things to look out for when buying a Honda CG?

[skyliner22]

only ever bought new bikes and secondhand bikes from dealerships(rxs was £80 off a mate) so im just wondering what are the specific things to look out for on one of these the bike in question is a 1992 Honda CG aesthetically looks brand new
25,000 miles 12 months mot, no advisory's

obviously the usual look for pitted forks dodgy seals
but what else should i look out for? hoping someone with this sort of model bike can give me a few tips, bikes only going to be run by the mrs until she passes her test bit of an early Christmas present
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Singe Cylinder fan club: CG x 2 , NC50 x 1, Kawasaki Kx250

[Teflon-Mike]

'92? That ought to be a drum-brake kick-start only one then....
Sure your missus will apreciate these 'quirks' of antiquty?

Otherwise, its, a quarter-century old learner-commuter.. you look at fucking EVERYTHING!

If its been used, then it'll have been ABUSED, learners tend not to have much mechanical sympathy! OR mechanical dexterity! So maintenance, especially as it was a 'low' not 'no' maintenance, 'economy' machine, with an over-inflated reputation "That you cant go wrong with a CG" (Oft mis-heard as "A CG will never go wrong"), likely to have been sorely neglected until the thig stopped working or made a funny noise, and then dealt with on a minimum expendature basis, read 'Bodge'!

If NOT used... and low-recorded miles, and shiny paint suggests it hasn't... means that its been sat laid up, rotting for log portions of its life. Piston rings corrode 'stuck' in the piston; exhaust valves held part open by the cam on the last exhast stroke, 'stick' while the valve and its seat 'pit'; old oil settles and turns to jelly; bits that never get splashed by cogs wirring round, rust, parts sat in sludge gum up, little oil ways get blocked.

Exhausts rust form the inseid, usually where you cant see; Rubber perishes; and fork seals, go hard, and damper oil settles while thier seals go hard; seat pvc goes brittle; inner tubes, perish, steel wheel rims rust fro the inside; rim protectors perish, brass electrical contacts fir-up; wires go brittle, petrol taks rust from the inside, and 'silt' up, petrol evaporated out of carbs and they 'gum-up' while the rubber bits in them perish; the list goes on and on and on....

And an awful lot of it you wont be able to 'see' just looking at the thing, sat in a garage...or tell just starting it up. It'll reveal itself when the bikes put back into regular 'use' and vibration and movement blows out the cobwebs and shakes loose the rust; and THEN loose spokes will poke through perished rim-tape and leave you punctured... and after fix, with a wobbly wheel.. forks will seem to 'work' until a pot-hole pushes one too far and it starts to weap over the fork leg, etc.

'Potential' in there, on a bike of that sort, of that age, for 'problems' is enormous, and apart from the 'learner-legacy' of most of these being used and abused by learners in nieve belief low means no, maintenence, and that cant go wrong means the bike never will, most of that is what you'd have to worry you for any bike that age, rather than quirks and known weaknesses of the model.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[stevo as b4]

Biggest thing to look for based on your description of the bike, is a queue of people standing outside the sellers door waving a fist full of notes?

if you don't already own this bike, your as likely to be too late and someone else has beat you to it x10.

Good 125's especially of the sensible and useful all rounder/get me to work/learner legal variety do not hang round for long, can be hours instead of days or weeks TBH.

[Sheshka]

[stevo as b4]

Sold my 24k 95 CG for £950 some years ago, and had plenty of callers ringing long after it was gone.