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Nerobro posted:The red line indicates the base gasket, not the headgasket. drat, you're right. I don't know why I was seeing that as the headgasket in that photo. Its not even metal. Drew Tyler posted:Excellent! Thank you 8ender and Nerobro. I'm fairly certain the oil was leaking from the top green lines, but I'll ask to go take a second look today. If you have any tech sites for this bike feel free to post, that's my last request. Try these two: http://www.kz650.info http://www.kzrider.com
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Apr 3, 2009 03:24
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Honda NX250/AX-1 I've been wanting a dual sport for a while and this one popped up. This is the euro version which is supposed to be a bit better than the standard NX250. 50,000kms, guy says that its well looked after with chain, sprockets and tyres changed recently. For somewhere in the area of $NZ 2500-2900, which I reckon isn't too bad, because anything roadgoing is going for at least $2k. Gonna give the guy a call and see if I can have a look tomorrow. Anybody have any experience with these bikes? From what I've read they seem to be pretty sweet, although I'm not sure about the turquoise 
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Apr 3, 2009 06:30
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Spartak posted:Honda NX250/AX-1 That turquoise is frickin' sweet and you would be a horrible person to change it. I love color combos like that. Makes you look that much awesomer when you do something awesome on it.
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Apr 3, 2009 06:49
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Gnomad posted:Back to TTFA and his GS450L- Not to be a dick, or a clueless noob, but I'm unclear as to what one actually does with more than the 40hp a G450 puts out. I've got a CB250 with 20 horse, and I really find it pretty acceptable for almost everything I do. The only reasons I "need" a bigger bike are that it's a bit wobbly if it's really windy on the interstate (starts to feel really skittish at 60mph+ especially), it's a big sluggish on really steep hills (little windy steep roads in the TX Hill Country), and it'd be nice to have a max a bit above 80mph so I can pass better or zip out of trouble on the interstate. For the city driving that makes up the vast majority of my riding it's totally satisfactory. So I don't quite get why folks need 70+ horsepower, outside of being on a track. Hey, free country, so I'm not against their having more, I'm just a little confused as to why 40hp is considered barely adequate when it gets you up to 100+mph on the interstate, and even my little 20hp can dust plenty of cars from a dead stop at a red light.
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Apr 3, 2009 08:28
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This is a fakepost right? "Gee I wonder why people want more horsepower than what my cb250 provides even though I often think to myself how it would be great to have a bike that does more than 60 without getting the shakes and it would be really cool to have a bike that went 80mph but seriously why do people get bikes with bigger horsepower?" nerobro made the best post 1200cc harley and 1200cc zx12 = completely different in hp.
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Apr 3, 2009 09:55
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Captain Apollo posted:nerobro made the best post Power to weight is a really interesting when it comes to bikes. I did some rough figures on all of our families bikes and the results are kind of neat: 1978 Yamaha XS1100: 0.15 hp/lb 1977 Kawasaki KZ650: 0.14 hp/lb 1979 Honda Goldwing GL1000: 0.12 hp/lb 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250ZZR: 0.11 hp/lb 1967 Yamaha YDS3 250cc: 0.08 hp/lb  The most interesting is the Goldwing vs. the Ninja because they're so close. The Goldwing has a stout engine but is hampered by its weight. This is course doesn't take into account gear ratios and such but these numbers are pretty close to reality. The Ninja can easily keep up with the Goldwing even when its going balls out. The XS1100 vs KZ650 is interesting too because the XS1100 makes up for its massive weight by putting out nearly 95hp, which tops the KZ650 which is nearly as fast with 64hp and a much lighter frame. 8ender fucked around with this message at 13:45 on Apr 3, 2009 |
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Apr 3, 2009 13:43
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Not to be a dick, or a clueless noob, but I'm unclear as to what one actually does with more than the 40hp a G450 puts out. Captain Apollo posted:1200cc harley and 1200cc zx12 = completely different in hp. 8ender posted:The most interesting is the Goldwing vs. the Ninja because they're so close. The Goldwing has a stout engine but is hampered by its weight. This is course doesn't take into account gear ratios and such but these numbers are pretty close to reality. The Ninja can easily keep up with the Goldwing even when its going balls out. Power to weight is funny. It tells you a lot from say.. 30-60mph. But as you end up going faster, power and aerodynamics takes over. The ninja and goldwing would likely be neck and neck 20-60mph. The Goldwings greater power will take over as speeds get higher. The Lotus Elise sprints from 0-60 in no time at all, because it's power to weight is great. It's top speed blows due to it's total power output being so low in comparison to it's "competition." Cars and bikes at Bonneville carry ballast. They frequently have crap power to weight ratios. But total power, and total drag are what matters for top speed.
