Ok, I thought I'd throw a curveball at you guys and see what you can come up with. This one is actually motorcycle related to be prepared!

Kayde is looking at getting into riding and wants to find a "cute" starter bike. I was thinking a 250 would be great, but apparently the square headlight is ugly so she's not too interested. Really too bad, because I found an old one that needs a little love for $500 on Craigslist. Is there any way to make the older Ninja 250s look a little better or are you pretty much stuck with their original looks or trying to find a brand new one?

What about any other starter bikes? I was thinking maybe an F2 or an F3 might be decent, maybe even a damaged F4i but don't want to get any pricer than maybe the $2K range since she doesn't know if she'll like it or not. Also, I'm not as familiar with some of the other brands so if there's something equivalent to a f3 or f4 that looks good, that might be an option too.

Now the question I have for the ladies, what are some decent looking bikes out there that you wouldn't mind starting on? I guess I'm not sure what "cute" is when it comes to a bike so that's where I'm asking for some opinions. She wants it in pink (I shudder, but whatever she wants to ride is her business), but also white or black would probably be the most realistic choice and spice it up similar to the seksi Honda I have my picture taken with.

And for the everyone, does anyone know of anybody selling a cheap bike that'd be good for starting with? Salvage title would be fine, damage would be fine, project over the winter to get it looking good would be no problem either. Let me know what you guys have for ideas or leads.

Thanks!

250 is nice started bike but she will out grow it pretty fast and will have trouble keeping up with some groups. i dont know her size so that plays a factor. krisy had 08 250 and now a 06 f4i and the f4i she is on her tippie toes. The bike is too wide where she sits. She fits better on my gsxr. SV's are nice and double the power of the 250 but slower then the f4i. have her sit on bikes and see what feels good to her.

A cute fucking bike? I've heard that you are a nice dude, but fuck man, you're on my shitlist now.

You want a cute beginner bike.... how about a white 600RR!

The 08 ninja 250 is sweet.

That's not cute, that is well, that's hot.

Hey, that was the adjective that was thrown at me. I have no idea what a "cute" bike would be, that's why I'm asking the ladies on here!



Kayde is about 5'7 and could reach on her toes on my old ninja (which is a fairly large bike).

Then she should be ok then, let her sit of different bikes and see what she likes, then go from there

Nothing wrong with that...

tell her, her second bike can be cute, after she learns how to ride an ugly one.

no way around getting something beat up and cheap for a first bike.

it makes no sense to me, that someone that has never ridden a bike before would go and plop $9000 on the credit card or whatever, for a shiny new one.

and i gotta +1 on the 08 ex250r

Beginner bikes are not meant to be "cute". If she really wants to learn to ride then she needs to suck it up and deal with an ugly bike. There's no point in her painting a bike or making it look all "cute" when it's most likely going to be dropped and beat on. If she really wants a pink bike then convince her to wait until after she's mastered riding.

Personally, I like the Ninja 250 better street fighter style.

This is the one I found so far. More pictures are in the link...

http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/mcy/940516537.html

92 Ninja 250 for sale. I bought this as a project bike, but never got around to fixing it up. Bought it from a shop that claimed all it really needed was a battery and a carb clean-out. Has about 14k miles on it. Great project or parts bike. Title in hand. Key is missing, and ignition lock is removed. Ignition still turns properly without key. Windshield broken, but about 1/2 of it is still there. Seat has a small rip near the back, lower faring is missing. I have the full factory repair manual in PDF format if buyer is interested. I can also deliver the bike within a reasonable distance from zip 60423. $500 firm, I'm just selling it for what I paid.

Email to set up a time to see the bike. I prefer to show it between 8 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday as I have it stored at work. I can possibly show it later or over the weekend by appointment if I'm available. Thanks for looking.

+10000

I still remember my Ninja 500 silver/black/orange. I would definitely recommend a 250 or 500 as a starter bike...I'm sooo glad I started on a 500!

Here was my starter bike


Now I have a "HOT" bike

If the description is accurate then that's a really good deal. Hells if you don't buy it I just might.

so other members of the board can come over to your house and fix it up for you?

Just emailed the guy and he said it doesn't run. May need a starter.

Yep!!

I actually did do a lot of work to the last one. I just got stuck and couldn't figure out what was wrong and even the other members couldn't figure it out. Never did get that bitch running and even the guy who bought it from me couldn't get it running.

For $500 I could have some fun with this bike. Hmmmm....

Offer $300, no harm in that.