Used bike shopping...

[Süsser Tod]

Well, after my recent "findings" about my Kawasakis I decided to start looking for a replacement for the ER-5 and fix the Vulcan 900 (even if it rusts and has lots of brittle plastic covering the metal, the other "mid sized" cruisers just don't appeal to me, but that's another topic). So I was thinking about replacement bikes, as I was almost dead set on buying an SV650 and modifying it...

But that is just plain stupid, as I would end up spending no less than $1000 on a GSXR front end swap and rear ZX10 shock, wich will be money down the drain if I decide to sell it, and I don't know if I'm going to stay here (hope not). So instead I tried to think what I wanted on my new bike, and I came to this:

a) It must not be a thief magnet. So that leaves any recent SS bike out.
b) Must be watercooled.
c) Must have cartridge forks.
d) Decent brakes, I would rather take a single floating rotor with an opposed piston caliper than a twin rotor with floating calipers.
e) "Compact" as it will be used a lot in the city.
f) Easy to get parts for (this is the reason why I don't daily the XT660R, that and the fact that it's... dunno, I don't want anything to happen to it).
g) Must take radial tyres, if the rear is a 160 better.

After checking that list I realized that it basically leaves me with older SS bikes, like the YZF600R, CBR F3/F4, ZX6-R and... The Honda 919?

Unfortunately, the F4/F4i and ZZR are still thief magnets. I don't know why, they are 10 year old bikes... Maybe they were very popular and parts are still on demand? F3s in good condition are as rare as hens teeth. And the Thundercats get no love...

So, the YZF600R Thundercat is the best option. Oh, yeah, and the 919, but I rather not. The 919 is overkill for the street (read: I'm not as stupid as to trust myself with that much power).


So I looked for YZF600Rs for sale and found... 4

1. 2005 Out of state and owes property taxes. It is a 220mile ride, round trip, to go and check it out. But it might be an option.

2. 1999 and wrecked.

3. 2006 Seems to be mint, but the price is kinda high.

4. 2002 Seems to be mint, price is right.


So I called guy #4. Found that the bike also owes property taxes, but he is willing to drop the price... OK. "The bike is perfect, original paint and it has never been wrecked, it was also recently serviced... I need the money because I don't ride it and need to pay for my son's college" OK, I'll go see it, it's kinda far, 25 miles away from home and I have to take the interstate.

40 minutes later and $3 less spent on a toll booth I get there. The guy had said that the bike was parked in a covered garage, wich it wasnt, it just had a cover over it. Well, remove the cover and... nope, the thing has been laid more times than a hooker. He gave me the key, put it on the ignition, choke on hit the starter and it started on the first try... Which surprised me, as supposedly the bike hadn't been run in 2 months, and it even surprised me more that it still ran, as it sounded like the top end was full of marbles!

Obviously it had been repainted, it had bondo over the frame, a dent in the tank, half the radiator fins were bent, the exhaust vibrated like jello, there was rust in the subframe as the passenger foot peg bent the frame, etc.

As I was looking at the bike the guy was saying how good the bike was, and several other things, I didn't pay any attention to him, until the point where he said "it even has the original tires"... WTF? 180/55-17 on a Thundercat, do this guy thinks I'm going to fall for this?

At that point I turned off the bike, handed him the key and said "Thanks for your time, but I'm not interested". "You didn't like it?"...

Well, just told him "The bike has been down on both sides and it also had frame damage, also the tyres are not original as they are the wrong size and it needs to have the top end checked". Don't know, the bike was a POS, and the guy gave me a bad vibe, but maybe he got the bike thinking that it was good? I know that my Katana was a POS, the guy that sold it to me had been scammed, he was one of those people that know that vehicles need gas and oil, and that's it. The katana was my first big bike and the first bike I bought used, so I purchased the one that looked better, not the one in the best condition...

[Süsser Tod]

#1 is salvage. It was not even worth the phone call.

[Royal Tiger]

SM or mid size naked sound like what you want.

If I was doing mostly city I'd be looking at the Dorsoduro!

[Süsser Tod]

Originally Posted by Royal Tiger

SM or mid size naked sound like what you want.

If I was doing mostly city I'd be looking at the Dorsoduro!

WAAAYYY out of my budget and Aprilia is no longer selling bikes in Mexico, so getting parts for an Aprilia would make me wish for the 6 month waiting time for the XT660R parts. I'm looking to spend $5000... And that is not going to get me anything newer than 2005. It's odd, I thought that 600s would be cheaper than literbikes, but they seem to be priced more or less the same.

[TejasRider]

What about a Vstrom 650?

[Süsser Tod]

Originally Posted by TejasRider

What about a Vstrom 650?

Damping rod in the front forks

If I could get an SV650 with cartridge forks I'd be all over it.

[Rhetorik]

...EX500?

[Electrical_Tech]

Originally Posted by Royal Tiger

SM or mid size naked sound like what you want.

If I was doing mostly city I'd be looking at the Dorsoduro!

[Süsser Tod]

Originally Posted by Rhetorik

...EX500?

The ER-5 is almost the same thing, and both have damping rod suspensions.

[Whymista]

and whats so bad about that on a commuter bike?