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Apr 3, 2009 14:21
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Stuff about power I love a small bike as much as the rest of us here, but excess power is nice too. Sometimes it is nice to be able to go up a hill without downshifting a gear or two. Around here people routinely drive 80+ on the freeways. If you are trying to keep a good space cushion around you, you need some maneuverability which takes a bit of power. My CB350 was topped at 70-80 depending upon how steep the road was. I felt like a rolling obstacle about to get creamed any second. This also forced me to stay in the rightmost lane where idiots where merging and exiting at both super high and super low speed without a care in the world. Too many close calls for me to be remotely comfortable. Ideally I would like to have a N250 or a nice small CB or GS for windy road/mild freeway duty and a bigger bike when I need to brave rush hour but I only really have space for one so bigger it is. Once you get on the capital beltway you will know more of what I'm talking about. I've done it. It's, um, exciting. EDIT: For content. Bugdrvr fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Apr 3, 2009 |
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Apr 3, 2009 15:11
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:However, as I'm cruising GS/CB CL ads, I see: "Honda CB650. This bike is perfect for beginners, or maybe for the wife or a child who's just starting out." However, the power curve on the 650 is really smooth. The bike is quite forgiving at low RPMs so it won't tear your arms out of your sockets from stoplights or stand up if you accidentally goose the throttle when you hit a pothole. Conversely, mine will happily do 75mph in 4th gear on the freeway without even approaching redline. Fastest I've gone on mine is 85 and that's only because that was the speed at which I started to poo poo my pants. The seat height is low enough that I can easily flatfoot the bike, and I'm 5'6". So yes, I would recommend it as a good first bike for a smaller gent or normal-sized lady as long as the person was responsible and had a healthy respect for the dangers of motorcycling. Should you find a good deal on one, don't be afraid to look at it. I paid $500 for mine from the original owner and she was in fine shape. There's one for sale here locally for $1950, but I think that's a bit overpriced (he hasn't been able to sell it). The only downside to the 650's is that they only made them for 4 years, and the stuff on the '79 is pretty different from the rest of the models. Parts/mods for the 650 aren't as common as for the 750 or 500/550. But I can still find parts for mine pretty easily. They're not flashy nor given as much to the supar dupar moddin' crew, but they are the epitome of a standard standard.
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Apr 3, 2009 15:52
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Even though I don't have the money for it yet, I'm doing some searching around to see what kind of price range I could be looking at. I figure I'm going to save around 6-10k USD then buy a new bike. Now with that I could easially buy a z1000 with under 500 miles on it, but I could also buy something like these. http://atlanta.craigslist.org/mcy/1075832004.html http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/mcy/1104375369.html Its pretty obvious that its older so its not as valuable, and it works the same way with cars, but what are the reasons not to buy a 2000-2003 aged rare motorcycle that I've lusted after forever, opposed to the very practical z1000. I would assume insurance would be ridiculous (but sometimes things like that are deceptive, I remember a goon saying his Ariel Atoms insurance was dirt cheap) and I would also assume maintenance would be ridiculously expensive on a rarer bike. If you goons were given the option of a brand new z1000, or a slightly used MV F4, for nearly the same price, to be your only motorcycle, what would you take realistically, and why.
