Long time, no posting! Also a dealership question

[sunhuntin]

greetings! been a loooong time. guess thats what happens when work takes over almost all your free time, lol. things have been pretty hectic and will get worse in a few weeks when the manager heads to the states for 5 weeks, leaving me in charge

on a good note, i finally sucked it up and paid for the full license test, which i aced yesterday. so, im testing the waters and looking at higher rated bikes. would like to stick with a virago for now and have found a beauty on trademe being sold by red baron in tauranga. so, now my question... has anyone dealt with them and how did you find them? the trademe feedback is a bit iffy, but would like to get some "real experience stories" hehe.

the bike im looking at has givi hard panniers, which i think make it look hideous. what is under these? im guessing a plastic plate similar to whats under a givi top box. ideally, i would take the panniers off and put my willie and max leather saddle bags on instead.

many thanks in advance all!

[FJRider]

The plastic plate is only for the top box. A steel frame is usual for the side boxes.

A few pics of mine. Hard luggage is waterproof. AND lockable.

The upper part is not a standard part of the side racks. The rack has now been painted.

[mossy1200]

You can see them on photo 6 in the auction .
they are the larger plastic mounts and not the smaller steel ones.they will unbolt leaving the bike standard easy enough.wrap them in cotton wool and store them for when you need them or resell bike as they look in good nick and are worth a bit to buy.
thats a good looking bike and seems to have been looked after.

[FJRider]

I have been leaving the Top box on all the time. Two helmets can fit in it ... and be locked.

[sunhuntin]

thanks, FJ. i have a top box on the 250 and wouldnt mind transferring that to a new bike as well, but it wouldnt be essential at this stage. its only me that rides, so dont need too much luggage, plus i carry a back pack at times.

mossy... thanks for that! didnt even see that til you said, lol. i would likely onsell them. the bike does look very tidy. not too much mileage for its age. my 250 is a 98 and is just over 70thousand.

http://s1209.photobucket.com/albums/...07482Small.jpg this is my bike. cant figure out how to post a photo... been too long. lol. need to go have a play.

[mossy1200]

I was looking at givi gear when i was building a project and i think those ones are the slightly larger ones at $300 each approx and they are listed as new on the bike.Strange a dealer would load new gear onto a second hand bike.maybe they had them as old stock in the shop or from a failed sale and they loaded them on to move them along.

PS the fact they are plastic mounts is good as they will be able to be fitted to many different model bikes not model specific.

PS2 i like that colour.

[sunhuntin]

$300 EACH? far out! thats a lot of $$ for an older bike. would be likely easy to resell and get a few $$ back. this bike is looking better all the time! might have to crack open the piggy bank...

yeh, i love the color too. like something with a bit of uniqueness to it. most viragos on tm are just one color.

wonder how big a difference there is between this and 250 power/get up and go wise.

[Subike]

.. the bike does look very tidy. not too much mileage for its age. my 250 is a 98 and is just over 70thousand.

[

would be interested in things you have had to do to your 250 during the time you have had it that were out of the ordinary.
if there were any.
I believe the starters can give problems,
Are you still running the std gearing. ( front or rears sprockets )
What mileage did you get from the rubber, and what did you end up fitting .
Any things to keep an eye out for.

[sunhuntin]

would be interested in things you have had to do to your 250 during the time you have had it that were out of the ordinary.
if there were any.
I believe the starters can give problems,
Are you still running the std gearing. ( front or rears sprockets )
What mileage did you get from the rubber, and what did you end up fitting .
Any things to keep an eye out for.

no major issues, certainly less than the year old 06 gn250 which the virago replaced.

ive had it 5 years and have only fitted a pirelli rear tyre in that time, probably 4 or so years back, with both due for replacing within the next few months. gearing is standard to my knowledge. has had new chain and sprockets once, also due for replacement. it did have an issue with not charging the battery a couple of years back, but nothing since. im going to get her booked in for a full service within the next couple of months.

i like the 1100 on trademe, but figure, at this stage, its too expensive. not sure how much i would get for the virago. she was $5000 when i bought her. she had 38thou on the clock.

[sil3nt]

2 grand cheaper similar age and mileage http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-458537571.htm

[Subike]

no major issues, certainly less than the year old 06 gn250 which the virago replaced.

ive had it 5 years and have only fitted a pirelli rear tyre in that time, probably 4 or so years back, with both due for replacing within the next few months. gearing is standard to my knowledge. has had new chain and sprockets once, also due for replacement. it did have an issue with not charging the battery a couple of years back, but nothing since. im going to get her booked in for a full service within the next couple of months.

i like the 1100 on trademe, but figure, at this stage, its too expensive. not sure how much i would get for the virago. she was $5000 when i bought her. she had 38thou on the clock.

that all sounds good to me then
i have been watching the value of the 250's for the past 3 years, 4 - 5 k seems to be the selling price regardless the mileage.
They apparently are the unsung hero of the small bikes, very often underestimated by many,
I would put yours up for a reserve of 4, its colour is a good selling point

[sunhuntin]

yeh, shes a brilliant bike. reliable as hell. that photo was taken at arthurs pass. shes done invercargill twice with me without a single complaint. if the regos werent so damn high, i would keep her and also get a larger ride for open roads. while the 250 keeps up, shes not the best when it comes to passing.

sil3nt... thats a nice bike, but a bit too far away.

[Renegade]

now and have found a beauty on trademe being sold by red baron in tauranga. so, now my question... has anyone dealt with them and how did you find them? the trademe feedback is a bit iffy, but would like to get some "real experience stories" hehe.

they used to be the Honda dealer here but switched to red baron, may even be a new owner by the looks of the dude i spoke to there the other month, i havent actually bought a bike from them but have bought other bits and bobs and they seem nice enough and didnt seem dodgy either, they always have a few second hand bikes around but as with all red barons i have visited the prices are in my opinion $1500+ up on what i would place the value of bikes at.

Like i said though its my un-qualified opinion.

[bsasuper]

The plastic plate is only for the top box. A steel frame is usual for the side boxes.

A few pics of mine. Hard luggage is waterproof. AND lockable.

The upper part is not a standard part of the side racks. The rack has now been painted.

Ahhh the venerable FJ, the perth(oz) popo once used these with panniers/blue lights fitted, very hard to get away from(lots of grunt with quite good handling)