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Posted

Contemplating buying a bike ! Cant decide between a 4 yr old machine (15k km) at 50% cheaper or buying a NEW one.

The bike is only going to be for occasional use, (a toy more or less)

The bike is a Kawasaki versys X300

 

Which way would you go and why ? Thanks for your opinion.

(Please lets not get into the why/choice of bike).

 

 

 

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Posted

If you can get a bike in good condition with little mileage for a good price then why not?

If you are no bike expert then go to a good shop and let them check the bike before you buy it. If they seller has nothing to hide then this shouldn't be a problem.

 

If you want to use the bike a lot and you want to be sure to pay nothing extra then it's obviously also nice to have a brand new bike with a couple of years of warranty.

 

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Posted

How much is a 300?

 

Would you consider a 650? They are great toys. I feel that the 300 are underpowered once you put some luggage on, along with a passenger (?) 

 

I have a second hand versys, would I buy one again, probably not, after 2 or 3 years its pretty much worthless, whereas If I had bought a new one, I could have got some money back on it after a couple of years.

 

(sorry, after I have owned it for 3 years its worthless because I put so many miles on it)

Posted

300X? Mine was 3 1/2 years, I think, at time of purchase and has done 39,000. I am happy. I ditched the plastic paniers as they are useless. Unless venturing off road often put a 15T on the front.

  • Like 1
Posted

If you know the owner and/or are confident about the mileage and history - go for it.

 

The Kawasaki twins seem to be very reliable and last well.  I've seen some older x300's with rust on the rear rack and the painted wheel hubs, but that is easy to check when buying, and easy to fix.

 

But the second hand market can be tricky here - with clocking, altered Green books and bikes with finance outstanding.

 

I'm also considering a good used x300 - not keen on new as I think the value will drop sharply when/if the x400 is launched, but with a 2 or 3 year old bike this will not matter as much.  For me around 10k is max Km, as it's easy to tell if mileage is genuine (original tyres, footpeg rubbers and exhaust condition, seat etc), and I would go for unmodified.

 

One other oddity about the used market here is that many 'sellers' are in fact loan sharks - selling dodgy, no deposit finance, and they are not interested in a cash sale.  

 

There's currently two nice looking x300's with a claimed 6000 Km on Facebook Marketplace - both around 90k THB asking price.  There's also a Facebook x300. Market Group on Facebook, though most the bikes for sale on there seem be Hondas ????

 

 

 

  • Like 1
Posted
16 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Which way would you go and why ? Thanks for your opinion.

(Please lets not get into the why/choice of bike).

 

I purchased a 2nd hand bike many years ago , it was a particular model that had the colour I liked which made the bike in my opinion.

 

The above said I tested the bike out, and took a mate of mine (bike mechanic) with me and he gave it a good test, up she went in as straight a line as you can get a bike up (wheelie) and with 1100cc it is easy if it doesn't weigh too much and you know how to ride.

 

Riding with the lads through the national park one day, I almost went straight over the handle bar on a 25km bend as I geared down to 2nd, at first I thought I must have gone straight down to first as it was the first time I took the bike to the national park after riding it locally in traffic, anyway got out of the bend and was going through the gears (up) as you increase speed and on the straight I would say I was doing 120km comfortably in 4th, when again, nearly got thrown over the handle bar as it dropped back down to a gear by itself, not sure what gear but it scared the $hit out of me for the 2nd time, not a nice feeling as I would get up to serious speeds through the twisties on previous (new) bikes and was only getting used to this one.

 

Not a good feeling as I mentioned, so took it back to my mates and stripped down the gearbox and we found the gears to be badly worn, some sprockets even had broken teeth off of them and had to rebuild the gearbox, not cheap in farang land, about another 25% on top of what I paid for it and I swore would never by a second hand bike again, a car, ok, you have protection but those two experiences was enough to throw me off a second hand bike, pun intended, if it wasn't for my quick wits and experience as a rider, I believe could have been killed, or someone else with less experience.

 

15%, your life is worth 100% of the cost of a new bike,

 

You Deserve It GIFs | Tenor

  • Like 1
Posted

As long as the second hand one has been maintained properly and not crashed it will be fine. If you can find a good one then go with that.

 

I still have an old 2008 Ninja 250R that I bought from new. It now has 2x,xxx kms on it and I'd confidently ride it the length and breadth of the country. No issues whatsoever. These little Kawasaki twins are bullet proof.

  • Like 2
Posted

Thanks to those that replied so far, unfortunately the 2nd hand one has been sold, I was told this morning.That one is out now but I am in no rush.

 

Dealer has a 46k discount on new currently !

Posted

I'm a condo dweller, without a decent place to work on a bike, or the tools now.  So, even though my inclination is to look for a 2nd hand bargain, I buy new.  It just keeps things simple.

Posted
2 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

 

They have the same for most models.

Yes, I was offered a 25k discount on a Z400 - although the discounts only bring Kawasaki in line with Honda pricing for Thai built bikes.

 

But with a 46K discount, a new X300 looks tempting, even if the x400 is due soon.  I will be heading to Kawasaki myself!  Let's compare notes on deals!

  • Like 1
Posted

Buy 2nd hand if you can and you know what to look for, lots of money to be saved.

 

My current big bike was bought 2nd hand from an expat taking very good care of it and he did a lot of expensive suspension upgrade which I then got for free.

 

Posted

I have always had Honda, but way back around 2013 I bought a Fino, great bike apart from the fuel consumption which was dreadful. I always had Hondas apart from that one time. I would have bought a Click as I wanted an automatic, but it was much more expensive then.

 

As you won't be riding the bike that much, you should just go second hand if you already have a car, if the bike was your only means of transport, then I would have gone for new.

  • Like 1

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