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Ahh, I thought you were referring more to build quality. I see.
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Jan 17, 2013 23:29
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epalm posted:How can a bike be reliable but not well made? It's kind of how I feel about my Buell, they've got lots of non-critical issues like rusting stock mufflers, the headers are in worse shape than they were on my 25 year old bike, snapping exhaust hangers, leaking rocker box gaskets, leaking intake seals, odd/sensitive cable routing, quirky TPS. But the bike will keep running just fine.
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Jan 17, 2013 23:41
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Halo_4am posted:lovely suspension, lovely seat, lovely ________. First is true of every cheap bike. Second is true of nearly every bike, just because seats are one of those really personal things.
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Jan 17, 2013 23:48
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Yeah, I just got a newly re-upholstered/shaped seat for my cheap starter bike and it made a load of difference.
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Jan 18, 2013 00:01
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Any thoughts on a 1979 CX500? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/3552095628.html I can probably go take a look at it tonight, and if it runs and I think I can safely get it home, I may buy it. I think once I strip off the fairing and the huge seat back, it might be pretty decent. After posting 2 bikes with known, severe maintenance issues, I want to double check on this one!
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Jan 18, 2013 00:46
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If the stator or the water pump goes you are dropping the engine and splitting the cases. Otherwise, they're sort of the old buick of the motorcycle world. Slow with bouncy suspension, but oddly comfortable and reliable. Don't go looking at it without a multimeter to check that the stator still works. If he says it seems to drain the battery every couple of rides but just needs a fresh battery, check the stator, if it's bad, run.
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Jan 18, 2013 00:49
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CX500s are great starter bikes when they're in good running shape. Not a lot of stuff on them to fiddle with and maintain. Z3n pointed out the stuff to be worried about in general with them. A friend of mine got one for his first ride and rode it from Seattle to the California redwoods in his first season with it with zero drama. This one: 40k mi, in storage, "needs minor tune up and cleaning , recommended before using." This probably means the gunked up carbs from the rusted tank barely keep it running on the choke and good luck getting up to highway speed (it isn't particularly peppy on the highway in top shape). I'd look at it with some skepticism. If it takes coaxing to start cold, I'd walk away. For this model, a really good candidate will have half the miles or so and need no immediate attention.
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Jan 18, 2013 00:57
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FWIW, I've owned a couple of them now and have never paid more than 200 bucks for one. Of course all of mine were beaters. One ran when I got it, one didn't.
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Jan 18, 2013 01:07
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Z3n posted:FWIW, I've owned a couple of them now and have never paid more than 200 bucks for one. Of course all of mine were beaters. One ran when I got it, one didn't. It's the drat San Francisco "bike tax". Hell, I'm just happy to see it listed under $1000 and with (presumably) up-to-date registration. When/where did you find yours? Because I'm sure has hell not finding *anything* for under $200 on craigslist, barring the occasional non-running dirt bike.
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Jan 18, 2013 01:11
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Look, don't get a Suzuki when you could get a Ducati. Don't do that.
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Jan 18, 2013 01:21
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Yeah, it's less realistic up here. But they still come up...there was a pair of them, non-running but Non-opped for 700 bucks or so awhile back. The thing about the bay area CL is the deals are there but they often gone within 30-60 minutes of being listed. If you don't have the ability to drop everything and jump on them, you don't have much of a chance of getting them. The first one was actually given to me by a goon years ago, the second one I found on CL one day in Santa Barbara. Guy was moving, had to be rid of it. Showed up within an hour of the listing, saw the bike, put cash in his hand, took the title, picked it up later that day with the truck.
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Jan 18, 2013 01:22
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Z3n posted:Yeah, it's less realistic up here. But they still come up...there was a pair of them, non-running but Non-opped for 700 bucks or so awhile back. The thing about the bay area CL is the deals are there but they often disappear within 30-60 minutes of being listed. If I get a response from this guy, I'm going to drive up as soon as he can arrange to meet me, tonight if possible, with cash in my pocket and a multimeter in the car. If it starts up OK and seems to ride fine, I'll make an offer and see how things go. I haven't checked a stator before, having never had a bike with charging problems (and I bought my first one before I knew to check the stator). Where do I find the pins on a CX500? I found this chart:  but don't know where exactly that connector is. Edit: Sounds like Saturday morning is the earliest he can show it. That sucks, but at least I'll be able to check it out in daylight, and I'll try to be the first in line to check it out. He also has a 1980 CB900C http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/3552098334.html listed. Pham Nuwen fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Jan 18, 2013 |
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Jan 18, 2013 01:26
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You're looking to see consistent ~50ish AC voltages off of the 3 yellow wires (check 1->2, 2->3, 1->3) that come out of the engine. IIRC, you can find the connector under one of the side covers, it will be a seperate 3 prong connector. The easier test is to just get it running and then see if it makes it to ~14ish volts DC at the battery when reved to 4k or so. If you get the AC voltage but no charge at the battery, the R/R is dead or the wiring is toast. Of course, if the battery is bad from sitting, it can read artificially low, but be fine when the battery is charged properly. Your call on how you want to go about approaching things at that point...honest Abe approach is to bring a fresh battery and test with that, more devious approach is to use it to bargain him down, knowing that if you see the voltage spike up it's probably ok even if it doesn't make it to full charging voltage, based on how much the voltage at the battery reads given no load, key on, and running.
