Today, I went to the DMV and got the reading material for taking the motorcycle learner's permit test. On my way back out I was completely spaced and jumped right in front of a car and I'm not sure how it didn't kill me. I then was spaced and in shock from my near-death experience and so I promptly stepped right in front of a second car, this one coming from the opposite direction(!). Now, thoroughly concerned about where my head was at, I got in my car, drove off in the wrong direction, drove back, missed my turn, missed my turn a second time, pulled over, yelled at myself in the mirror for a minute, and then got going again. (They really shouldn't let people like me on the road.)
I went to Borders and got The Idiot's Guide to Motorcycles (endorsed by Jay Leno!), and Street Strategies by David L. Hough. Street Strategies was recommend to me by some old-school cruiser guy who was hanging out in the motorcycle section. He was bald and pot-bellied and said he's been riding for over 35 years, so I will trust in his wisdom re: the book.
Then I stopped at the motorcycle dealer and inquired again about the used Z1000 and an SV650. I tell ya, I'm starting to get a little skeptical of these guys. I talked with a different sales guy today than I did last time, and it turns out that the Z1000, which I originally heard was an '05, is in fact an '03. So it is no longer the amazing deal that I thought it was (though it's still not bad, and still within my price range). They have an '05 SV650, which the sales guy said he could knock down to $5500 from $5900, making it the best deal I've seen so far for a new bike. However, today's sales guy kept saying the SV650S is the "standard" version of the bike, while the non-S is the sleeker "sport" version. This didn't sound right, so I checked the Suzuki site when I got home and sure enough it's the reverse -- the S is the slightly more expensive sport version. Not a killer mistake, and I can understand how someone would make it, but that's the second time I've walked out of their with some degree of wrong information. Regardless, at $5500, the SV650 is hard to beat.
I also saw a Kawasaki Vulcan while I was there. It's a nice bike and costs less than $5000. However, it doesn't have fuel injection or a rear disc brake, and it has a smaller engine than the Suzuki, so since I can get the SV650 for only $500 more, I think the extra niceties are more than worth the price. (The one possible down side on the SV650 is that I forgot to ask which color it was and they've only got the one '05 in stock. If it's the fugly yellow color, I'm not sure I could stomach it.)
And I got info on a good riding instructor from that guy at Borders. Allegedly there's some dude in Ronkonkoma who has a bunch of small bikes that he teaches n00bs to ride on, so I'm going to check that out. It sounds like a cool deal.
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2 comments:
Wow, a lot going on here.
For $5500, the SV is the most bike for the money, as new bikes go anyway. Funny you should mention the color. Almost four years ago, when I bought my '02 SV650, I had the following conversation (on the phone) with a salesman:
Doug or whatever his name was: So what color do you want, we have one black one and one yellow one.
Me: Black.
Doug: Okay, the black one is at our Woodbridge store, so there will be a fee to bring it over here.
Me: Well why would I pay for that? I live just as close to the Woodbridge store as I do to the one in Falls Church. I'd rather just buy it in Woodbridge.
Doug: Okay well I'll ask my manager about that. The other thing is we're gonna need a $500 deposit.
Me: What for? Today is Thursday, I want to come in Saturday and buy it. Are you saying you need $500 to hold it, to keep someone else from buying it in the next 36 hours? Because right now it's 31 degrees out; I'm willing to take my chances that you won't sell it before Saturday morning.
Doug: Well we can't bring it over here without at least a deposit. Now for the yellow one we wouldn't need a deposit.
Me: I already said I can go get it in Woodbridge if you'd rather not truck it over to Falls Church.
Doug: Well we can't do the sale in Woodbridge.
Me: Just forget it, this is ridiculous. Click.
20 minutes later a call from the sales manager, saying the black SV would be in Falls Church on Saturday morning, no transportation fee, no deposit, see you at 10 am.
All that to avoid a yellow SV. A few months later I went on a ride with the Baltimore/DC SV owners group. Someone had a new yellow one. I thought, hmm, that looks pretty good...
So my advice is to buy it even if it is yellow. But if it *is* yellow, make sure to hassle the salesman about the color, say you don't really like it, and you were hoping for a different color, and maybe if he can get you out the door for $5800 (i.e. including tax, tag, destination, etc.) you'll settle for the hideous yellow SV. Then when he says screw you stand up and walk out the door.
Make sure your phone is on, because he'll be calling you.
Ha! That's great. Sales guys are like an alien species.
Part of me kinda hopes it is the yellow one just because the blue, while nicer, is kinda boring. Really, whatever color it is, I'll likely buy it.
I'm really getting psyched for it, too, now that I'm about to have my learner's permit. My mother is less than thrilled though. "I thought you wanted to get a jeep," she was asking over dinner. Sure -- if she wants to buy me one, I'll take a Jeep (in addition to the bike!). Hey, I'm a poor soon-to-be grad-school student; and I'm not too proud to take free stuff from my parents. ;)
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