[Gary856]

– Bought in Jan ‘09 w/ 8,700 miles for $1,750

– Low-sided in May ‘09 w/ 10,700 miles. Repairs cost about $400, but the dented tank was never fixed.

– In Jan ‘10, with 14,000 miles, needing maintenance service, and new tires/chain/sprockets, I was trying to decide if I should sell as-is for cheap (<$1k). Ended up spending $1,500 for service and new parts and planned to ride it for a long time. I knew the bike wouldn’t sell for much more with or without the $1,500 service/parts cost, so it’d only make sense if I kept it for a long time. However, soon after that I decided that I wanted to move on. – Just sold the bike with 16,400 miles, for $1,475. Financially, it would have made a lot more sense to sell back in January ‘10 for $800-$1,000, without spending the $1,500 first and then sell it for $1,475 only 2400 miles later. It’s a good bike (and an EXCELLENT beginner’s bike) and I feel sad parting with it, but the reality is, with 3 other bikes (YZF600R, SV650, DRZ400SM) in my garage and over 20k miles of riding experience since Jan ‘09, it didn’t make sense to keep the GS anymore. Its power is adequate, but not exciting. Its handling is good, but the suspension feels crude. I’m thinking about getting an ’05 GSX-R1000 or ZX-10R as my next bike, just to see how it is to live with a liter-sized sportbike firsthand.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

I recently saw a reviewer that wrote if you only can have one liter bike, get the Honda, although the Kawasaki costs the least. He wrote that if you can afford two, get the BMW liter bike for track days and ride the Honda on the street.

[Gary856]

Each reader needs to understand the context and how that relates to his own needs and preferences. Besides, that review you read most likely referred to the current models (since BMW just came out with their first sportbike S1000RR this year), and have nothing to do with the older models that I’m considering. Back in ’05 GSXR-1000 and ZR-10R were the top dogs and the Honda CBR1000RR was the also run, but again that depended on where you set the priorities – the most hard-edged, vicious liter-bike, or the most rider friendly liter-bike, etc.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

Here is a 2005 best of list, but anyone may decide one of the other bikes they did not choose is a better deal for them. I am planning to buy their 2005 best budget bike winner in April, on the second page below:

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/features/122_0509_2005_motorcycle_of_the_year_nominees/index.html

[Author]

Posts