Ok another question, I live near Memphis, TN and i have heard bad reviews about all of our local Kawi dealers so, does anyone know of a good one near this area.

How would test riding any other bike than the 650 help me anyway? and I am pretty sure there are no demo dealers near me.

Originally Posted by xpmar9x

What color '13 650 you getting? I'm digging that white.

Blue, but only if it looks good in person like it does online. The white could also be my choice because it looks good and probably more visible at night.

Best to test ride a bike before you buy it and not have buyers remorse. Anyone who won't let you ride, you should pass by. Buying a bike is like buying shoes, you have to TRY them on...How you know if the bike is right for you, The characteristics of the bike, how it handles, how you handle the bike. too tall, too short, too fast, too slow, too big, too small, Anyone who buys a bike, without test riding it is taking a huge gamble. As for allowing every rider test riding their bikes....show the dealer your checking account, credit score, or anything that would validate you as a serious buyer. There are always goin to be people that will disagree with me, but bottom line...It's your money and you want to make sure it's well spent.

Originally Posted by VolkerB

Really?? Here in Germany every motorcycle dealer lets you test drive their bikes. I just had a call with a local Kawasaki dealer for a test ride of a 650 and that was no problem at all. They seemed pleased to offer a test ride.

In germany when you guys get your motorcycle license, Im willing to bet the new rider who has never owned a bike in his life is a better rider then most in this country who have been riding for years because of your testing requirements. The amount of people who crash their brand new shinny super sport bike leaving the dealer lot here is astounding.

Back in the day, I was at a dealership looking at a brand new ZL1000, I was 18 at the time and the guy that just bought it wouldn't allow the dealer to tell him anything about the bike.....well, 1/2 hour later, it shows back up at the dealership on a flatbed....TOTALED. Many storys of people "thinking" they know what they are doing, only to have it end up as scrap. About a month later, same thing happened to a VMax. Same story, cept substitute ZL1000. Bikes will bite you if you don't know how they operate.

This is a true story.
I went to a BMW demo ride with a friend who had been riding for a couple of years.
During the demo ride, he crashed his BMW at around 30 mph.
I think it had something to do with the "dry" clutch that that model of BMW had. It is different from our Jap bike wet clutches.
When I asked him "What happened!!?",
He said "I dunno..."

Luckily the BMW was built like a tank. Just picked it up. No damage at all.

Originally Posted by Scoobys_piece

Congrats on the graduation! Tell the dealers that won't let you ride "thank you for not letting me test drive your bikes, I didn't have to spend 1 cent to find out what lousy business practices you have". Then show up every chance you get and tell them "see, told you I was serious" and make sure you get the sales manager involved. In today's economy, a bike is a luxury, not a necessity. And the sales manager will be infuriated that they didn't get your money first.

Originally Posted by Scoobys_piece

Best to test ride a bike before you buy it and not have buyers remorse. Anyone who won't let you ride, you should pass by. Buying a bike is like buying shoes, you have to TRY them on...How you know if the bike is right for you, The characteristics of the bike, how it handles, how you handle the bike. too tall, too short, too fast, too slow, too big, too small, Anyone who buys a bike, without test riding it is taking a huge gamble. As for allowing every rider test riding their bikes....show the dealer your checking account, credit score, or anything that would validate you as a serious buyer. There are always goin to be people that will disagree with me, but bottom line...It's your money and you want to make sure it's well spent.

Originally Posted by Scoobys_piece

Back in the day, I was at a dealership looking at a brand new ZL1000, I was 18 at the time and the guy that just bought it wouldn't allow the dealer to tell him anything about the bike.....well, 1/2 hour later, it shows back up at the dealership on a flatbed....TOTALED. Many storys of people "thinking" they know what they are doing, only to have it end up as scrap. About a month later, same thing happened to a VMax. Same story, cept substitute ZL1000. Bikes will bite you if you don't know how they operate.

Seems like a dealer MIGHT have a pretty good reson to NOT let just anyone ride their bikes. I agree with test riding a bike before you actually purchase it, which is a lot different then test riding to see if you "like it". There are going to be a LOT (most if not ALL) dealers that aren't going to let a young (I'm assuming) newly licensed rider jump on a brand new bike and take it for a spin to see if they like it. You can't tell them all to stick it where the sun don't shine. As you get more experienced, and older, you'll find dealers are a little more open to a "test ride", I've been offered rides on Ducati's, Aprilia's, Triumph's and even a couple Harley Road King's (at the local BMW/Ducati dealership) over the last couple years. With 27 years of street riding experience I don't expect the dealer to just let me ride whatever, and I'm not gonna get all pissy over it if they don't. When you're ready to buy, and you got all your ducks in a row, SURE, do a the test ride with the agreement that if you like the bike you'll buy it, if there is something out to lunch about it you'll walk.

I'm glad that you agree with me.

if you think it's bad how the dealer is screwing with you by not allowing a test ride, wait until you see the final price of your new bike! Have you learned about all the shipping and setup fees yet?


Here in L.A. none of the bike companies (except BMW) allow test rides on new bikes (and I'm betting not even on used bikes) like you'd be able to test drive a car.

I was allowed the option to cancel my purchase of a new 250R back in early 2008, because I had ordered the bike and they had a long list of customers who wanted it, should I decide I didn't like the way it rode the day I picked up my new bike. The 650R was a natural upgrade with no real surprises, other than a much bigger burst of POWER, when I finally bought my 2009.

It's so funny because dealers will sell anyone a bike as long as they show up with cash. But show up with decades of riding experience, cash, credit cards, insurance, etc. and they still will not allow a test ride!

The only exception is when they have special events, like the Kawasaki events, or at the International Bike Show, but it's a long wait in order to get onto an actual bike at one of those things. They usually only have one of each bike they are demoing, no matter how in demand test rides for a particular bike.
Triumph also has lots of those demo days... which is maybe why they are selling so many of them!

Wow, never factored that in....I just can't get my head around the fact that they expect you to pay ALOT of money for a machine that you may not like. I couldn't do it. I would have to see how the big feels, fits, how it handles low and high speed, if I'm tall enough, short enough, so many questions that you can't answer, sitting on the bike in the showroom. Cyclesarge has valid points, but wow, just couldn't drop 10K-20K on a bike that I hadn't ridden. Makes me dizzy just thinking about making such a large purchase, only to find out that it may be the bike for you. I respect all opinions, as I glean enough information to make an informed decision and weigh all opinions with equal weight. Whatever you decide on, I hope they allow you to take it around the block...good luck!

I'm not sure if they changed anything other than the colors for 2013, but I wouldn't get too hung up on the color. I'd rather get a color I could "live with" NOW, then have to wait and/or PAY MORE $$$ for a particular color. Chances are if you're a new rider you're gonna be doing some painting down the road anyway. The more particular (concerning year/color/options) you are about buying a bike the more you are likely to pay.

so no one is gunna say it....

you shouldnt be buying new, you are a new rider. get something used and something smaller. this is the logical and better approach to start your riding career.

or you can just pray for the best and go the route you seem decided on

I'm thinking that being a new rider, he doesn't want to wrench on the bike himself, rather if anything goes wrong, he can return it to get it fixed.

I got my bike used from a harley dealership. They let me test drive it. It was the only place that would let me test drive a sportbike, and they had great staff. Harley dealerships are top notch here.

Yeah you know what why would I buy a used bike that I wouldn't know if it was serviced right for a few thousand cheaper and then end up buying new tires and everything just to resale after a few months of riding?