sorry to be posting this here, but my 18 year old son is looking to by a crotch rocket. its a 2004 suzuki katana with 40,000 miles. its a one owner bike and the guy wants 3 grand, just tuned and new tires installed. never dumped but tipped over in the driveway. i have never riden a bike or had one with that many miles, is it alot for the year? should we have a mechanic look at it first?
i have my harley insured by country companys because they insure our house, 5 cars and our life insurance, so i get a decent rate. my kid is looking at progressive insurance company. i hear they are good but would like a second opinion. they told him it would cost him only $51.00 a month for full coverage. seems kinda cheap for a 18 year old kid. any thoughts on this would be great. thanks.

 

I think my sons was around $700/yr on his 750 Suzuki 4-6 yrs ago...

 

Check the Bluebook for the value on the bike. The rate might be telling you something about the value of the bike also. I would deinitely take it and get it checked. When guys are selling bikes the have "never been dropped". Most are road hard and put up wet, check to see if he has the service records for the bike. Rate seems pretty reasonable, but always wise to shop around for that too.

 

Progressive gives me the best rate so insurance seems pretty accurate. However, my '02 VStar was around 150.00 a year full coverage, my '03 Night Train is 450.00 etc..etc.. They told me the HD was worth a lot more (obviously) & has a higher risk for being stolen. As for the miles they are kinda' high but more important is the way the bike was cared for. those bikes are typically rode Hard! Definitly get it checked out by a tech or at least call Suzuki & ask one. Personally, I'd look for something with less miles. 40,000 miles might be in need for a LOT of maintenance & new parts.

Last thought: 3000 bucks is a decent amount of money for a teenagers first bike...I'd shop around.

 

check blue book but price sounds good. I sold my '94 ZX1100 in 2005 for $3800 and it had 21000 miles on it. I kept it very clean as did previous 2 owners. Also one owner and 40k sounds like and adult rider owned it and someone actually rode it, as opposed to the types that just scream around on the weekends thrashing the bike. Have it checked out but 'sounds' good.
Also with insurance and pardon me if you already know, make sure what ever the amount that you have a good uninsured/underinsured coverage. I have 100k on my train and actually used is when the idiot that hit me only had the minimum on his car at 25k.

Rob

 

Cheep Insurance Rate!
Is the insurance on just the bike???
or Bike and Rider??
several years ago I had someone quote me a unbelievable low rate on a sportbike... problem was it just covered the bike... no rider... it went up a considerable amount when the added me!! The agent told me that my health insurance would cover me... I checked into it... and was told "NO!"


CC

 

Many insurance companies consider any crotch rocket to be in the "high performance" category even if they aren't. Insurance coverage always seems higher as a result.

 

WOW, mine is just the opposite. All these years I've been riding, always thought other guys car insurance would cover me if anything happened. It didn't. My bike coverage (progressive) does not cover rider ( but does passenger- go figure) my health plan (blue cross) covers me and that's just what happened when I got wiped out in 07. Guys car insurance only paid for the bike, had to get a lawyer to get the 25k bare minimum he had on the car and my health coverage had to pay out aprox 16k in medical bills. Same lawyer tapped into my under insured motorist coverage to get the rest for all my lost wages etc.

 

insurance sounds right, price of bike seems high

Brent

 

yeah, that's too much money for that bike man. you can get something way better for 3 grand