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Jan 18, 2013 01:31
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High Protein posted:It's kind of how I feel about my Buell, they've got lots of non-critical issues like rusting stock mufflers, the headers are in worse shape than they were on my 25 year old bike, snapping exhaust hangers, leaking rocker box gaskets, leaking intake seals, odd/sensitive cable routing, quirky TPS. But the bike will keep running just fine. Pretty much this. Actually my Uly is pretty solid now but it has 49,000mi and there's evidence all over it of POs fixing the factory snafus. My least favorite fix is the steering neck area wiring, shored up by an assload of blue RTV, followed second by the RTV all over the battery because apparently the loose wrenches a PO was keeping under the saddle were shorting on the terminals (seriously? all you need is a single T-27 Torx). I think I fixed the last one on it; fuel pump wiring. Now I get to deal with old bike poo poo like that pesky rear cyl seep. It's still the best motorcycle in the world and ain't nobody gonna convince me otherwise.
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Jan 18, 2013 03:47
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Okay I'm back again, this time for my wife. We're looking for a cheaper starter bike for her and found one that isn't ridiculously marked up due to its presence in California. http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/mcy/3553304893.html I'm guessing both brakes and the chain will need replacing, as well as the tires. Better to keep looking?
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Jan 18, 2013 07:43
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Monkey Wrangler posted:Okay I'm back again, this time for my wife. We're looking for a cheaper starter bike for her and found one that isn't ridiculously marked up due to its presence in California. I can't speak to the mechanical stuff, but I will say i just loved the 250 Nighthawk as a city bike, especially as a 5'6" dude. Nice low seat, really upright posture, and very light bike. If the tech-smarter folks here say those mechanical issues aren't big, a grand seems a really reasonable price for CA and nearly spring.
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Jan 18, 2013 14:40
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Do it. I've got a Twinstar (same bike, but with even less technology) and it's a stone-simple, reliable, easy-to-ride bike.
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Jan 18, 2013 15:32
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I'm taking a pause in the SV650 vs. Ducati 696 fight, as while I was comparing my '93 EX500 Ninja for seat height, I had a bit of a change of heart. Yes, the bike is a little problematic, but most of the reason I bought this beater in the first place was to make a hooligan/rat bike out of it. Also it's a parallel twin, so only two carbs to clean, so this has to be reasonably easy to wrench on, yes? I actually like the size and overall feel of it, it ran just fine when I was running it regularly, and though I'm not thrilled about the lack of aftermarket, the stock bars aren't necessarily ungodly. I'm starting to think about just putting this back into running order and doing a minor streetfightering might be a good experience, and get me a bike that meets my overall goal of a good city bike that can still handle moderate highways. Supposedly pulling/clean/reinstall these carbs takes "an hour", so accounting for my ineptness maybe 3-4, so getting this thing back purring should be just an afternoon's work, nothing crazy. Then after that I just need to replace the alternator and cam tensioner that are known flaws of the pre-'94 models. Then pull off the front fairings and figure out how to get mirrors, blinkers, and headlights back on to a bare frame. I live in an apartment with no garage, so it's going to be fun figuring out how to make the bike look complete when I'm not with it so I don't get ticketed for having a dismantled work in progress parked on the curb. End goal is to get something resembling this dude's build, but within my limitations as a tinkerer (I mostly just fix dulcimers): 
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Jan 19, 2013 04:02
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:I live in an apartment with no garage, so it's going to be fun figuring out how to make the bike look complete when I'm not with it so I don't get ticketed for having a dismantled work in progress parked on the curb. Get a bike cover and you can leave it on the center-stand with no rear wheel if you need to.
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Jan 19, 2013 05:10
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gently caress I want a supermoto but I'd have to sell my bike to fund one. Should I sell my Bandit and get a DRZ400SM? Is this a horrible idea that will bite me in the rear end? 
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Jan 19, 2013 06:20
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Ride what you want, there's plenty of time for a lot of bikes. I've pickled up six since 2006 and I intend to ride more still.
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Jan 19, 2013 08:43
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Xovaan posted:gently caress I want a supermoto but I'd have to sell my bike to fund one. Should I sell my Bandit and get a DRZ400SM? Is this a horrible idea that will bite me in the rear end? No, just save the additional 1200 bucks and buy a drz and keep the bandit. They compliment each other well.
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Jan 19, 2013 09:29
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Xovaan posted:gently caress I want a supermoto but I'd have to sell my bike to fund one. Should I sell my Bandit and get a DRZ400SM? Is this a horrible idea that will bite me in the rear end? Buy a KTM 990 SMT, enjoy having a SM with the silliness of a bandit. If you buy it and survive, tell me how it drives as I think I found my dream bike.
