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Richie's New Ride Is Home!!!!

FZ1riderNY

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Nov 18, 2008
Messages
11,149
Age
63
Location
Port Chester, NY
i180.photobucket.com
My son officially has his own bike! Me and Ray got back from Brooklyn about an hour ago. The bike, with the exception of a small smudge near the rear light, and a scuff on the side of the exhaust, is pretty much looking like new. It has 1344.0 miles on the odometer and purrs like a kitten, or as Richie would rather say, like a Mountain Lion. I can't tell you the feeling I had when he threw his leg over the bike for the first time. I think I was happier than he was. Here are some pics and a short video of his new 07' Kawasaki Ninja 250..........

Ray and I getting her unloaded from the van...
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The rest of these pics need no narration..........
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And here's a short video clip...........
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76jMOezlZ4E]YouTube - Richie's New Ride![/ame]
 
Wow! What a great find and you're right the look on Richie's face says it all! That is one happy kid :)

Now for some practice, MSF course and plenty of riding with the old man :D

I guess I'll see him up at Bear Mt one of these days on his own bike instead of on the back of yours.
 
Awesome Billy! What a huge step for both of you! It looks and sounds great. He may have wanted more bike but he sure looks happy with this ride! Congrats to both of you... now starts some great moments in a Father/Son relationship. Can't wait to see video of you two riding. :tup:

Way to go Dad!!
 
Thanks guys. I'm still beaming from today. Richie on the other hand, had to go to his mother's house for some get-together. I know deep down he wanted to stay but he's gotta stay on his mother's good side now if you know what I mean!:nana: I'm sure tomorrow he is gonna opt to skip his auto lesson in order to sit and clean her up a little. This Wednesday I'll have plates for it and since he's off from school this week, I'll have some fresh video of the "newbie rider" going through the paces. As for now, I haven't eaten all day and have to get some food down the hatch. I'll be back on later. Thanks again! And thanks to Tony for all his searching for me the last two weeks. All in all it ended up a great deal at only $1800 bucks!
 
$1800? SCORE!!!! Good work Tony!

I doubt Richie will have any trouble handling that bike. It looks like it fits him well and he used to ride the smaller dirt bike so he knows the ropes.

That is very cool of you Billy.
 
$1800? SCORE!!!! Good work Tony!

I doubt Richie will have any trouble handling that bike. It looks like it fits him well and he used to ride the smaller dirt bike so he knows the ropes.

That is very cool of you Billy.

Well I can't take responsibility for finding this one for Billy. He found it on his own! I did find a few others for him that were good deals, but people either never got back to him or there were other issues. We just couldn't understand why people wouldn't return emails or phone calls if they were trying to sell the bike...oh well. In the end it worked out well. That bike looks great and Richie will be fine with it. Best part is he can ride if for a couple of years and then turn around sell it and recoup most of the initial investment.
 
First wheels

That's a sweet first ride, you did good by him! I owned two bikes before ever owning a car. That's the same colour and kind of bike my youngest (16) wants to get. I guess he's going to want to go up to Eric's place now.:sport12:
 
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That's a sweet first ride, you did good by him! I owned two bikes before ever owning a car. That's the same colour and kind of bike my youngest (16) wants to get. I guess he's going to want to go up to Eric's place now.:sport12:

Oh, I'm sure it's on his mind but with no "real world" experience, it's not going to happen. Not this trip at least. I already have read him the "riot act" on the do's and don'ts of how he is going to learn. It's one thing to be putting around a parking lot but a whole different story on the interstates. He's gonna have to settle to ride with me or stay home this go around.
 
I'm amazed while I'm looking through the owners manual and I see that it holds 4.8 gallons of gas in this baby! If it averages what I have heard, 55 to 65 mpg, your looking at 264 to 312 miles per tank! Wow!!!
 
I'm amazed while I'm looking through the owners manual and I see that it holds 4.8 gallons of gas in this baby! If it averages what I have heard, 55 to 65 mpg, your looking at 264 to 312 miles per tank! Wow!!!

