You know, this winter I was looking around at midweight bikes including just about everything mentioned in this thread (except the Cats…) and I found the cruisers just too damn low. Probably because the only riding I’d done in the past three years was on my bicycle, in the streets of Manhattan, so I really liked the upright stance.
I ended up getting a Suzuki Bandit 650… something that you don’t have in the U.S. Totally love it.
I love my Vulcan 500, but I’m a little girl. If you like the cruiser style, I think you would like the 900. My husband takes it almost everywhere, but I can hold it up myself so it shouldn’t be too heavy for you.
Personally, I’m more of a crotch rocket type of gal but I wasn’t going to snub my nose at a $5K brand new bike.
As for talking you into it: BUY A DAMN BIKE. You can regret not getting it sooner, but you aren’t going to sit on it and regret buying it later. Don’t waste another minute of good riding season.
I like your style 
Well, I’m gonna go check out the bike this afternoon, if all goes well. But I had a few last minute questions.
Is there any leeway in negotiating the price of the bike? Looks like the standard retail price (on Kawasaki’s website) is $7,349. Do priced tend to vary much, from dealer to dealer? And is it worth my while to try to get a better deal, or is it a waste of time? If it is worth it: any tips? 
Neil Peart sure likes his, buy a bike!
Cheers,
G
Depends on how much demand there is for a particular model, but yes, there’s room to negotiate, and prices vary among dealers. The class of bikes you’re looking at aren’t high demand items and should be negotiable, and you might be able to get them to throw in some riding gear or accessories, too. I like to cut to the chase and ask them what’s the best “out the door” price (with taxes, license, and all that) they can do. Look to see if you can find a holdover from last year. Cruisers don’t change much from year to year (often nothing more than different colors), so you can get a better deal and still have basically the same bike.
Time of year is a factor too. Prices are going to run a little high right now because we’re in the middle of the riding season. The best time to buy is around September/October. Demand falls off that time of year, and that’s when next year’s models start rolling out so dealers are eager to clear older stock off the floor.
In my experience, there’s definitely money to be saved. When we bought my beloved VFR, Shayna sat next to me, playing “bad cop” to set off my “starry-eyed-gotta-have-it-and-it’s-so-RED-and all” enthusiasm. We knocked almost $2K off the list price by standing firm on getting a price match guarantee in writing and by being ready to walk out at a moment’s notice.
When you show up at the dealerships, let them know you’re comparison shopping. Ask to see their workshop and drop a hint that you’d like to buy and get the bike serviced at the same place.
Even though we had the cash in hand, we decided to go with one of Honda’s financing deals, one of those “no interest for X months” deals with very low payments… That got the dealer a little more motivated - he gets a bonus for signing you up for financing. (We paid it off before any interest accrued - I’m sure that’s not what the bank had in mind, but who cares?) Of course, getting credit has an effect on your credit score, so take that into account.
Haggling works.
I got my 2006 Aero for about $6,000 under list price, of course that was in the fall when demand is falling.
But don’t give them list price. Definitely room for negotiation.
Considering list is about $6799, I’m extremely curious how you accomplished this feat. 
Did you mean $600 perhaps?
Oh, one more quick question guys:
Ideally, I’d like to have the motorcycle shipped to my house, instead of pciking it up at the dealership, that way I can get some practice in instead of being thrust onto the busy streets with my new bike.
Any idea how much shipping costs? And what are the odds I might be able to talk the salesman into shipping it for free (I like 10 miles away).
You shouldn’t have any problem getting your bike delivered. I work at a motorcycle dealership and we routinely pick up and deliver bikes farther than 10 miles for free. I thnk our limit is 70 miles for service customers, minimum charges apply, yada yada yada.
Enjoy your new bike, and ride safe.
::slinks off to go work on his two non-running bikes in the garage::
Awesome, thanks for the reply. And rest assured, you can be damn sure I’ll be doing my best to ride safe.
After all, if I died, that would slightly lessen my bike riding time!
Yeah, sorry about that. :rolleyes:
To be precise, list was $6500, I got it for $5900. In September IIRC.
Glad to see you are going for it! I wondered about you Friday night when we were at Bike Nite at the local bowling alley. Good for you!
Thanks! And I bring with me a slight update: I’ll hopefully be buying the bike tomorrow.
I stopped by another dealership today to check out the bike in person. Thankfully, they had just gotten a blue one in too, which was quite nice. Anyway, I tried feeling the salesdude out for their “out the door” price, but he wouldn’t reveal it since that would “be the last [we] saw of you.” Ok, fine, whatever. He did want to know what other price I had been offered to see if they can meet or beat it.
Well, the standard out of the door offer I had received from another dealer was $8,600 (on a $7,350 bike). But upon further discussion, they said they could drop it to low 8ks. Still not good enough for me, so I lied to the salesdude and said I was offered the MSRP price, out the door – no additional charges at all. He seemed a bit surprised, but when he returned to the table, he said they could meet that price. Score! Sadly, I had no money on me, but that’s what tomorrow is for.
Anyway, I also bring with me two more questions. One, which color on my soon-to-be-bike do you prefer? Blue or Black?
Click here for pics
Or click here for even more pics
I thought I would go with black at first, but I gotta admit the blue looks really freakin’ sharp, and it would stand out even more (both from a ‘looking good’ stand point and a ‘not get my ass run over’ standpoint). But black looks awesome too. Which do you guys prefer?
Also, I’d like to have it shipped directly to my work (about 20 miles from dealer) since there’s a huge parking lot there I can practice in first, before taking to the streets. Any idea what the average shipping cost is? I want to go in prepared so they don’t try to screw me on that end.
Thanks! for all the help!
Upon reflection, the images of the blue one don’t offer the best represenation of the color’s hue. Try this image instea for a better idea of how it looks in person:
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Photos/kawa_900vulcan%20graphic.JPG
My vote’s for the blue, but I think you’ve got yourself a beautiful bike coming either way. I’m sure I speak for everyone here when I say we expect pictures of your bike when all is said and done.
Blue if you wanna be a little different, black if you wanna be more badass. 
Either way I think you’re doing good.
No. If I can’t have one, neither can you. Go back to work.
I like the blue, and that is coming from someone that has the black Vulcan (which is pretty sharp itself).
Glad you got a good price. I didn’t get anything off what they had it listed for but that’s mostly because I’m kind of naive and don’t know how to haggle very well. That’s OK though because I paid $5k even for mine which is in line with the MSRP (of course I also paid more to get the bitch bar and saddle bags).
What about a helmet? Are you going with the brain bucket they’ll bring the rest of you home in or a full face enclosure. I love my helmet. If I can get a pic I’ll post it.