Hey fellas,
So this is how it started!! Every time I start saving money for a bike, something or the other comes up and I usually spent that God damn money I saved up!!
Well, this time! I wanted to make sure the Money I saved doesn't get spent elsewhere and I wanted an upgrade to my ZMR.. The first thought that would come to any middle income guy would be a 250cc and that too a used bike..
When I working, One of my colleagues and I were discussing about bikes. He said he has a CBR250R which is lying unused for a couple of months. His brother rarely used the bike.. I started asking him to send me the pics of the bike as I am interested in buying it.. He said he will ask his father if it is available for sale. After following up with him for almost 3 days, he turned it down saying his father is not willing to sell the bike.. This is when my bike hunting intensed..
I started looking out in the used market for CBR250.. Don't laugh at me but I started off with a budget of close to 60K INR and then in a couple of years, I was planning to go for a bigger bike.. Maybe a 600cc..
I started making phone calls.. Found a plenty of deals for a Used CBR.. I found ABS in the range of 85K to 95K and was ready to shell out 30K more for a better bike.. and this is when my heart kicked in..
My mind was for a 250cc and my Love for Twin cylinder kicked into my heart.. I slowly increased my budget to 1L for a used Ninja 250.. I did find a deal falling close to my budget so I immediately contacted the seller and tried to negotiate (Typical Indian
) The seller was ready to show the bike the same day.. His office is on my way to my office so we planned to meet up in the evening..I called him up and made sure he is free and we were to meet at 5.. When I called around 4:30 he said I will have to be quick as he has to attend a meeting.. I didn't want to spoil the excitement in me so I rushed as soon as possible.. I reached and when I called, he said it is quite late and he won't be able to meet now as He has some meeting.. I did feel bad for not able to see the bike and felt down.. I tried to contact him asking him for more pics of the bike and unfortunately, he kept saying evening, tomorrow, night blah blah and blah..
I got so frustrated, I thought I should drop the plan of buying a used bike and save money for a new bike.. I thought to myself and tried giving him one more chance and this time he was ready to show me the bike.. Excited and stuff, I drove to his office and called him up.. He said he will be out in few mins..
After waiting for close to 10 minutes, I saw the Baby Ninja in Lime Green.. I instantly fell in love and decided that moment. If I buy a bike, it has to be the Ninja 250R. It was a beauty in disguise..
Oh Yes, I forgot to mention.. He said the bike had some minor scratches during transportation as he has worked in various cities. I was quite fine with that as I can't expect a Used bike to be in immaculate condition..
He brought the bike close to me and I was dumbstruck with the beauty.. I thought to myself.. She is a beauty and she is going to be mine.. He was like, you ride as a pillion as this bike has lot of power. Just see how the bike pulls.. I was quite impressed with his confidence and of course I know how the Ninja pulls.. While riding pillion, he started explaining to me that the bike makes close to 30 ps power.. Thinking I am a noob. I listened to his pathetic tactics..
He stopped at an open road and said, ride the bike.. he sat as a pillion.. I held the clutch and shifted to first gear.. Smooth gear shift it was.. quite happy with the shift, I gave throttle. The bike pulled.. I didn't ride the bike hard as I just wanted to feel the bike for couple of meters.. The engine sounds perfect, there seemed no issues with the engine.. I reached near his office and he got off the bike asking me to take it for a spin.. that is when I got pumped up with lots of excitement.. I pulled her to 6K RPM and shifted to 2nd. I started noticing all the issues with the bike.. The Chain was all EFed up.. not taken care of. Then I shifted to 3rd and then to 4th.. It was time for me to test the brakes.. I apply front brakes.. as expected, it was sharp.. Now the rear brakes.. I apply the brake and nothing happens but metal noise.. I stopped by the side and noticed that idiot hadn't even changed the rear disc pads. The pads have worn out and the metal was braking against the Rotor which in turn had killed the rear disc rotor.. then I noticed the tires.. It was worn out and had lots of cracks.. then I inspected the physical appearacne of the bike and noticed the fairing had a crack.. I cranked the engine and idling was pretty low.. it was well below 1K RPM
I went back to where he was standing and I gave my final quote for the bike.. I have lot of work to do with the bike.. then explained to him all the problems in the bike.. He said I can't negotiate but instead he was ready to get few of them fixed for me.. He said he will get the chain set changed, the rear tire changed and get the bike serviced before handing the keys to me.. He will get back to me once all this is done..
