[woobie]

Before you go to look at it stop at you bank get twenty (20) hundred dollar bills. Put five(5) in your pocket. The other fifteen (15) in you wallet. If you like it start pealing off the hundreds Money talks!!! tell them that all the money you have Deal or no deal! Good Luck! Let us know how you did.

If you read some of MoJoe's posts this is the exact method he uses when scooping up used bikes. Seems to work very well for him.

[Mojoe]

If you read some of MoJoe's posts this is the exact method he uses when scooping up used bikes. Seems to work very well for him.

yup....it's the only way to go.

my method is simple.

1) always show up with the asking price in your pocket, just in case you want it bad enough to pay the asking price.

2) don't get "excited" when you see the bike...especially when looking at one at a dealership. experienced salesmen can see this, and they know darn well you will go higher. I mean this....don't even smile, cuz more often than not it is a big chit eating grin that just screams, "ooohhh, I like it". In fact, look disappointed and try to find EVERYTHING wrong with it that you can. Ask about maintenance such as valve adjustments and such. Ask to see service records for proof. If the dealer can't supply them, then they can not prove it was done. This can leave you room to work a "tune-up" into the deal, or take of some of the asking price to cover it.

2) pull out only the amount you are willing to start at. Don't be afraid to start too low. If they are asking $2k, I would start at $1500. pull out the $1500 and make the offer, saying that is all you can AFFORD...NOT all that you HAVE (you will look like an idiot if you say it is all you have, then pull out more). If he refuses the 1500 and makes a counter offer, make your counter to 1600. In this case, I would try to get the 2k bike out the door for a max of 1750, taxes included. for this particular bike, $1750 is about as high as I would go, and that is when you say, "sorry, it's ALL I have".

anything more than that for a 93 600, I would just walk away. it just isn't worth it. a few bucks more could get you better for a first bike.
In fact, I would not even pay that for a first bike. reason being that it is a fairly large investment considering you are new and have nothing to compare it to, yet. You might hate the katana.

I personally have gotten bikes at 1/3 the asking price cuz I mainly deal in older bikes that I only want for parts anyway. My best deal was snagging a bike with an asking price of $1200, for $450. I basically knew it would require quite a bit of work to get it back to "great" condition, and pointed it all out to the seller......then made my offer while telling him it is just not worth fixing up and good only for parts. he knows I am no BS'ing him when I tell him he can tear up the title if he wants.

I occasionally feel a bit guilty when I see the look of sadness on the sellers face when he realizes his "baby" of the last 5 years or so is going to the scrap heap.....but I get over it when I pull out of his driveway.

[tdrcomm]

+1000 to Mojoe.

I've gotten a lot of good deals with 80% in one pocket and the other 20% in the other. Most people will go for the cold, hard, cash-in-hand. And it's true, so many people think that all the additional bolt-on mods they've done automatically makes that $4000 bike a $9000 speed demon:

"I have over $5000 in mods on this bike."

"Fine. Take them off and I'll give you four grand."

[scottynoface]

I paid 2k out the door for my 1993 kat 600 with 18k miles on it. They put on a new clutch cable, new oil and filter, and lubed everything up. Get what you can most people really want to get rid of older bikes

[Fox Fader]

ahh gotcha. If your contemplating resale reasons though an 88+ Kat probably isn't the best bet. They don't seem to do well on the used market.

Yeah cause a 97 and a 98 could in reality only be a few hundred dollars apart.

[HexKrak]

Got my 97 600 with 20k on it for 1k. All she needed was a carb tune up and a couple plastics, and frankly I'm not overly concerned with the farings on my first bike

[chinto]

Yeah cause a 97 and a 98 could in reality only be a few hundred dollars apart.

what I mean to say is whether your Kat is a pre or a post 98, don't expect it to be a hot item when it comes to sell. Katana's are not going to bring you top dollar in the used market. They are not that sought after and are not very popular.

Got my 97 600 with 20k on it for 1k. All she needed was a carb tune up and a couple plastics, and frankly I'm not overly concerned with the farings on my first bike

good deal.

[spartan985]

well it sucks but the dealer sold it already.....

[Mojoe]

where are you located? there are 97 katanas for sale locally to me.

[zeksteve]

EX250 is a nice bike

[87vert]

make sure to pay cash for your first bike, you dont want to end up having to keep making payments for a wrecked bike if you do happen to go down

[VifferJim]

well it sucks but the dealer sold it already.....

With the price of gas, I guess bikes will move a lot quicker than they usually do and for a good bit more money. Sucks because with that many more inexperienced riders on the road, injury and fatality rates will probably go up, too.

Where are you located?

[chinto]

Sucks because with that many more inexperienced riders on the road, injury and fatality rates will probably go up, too.

Where are you located?

selfish response, but so will insurance premiums.

[VifferJim]

selfish response, but so will insurnace premiums.

Naaah, selfish is getting on a motorcycle without the requisite training or gear...

[chinto]

Naaah, selfish is getting on a motorcycle without the requisite training or gear...

or insurance.