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Trading in my cruiser for a supersport!

5K views 30 replies 16 participants last post by  akiraruns 
#1 ·
My 2011 Yamaha Stryker has treated me well for about a year now but I've come to realize that the handling on my '07 GSXR is much more suitable for my taste. I've also owned an '07 R6S for a few months, had to sell for the cash, but loved it! Maybe I just grew out of the cruising fun. And technically, the gixxer is my brother's (he moved out of town) so I decided to get my own brand new sport bike!

Has anyone ever traded in a bike that you still had the loan on, for another one and aquired the balance into the new loan?

How did it go?

I still owe 10K+ and the value is probably about 8K+. I have good credit. The sales guy told me just wait until January which would be a complete year since I bought the cruiser so that it won't hurt my credit for switching too early.

I'm thinking of selling my Jeep which would get me about 3-4K cash to put towards the loan before I switch OR use for down payment. Which is better?

Anyone who have gone through this or have some knowledge in this?
 
#3 ·
Most likely you are going to have to eat the difference and you will just owe more on the new bike. If your making payments I would just carry the loan and keep the cash because chances are you wont have the bike for the length of the loan. It sucks I did the same thing and ended upside down on my 09 zx6. The positive is you will have a ride that you enjoy not something sitting around that rarely ever gets ridden. Call it a good or bad thing but when I totaled the zx6 the insurance payed out a crazy amount and I had gap insurance to cover the rest.
 
#5 ·
Not sure what you mean by "carry the loan and keep the cash"?
But man you're so right about having a bike that I enjoy rather than sit around because I stay on the gixxer for the most part now...
How much did the Gap insurance cover? I was hearing that they try to fight you on how much they pay out so it's not all that worth it.... and the insurance only cover the value of the bike, correct?
 
#7 ·
Well, I too had a 2011 Stryker. Instead of going for SS I went for a Z1000 though. I sold my Stryker for $8k back in July. I guess I'm saying I understand your wanting to switch...I loved my Styker but I think I had it for no more than two months and about 1200 miles.

Like someone above said, you aren't in a great spot to be switching bikes since you're upside down on the Stryker loan. Honestly, I don't know if you can even sell it private party unless you can pay the difference between the sale price and the lien. If you goto a dealer and try to trade in the Stryker on a SS you will be RAKED over the coals. When I was trying to make the switch I was typically offered no more than 6.5k for the Stryker (and I tried alot of dealerships) and to add insult to injury they then want you to pay MSRP on a new bike.

I think your best bet is to sell the Jeep and then sell the Stryker (private party) and you'll have the money in hand to pay off the remainder of the loan (above whatever you sell it for) and will be able to hit a dealership with a "fresh slate".
 
#8 ·
well, i too had a 2011 stryker. Instead of going for ss i went for a z1000 though. I sold my stryker for $8k back in july. I guess i'm saying i understand your wanting to switch...i loved my styker but i think i had it for no more than two months and about 1200 miles.

Like someone above said, you aren't in a great spot to be switching bikes since you're upside down on the stryker loan. Honestly, i don't know if you can even sell it private party unless you can pay the difference between the sale price and the lien. If you goto a dealer and try to trade in the stryker on a ss you will be raked over the coals. When i was trying to make the switch i was typically offered no more than 6.5k for the stryker (and i tried alot of dealerships) and to add insult to injury they then want you to pay msrp on a new bike.

I think your best bet is to sell the jeep and then sell the stryker (private party) and you'll have the money in hand to pay off the remainder of the loan (above whatever you sell it for) and will be able to hit a dealership with a "fresh slate".
+1,000
 
#9 ·
Buying the Striker new was a mistake, new bikes are only worth it when you're sure you'll have them for a long time, otherwise you end up losing a bunch of money, as you already figured out.

Suck it up and pay it, it's not like you were out of a ride. Once the Striker is paid for, go for the next bike...

Otherwise you'll be the guy with the $18,000 GSX-R 750, and you'll be upside down on that loan for... Most of it.
 
#10 ·
Ending up upside-down on one loan only to turn around and be even MORE upside-down on another loan is just asking for trouble.

That's how you fuck yourself over. Either keep your current bike and learn to enjoy it, or sell it off and get out of debt and then buy a used GSXR when you can afford it.

Financing a new sportbike is silly. You get LITERALLY nothing extra from a new bike that an 06 or newer doesn't offer except the electronics that let you pick how much power you want. Useless, honestly.

There's absolutely NO reason to buy a brand new sportbike unless all you care about is image, you just have gobs of cash, or you are actually racing it competitively. (Unless you are actually getting one of the VERY few bikes on the market where the new one actually comes with significant upgrades over the old version).
 
#13 ·
Sure- you get peace of mind. But with motorcycles it's SO easy to find ones that are SUPER low mileage and a few years old that have barely been ridden.