I was pretty much convinced as the sprockets would cost close to 14K, the rear tire close to 6K and servicing with oil change will be close to 4K and the remaining things I was thinking of getting them done on my own.. He didn't know how much the spares would cost
I waited for a couple of days and he didn't get back so I called him up once again.. this time he said we can negotiate and I will get only the servicing done.. I was upset as he was not ready to come down to the amount I quoted. I said I will get back to him and started looking out for other options.. After which I saw a couple of more bikes and wasn't satisfied enough as the engines were in worse condition than the one I saw first.. and then started looking out for bikes from other states.. I even increased my budget a little more
I called up a friend of mine and asked him to search for a Ninja 250 on my behalf and he somehow managed to brainwash me to get a new bike instead.. after discussing with mom and my wife, they too suggested me to go for a new bike.. I was 80% convinced by now..
That same day evening, I was just quikr'ng and came across a new ad which was posted 2 minutes back.. though the bike price quoted was a little out of reach, I attempted and immediately contacted the owner. After negotiating he quoted just a teeny weeny more than my new budget.. Now, the problem is. The bike is out of Delhi NCR and I dont have an address proof in that city! Only option I have is to take the NOC.. but that would be a hectic process..
I asked the seller to send me some more pics of the bike. He said he will send them to me in the Morning.. I was waiting for the pics and I haven't received them. By now impatience grew upon me and I called him once again. he appologized and promised to send me the pics.. I kept waiting for a day and still no message or response from the owner. So I called up my friend and we went to the Kawasaki Showroom to book myself a Ninja 300.. After discussing all the procedure and Loan stuff, I received a whatsapp message. I opened the messaage to see the owner had sent me the pics of the bike and the bike looked clean in pics.. On seeing the pics, I wanted to hold on to booking the new Ninja 300..
I said I will get back in a couple of days and we left the showroom.. I called up the owner and asked him to send me a couple of videos and I wanted to hear the engine sound.. He said he will send me later in the day.. As promised, he sent me the walkaround videos and the engine sound.. I quicked contacted [MENTION=28527]sibun[/MENTION] [MENTION=57344]RohIIT[/MENTION] and [MENTION=41586]Divya Sharan[/MENTION].. Sent them the audio clips and video.. from the sound I felt the engine was in perfect shape and I received the same response from them.. so I decided to crack this deal at any cost. Yes, I don't know the seller, I haven't been to Bhopal before and I haven't seen the bike in flesh..
I was in a dilemma.. I had plenty of options and I was ready to spend 4.2L for a new Ninja 300 ().. But my heart kept pumping hard whenever I thought of spending 4.2L for a bike in my current situation (responsibilities) and that Black Ninja 250 seemed to be a sweet deal for me.. and my love for the looks of Ninja 250 kept me from thinking about the Ninja 300
My mother had been to Chennai and she didn't know about this.. I spoke with my wife and she said if you are ok with this bike, go ahead and buy it. otherwise, go for a new Ninja.. so it was the 19th of Aug 2016 (Friday) and I decided I am going for the Ninja 250.. my wife wanted to see the Ninja 300 so on the 20th Aug, I took her to the nearest showroom for her to see..
that day evening, i picked up mom from Airport and was discussing with her and she asked me where is the seller located and the moment I said Bhopal, she was reluctant. She said you dont know the place, you dont know the seller and started saying all those sentimental stuff to pull me out of going to Bhopal.. But I stuck with my decision and booked my train ticket to Bhopal for the 26th Aug night as I didn't want to take leaves.. After I booked the ticket, I informed the seller that i will be coming on 27th Aug early Morning so please have all the formalities ready.. As I wanted to leave the same day from Bhopal.
Unfortunately, he said he will not be available on the Saturday and asked me if I can make it someday on the weekdays.. I immediately searched for tickets during the weekdays.. keeping in mind 25th is a Govt Holiday and the RTOs will be closed.. I booked my ticket for 22nd Aug Night.
There were so many what ifs and buts running in my mind.. What if the bike isn't as good as it looks. What if the Engine isn't as good as it sounded in the audio clip. What if the seller isn't a genuine seller and what if he is going to rob me off my money. What if I am murdered as in the case that have actually happened in real.. But I didn't want to miss this good deal..
It was finally the day.. I had called my friend.. He was to drop me in the Railway station.. while we were on our way to the Railway station, we had a nice discussion. Funny ones as well.. He gave me a couple of contacts in Bhopal to reach out to.. and I gave him the contact number of the seller in case anything bad happens.. He was not into letting me go for a used bike and even at that moment, he tried to convince me into going for a new Ninja.. but I was adamant and stuck to my decision..
