Newb - Viewing a prospective first bike in 2 days. Advice?

[hunders]

Hello there people!

Hunders here, otherwise known as Connor to people in the real world. I have stumbled upon this glorious forum in my search for advice!

After 10 years of happy car ownership I have been forced into getting something a little more economical for my daily getabout. After a little searching and a lot of head scratching mixed with a dollop of umming and arring I have decided that my next steed will be a Yamaha YBR. I am very excited about this.

In a couple of days I shall be making the harrowing journey over the River Tamar and heading into the depths of Cornwall to have a look at a YBR that one of these so called 'Cornish' wishes to depart with.

The steed in question is a 2007 model with a tad over 13,000 miles under it's hooves that is in a rather splendid shade of blue. It's being described as 'mint' which I think will be a little over the top and so I'm expecting it's condition to be more along the lines of 'really good'.

It's current master would like £1,100 according to the advertisement although, lets face it, we all know he actually wants £1,000. Now obviously you knowledgeable people won't be able to see the bikes condition but, assuming its condition is indeed 'really good', what would you say is a fair price to pay for a YBR of this description?

Also, are there any common problems that I should be alert to?

Cheers!

[Robby]

YBRs are fairly reliable bikes if looked after, and have the potential to be an utter heap of shit if not looked after.

For this reason, you're not inspecting the bike, you're inspecting the owner.

On the bike:
Look for obvious or carefully concealed crash damage - is there an artfully placed sticker over a bit that would hit the deck during a crash, is there scuff on the bar end or exhaust silencer from a crash. Expect a 125 to have been crashed, that isn't a problem. You just want to know that the bike wasn't left with the engine running on its side. If the crash was more than 1000 miles ago, no worries - any major problems would have manifested by now.
Otherwise, general checks. Make sure the engine is cold so you can hear it start up from cold. Look for some life left in the consumables, although none of them are expensive to replace. A recent MOT is nice.

On the owner:
Are they 17, do you trust them, are they being intentionally vague, are they being too enthusiastic/desperate? If they get the bike serviced by a shop, can they produce evidence? If they service it themselves, play dumb and ask them to walk you through how to change the oil.

Go with your gut. Loads of similar bikes out there, all in outwardly similar condition, so the thing to assess is the owner.

[moppy]

Here you go:

https://www.clarity.net/adam/buying-bike.html

Really useful thing to have a read through a couple of times before you go view any bike.

[CaNsA]

I knocked this up a few years back.

[pits]

[thepuma]

[hunders]

Hello guys.

You display some fine detective work but let me reassure you that I am no mere troll and that I am indeed looking at purchasing my first motorcycle.

I have been browsing this forum amongst others for a little while, gathering information. However it is only this forum that I have deemed knowledgeable enough to pose my questions to.

As I say, come Friday I 'could' be the proud owner of a, hopefully, trusty steed of which I am proud to call my own.

Thank you to the people that have contributed helpfully and to those who doubt my integrity then I hope that I can prove you wrong in the future.

Cheers!

[pits]

Yeah, the thing is though. Snowing down south on Friday, and you post like a faggot.

So either deliver pictures and details by Friday or jog on, at the moment you come across as a bit of bum jungling spacktard.

Awfully convenient though, that the spate of "trolling" by ITM and his genuinely autistic approach to posting and his fantasy land world he lives in, O/P comes on here acting like a bit of a Dungeons and Dragons playing rusty trombone, talking about steeds and what not, and then points out how knowledgeable we all are, and the YBR125 isn't the pig with lipstick that R125 is.


Remember the autism and downs syndrome that coursed through ITMs veins, posting shit like "you've been banished from this thread" ..."I have unbanished myself to clear my name" is a lot like this gammon slipper choice of phrasing.

No doubt ITM will take a break from trying to suck himself off and giving himself a facial in what he will no doubt regard as a glorious shower of success over his trolling.
____________________
Stinkwheel: You have no right to free speech
00:32:08 Blau Zedong: yes, i am a massive CB400 fan and collector
00:33:00 Blau Zedong: the CB400 is my favourite road bike

[TheDonUK]

The YBR stands out to me as somewhat reliable, not the strongest battery but easy to bump start.

If it is your first bike ask the seller to show you where the fuel tap is and its operation.

If you are riding it home and it was running but won't start check the kill switch before anything else
____________________
[Current Bikes - GSXR-750 K5 & C90-97 ] [Previous Bikes: Runner 125, YBR 125, GS500, Bandit 600, Hornet 600, ZX6R-99, C90-99, R1-99, XT600E-04, GSXR-750 K4, CRF250L '16]

[Spudly]

[pits]

I will see it Friday when he has picked his bike up, in the snow
____________________
Stinkwheel: You have no right to free speech
00:32:08 Blau Zedong: yes, i am a massive CB400 fan and collector
00:33:00 Blau Zedong: the CB400 is my favourite road bike

[goto10]

[hunders]

[Rogerborg]

If you start to see trolls everywhere, then they've already won.

There's nothing specific to worry about with a YBR. 2007 was the year that they changed to FI, so that one could be either. Personally I'd prefer a carbed one, I can understand those.

5 years and 13,000 miles is enough for a lot of things to start wearing out and needing replaced, so give it a thorough going over, and be realistic about costs. Parts are cheap individually, but will mount up quickly. If you don't get a test ride in return for cash-in-hand then walk away.

Cornwall, so the seller might go for a sack full of shiny beads.
____________________
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

[Copycat73]

[goto10]

[Copycat73]

[Spudly]

[hunders]

Mr pits is going to be relishing this, of that im sure!

There has been a slight change of plan. Rather than risking my life venturing into Cornwall today, I have found another steed a little bit closer to home in Devon. Its another 2007 model but this time it has a paltry 3000 miles to its name and from what I can tell in the photograps is in glorius condition! Much better I'm sure you will agree.

I sent a telegram to its owner informing him that I can only spend a maximum off £1000, which is £200 under its asking price and he informs me that is the absolute lowest he can go. If the motorcycle is in as good a condition as it appears then I think its going to be a great deal! I'm just hoping no one snaps it up today... Although, apparently its been advertised for 10 days, clearly without sale so I'm keeping my hopes up.

Cheers!

[0l0dom0l0]

[UnspeedySam]

[hunders]

Thanks, kind sir. I'm a seasoned forumite and so I'm very used to this sort of thing although this is the first time in a very long while that I have had such aggression directed at me. I think pits is feeling a little guilty perhaps as he hasn't responded in a while. It's ok buddy, we can still be fwends!

The bike does look in fine condition judging by the photographs and I'm hoping that I can say the same when I see it in the flesh. After reading all of the useful information that you chaps have armed me with it should stand me in good stead.

They appear to be very simple motorcycles so problems should be easy to spot. For extra backup I shall be hauling my brother along for the journey because he is much more experienced with this kind of thing than I.

Cheers!

[Dave-the-rave]

Shoulda just sent an email.
Telegrams are so last year.