Shoop

Thomas - keep looking & try craigslist. Last weekend I narrowed it down to the 2016 that I bought or a 2014 in New Philly that had been on the list for a month or so. That one seems to be gone now. There are several older ones nearby. Or this one in NE Tennessee for $7600 looks pretty good. The owner has offered to replace the rear car tire. Sheesh. http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/174882-2014-fjr1300a-for-sale-in-east-tennessee/ You should be able to find deals on the older ones. The mileage almost doesn't count. The quality of owner maintenance is far more important. Keep in mind that the heat deflection and throttle management got better for 2008 & later. 2013 and later have ABS & cruise. Chris

The "new" guy's name is Shoop. 😀 I've been on here for 4 almost 5 years. I'm just quiet, not shy, just quiet. Nivin, @NinjaDoc had an FJR - briefly. Tsk, tsk...

I've been riding my FZ6 for almost 5 years now and I still love it. But I was thinking that I could get the wife to ride with more often with a bike that has better ergos for the passenger, so I was thinking of an FJR. I mentioned this to @JustinNck1 who promptly told me that he had seen a great deal on a 2016 in the FJR forums. I titled this as a unicorn because used 2016's are so rare and one for $8000 with a measley 31000 miles is beyond rare. I was worried that this larger bike wouldn't be as much fun in the twisties. But it's great. My neighbor and I ran 26 & 800 today and it was great. The bike is much heavier to maneuver in a parking lot but it handles wonderfully.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome Pavel! So where were you in Texas? And what brings you to Ohio? I've lived in Austin, and for work, visited Houston, Corpus, and Longview. The 10 is an awesome bike. But geez it's an aggressive choice for a first bike. Please be careful and don't listen (too often) to that little voice that says to crack the throttle and see what she'll do. Chris

Welcome Brad!

Is that a Chinese brand?

Welcome!

Steven, Congrats on taking the course as a great way to get started and welcome to the forum! These posts have offered great advice (get some decent safety gear!) but you also asked about the buying process. By all means, start with a used bike. As a beginner you will probably drop it or let it tip over off the stand - your ego will suffer much less if the bike wasn't new. Also, most people will get their next bike pretty soon after starting, so you will lose less on reselling the already used bike. There are a lot of really clean, low mileage bikes offered for sale. Be wary of heavily customized bikes. Next issue is whether to get the bike from a dealer or from a private party. The dealer will make it simple and will handle all the details except for the insurance. I suspect many could even help with that. If you buy from a dealer you can have a bit more confidence that the bike is in good shape. And the dealer (or at least the good ones) will have a bit more incentive to be helpful for anything that goes wrong. BUT, you will definitely pay a higher price at the dealer than you would for the same bike in a private sale. If you buy from a private party you will have to handle more of the details. I am in WV but the process is similar - I bought my bike in Ohio. There aren't too many steps. Early in the process you need to ask that the title is available. Ask to see it if possible. You can see if there was more than one previous owner. You also might learn that it is a salvage title, which means the bike was wrecked and the owner or a third party bought it from the insurance company and then repaired it. I would avoid that situation. It can be hard to see damage to the frame. Best to know that before you invest time in the negotiation. So, settle on a price. They will probably want cash but you might be able to use a bank check. Check this link for directions for the title transfer: http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/titles-used.aspx It probably works best if you meet the seller at the local BMV. Remember to get new tags, though they will probably suggest that. You should make arrangements for insurance before you ride the bike. The Ninja 300 is a great starter bike. It's got some good features, decent ergos, and reasonable power. Best of all, there are a LOT of them around and usually are many on the market so the prices are reasonable, or can be GREAT if the seller really wants to unload it. Then if/when you sell it in a year or two you can get most or all of your purchase price back. Good luck with the purchase. Chris

Welcome. You’ll fit right in.

Welcome

Welcome!

Welcome!

Strange, I thought I'd pasted the link there. Sorry bout that. http://nbc4i.com/2017/10/01/motorcyclist-dead-after-head-on-crash-in-pickaway-county/amp/

It was probably this. This was a few miles north of the road you listed. RIP Rider

Hey Puck, I have a similar story. I stopped riding for 25 years then got back into it four years ago after the kids were more or less moved on. Welcome to the forum and welcome back! Chris

Oops. That link was for a 2012 project.

Hmmmm. Google maps on my iPhone also shows the road as closed till Sept 30. This link from odot says there is one spot closed near the west/north end http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D10/newsreleases/Pages/Section-of-SR-255-Closed-for-Slip-Repair-Project.aspx Thanks!

Thanks. Hopefully we can keep some out of the area visitors from getting lost and frustrated. The PC version doesn't show that. Why just the Android version? (damnit).

Does anybody know if 255 is closed or has a bridge out this week? Google maps won't let me run a route from Woodsfield to Sardis or vice versa. Usually that means that something is closed. I'm asking because the MSTA group is meeting this weekend and several of their planned routes use 255. Thanks, Chris

Welcome to the circus.