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Apr 3, 2009 16:02
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Trintintin posted:Even though I don't have the money for it yet, I'm doing some searching around to see what kind of price range I could be looking at. I figure I'm going to save around 6-10k USD then buy a new bike. Now with that I could easially buy a z1000 with under 500 miles on it, but I could also buy something like these. Motorcycles shouldn't be about being reasonable or buying what makes sense. If the MV F4 falls under dream bike for you, and you can afford it I'd say buy it. Thats the great part about bikes, you can actually afford the ones you've got as posters and desktop wallpapers. Plus they ruined the Z1000 with the new model.
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Apr 3, 2009 17:32
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Not to be a dick, or a clueless noob, but I'm unclear as to what one actually does with more than the 40hp a G450 puts out. I think I'm in a great spot to answer this question, and it really is a decent question. I really never thought I'd need/want more power then my Ninja 250 offers, and I really didn't. Then I rode from Dallas to Los Angeles, and let me tell you, going up some of those several mile long grades kicked my 250s rear end. It made it, but it took some real effort. Something with 50hp or so would have made crossing almost painless I think. I'm now saving for a more powerful bike, I'm thinking either a CB750 or an SV650. (busa)
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Apr 3, 2009 17:43
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Not to be a dick, or a clueless noob, but I'm unclear as to what one actually does with more than the 40hp a G450 puts out. Because more power makes everything easier when it comes to getting a bike from A to B. When you're using 50% of your bike's performance rather than 100% of it at any given time, you're farther from the limits of the bike, you've got more in reserve, and you don't have to deal with precision tapdancing on the gear shift to make sure that you stay in max power all the time. That's why the g/f's Z1k is fun...no need to decide on gears, 2 seconds of roll on at 70 will take me to 90. Get on some twisty road, leave it in 3rd, and roll in and out of the throttle, no brakes. Basically, everything people love about twins like the SV650 and inline 4 600s is combined in bigger I4s to give you both power and revs, and that's fun, and takes the need out of shifting, which makes riding more relaxing/enjoyable...on less thing to think about. I loved the hell out of my 250 for the longest time, beating it through the gears, flogging it to redline, but after 10k of that, and then 50k of that on my ZX-6E, I really got tired of spinning the engine all the time. It was nice to get on the 929 and ride it around below 5k and never have a problem with power. Trintintin...I'm with pr0zac on this one. If you want an MV, if you can afford it, buy the poo poo out of it. Ride it every day, come in grinning like an idiot while you massage your aching wrists, and give the finger to "collectors" and "always garaged, never seen the rain". It's a motorcycle, ride it. What would Ago do? Not everyone gets the chance to own their dream bike...you have it, take it. Insurance may be high, it may not be. I think you'd be one of the first to put long miles on one of these, so who knows how long term reliability would be? But I'm pretty sure it'd last just fine. The 750s aren't absurdly highly tuned, it's not going to be like you're going to randomly eject pistons or anything. My dream bike is a Bimota Delirio...if I wasn't throwing money down a black hole racing, you bet it'd be in my garage. You only live once...if you can check "Owning a dream bike" off your list now, then loving do it. That's what motorcycles are all about.
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Apr 3, 2009 17:47
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blugu64 posted:I'm now saving for a more powerful bike, I'm thinking either a CB750 or an SV650. (busa) HAY! Hahaha Groovy man. We'll have to meet up one day and you can ride my sv around.
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Apr 3, 2009 18:00
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Trintintin posted:MV AUGUSTA Holy poo poo please buy this so we can become best friends. But in reality dude, you deserve it 
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Apr 3, 2009 18:02
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Z3n posted:That's why the g/f's Z1k is fun...no need to decide on gears, 2 seconds of roll on at 70 will take me to 90. Get on some twisty road, leave it in 3rd, and roll in and out of the throttle, no brakes. I don't think you even need a big z1000 to have ample power, just a decently quick engine with a reasonable powerband. One of the things I'm enjoying the most about my KZ650 now that I've gotten it running is that I can roll on the throttle, even in fifth gear, and it'll accelerate to whatever speed I want quickly and without any kind of struggling. Coming from a 250 two stroke with a tiny little powerband in the upper end of the tach its a great joy to not have to constantly be loving around with the gears to keep revs up just to accelerate.
