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| Simba76 |
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Simba76
Renault 5 Driver
Joined: 17 Dec 2014
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| Wonko The Sane |
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Wonko The Sane
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 Posted: 11:52 - 03 Aug 2015  Post subject: Re: First bike faults |
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| Simba76 wrote: | My question is sightly different than the usual "which big bike should I get?"
I am looking at 600 Hornets, Bandits, Sv650 and Kawasaki ZZR6 as a first big bike.
My budget gives me options of 20-35000 mileage bikes.
What common faults might I encounter with these bikes listed above? Are there any major pitfalls to look out for in this sort of mileage?
Sorry for what is quite a sweeping question(s). |
decent enough question,
What's the actual budget?
What are you looking for?
The ZZR can only be ridden on a full A license, you can't restrict it, it's also the only fully fared out of the list - do you want naked, flyscreen, half fairing or full?
These are the kind of bikes that are either, kept in a warm carpeted garage and used on a weekend or kept in a garden and used daily in all weathers.
Service history at this point counts as only one thing really, that the bike has been looked after, a stack of receipts and old MOT's will show the same information (especially a string of MOT's with no / few advisories)
Look for corrosion on the frame, exhausts (quite common) and my favorite, radiators / oil coolers (mine looks like crap as it's right behind the front wheel)
Look for signs that they've been crashed and repaired, not a bad thing if the repair is done well, mine has scuffs on engine casings but everything else is fine, if you look behind the plastics you'll not find bent fairing mounts.
You want the engine to fire up easily from cold (feel engine casings while having a look over the bike to check the seller hasn't warmed it up before you arrived) although "I've not run it for about a month" could make for harder starting than usual.
You'll learn a lot by having the owner ride it up and down the road past you standing and listening to it, riding it yourself you'll be able to feel that it rides smoothly.
Some bikes have specific problems - early ZZR600's for example one piece of advise is to set off, change into 2nd and then accelerate hard - if it then jumps out of gear walk away, the gearbox is knackered (and someone's been trying to wheelie it) - it is an issue that was fixed for later versions.
It's worth having a dig around on forums dedicated to specific bikes as often someone has written up a buyers guide of things to look out for on that particular bike (as per the ZZR issue above)
If you're looking at ZZR600 (not to be confused with ZX6-R) then I'd recommend getting an E model as this is when they fixed the gearbox issue and parts are easier to come by, the D model was produced for only a couple of years.
They're good bikes but heavy buggers, have a look on https://www.zzr-international.co.uk/index.php (I actually bought mine though the classifieds on here)
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| Polarbear |
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Polarbear
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| Posted: 14:27 - 03 Aug 2015 Post subject: |
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ZZR'S are getting a bit long in the tooth since they were last made now. I would be happy with any of the others but maybe the SV makes a lot of sense as it has been made in it's present guise for donkeys years..
A problem with older & higher mileage bikes is simply that things wil just be a the stage of wearing out. The bug bear of older bikes (rather than high mileage) IMO is electrical gremlins.
I wouldn't worry too much about the engine if it runs smoothly and doesn't smoke on start up or on over run.
You have to factor in things like - is the rear shock worn out. does it need chain and sprockets, new brake pads or disks, front forks rebuilding or bearings replaced. There is nothing that isn't doable, and all those parts re pretty well considered consumables but the cost could be quite high if you have to do a few of the above.
Also you will get good or bad vibes from the person selling it. Listen to them and factor that into your decision. 
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| Simba76 |
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Simba76
Renault 5 Driver
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| DrSnoosnoo |
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DrSnoosnoo
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| Posted: 09:56 - 05 Aug 2015 Post subject: |
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| Simba76 wrote: | Cheers guys.
The actual budget is 1,500. I can stretch maybe 150 over if desperate.
I like the looked of a naked Sv or a hornet.