That is pretty amazing. With the limited riding that he's going to be doing for now you have to be careful the gas doesn't go stale in between fill ups :laugh2:
 
Awesome Billy! What a huge step for both of you! It looks and sounds great. He may have wanted more bike but he sure looks happy with this ride! Congrats to both of you... now starts some great moments in a Father/Son relationship. Can't wait to see video of you two riding. :tup:

Way to go Dad!!

my dad doesn't ride motorbikes :cry:
 
my dad doesn't ride motorbikes :cry:

Well Paul, you're probably young enough to be my son. My oldest son is 25 and the younger one is 22. So, I'll ride with you "Son" :D

Neither of my boys have wanted to ride nor are they willing to try. They have both admitted they would not be able to exercise throttle control and that it would be best if they just didn't ride. Kudos to them for admitting this and knowing they'd likely crash.

Billy is very fortunate.
 
That is cool, he is going to have a hard time going to sleep tonight wanting to get back to the bike! Sounds to me like you got a good deal to boot, congratulations to both of you. I still think you need Perry Mason or Matlock for your ticket or there is a guy in Denver that does a tough guy lawyer ad, Frank Azar, he calls himself "The strong arm" Attorney Frank Azar | Denver Colorado Personal Injury Attorney
 
Well Paul, you're probably young enough to be my son. My oldest son is 25 and the younger one is 22. So, I'll ride with you "Son" :D

Neither of my boys have wanted to ride nor are they willing to try. They have both admitted they would not be able to exercise throttle control and that it would be best if they just didn't ride. Kudos to them for admitting this and knowing they'd likely crash.

Billy is very fortunate.

perfect, i'm 23, so right in the middle. thanks yamaDad! and thus the FZ1-forum adoption program was instituted...
 
Let The Mods Begin!!

Happy Easter to all my forum family! I took Richie out for driving lessons early this morning. By 10:30am I was back home and went for a solo ride up to Harriman and Bear Mountain. The weather was beautiful to say the least and I finally got to wear my new Alpinestars Leather that I purchased from Adam.

I returned home by 2pm and Richie was waiting there for me to start his mods and to clean up the bike. He was frowning upon the "tribal" flames for two weeks now and wanted to remove them. Sorry Brad, but thanks for the compliments anyway! He's already joined the 250 Ninja Forum and is getting info while we wait for the shop manual that I purchased yesterday evening. I got started eating my lunch and he got started removing decals.........
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VqV_Oy2dTE]YouTube - 07' Ninja Decal Removal[/ame]

I have to say I like the bike better without them. He decided that he liked the set on the lower chin fairing so those remained. Once he was done I took an alcohol solution and removed all the remnants of glue and then compounded and polished them up again. Once the covers were done he started on the tail section. All finished, I like the looks now and he thinks it looks awesome.

Breaking her down to clean.....
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I picked up some Blue Magic Metal Polish and I have to say it's my new favorite. It took all the scuffs off the exhaust pipes with ease!
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We gave the bike the "once over", tightened up a couple of things, found a missing grommet for one of the side fairings, and buttoned up everything again. I polished the rest of the bike and she really looked great.
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http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x19/yllib1961/016-2.jpg[/img]

There was only one more thing to do! Thats right, take a quick spin to she what she's got!
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX9ZwIKqDS0]YouTube - Taking the 07' Ninja For A Test Spin[/ame]

Once I got back, I couldn't go upstairs without letting Richie just try it once....
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhSMS3bXdzM]YouTube - Richie Letting The Clutch Out On The Ninja[/ame]

So Wednesday will be the big day when I let him come around the neighborhood with me behind. Yes, I'll have the GoPro with me to be able to go over any mistakes with him when we get back, and of course to post it here for you guys to see!

So here's my stable right now. Hmmm???, theres still room for maybe another?????
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Awesome! I think it looks a lot better too without the graphics. Good taste Richie! :D

Looks rather peppy for a 250! :D Way to go Dad!!
 
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