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Apr 3, 2009 18:05
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8ender posted:I don't think you even need a big z1000 to have ample power, just a decently quick engine with a reasonable powerband. One of the things I'm enjoying the most about my KZ650 now that I've gotten it running is that I can roll on the throttle, even in fifth gear, and it'll accelerate to whatever speed I want quickly and without any kind of struggling. SV650s are the same way, kinda. The Z is just faster all around...and let's face it, fast bikes are fun. Sure, it's a cheap thrill, but as cheap thrills go, it's one of the best.
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Apr 3, 2009 18:15
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Z3n posted:SV650s are the same way, kinda. The Z is just faster all around...and let's face it, fast bikes are fun. Sure, it's a cheap thrill, but as cheap thrills go, it's one of the best. The SV650 and KZ650 have similar horsepower and make their peak power at around the same RPM. The SV650 is certainly lighter and faster but its funny that the formula for a decent middleweight bike hasn't changed in so many years. It seems a 65-75 hp engine, with a decent powerband, in a 375-450lb frame is the sweet spot. That said I'd love to have a Z1000 but I think thats on the upper limit of my personal power to talent ratio.
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Apr 3, 2009 18:25
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8ender posted:The SV650 and KZ650 have similar horsepower and make their peak power at around the same RPM. The SV650 is certainly lighter and faster but its funny that the formula for a decent middleweight bike hasn't changed in so many years. It seems a 65-75 hp engine, with a decent powerband, in a 375-450lb frame is the sweet spot. Well, it's not really a suprise...40 or so foot pounds of torque, spread nicely through a large powerband makes a very fun engine, and 350-450 pounds in a frame with a less aggressive geometry makes for a nice combination of tractability and performance. Z1ks are actually a pretty forgiving literbike. They are definintely very powerful, and not to be underestimated, but the upright seating position with bars, and an engine that builds power, rather than hitting power spikes, it a lot eaiser to ride than you'd expect. You need to have throttle control to ride it comfortably, but it's a very manageable bike. No razor sharp sportbike steering, just a standard with a big engine. It's a really fun bike. It also doesn't make much more power than a modern 600, it just has go from all RPM. When you finally get up to your 2007 bike you should buy one to try out 
Z3n fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Apr 3, 2009 |
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Apr 3, 2009 18:47
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Captain Apollo posted:HAY! And if he's anywhere around Phoenix he should check out my CB750... then buy an SV.
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Apr 3, 2009 19:16
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:So I don't quite get why folks need 70+ horsepower, outside of being on a track. Hey, free country, so I'm not against their having more, I'm just a little confused as to why 40hp is considered barely adequate when it gets you up to 100+mph on the interstate, and even my little 20hp can dust plenty of cars from a dead stop at a red light. Some day you will discover how much fun balls to the wall acceleration really is, and you will be confused no more.
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Apr 3, 2009 20:12
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That's the thing. Even with 63hp, my GS550 is to easy to ride well outside the legal limits when going "balls to the wall." The moped I can race, and ride at the very edges anytime I like, and not fear prosecution.
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Apr 3, 2009 20:29
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Z3n posted:Z1ks are actually a pretty forgiving literbike. They are definintely very powerful, and not to be underestimated, but the upright seating position with bars, and an engine that builds power, rather than hitting power spikes, it a lot eaiser to ride than you'd expect. You need to have throttle control to ride it comfortably, but it's a very manageable bike. No razor sharp sportbike steering, just a standard with a big engine. It's a really fun bike. It also doesn't make much more power than a modern 600, it just has go from all RPM. I'm not sure 'forgiving' is the right word. They have 20 hp (or 20%) more horsepower at the tire than a modern 600 (excluding the cheaters like the 636 and 675), gobs more torque, and the upright seating would actually them more wheelie-prone, if it weren't for the taller gearing. The standard handlebars make them quite a bit easier to ride, though. Nice bikes.
