Buy this one or run away?
Sorry if this is a tad long. but I need advice. Older Harley rider here. I’m not a brand loyalist. I’ve just been riding Harley‘s most of my life because I liked the torque and they seem to fit my past riding style. I have not owned a Japanese bike since the early 1980s. I decided it’s time to change all that as I near retirement, I’m looking for something more mid range and nimble while also being reliable. The ninja 650 seemed to fit that shoe. Something that I can hit the country roads on or just take down to the store.
My local dealer has a 2026 ninja 650 at a pretty good price. I can save over $1000 on it And still finance it. It only has 967 miles on it. I thought well hell, here’s a good chance to get something that’s not even fully broken in and save a bunch of extra destination fees. Took the bike for a test drive. The first thing I noticed, this bike had a severe hesitation when I first took off. It only happened that one time, and seemed to run pretty good. But it was enough to make me take notice. Is this normal for something that might have been sitting for a while? None of my fuel injected Harley’s ever hesitated like that even when they sat all winter. Maybe I’m being a turd.
The bike seemed to pop and backfire a little bit more than I thought it should have. But to be fair, it appears somebody put an aftermarket pipe on it so I might be hearing things I normally would not hear. But here’s the final kicker that is making me post this. I did the paperwork, put the down payment and they had the bike in service while I was doing all that. Then when I went to take the bike home, they said we can’t let you take the bike home. It failed our safety inspection.
They said one of the headlights was not working and the signal lights was not working, and since it has a safety issue, they can’t let it go. They either need to fix it, refund my money, or put me on something else. I was kind of shocked by this for a bike that’s got that low miles. Could this just be a one time fluke? They mention something about ordering a wiring harness. I don’t know if they said THE wiring harness or A wiring harness.
If I get on anything else, I’m going to be taking a much less bike or paying a great deal more. But now I’m kind of put off with the little issues. This is still a 2026. Not even 1000 miles on it. It has scratches on the left side of the bike more consistent with somebody dropping it versus a rolling crash. Am I being overly paranoid? Or should I run like hell? Still has the factory warranty with the option to add up to five years if I pay extra. I just don’t want my bike sitting in the shop all the time.