Bandits seem to be more readily available so can't be discounted. I also like the look of them.
i'd be commuting 150 miles a week in Cornwall with a view to maybe 2-3 long trips per year either back to Kent or up to Norfolk to see the old folks so lack of fairing is not such an issue. Maybe a small screen to aid the airflow.
How come there a so very few 80,000+ bikes for sale? You see so many cars around an above 100,000 miles.
Do the elements put paid to the chance of a bike getting this far or do people just reach a certain mileage and decide to either run it into the ground or just ditch it? |
I say this every time. I think the ZZR600 is a good bike for a first timer, at least it was/is for me.
If you go for any bike, do a bit of research into model revisions and what changed on different years. For examples on the ZZRs there is a D and E, E's came in around 1993 with a different engine and RAM air. Then after E3 - around 95/96, like mine, they then came with adjustable front forks too.
With ZZRs, look for one that has had it's rear suspension replaced, the stock one will be rubbish. I got a second hand Hagon which transformed the bike but a suspension from a ZZR1200 is a common mod with the ZZR1100 dogbones. Often the brake calipers get "upgraded" to nissin 4 pots as the tokicos can be a pain but of course, if you keep on top of the brake maintenance the tokicos can be perfectly capable.
The ZZR with the fairing, IMO, deflects lots of the wind and makes travelling at speed very easy.
Mine is at 45k miles now with just the usual servicing. I probably need to do the check soon. I think by 80k miles it isn't necessarily that the engine has exploded, I'd have thought the physical appearance of the bike would have degraded. Plastics exposed to sunlight, varying temperatures will become brittle and crack and poorly maintained bearings will require effort. When it gets to this point, many people choose to either break the bike to sell the parts of just scrap it.
This time next year my ZZR will be at 60k, as long as it doesn't explode so I'll report back  I bought it with 27000 miles on it and have learned a lot from owning it.
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Did have: '95 ZZR600 '83 CG125 '97 ZZR1100 '15 Hypermotard 821 SP Do Have: '10 ZX10R |
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| Wednesday Biker |
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Wednesday Biker
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| Amber Phoenix |
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Amber Phoenix
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Posted: 11:39 - 05 Aug 2015  Post subject: |
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I presume you've got an old FZS600 Fazer on your list? Some nice examples about well within budget. There was this one on the Fazer Forum for £800 - bargain!
Either way, any 10-15 year old bike with 30K on it should have all the usual suspects checked, be they at issue or if have been serviced recently:-
Forks; any pitting low down, seal good and not leaking.
Brake hoses: oem rubber ones will likely be past best and you should consider swapping for braided ones.
Brake pistons/calipers: pistons may have corroded a bit, maybe sticking, seals elderly now. Any warped discs catching at certain points of wheel rotation.
Head stock bearings: lift front wheel at see if bars swing smoothly with no notching.
Rear shock: possibly past best too. Check for leaks and if bounces back smoothly etc.
Double check inside of tank for rust or rust sealant stuff that's gone bad and floating about now.
Check oil window. Creamy oil is a coolant leak - walk away.
Check downpipes/can etc, if they're not stainless steel, they'll be rusty as hell by now.
Try to pull chain away from sprocket to gauge it's wear. Look for hooked/worn teeth on sprocket.
Check over all electrics, lights, indicators, brake lights, horn, killswitch, kick stand cut out etc. Any amiss could indicate awkward electrical issues or future MOT hassle.
If it will pass an MOT fine, why has he not put it through already?
Try to look up past MOT records. Any previous fails/advisories. Have these since been adequately resolved?
A bike this age will quite likely have been dropped a couple of times. Probably fine, but check if any damage been resolved fine. Bodged fairings, bent handle bars, pegs etc.
Try to sum up the seller, are they a bodger, or fastidious? Will they make do, run stuff into ground, or service and replace stuff on regular basis or in good time? If they're an online seller, google them and see if they've posted questions regarding issues with the bike in question? Were they all resolved appropriately, or have they given up/hit blocking issues?
That lot will keep you busy anyway.
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| Polarbear |
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Polarbear
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 10 years, 203 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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