I mean- I've got a 10 year old bike with 6500 miles on it. It's practically brand new. And since I bought it, I've seen several others that are around the same mileage.

You have to watch out for bikes being stunted or dropped, and might have to replace a couple seals here and there.... but even if you don't want to do that, just buying a 2-3 year old bike will save you 5 grand or more. Goes a LONG way toward a shop checking it out for you.
 
#12 ·
Yeah but this peace of mind is going to cost him his financial situation. Being THAT upside down is seriously s mistake in this day and age.


Take care if the Stryker first and then get the GSXR.
 
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#15 ·
You all have great points and I appreciate it.

Just to clarify, I'm not going for a GSXR but the 750 is my 2nd choice after the Daytona 675.

IF I can sell privately for a decent price, I'm going for it.

Some of you make a great point about getting a used bike instead but I don't got the cash. I do save money little by little but what can I say.. I'm an impatient mofo. If I can start fresh on a new bike with a good interest rate, why not. I will be hitting up the track and I will learn to ride pro.

Which brings me to maybe a different option, not sure it's a good one, but I'm new on the track and I heard the best way to start is on a 250. will it be wise for me to turn the Jeep cash into a 250 instead, keep paying the Stryker, and just suffer the power loss for everyday riding? I mean can I even ride on the freeway with those things?
 
#17 ·
:facepalm.

Yes you can ride on the freeway with them. God where does this pervasive notion that a 250 cannot function above 50 mph come from? Seriously.

It would be far more intelligent to purchase an older smaller bike with cash than taking on more debt.

Debt is bad.
 
#21 ·
After thinking it through for a while, I think I will go the 250 route and keep the Stryker for now. Better yet, I'm really loving that new Ninja 300. I have a feeling there will be people that bought it brand new and selling in a few month from now like people do on 250's...(fingers crossed by tax return). I'd probably still have to sell the Jeep but I should be able to buy one cash and re-start my sports bike career once again, but now learning how to REALLY handle a bike. Once I'm passing 600's on canyons and tracks, it'll be time again to move up a notch.

Still open to any suggestions but thanks all for all the advice!
 
#27 ·
I think this is a great idea man. I started on a 500, then got a Z1000. Great bike. But I sold that this year because some more important things came up and I wasn't riding it (read "keeping current" on it) as much as I should have been... It was getting so that I wasn't really all that comfortable on it when I would take it out because I felt so out of practice.

Anyway, not having ridden for six months, I have the craving again. I think this time I'm gonna spring for a 250 (not necessarily a Ninja... possibly an older nighthawk). They are so light, cheap, and FUN. And you can beat the shit out of them without hitting automatically-go-to-jail speeds. Plus plunking down the cash and owning it outright without any payments is a great feeling.

Best of luck :cheers
 
#23 ·
The 250 does well on the highway. I ride 2 up with my wife and it will do 84 mph(speedo indicated). It had absolutely no torque but, if you wind it out it will do fine. You will do a lot of shifting though to stay in the power band. 250's have excellent resale value. Buy a used one ride the hell out of it and sell it for the same price that you paid. Ours is pampered though.
 
#24 ·
Susser-Tod is right, if you are not mechanically inclined (or bothered), sometimes it CAN be better for some people to buy new.

Having said that, what I don't think is a good idea, is putting so much debt one on top of the other, or getting a new bike when you are a relatively new rider.

Myself, I'll keep buying used. I know how to and love working on bikes, and every time I'm interested in a certain bike, I become some sort of paranoid-obsessive scholar on the particular model and its possible issues, and its particular market :D

Unless I had a large amount of expendable cash -and I don't see that happening any time soon-, and I was looking at a relatively rare, special model, say a Bimota DB7 or something, I wouldn't buy new.
 
#28 ·
Where ever you are at I want to live there next.

For the OP, from someone who been there done that with cars, it isn't worth it. Putting yourself in more debt for a bike is meaningless unless you know your going to keep the bike longer than it will take to pay off the loan. And be real with yourself about it. Is a brand new supersport bike even worth going deeper into debt for? On top of insurance, tires, and all of the other maintenance aspects that come with supersports? I don't know how your stryker is, but I don't know if a supersport wold be an improvement in any of the above mentioned categories.

You are better off selling private party. It is about the only shot you have of making the most money for your bike. A dealer is only going to give you so much and then sell it for 3-4 grand more than they paid you for. Don't let yourself be ripped off.
 
#29 ·
Ride a 250 before you go through with it. As an owner of both a cruiser and a 250 corner carver, the 250 is tons of fun but their shortcomings sort of come out close to a draw IMO. I enjoy them both and if I had to get rid of one it would probably be the cruiser, but on the same note I wouldn't if I were going to lose money on the deal.
Yes it turns sharp, is a lot more agile, and gets much better gas mileage... but its also a LOT slower, torque-less, and buzzy on the highway. At first it would be a fun change, but a few months later you'll be questioning if it was worth it.
 
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