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Apr 3, 2009 20:48
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Bob Morales posted:I'm not sure 'forgiving' is the right word. They have 20 hp (or 20%) more horsepower at the tire than a modern 600 (excluding the cheaters like the 636 and 675), gobs more torque, and the upright seating would actually them more wheelie-prone, if it weren't for the taller gearing. forgiving literbike. You compare it to even an older one like my 929, and the difference is pretty significant, you compare it to a modern 1000RR and it's night and day.
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Apr 3, 2009 21:27
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Bugdrvr posted:
I drove a 250 Honda Rebel in Chesapeake, VA for about a year and a half. I can sympathize with you. Almost everyone out in that city thinks they are driving some sort of tricked out sports car and can pass you, regardless of speed. I've since moved up, I now have a 1995 XV1100 Yamaha Virago. I'm big on comfort over speed. I picked it up for $1400 just north of Orlando Florida, it has NO issues and about 27k on the clock. Sound like I got a good deal?
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Apr 3, 2009 21:45
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Not to distract myself from the current goal of getting a small-frame twin UJM, 400-500cc, but is it at all worth looking at some of the smaller BMW standards? I see a few of these around Austin, and some of the smaller ones seem about the size of a CB400 or GS400. Are they going to be considerably more expensive for less reliablity and even harder parts-finding though?  
TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Apr 4, 2009 |
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Apr 4, 2009 03:23
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Full disclosure here-I own a BMW boxer. The older BMW's are for the most part enthusiast bikes. True, they are durable as jurassic cockroaches, and parts will be easy to find but shockingly expensive. It's a borderline lifestyle ride, akin to Harley ownership, populated by 2 camps. I like to put myself in the first camp, riders who like any bike within reason but find the experience of a boxer ride very satisfying, and insufferable snobby wankers who won't put any fluid in the bike unless it has a roundel on the bottle. There are some good boxers to look for. A mid 80's R65, small frame size, comparatively lightweight, basic service access is absurdly easy, and the drivetrain will last forever, even the finals. I've seen them go for $2500 or so and you should be able to get that back when and if you sell it. The gas tank rusts out by the petcock, scrutinize carefully. A good first BMW might be the K series bike with the inline fallover triple. It's smooth, torquey, also fabulously durable, the finals don't die with the regularity of the paralever bikes, the seat height is on the low side, there might be more power than a beginner would want and they are top heavy with a full tank of fuel, but if you thinking CB750's or the like, think the K75 also. The newer boxers, the paralever bikes, might be above your comfortable price point. Not a good beginner bike IMHO. Heavy, fairly complex, and the final drive is a weak point. I have touched that third rail of BMW ownership, the replacement of that bearing, and it's doable and not as expensive as you'd think, but every BMW equipped with a paralever swing arm will have this failure. Last night, as I was out on the ride to the car wash (which never quite got to the car wash part ) I found this bike and snapped a picture.  You know, I'm pretty sure the Yamaha Vision has been tossed around as a beginners bike. A specimen in good condition could be worth consideration. And obviously, I don't think a R1150GS would be a good beginners bike! I looked at the Austin CL, found these- http://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/1062367775.html http://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/1077880189.html That F650ST would be a good beginners bike. 650cc single, about 50 hp give or take, it won't be as tall as a dual sport. Easy to ride, and the suspension and brakes are going to be of modern spec so you won't be fighting the bike while learning to ride. http://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/1103694730.html This one will take you across town or across the world, but if you drop it, the tupperware will be expensive. So yes, the BMW will Bleed My Wallet. Compared on paper to pretty much any bike, they lose. But you don't ride paper, and there the BMW riding experience shines. I may be the only BMW rider who waves to scooters, so my results may have varied. Gnomad fucked around with this message at 05:09 on Apr 4, 2009 |
