VanillaThrilla

I'm obviously on several different Kawasaki forums, being a 636 owner myself, but I started looking for a 250R recently for my girlfriend to start out on... and haven't had much luck on kawiforums or any of the other Kawasaki forums.

Anyone have any idea where might be a good place to find one in good shape and for a fair price? I know they're not even that expensive brand new, but I'd like to find a good deal on one just because I'm sure she won't want to keep it forever..

I will NOT use eBay..

Homemade WRX

if you are looking to get a 250cc four cylinder, from all my looking they were never made here....
I'm looking at importing a cbr250rr right now...
most of them were only made in Japan and were imported to Australia as beginner bikes (for there laws you have to start on a 250)...
best bet is find a forum and check there classifieds then see if anyone is willing to freight it over...
DHL a 250 rr engine was $1800 in shipping alone

VanillaThrilla

WTF are you talking about? lol

The 250R is most definitely offered in the states. It's a very popular starter bike. My friends wife rides one, and she bought it new at the local dealership. It was certainly not imported from another country.

Del La Sol 1320

i think they make a ninja 250 also in japan thats really like a mini ninja 600, four cylinder 250 w/ real sport suspension and frame

i bought a girlfriend one a few years back, she didn't have much interest in riding so i rode it a bit, it was a ton of fun... we've got one here at work, a 2004, silver, 954 miles, excellent shape, they want $2,400, owned by our best customer and his wife, she bought it, rode it a few times and sold it to us and bought an identical 500

i don't know what they sell for now but i know a few years ago $2,400 wouldn't have been bad.. there used to be a ninja 250 forum, like ninja250.net or something like that, had an old school lay out but had good FAQ's... otherwise try the trading post or cycle trader, but they are such popular bikes for beginners and cheap to start out with they don't seem to drop in value used as much as you'd think, but that also means you can turn around and sell it for near what you paid for it when your done with it

BentValve

I see those ninja 250's all over craigslist all the time....square headlight and banana seat right?

Homemade WRX

this is the bike I'm talking about...they didn't make the GSX250(r or rr), yzf250r, cbr250r or rr (neither model) or the zxr250...
are you talking about the POS baby ninja we are offered?...
if so, they aren't hard to find
http://www.250ccbikes.com/honda-cbr250rr.html
http://www.250ccbikes.com/kawasaki-zxr250.html
http://www.250ccbikes.com/suzuki-gsxr250rr.html

skr00zloose

PPPSSSTTTT.....

i know where there's a cbr400rr for sale.... but good luck finding parts if you ever need them. pretty much the same bike as an nc30/nc35 i believe, but never "technically" imported to the U.S.

Del La Sol 1320

there was a cbr250rr, supposedly fully kitted with every hrc part made, over $15,000 in parts, good condition with spare parts in the trading post for like 9 months, dude only wanted like $5,000 but i could never get him to answer his phone, might have been a fake ad but supposedly a guy i worked with, whose reputable, knew him... i'd love something like that, but like you said, when it comes time for parts it could really suck

VanillaThrilla

Are these people seriously trying to tell me they don't make a 250R in the states? LOL! I assure you, they do.

And no, I'm talking about exactly what I said I'm talking about. It's a 250R. I rode with two of them Sunday, actually. They sell for approximately $3k brand new IIRC, and yes, they hold their value very well. You're definitely right De La Soul! I wasn't looking to get a brand new one, despite the small price tag.. She probably won't want to keep it long, and I don't see any sense in buying a brand new one. Anywhere from 2000-2004 would probably be ideal. I just want her to learn to ride, and she wants to learn as well... Signing her up for the MSF course and figured we'd start shopping for a bike for her.

I think, to this day, they're all still carb'd... and they have a big vtwin bark and small bite, but amazingly quick for what they are and they handle well for what they are too. With the right person on the seat, they can keep up with a lot of the modern 6's through the turns.

Homemade WRX

the 250 you are talking about was made here...I believe its a single cylinder too