I've been riding for almost 20 years. I sold my '02 Ninja ZX-6R so I could free up the money to finish the resto on my Porsche. I had actually lost interest in riding by that point so overall, I wasn't too sad to see it go. I really don't like riding in traffic. I was also involved in a low speed collision with a pick up truck that failed to yield and made a left in front of me. I walked away, and the insurance company repaired the bike to flawless condition. The driver of the truck actually asked me why I didn't stop. He honestly didn't realize the concept of "right of way", and that the only time a driver making a left turn has the right of way is at a stoplight when they have the green turn arrow, or when they're at a four way stop and it's their turn to go. Other than some bruising and a battered bike, I walked away. Unfortunately that accident was an eye opener and made me realize how stupid and ignorant of the law most drivers can be. I eventually got to the point where I would get tense whenever I'd see a driver's left turn signal come on.
I'm not saying I won't go back to it. I went out riding a few years ago, and remembered how much I enjoyed it. But I also realized that I prefer to ride at night with little traffic, and I need to get a lot more money before I can justify the purchase of a vehicle that I will only ride at certain times of the day during certain periods of the year.
I can see how some would recommend buying a used bike, because sport bikes especially lose value rapidly. My big concern is I know how so many people treat them. They abuse the shit out of them. They'll redline a cold engine. They drop them. In 10K miles, I only dropped my Ninja once, and that was during the accident. And it was mainly because I was disgusted over some redneck ruining my bike. So I got off and walked away without putting down the sidestand. That bit of damage was also repaired thanks to his insurance company. But most people who fuck up their bikes have shit insurance to begin with, so they pay out of pocket for crash repairs. This usually means they drive bikes with cracked and broken fairings, or they get those fiberglass reproduction parts. They do countless wheelies on their bikes. They put on shitty pipes (D&D pipes suck, Yoshi and Akrapovic are way better) and throw away the stock parts. They cut off their rear fender with a hacksaw "because the stock fender is too big and looks stupid." Congratulations asshole, those rear fenders are expensive and required by law. You made a mod to your bike that won't allow it to pass a safety inspection in most states.
So that's why I'm weary of used Japanese sport bikes. They seem to attract the people who are the most impulsive, destructive, and without the means to properly maintain them.
I used to sell bikes at a new bike dealer. One time, this asshole kid came in and was going to buy a new R6. When he realized that in MD you have to carry full coverage on anything that's financed for over $10K. So he went over to VA where they don't have this rule and bought it there. He came back into the dealership about month later and he was limping slightly and had some cuts and scrapes on his arms. So I approached him. He explained why he bought the bike elsewhere. I didn't care. I was glad he didn't push forward with the sale with us because he was essentially placing his girlfriend under duress to buy it for him. The F&I person even said if that was the case, she would have put a stop to the sale if he had pressed forward. But he went elsewhere so that's all that matters. Anyway, the reason he's in there is because he's asking around at bike shops if anyone has come in looking to purchase a lot of R6 parts. It seems that a few nights before, the little asshole was out and wrecked his new bike. He didn't make a police report because he didn't have a bike license. He parked the bike to walk for assistance. While he was gone, someone stole his bike. His bike that he specifically bought in VA so he could finance over $10K and only carry liability insurance coverage. So he wrecked his bike bad enough that he couldn't drive it, then has the wreck stolen. Now he or his girlfriend have to come up with over $10K to pay it off and have absolutely nothing to show for it.
If I get another, it'll be a BMW. Something with heated grips, heated seat, and a 4 speaker radio.
I'm not saying I won't go back to it. I went out riding a few years ago, and remembered how much I enjoyed it. But I also realized that I prefer to ride at night with little traffic, and I need to get a lot more money before I can justify the purchase of a vehicle that I will only ride at certain times of the day during certain periods of the year.
I can see how some would recommend buying a used bike, because sport bikes especially lose value rapidly. My big concern is I know how so many people treat them. They abuse the shit out of them. They'll redline a cold engine. They drop them. In 10K miles, I only dropped my Ninja once, and that was during the accident. And it was mainly because I was disgusted over some redneck ruining my bike. So I got off and walked away without putting down the sidestand. That bit of damage was also repaired thanks to his insurance company. But most people who fuck up their bikes have shit insurance to begin with, so they pay out of pocket for crash repairs. This usually means they drive bikes with cracked and broken fairings, or they get those fiberglass reproduction parts. They do countless wheelies on their bikes. They put on shitty pipes (D&D pipes suck, Yoshi and Akrapovic are way better) and throw away the stock parts. They cut off their rear fender with a hacksaw "because the stock fender is too big and looks stupid." Congratulations asshole, those rear fenders are expensive and required by law. You made a mod to your bike that won't allow it to pass a safety inspection in most states.
So that's why I'm weary of used Japanese sport bikes. They seem to attract the people who are the most impulsive, destructive, and without the means to properly maintain them.
I used to sell bikes at a new bike dealer. One time, this asshole kid came in and was going to buy a new R6. When he realized that in MD you have to carry full coverage on anything that's financed for over $10K. So he went over to VA where they don't have this rule and bought it there. He came back into the dealership about month later and he was limping slightly and had some cuts and scrapes on his arms. So I approached him. He explained why he bought the bike elsewhere. I didn't care. I was glad he didn't push forward with the sale with us because he was essentially placing his girlfriend under duress to buy it for him. The F&I person even said if that was the case, she would have put a stop to the sale if he had pressed forward. But he went elsewhere so that's all that matters. Anyway, the reason he's in there is because he's asking around at bike shops if anyone has come in looking to purchase a lot of R6 parts. It seems that a few nights before, the little asshole was out and wrecked his new bike. He didn't make a police report because he didn't have a bike license. He parked the bike to walk for assistance. While he was gone, someone stole his bike. His bike that he specifically bought in VA so he could finance over $10K and only carry liability insurance coverage. So he wrecked his bike bad enough that he couldn't drive it, then has the wreck stolen. Now he or his girlfriend have to come up with over $10K to pay it off and have absolutely nothing to show for it.
If I get another, it'll be a BMW. Something with heated grips, heated seat, and a 4 speaker radio.