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Apr 4, 2009 04:55
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Gnomad posted:There are some good boxers to look for. A mid 80's R65, small frame size, comparatively lightweight, basic service access is absurdly easy, and the drivetrain will last forever, even the finals. I've seen them go for $2500 or so and you should be able to get that back when and if you sell it. The gas tank rusts out by the petcock, scrutinize carefully. Not to make folks keep track of my movement, but I am still facing the "am in Austin until early May, then moving to DC" obstacle. However, Captain Apollo did offer to ride any bike I buy in Austin up to DC for me... In whatever case, that R65 does look pretty awesome, and puts out 43hp, so good enough for my "don't like riding any faster than I have to" purposes. 406lbs, only 26 heavier than the GS450. I dunno, that is a tempting change-up from a UJM. Not to get snobby, but it does sound classy and look cool, and from what I recall of the ones I've seen around town it seems a similar size. The one in San Antonio is $3000, but, within reason, price isn't a huge obstacle since I just landed a pretty good job. This FAQ seems pretty awesome, and the "Cons" they list don't sound too troubling, so long as parts arent' a huge issue: http://www.nebcom.com/noemi/moto/r65faq.html When you say "easy to maintain", are we talking "Honda easy" or just "easier than most Euro bikes"? Can I just ride this sucker, keep the fluids topped off, and take it to a mech for a tune-up every other year? drat, this does complicate things. On the bright side, the one thing that hasn't changed is that I've consistently been looking at Standards that are easy to maintain with a relatively small frame (so my 5'6" self can stand flat with ease, and not look like a tiny monkey riding a people bike). EDIT: The only parts that give me pause is some folks say they vibrate a lot at higher speeds, and/or get pretty uncomfy at 65mph+. Then again, it theoretically does 100+, so it has the power for that much. I don't expect to do any long-distance interstate driving with it, so as long as I can commute with it in DC, and zip up to Philly or down to Richmond, or take road-trips up into the WV mountains on the back-roads for twistie kicks, I'd be cool. 
TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 05:46 on Apr 4, 2009 |
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Apr 4, 2009 05:40
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:However, Captain Apollo did offer to ride any bike I buy in Austin up to DC for me... I'll do it for half, and stay in cheaper motels. Gr3y posted:And if he's anywhere around Phoenix he should check out my CB750... then buy an SV. Actually I'll be passing though phoenix tomorrow (saturday). If you want to ride north to the grand canyon shoot me an email blugu64@gmail.com blugu64 fucked around with this message at 07:14 on Apr 4, 2009 |
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Apr 4, 2009 07:11
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:When you say "easy to maintain", are we talking "Honda easy" or just "easier than most Euro bikes"? Can I just ride this sucker, keep the fluids topped off, and take it to a mech for a tune-up every other year? "easy to maintain" is more akin to "easier than most euro bikes" they still want frequent valve adjustments (~ every 6-8K) but it's easy on those old air cooled ones. The old alternators did not make much power so there's not a whole lot of aftermarket stuff you can run off of them. Boxer motors feel like motorcycle engines but they don't create as many vibrations as a single and there are lots of people who ride singles all day. I think you'd be fine with it as long as you realize that the hourly rate to fix it will be higher and the parts will be more expensive.
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Apr 4, 2009 16:39
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PlasticSun posted:I think you'd be fine with it as long as you realize that the hourly rate to fix it will be higher and the parts will be more expensive.