I was carry cash and I had to be very safe.. This was my hard earned money and I didn't want it to be taken away from me.. I didn't take out all the cash but 50%. If i was going to lose the money, I will have the remaining safe with me in my account.. Yes, I am from a middle class family so every penny of my hard earned money means a lot to me..
I got into the train and safe guarded my helmet and my bags.. One had tools and puncture kit while the other had cash and a set of cloth.. Yes, if everything went well, I will be riding my Ninja from Bhopal to Delhi the same day.. I informed the seller that I have boarded the train and asked him if everything was ready.. He assured me that we will get everything done ASAP and I can leave from Bhopal ASAP.. He asked me if I was carrying my original ID.. he asked me to send a photo of my id and I did.. I sent a message saying I am not a threat to you so you don't have to worry about a thing.. he tried to convince me saying the RTO agent was asking for it so that they can keep things ready for me to leave early..
I assured my wife I will be safe and I will come back alive.. and my mom, she was on call asking me to take someone with me as I was going alone to make the deal. Not to forget, she is the one who informed me about that murder incident that had taken place between the seller and buyer..
i slept for the night and I reached Bhopal at 8 AM.. Informed the seller that I reached.. He didnt attend the call so I dropped him a message. He didn't reply to me til 9:30 AM.. meanwhile, i got refreshed and changed my dress in the waiting room.. He says he is getting ready and he will reach the station by 10:15 AM..
I was waiting and the time was 10:10 AM and till now no call from him. I dropped him a message and he replied he is running late as he is searching for the other key and all the documents and assured he will reach by 10:45 AM.. At this point of time, I was getting nervous and my heart was pumping bloody fast.. Not sure if it was because of frustration or scared about the what ifs.. my friend kept rining me and asking me for updates. He wanted to ensure I was safe.. I informed that the seller hasn't come till now and I hope this guy is genuine.. I started searching for return train ticket in case he wasn't going to show up.. I finally get a call from the seller at 10:50 saying he will reach in 5 minutes..
I took a deep breathe and proceed towards the exit.. he calls me and asks me where I am.. I saw the black beauty with the headlights on about 200m.. I informed him that I have seen the bike and I am coming towards him..
On seeing me, he got off the bike and handed over the keys to me.. I inspected the bike and everything was just perfect.. a couple of minor scratches on the tank, a broken rear left indicator and well, the only problem was the fork seal had given up.. but that wasn't a big problem.. everything else looked perfect..
he handed over the keys to me and asked me to ride it.. He had someone else with him so that guy sat as the pillion.. I started the engine and tried to listen to any extra noise.. NIL it was.. I sat on the saddle and gave slight acceleration and My Oh My.. it was a beauty.. it was so smooth compared to all the other Ninjas I tried.. the engine note was musical and everything was perfect..
He took me to his shop and he offered me some tea.. asked me to sit for awhile.. we had a short chat.. then he asked me to accompany the other boy to the RTO to complete all the procedure.. I wanted to apply for the NOC and take the sellers note so that I can leave by 1 PM at max..
The seller was genuine indeed.. He helped with all the formalities.. we just went to the RTO for signature.. we signed the papers and meanwhile he was getting the sellers letter ready.. I was taken back to his shop and we had a nice chat.. he accepted to the fact that he asked me for my ID to ensure I was a genuine guy.. we both laughed.. I paid the cash and he handed me all the documents including the original reciepts.. He was suggesting me to leave the MP border before dark as it would be dangerous.. We checked the map and route.. I just need to reach Lalitpur road and from there I know the route to Delhi.. Just to know how much he has abused the bike.. I asked him for the top speed of the bike.. I was expecting him to say something close to 150 kmph but to my surprise he said he touched 120 kmph.. usually, anyone would quote
The time was close to 12:30 PM and I was quite happy everything was going smooth.. meanwhile, the bike came back from RTO and he offered to get it washed.. I didn't want to get it as it would save time.. we were now waiting for the Sellers letter and this had taken time.. Everything was done by around 1:55 PM
He bid farewell to the bike and took a couple of final moment pics with my Ninja.. By now the time was 2 PM and I was 1 hour behind.. I tied my backpack with tools to the rear seat, put on my helmet and gloves. Asked him for the directions and I left his shop.. I informed my wife, mom and friend who kept asking me if everything is fine..
I filled up the tank. The bike already had close to 6L of petrol..
Here is odo when I took over the ownership of Karupee - 10458 km
Here is the Route which I had planned to take
The bike felt so alive.. I was trying to get used to the brakes.. I felt they weren't as effective as my Trusty Black Pearl though the Brake pads were in good condition..
Will get back with the Riding experience after approval..
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