I am planning to buy a 250. From a parts availability standpoint, is there much/any advantage to buying a 2014 or 2015 vs one in say the 1998-2004 range. I gather there is a high degree of interchangeability of parts for the second generation. Just wondering if the price premium for buying a 2014 or 2015 is worth it. I am willing to pay more if it means I will have a bike that I can get parts for easily, but if there is no real advantage, parts-wise, I will probably go for an older/cheaper bike. Thought, opinions what do you think?
Parts availability.
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Welcome to the forum. With very few exceptions, parts for the second generation 250s (1996-2016) are interchangeable and readily available.
It seems that most bike manufacturers have settled on 10 years as far as parts availability goes. It also seems that they want you to buy a new bike every 10 years. My 2012 is already 9 years old and in like new condition. It shouldn't need any parts for quite some time. I discovered the hard way that some dealers won't even look up parts for a bike over 10 years old. 2016 was the last year for the Rebel 250, which means parts that should fit any Rebel back to 1996 will be available from a dealer until 2026, and from online parts places like partzilla.com for considerably longer. Also, Honda must have made millions of Rebels, so a lot of used parts should also be available.
I have a 1979 Honda XL250S in the garage that needs parts. I've been looking for the parts for more than a year with no luck. I noticed someone here looking for Rebel 450 parts. Seems they were only made 2 years, 1986 and 1987. Probably just as hard to find parts for as my XL250. It is definitely worth buying a bike you can get parts for.
I have a 1979 Honda XL250S in the garage that needs parts. I've been looking for the parts for more than a year with no luck. I noticed someone here looking for Rebel 450 parts. Seems they were only made 2 years, 1986 and 1987. Probably just as hard to find parts for as my XL250. It is definitely worth buying a bike you can get parts for.
Thanks, Big Bob, for the info. I have a 1981 Silverwing, so I am somewhat familiar with the quest for parts. I am selling it because it is to tall for my short legs. Though I will miss its 500cc power and a really smooth ride, I will welcome the low saddle height and ready availability of parts for a Rebel. In fact, today, I am going to look at a 2015 Rebel. If that trip does not result in a purchase, I seen ads for two 2014s that are within a reasonable distance.
Good luck finding one. Prices are up on almost all motorcycles because of the CV thing. Most dealers have very little inventory, because they are not getting any new bikes. People are paying high prices, and I'm even seeing a lot of wanted to buy ads on Craigslist. I've had mine for just over 6 months, and am just now starting to make some changes to it to make it fit me better. I'm too big for it, so I am installing drag bars and a forward controls kit from a place called Blue Collar Bobbers to move me forward a few inches. On the stock bike I wind up sitting right between the two seats. But power wise it keeps up on the freeway just fine.
Today, I got a 2015 Rebel with 1500mi for $2000. It had been on Facebook Marketplace for at least a month. Too cold, I guess for much buying and selling. I found more inventory on FB Marketplace than Craigslist, but I suppose that might vary from place to place. One seller told me that Craigslist is charging for the ad after a period of time (a month, I think he said.) Rather than pay to relist he listed on FB. Sorry, if this is a bit off topic.
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