Where have all the cheap bikes gone in Somerset?

[ninja_butler]

Annoying! I was thinking of spending about £750 on a mid-sized sports/tourer but I can't find anything for that price that doesn't need a lot of work and even at the £1000 mark there's still b*gger all to choose from.

I'm tempted to take out a loan and spend more like £2000 but I just this month finished paying off the last loan so I'm reluctant to start another one. Am I wasting my time trying to buy a bike under £1000?

I spotted this ad for a twelve year old Fazer 600 at GV Bikes for £1850; it's a decent little shop but £1850 is £500 beyond what I'm comfortable to spend. https://bikes.portfolio-europe.net/ezweblite/public/styles/GV_Bikes/view_bike.asp?SP_ID=2187791&BRA_ID=5962

https://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc469/Ninja_Butler/random/Fazer600year2000.jpg

[MarJay]

They do exist, just not from dealers and probably not in MCN, AutoTrader or what have you.

You might find the odd badly listed gem on ebay, but I'd start with the free ads, local papers and stuff like that if I were you. And I'd strongly advise you not to be too picky. Take whatever is reliable and has MOT at that price. Sadly the weakening pound has meant that Polish people can make a profit from exporting cheap bikes from the UK and selling them for a large profit in Poland where there aren't lots of bikes from the 90's lying around.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[HD]

Why are you restricting yourself to Somerset? Other than viewing, you can get a bike couriered from quite a way for less than £100!

But with a bike that may be a bit shabby anyway, you may want to look over it first. May be an idea to get a fellow BCFer to have a look for you if nearby
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Rusty '02 Vito Camper + CBR600F3

[ninja_butler]

Realistically it takes half a day to go and see a bike if it's not local and paying £10 or £20 in petrol every trip gets expensive after a while.

The last bike I looked at was a Suzuki GSX-F 600, cheap enough for £600-ish but the standard exhaust has been replaced with a huge big-bore kit (I didn't notice in the photos) and it's running a bit rough so I'd be looking at maybe £300 - £400 to put it back to standard. It was only about 60 miles away but it's long way to go to spend just 5 minutes inspecting a bike.

God there's a lot of dodgy bikes and dodgy sellers around though! Looking at ads for bikes on Gumtree 9 out of 10 of them seem a bit suspect; just from the text descriptions I can pick up bad vibes.

[Shaft]

I would ask, where have all the cheap bikes gone, full stop?

I've been looking for a hack for a while now, sub £500, 250ish, don't mind if it's a bit of a fixer upper, so long as it's mostly all there, but can't be bought.

I've been deliberately looking at stuff which I wouldn't expect to have much of a following, but even chinky stuff is making good money.
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[pits]

I found this whilst looking for bikes the otherday, it's in Devon so not too far, seems a decent bike
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1995-SUZUKI-gsx600f-/150737297351?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D4%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5709534811985240763
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[ninja_butler]

[Paris2]

Like others have said, try widening your search. Im sure there are plenty of people on here who can go have a quick look over a bike for you if its local to them.

I bought my first bike on eBay, it was about 200 miles away. I took the gamble from the pictures and it paid off. I love a good road trip too
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Current Ride: Daytona 600

[TH427]

I'm in somerset too. Took me a good 4 months to find something nice for under a grand after passing my test. Spending every night looking through Gumtree, eBay, AutoTrader, MCN, Friday Ad but eventually found something advertised at work. Paid £800 for a 1989 GPZ600R with 9,000 miles.
Whilst I was looking I found the descriptions were flattering compared with the crap I'd turn up and see.
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2000 Suzuki GN125 (Sold) - 1989 Kawasaki GPZ600R (Sold) - 2010 Yamaha XJ6N (Sold) - 2004 Triumph Daytona 600 (Sold) - 1994 GSXR750 Cafe Racer

[Rogerborg]

There's just not much out there at the moment, people (like me) are likely waiting until early Spring to try and flog their heaps.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[pits]

[Suntan Sid]

Think you've got it bad.
Have a look at some of the prices here, in Cyprus :-

https://www.buysellmoto.com/layouts/index.php?dpn=0&view=4&wlan=en

I don't know whether anyone ever sells anything to be hoest!

I had to scour small ads and forums for ages to find anything reasonably priced.
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"Everybody needs money, that's why they call it money!"

[TheSmiler]

[pits]

[ninja_butler]

Thanks Pits, useful link.
It's tempting, but the whole exhaust system has to be replaced, and to have gotten the bike running on over-sized exhaust pipes I'm sure some tinkering with the engine was done and I'm not competent enough to do put it back to normal.

[TheSmiler]

[pits]

[MarJay]

Well, you have no idea what a big bore kit is, so I'm already concerned about your ability to find a bike in good nick...
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Polarbear]

[jimspeed]

[HD]

As said, it's £700.

Also, it won't have had any engine work. Maybe carb jetting at most. Just get it for now then save up for something a bit nicer in the summer/12 months time
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Rusty '02 Vito Camper + CBR600F3

[dransy]

They have bikes in Somerset. ?
I thought it was just full of tractors and flat caps
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Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles

[andys675]

Where have all the cheap bikes gone in Somerset?

Answer=Poland, well eastern europe mainly

[ninja_butler]

[HD]

Thats just different downpipes with a stubby can, not a big bore kit. a big bore kit changes the... wait for it... bore of the cylinder/piston
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Rusty '02 Vito Camper + CBR600F3