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Is The Future Green?
Ren is looking at new bikes. This is unusual for him to say the least. Despite many, many years in the saddle so to speak Ren has never owned a new bike. I do my utmost to encourage Ren to buy himself a new bike now. My belief that life is short and we must live now seems to expand all the time. I see celebrities in the press dying before they reach 60. I hear of friends discovering they have an illness that will prevent them having the future they had longed for. The older I get my life shortens before my eyes and the call for "if not now then when?" grows ever stronger. So why wait because we may wait too long and it may be too late.
We are here to look at the Suzuki Inazuma but the salesman is currently busy with another client. We while away some time looking at the other bikes on sale. I have no intention of buying myself, I am just filling time. I spy a nice looking bike tucked into the corner. It does not look too big so I decide to pull it out to have a go at sitting on it. As I pull it forward I am amazed how how light it feels. The reason soon becomes apparent. The bike is the Kawasaki Z 250 SL. SL stands for superlight. The bike only weighs in at 148kg wet. I sit on the bike and although too tall to flat foot I can tippy toe. I realise it is a bike I had previously dismissed because of its small 11 litre tank. I hate filling up so had decided that anything that small would not do. However the extreme lightness of the bike and how it feels just right for me when I sit on it gets me re-thinking my dismissal.
When the salesman is free Ren talks Inazuma with him and I enquire about the Z 250 SL. I am informed the price is £3695 and I can not pin him down on service costs but they are high. The salesman is not really interested it seems in either Ren or I. Maybe he just got his sale of the day so he is not talking any deals with us and I am not too keen on his manner, Ren certainly does not warm to him so we leave.
Ren will go on to find a far more agreeable salesman with deals to be had elsewhere and finally lose his new bike virginity. About bloody time at his age (Honda CB500X First Review). Meanwhile I've had my interest awakened in the Kawasaki and decide to do a bit of research on the bike.
The reviews I read about on the Z 250 SL are all extremely positive. Getting an impressive 5 out of 5 stars. Interesting stuff, maybe this non contender might be worth a closer look after all. For someone who had no intention of buying I am suddenly spending a lot of time reading up on the bike. I am impressed by its rave reviews. I am even more interested when I find one of these bikes is up for sale at only £3000 with 0% finance. A offer too good to be true? I suspect it may be. After all only the other week Ren and I went to look at a "special deal" on an Inazuma but we got the old story of how that one had just sold and oh dear they must take down the advert. We are not trusting, fresh faced, wide eyed innocents. We are wise enough to know the advert was a draw to pull us into the shop and wet our appetites. So much so we may just buy the other bike for that bit extra blah de blah. So excuse my lack of trust with the advert for the Kawasaki.
However Ren being the wonderful boyfriend that he is offers to take some time out of his day to go and see if this particular "deal" is real. I have no high hopes and am extremely surprised to be informed by Ren that the deal is indeed real. The bike in question is the none ABS model. At £695 less than the ABS model ABS was something I would be happy to go without seeing I have never had it yet anyhow.
Oh dear, oh deary, deary me. What is happening here? I had no intention of buying a bike because I did not have enough money saved to buy a bike ... but this one is being offered on 0% finance and it is a cracking price. Oh evil temptation how you tease me. I also wonder whether a bit of envy is fuelling my fire because Ren has just purchased a new bike? Maybe yes as I must admit one can easily get drawn into dream world while watching someone else get something new and shiny. Ren is also quite rightly reversing the tables on me and it is now his turn now to encourage me to practise what I preached to him and buy, buy, buy now before I am too old or too ill or too dead.
I go to the Kawasaki website to see what they have to say about their own bike.
"Sporty, stylish and practical, this compact street warrior incorporates every aspiring biker’s wishes and needs for a daily machine or weekend companion. The Z250SL exudes Sugomi attitude and has nothing to envy from its bigger brothers in the Z family. A Supernaked in its own right, the modern and edgy design of the Z250SL sets a new standard for the class"
There is that word again Envy, hmmm and street warrior wow that sounds sexy, ohhhhh, no now stop it Sharon ... But the more I look the more my brown eyes turn green. The green eyed monster has been awoken by this sexy green lightweight. Can I put it back in its cage? ... well I know how to try and nip this in the bud. I will take Ren's advise and go to the shop to see the bike and talk a "Special Deal". You know that little something extra you want to make you feel you got a real bargain that could not be missed but in truth rarely get given. Yes that will do it, I will ask too much and when they say no then I can walk away and say well the deal was simply not sweet enough.
Could this be too sweet to resist ?
Reader's Comments
Henrik said :-
Good luck, but remember to check out carefully the insurance first, my compagny wil not insure the smallest ninja's we got here at all, and they seem much on par with this model, 250/300,..
26/05/2016 10:47:59 UTC
Henrik said :-
Fine with 0% finance, needed be, (usually there is some hidden expenses still), for sure they will rip you when the service come, try to get a written down agrement on the EXACT prices, if not the initial price you pay does not make any sence in the last end at all anyway. I would suggest you pay for the first and maybe seccond service in advance, still written down, and as a part of the agrement about the sale, this will make it harder for them to flee later, I am very interested in how goes, and peoples opinions and experience in general when it comes to making a decent deal on a new bike
27/05/2016 07:43:42 UTC
Sharon said :-
Ha Henrik, it would appear great minds or at least wise one think alike. Either that or you already know the future but for those who do not share your crystal ball all else will be revealed in the next green episode.
27/05/2016 21:30:08 UTC
Henrik said :-
The crystal ball shines more the older we get, that's the good part of it, a new bike is something unique, guess it would be max fun that you both could share this experience this same year, no deal is perfect, but some are damm good, so all the best, look forward being entertained in next green episode
28/05/2016 07:17:48 UTC
Monk said :-
I knew there must a pic somewhere!!
01/06/2016 23:08:26 UTC
Monk said :-
I'm such a Muppet!!!
01/06/2016 23:09:07 UTC
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