prob get my mom to co-sign. Any tips about anything will help. I'm hungry for knowledge.

P.S - I know someone might say a 650r would be too big of a displacement, but i rode dirt bikes before. I'm a fast learner. I just need tips. You can say I'm a 200 year old man inside a teenage body.
Five answers:
Spewy
2012-12-13 10:46:09 UTC
What you aren't looking at are the real costs of biking. You need good gear, from helmet to jacket to boots, the cheaply made stuff will disintegrate, the good stuff will save skin and lives. If you finance a bike you will then have to get Full Coverage on the bike for insurance, an 18 y/o with a Ninja 650R is a prime target for insurance companies to make money off of, and they do! You also have to realize when you have a wreck, and you will, if you can then take care of your mother, you may not be able to walk and take care of yourself, much less anybody else.



I am also an 'Old Soul', but that doesn't stop others on the road doing stupid things that may cause you to wreck, things happen in split seconds on a bike, things have to be instinctive, that takes experience and time.



Your absolute best bet is to give yourself a chance to learn, and practice. Very first thing to do is take a MSF course, they will teach you the basics of street riding, in addition you will get a small discount on insurance for passing the course, you will need that credit! When there ask about gear, and I mean the good stuff. Helmet, boots, gloves, jacket etc. you will need it to survive, and even then many still die, but it helps even the odds. Next buy a good used Ninja 250 to 400cc only! You will have enough problems learning how to deal with things that happen on the street without having to worry about throttle control. Most beginners panic and twist the throttle at the wrong time, too much power makes them lose control. A Ninja 650R is a supersport racing bike, it is NOT for beginners, in fact it is more bike than nearly every rider on the Planet can handle. Have you ever tried to handle a 130 horsepower bike before????? I can tell you it takes YEARS of riding experience to deal with such a beast, and that is not even riding it to it's potential. Believe me, you are NOT ready for something like that, nothing in the dirt riding world can prepare you for such a rampaging beast.



Getting a reasonable used bike will save MUCH on insurance, you should buy one flat out, and then just put Liability insurance on it only, will save a bundle! Plus when the bike goes down, and it will, they always do for beginners, the repairs should not be as much as a brand new Ninja 650. Besides, do you really want your dream machine getting dinged, scratched and cracked turn signals, cracked fairings etc.? Things get expensive real quick. Then after a couple of years of riding, once you have the gear and experience, and a couple of years older, you can move onto a bigger bike, you need the basics first, a smaller bike will help you learn much quicker.



I have been riding for over 25 years in Los Angeles area traffic, desert riding, mountain riding and fighting traffic. Many don't make it, you have to be good and lucky. I currently have 8 motorcycles, 7 of them street bikes, all modified, mostly for performance. I have some real monsters, but I also have had my share of wrecks and have the scars to prove it. Going down at 75mph on a Freeway teaches a person quite a few things about riding. I started on a CB400, and that was great, but then went to a Ninja ZX900 with a stage 3 jet kit and Yoshi pipe WAY too early, and paid for it. It takes experience, and a LOT of practice to get good, you need to give yourself a chance, nobody else out there will, make the right choice, do it right or your Mom may not have a son coming home one day soon.



Good luck, if you need any help about riding, write me at my email addy.l
Ninja_Butler
2012-12-13 12:00:52 UTC
Teenager + finance = mistake.



Be smart, buy a motorcycle that you can afford. It's good sense to buy a more expensive bike if it is more economical in the long run - parts and maintenance etc - but look into the low budget options first.



Also, don't start on a 650, it's way too much power and you will just slide it down the road sooner or later. Sure you've got experience on a dirt bike but so did a lot of people who crashed their first road bike inside of three months because they had no experience of traffic and riding at speed.
Max Cruise
2012-12-12 19:18:57 UTC
Here is my tip.

Don't waste money on financing. Paying interest is the same as taking a pile of YOUR money and setting it on fire. Along with wasting your money on paying a high interest rate, you will be REQUIRED to carry full coverage insurance for the duration of the loan. Insurance for a 650r will be expensive.

Do you have money set aside for your licensing, plate, registration, title, excise tax (don't know if this is applicable in WV) and riding gear? That alone could run $1,500. Since you are looking at a sport bike, you will have very little in the way of carrying capacity. Where will you carry your gear? Back packs will probable be a poor choice. Where will you put your helmet and gear once you have reached your destination? And please research tire life and replacement costs. Tires are short lived. Suspect you will only get about 8K miles on the rear, perhaps less.

good luck
butor
2016-08-03 09:10:36 UTC
Take a starting Rider's course. Either the MSF or the one sanctioned with the aid of your state. From there, come to a decision your choice of experience. Being 130lbs. Isn't your quandary. I've been one hundred thirty five (+/-) for 25 years. Watch out for suggestions except you realize a bit in regards to the person. What is excellent for one will not be fine for a different. Magazine stories are written through respectable riders, now not "normal" humans. Stories quoted through one more aren't even sound opinion, simply rumour.
Candid Chris
2012-12-12 18:20:41 UTC
No, you're an 18 year old WANTING more.

Buy a bike you can buy out-right, learn to ride safely, save money and get the next bike.



Financing is a rip and insurance will rip you a newer/bigger one!


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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