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Apr 4, 2009 18:26
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Gnomad posted:Because you'll need to take it to a specialty shop or, huzzah, a dealer. Yes, BMW dealers will work on the old bikes, and they have people there who actually know how to repair and maintain them. Try getting the dealer to even look at your older than 10 years HoKawaYamaKi, much less have competent staff on hand. I'm pretty interested now. I'm busy as hell for a few days, but if that '83 R65 (14K mi, $3500) is still there next Tuesday or so, I might drive down to check that out. You're saying that it's a bit on the pricey side though, even given the year/mileage and that he just got it serviced?  Dumb pondering here: my new employer is giving me a $2500 moving allowance. Since I can't possibly burn that up, since almost everything I own fits in my car, would it be a total dick move to use part of that to ship a motorcycle? Say I buy this R65, and spend $500 to crate and move it, is that reasonably ethical? I mean, they did give me a fixed budget, and maybe I would just rather move a motorbike instead of a bunch of crappy furniture like their other employees do. Glancing at eBay shipping quotes, seems it'd be about $500 to ship it. That's be a lot for a $1500 UJM, but for a $3500 bike not horrendous (since it's not me paying for it anyway). So I'll probably at least check it out down in Saint Anthony on Tues or Thurs if it's still there. If I try it out and am in love with it, is the current price blatantly so high that simply must argue him down to $2500-3000? Is having my employer pay to crate and ship it reasonable, and not taking a major risk of damaging the bike? TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 19:13 on Apr 4, 2009 |
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Apr 4, 2009 19:10
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I'm sure they wouldn't have offered the moving allowance if they didn't expect you to use it. Damage to the bike is largely dependant on who you ship it through. I would so as much research as I could before I called any of them.
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Apr 4, 2009 21:53
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blugu64 posted:I'll do it for half, and stay in cheaper motels. poo poo just noticed this post. Probably too late, and I don't have enough experience to ride that far anyway. If you're still in the Phoenix metro area and want to check out the bike the offer stands. I've sent you an email just now.
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Apr 4, 2009 22:01
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So I picked up that yellow 2004 250 Ninja today. What a blast. The guy turned out to be a mechanic, and was selling the bike for a customer of his. I couldn't talk him down from the list price, but I was ok paying that anyway. I'll get better at haggling for my next bike. 
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Apr 5, 2009 00:55
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:
If it's in really good shape I think that's a fair price. 3K is going to be somewhat in your favor if it really is clean and in perfect working order. If it's got a few minor issues like a gauge that's not working or a part that needs to be replaced, then 2800-3K is more reasonable. Also check to see what shape the tires are in, that can easily give you 300 dollars to barter with.
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Apr 5, 2009 01:07
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What does everyone think of the Honda CBR 125, it has come up as viable option for my first bike purchase, so what do you think? of the 05+ make specifically (I don't think they have changed at all since introduced in Canada but you never know).
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Apr 5, 2009 03:22
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Gr3y posted:poo poo just noticed this post. Probably too late, and I don't have enough experience to ride that far anyway. All good man, I was booking it hard today. When you're ready for some insane roads, let me know, I found some stupid great roads in arizona.
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Apr 5, 2009 05:21
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For the R65, at the $3500 level it should be in really nice shape. If it has been cared for at all, it will likely be almost showroom. I don't know what BMW uses to paint their bikes but it is amazing stuff. If it isn't already gleaming, a bit of effort and some polishing compound should bring it back up to beautiful. I had to sand a K75 tank and getting the paint off was more work that it had any right to be. Aircraft stripper barely touched it. I ended up sanding it with 80g to get through the paint. 14K miles are low for this bike, a boxer is barely broken in before 20K. If he has the service records, he's an enthusiast and likely won't budge very much. I wouldn't expect him to go under $3K, $3250 might work-I know that I've never listed a bike on CL without leaving myself at least 10% negotiation room. Sometimes I need it. sometimes I don't. If you try to lowball him, he'll probably tune you out and think you're not serious.
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Apr 5, 2009 05:34
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| # ? May 15, 2024 17:31 |
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blugu64 posted:All good man, I was booking it hard today. When you're ready for some insane roads, let me know, I found some stupid great roads in arizona. I was down in Phoenix a couple years back and looked into renting a bike. Found the bike but the timing wasn't so great and fedexing my gear was going to run $50, so I rented a car and drove the Apache Trail as far as I could until the darkness set in. If I had a weekend to ride, I'd rent a bike just for that one road.
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Apr 5, 2009 05:36
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