buying bike

i am thinking about buying a bike for college. does anyone know of any good sites that sells bikes? i was thinking about 1996 kawasaki ninja zx6r for my first bike

where are u located? if ur in the west coast in the cali area, try craigslist.org. im not sure if there is one in the east coast but this is where i got my bike from.

i am in raleigh, north carolina. i know about cycletrader.com and ebay.com, i was just wondering if anyone knew of any other sites

Cycletrader.com is the best way to go, IMHO. That, and the local classifieds. I don't trust eBay unless you can go and see the bike firsthand.

Might try a local Cycle Trader magazine too. I'm a kawi guy, but CBR600s from the 90s are excellent all arounders too.

What sort of things should I avoid when buying used bikes?

I won't buy a bike with an "aftermarket" or "custom" paint job... to me, it just screams, I WAS WRECKED!!! I look at the front forks and make sure they aren't wet (sign of wheelies and not replacing the fork seals). I make sure there isn't any rubber in the undertail (sign of burnouts). Make sure the chain isn't rusted, and isn't too tight or too loose on the bike (bike might not have been maintained properly). I make sure all the electrical works right (lights/hi/lo, signals, both brake levers activate the brake lights, etc.). There's more, but I gotta run. I'll try to post back more later.

What is considered alot of miles for a bike?

What is considered to be alot of miles on a bike?

"A lot" means MANY different things depending on how the bike was maintained and ridden. I have a friend with over 100,000 miles, and the bike is in EXCELLENT shape. I have seen other bikes with 3,000 miles that I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. I don't think there is one "accepted" answer for this question overall. Bikes aren't like cars where 12,000 miles are average for a year.

So around 15,000 miles on a 96' would be considered to have some life still left in it if the bike wasn't rode hard.

Oh, absolutely! That's not even 2,000 miles per year! I'd make sure that oil changes were regular, and that sort of thing, but it sounds like the bike should be in pretty good shape. Oh, and with that few miles per year, I'd also make sure the bike was run every year, so you have less chance of carb problems.