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Jan 19, 2013 11:55
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ElMaligno posted:Buy a KTM 990 SMT, enjoy having a SM with the silliness of a bandit. I had a look at one of those at a dealership while checking out another bike. I only had a sit on it, and but it felt. like a grown up Pegaso. Ergonomics were great and the seat felt really nice. I'd love to try one out, shame they're still so expensive here. Maybe in a few more years when/if they come down in price.
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Jan 19, 2013 13:52
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ElMaligno posted:Buy a KTM 990 SMT, enjoy having a SM with the silliness of a bandit. Wow, I didn't know these existed. Looks like a supermoto-VStrom.
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Jan 19, 2013 17:29
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I'd ride the poo poo out of a 990SMT. Looks like the next best thing to a Uly.
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Jan 19, 2013 18:31
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CX500 has a leak on carb. Thoughts? Offer $400? It started ok. Edit: charging system is ok. Pham Nuwen fucked around with this message at 19:16 on Jan 19, 2013 |
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Jan 19, 2013 19:03
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Yeah, that'd be a good deal.
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Jan 19, 2013 19:21
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Z3n posted:Yeah, that'd be a good deal. Well, I noticed some more things Front brake reservoir is empty, may be leaking One of the exhausts is kind of rusting out at the output. Reserve coolant tank is empty Some rust in the tank Mirrors are all hosed up I'd spend at least $150 at the DMV So I said I could only go a couple hundred bucks, seeing I'd have to haul it. He declined. Z3n, if you can find me a decent UJM for under like $1200 in your bike dealings, I'll love you long time.
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Jan 19, 2013 19:33
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epalm posted:Wow, I didn't know these existed. Looks like a supermoto-VStrom. I got to take one for a spin for a few minutes. Great bikes, very comfortable, but the whole time there is this devil on your shoulder reminding you that you can go full retard anytime you want.
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Jan 19, 2013 20:23
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Pham Nuwen posted:Well, I noticed some more things You could buy back your gs for cheap. Just needs a final drive 
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Jan 19, 2013 21:06
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Pham Nuwen posted:Well, I noticed some more things If that coolant tank is empty, it almost certainly needs water pump work.
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Jan 19, 2013 22:54
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slidebite posted:If that coolant tank is empty, it almost certainly needs water pump work. Oooh, this is a good point. I never think about water pumps because on most bikes it's pretty rare that they fail. This Nighthawk 450 might be a good choice if you're interested. http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7770975#post7770975 Thinking about buying that GSX-R1100, and the Bandit 400 he has listed. We'll see.
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Jan 19, 2013 23:16
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ElMaligno posted:Buy a KTM 990 SMT, enjoy having a SM with the silliness of a bandit. SMTs own. They're massive and feel it when you pick them up off the sidestand, and that feeling lasts right up until you give it a handful and it fucks off down the road and starts carving up corners like a demon. If anyone's thinking about one, doitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitbuybuybuybuybuybuy
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Jan 20, 2013 01:04
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Z3n posted:You could buy back your gs for cheap. Just needs a final drive If you can help me find a final drive and help install it, I'd do it  I actually thought it was a pretty decent bike and kind of regret selling it, although of course I'm glad it broke on somebody else  Was definitely worth the $250 I paid for it when I bought it back in New York (and got my employer to ship it out here at no cost to me).
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Jan 20, 2013 03:41
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Pham Nuwen posted:If you can help me find a final drive and help install it, I'd do it Ha. It shouldn't be too bad, but I've got a fair bit on my plate right now. Could probably ebay a final drive.
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Jan 20, 2013 04:10
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slidebite posted:If that coolant tank is empty, it almost certainly needs water pump work. or the coolant tank has a leak. Check the radiator to see if it has coolant. Also $400 for that CX even with all those issues is still a decent deal. That's all just basic maintenance stuff.
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Jan 20, 2013 23:12
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How does the cbr250 compare to the ninja 250 for a beginner?
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Jan 22, 2013 00:45
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If you mean the new one with the single cylinder, they're pretty much equals. Similar power, weight, riding position, etc. The Honda has the option of ABS, which is definitely a benefit, though I've heard people saying you should learn to ride on something without it so you learn about proper threshold braking. Dunno what the expert opinion on that is. There are way more Ninja 250s out there to buy used though, and they've been on the market for decades (the CBR250 is new as of a couple years ago) so you'll likely be able to find something cheaper. Parts are probably cheaper too. I would get the Honda if I could find a used one but that's just cause I'm now partial to Hondas in general. You can't go wrong with an EX250 as a starter.
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Jan 22, 2013 00:56
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M42 posted:How does the cbr250 compare to the ninja 250 for a beginner? Basically the same. CBR has an option for ABS, which is the most dramatic difference. Otherwise I think the Ninja has a performance advantage, but it's pretty slight. If I remember correctly the CBR is fuel-injected, which is nice on those cold mornings, but I actually sometimes miss my old ninja's buzzyness while fiddling with the choke, smelling that gas vapors in the air. It felt like I was trying to start a jet-ski. Personally I'd suggest a 08+ Ninja 250, but then again I'm feeling a bit nostalgic about it. The CBR is a fine choice as well.
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Jan 22, 2013 01:01
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