Unruly Rider
Active member
To start off, my son is 16 and has been riding motorcycles since he was 14, licensed and MSF certified since he was 15. He started on a 2018 Honda Grom and has somewhat out-grown it (lack of highway speed/gear). It worked great as a learning tool and riding to and from school, but now he is ready to leave town and do some longer rides with us. A local guy was selling a lightly used 2016 Yamaha FZ07 with only 7500 miles for $5k on Facebook Marketplace. My son and I went to take a look at it about a week ago, very clean bike - fresh fluids, new tires, M4 carbon exhaust, Yoshi integrated LED tail light, Yosi LED indicators, and some shorty levers. Talked with the owner for a bit and even got a test ride around the neighborhood. We talked numbers for a little while and ultimately left without buying (strategy). My son posted his 2018 Honda Grom for sale that night, I helped and made a few ads on Craigslist and LetGo. The whole week he was bombarded with scammers and low-ball offer tire kickers, he had never dealt with these types of people... so it was a great learning lesson for him. I taught him how to recognize scammers and how to deal with non-serious buyers. Fast-forward to this past Sunday, his mom and I contacted the seller again. This time we left Zach at the house, on the way over we discussed with one-another how we could make this work out for everyone. The wife would take over the 2018 Grom (paid off already) to practice more, and the boy will work this summer to pay back the difference on the FZ07.
This was my wife's first time seeing the bike in person, and she thought it was sharp as well. I asked the seller what his bottom dollar would be cash money today... he came down to $4500. After spending the last few weeks searching all over the web, we knew this was a good deal for the mileage and condition (also no travel as it's local) - so we paid the man and I rode it back to our neighborhood. I shut the FZ off at the bottom of the street and walked it all the way back to the house, parked it out in front of the driveway. My wife waited outside with the camera rolling, I ran in and asked my son for some help outside. When Zach came out and saw the FZ07 sitting in the driveway he was in awe and disbelief. Got a video but I'll have to get it from my wife's phone. We rode around the neighborhood for the rest of the evening until I could get it added to the insurance policy the next day. My wife even rode the Grom around with us again (first time in several months). Today he rode his new bike to school for the first time. I can not wait for all the riding we are going to do this year! The Honda's top speed (65mph) always prevented him from leaving town... so this really provides more opportunities and freedom, as well as responsibilities for him.
This was my wife's first time seeing the bike in person, and she thought it was sharp as well. I asked the seller what his bottom dollar would be cash money today... he came down to $4500. After spending the last few weeks searching all over the web, we knew this was a good deal for the mileage and condition (also no travel as it's local) - so we paid the man and I rode it back to our neighborhood. I shut the FZ off at the bottom of the street and walked it all the way back to the house, parked it out in front of the driveway. My wife waited outside with the camera rolling, I ran in and asked my son for some help outside. When Zach came out and saw the FZ07 sitting in the driveway he was in awe and disbelief. Got a video but I'll have to get it from my wife's phone. We rode around the neighborhood for the rest of the evening until I could get it added to the insurance policy the next day. My wife even rode the Grom around with us again (first time in several months). Today he rode his new bike to school for the first time. I can not wait for all the riding we are going to do this year! The Honda's top speed (65mph) always prevented him from leaving town... so this really provides more opportunities and freedom, as well as responsibilities for him.