The flames were first introduced in 2006. (black rims)

2007 have silver rims and highlighted flames.

2005 and earlier all have the triangle slash graphics and i think most (if not all) have a different colored lower fairing than the rest of the bike. (silver/blue, black/silver, etc etc)

 

most of the ones i saw for sale in my area were 2005 models and most had under 3000 miles on them.

 

I cant usually post from work so here goes...

I also have a 2001 Katana 600 w/ 9K paid $2000, its a great almost beginner bike. It wont dump you on your behind, very smooth, its forgiving but not as forgiving as the ninja. The older Kats are worth under $2000, I havent really priced them out. The blue book on them is higher than what they end up selling for so you cant go by that.

One thing to keep in mind, it is heavy at 460lbs its a tank. Tip it over in the garage and its guraranteed you will damage plastic and likely crack it if you arent lucky enough to be able to help lower it to the ground. My husband just put gouges in the plastic the other day, he was just wheeling it around when it got off center and out of his control. Hes 5'10" and 200lbs to hes a big enough guy to fling the 250 around. But the Kat went straight down.

This is an '03

 

i thought i had a link to the bike on here,
but maybe it wasnt allowed and the mods took it down (my bad if thats the case)
but if i remember correctly it was a 93 for 1.8k.
id talk em down to about 1500 because of the year and id probably need new tires, but i gotta get a friend to take a look at it with me, cause i cant ride yet... or ill look like a total tool when i fall off it .

 

I had the owner ride it for me. And she did no problem so I knew everything worked. The seller will usually go around on it no problem.

 

I dont remember seeing the link here. Dont think they took it down.

The one thing to keep in mind about that year katana is that all the rubber starts to deteriorate. Ive been told the rubber in between the carbs and engine has to be replaced and could be hard to find.

Theres also o-rings here and there, fork seals, brake lines, tires etc that rot even with low miles. The engine is bullet proof but some have had 2nd gear go out in the tranny.

Annnnd... since you have never ridden before its going to be hard to handle unless your 6' 200lbs.

Also if you havent wrenched on a bike it will be a handful at that age. Your better investment is a newer 250.

And definately take someone with you, I did when I bought my second bike it was worth it. Also look outside of your area, both of my bikes were a couple of hours away. Get a uhaul trailer or cargo van and bring it home. you shouldnt be riding it home anyway.

 

here is the katana
http://buffalo.craigslist.org/mcy/374125653.html

and heres the kawa
http://buffalo.craigslist.org/mcy/365474043.html

both seem nice, but i keep being told im gonna get bored of a 250 in a season or 2...
makes me wonder what would be better bang for the buck.

advice?
(haggling advice too would be nice )

 

Check this one out
http://adcache.cycletrader.com/5/3/0/84263530.htm
it might be near you, I'm not sure, just saw it and it looked good, warranty and gear too!
Just trying to keep you off of a suzuki...

 

thats a steal,
but its almost 5 hours away...
but i might not have mentioned this...
this is the first motorcycle i will have ever have rode.
so were not looking for the fastest thing ever here...

 

and i want a kawa over anything else,
my buddy is actually teaching me sometime this week on his older bike,
a 1989 600cc ninja.
so i dunno if that tosses the buying a 250 idea out the window. but i just figure i wanna get familiar with shifting and balancing for turns and all the basics... not flying down the street unsure of what to do.