Everyone pretty much covered everything. The only other things I would be concerned with is the fork seals, brakes (functionality), and rubber on the tire (not hardened). I got another gsxr on ebay, a 1993 1100 in Colorado I have to pick up next week. Good luck with the honda.

 

Here is my bike -

 

Forget that niponese bike and get something classic. BMW R-71 with sidecar, only bike I have ever ridden, only bike I will ever own.

Christian

 

Will, some people swear by Harleys, BMWs, etc. I like my 150 hp in a 400 pound chassis or a 944 chassis. There is no feeling like going 0 to 60 in less than 3 seconds. Either will do.

 

One of my gsxr 750s with 120 hp, 0 to 60 in around 3 secs. I love it.

 

Well my brother bought the bike. We plan on changing all of the fluids tomorrow along with adjusting the clutch, then we'll see if she'll start up.

 

Right on. Crank it a few times to circulate the oil and may want to use starting fluid after that so you don't kill the starter. Sometimes, it will take a bit of running time before the bike will run properly. When I bought the bike above, it was sitting for 2 years and it ran on 3 cylinders for a while. I would start it, run it, shut it down, and do it again the next day for a few days before the 4th cylinder started to fire. I didn't want to take the carbs apart if I didn't have to. Keep us posted.

 

The only thing I hate about my bike is the 64 mph top speed!

Christian

 

Gotta love it when the rings rust/sieze to the pistons... And why not dig into the carbs? I usually do that right off the bat on any bike I get just to make sure everything's straight (people go in and do Weird things). It's the most commonly messed with 'system', but also one of the easiest to work with (er... mess up if you don't know what you're doing too). People just don't change anything on the electrical or mechanical systems.

Curious, was she at all interested in the VFR? I found another bike I'd like to buy but the VFR or ZRX has to go first...

 

Sorry, compression was fine so it was not the rings. I dissambled enough suzuki motors to check compression before buying the bike even though I only paid $660 for the bike without front fairings. I enjoy pulling the carburators to overhaul/synchronize as much as I love to change the waterpump of the 944. If I don't have to do it, I won't. 95 percent of riders have no business taking them apart. Brian is one exception and his quote (er... mess up if you don't know what you're doing too) makes a good case for most people not to take theirs apart. Chances are, you would get stuck trying to pry the carbs out of the airbox or breaking something in the process depending on what kind of bike we are talking about. Taking a $300 bike to a shop to pay for carb overhaul may cost more than 1/2 of the cost of the bike. In my case, the jet needle was stuck to the seat from lack of use and simple 5 min idle for 3-4 days just didn't take that much effort compared to taking the carbs apart. It ran fine after that but if it didn't, then I would have taken it apart.

 

Well we didn't get to spend as much time with the bike as we would have liked, but we found that the clutch cable (non-hydraulic) is stuck to the sheath, the front brakes need a new fluid resevior, and the air filter is AWOL. We got a new battery about two hours ago, but we need to fill it with acid and charge it. The instructions for the battery mentions checking the specific gravity, what tool do we need to do this and how much would it cost? Also, we have a 12v trickle charger that has only two settings (3 amp and 6 amps I believe), can we use this to charge the battery or do we need a special charger for this type of battery?

Brian, the seller seemed somewhat interested in your VFR. I don't know how anxious of a buyer she is, but she said that she might take a look at it with her neighbor.

 

Clutch cables are cheap (Motion Pro is the company that does aftermarket, if the bike's going to be arround for longer than a year or two though, buy OEM ~ better quality). For the brake master cylinder/resovoir - ebay (you can use ANY master, but try to stick with peroid Honda). Air filter, K&N, Uni, or stock - your choice probably based on price.

For the battery ~ you check the specific gravity with a battery tester (looks kinda like a turkey baster with some measurements) ~ I don't know why you'd need to do anything with a brand new battery though. I'd say skip it. For charging ~ I don't like going over 2amp/hr chargers for motorcycle batteries. The battery will charge itself a bit if you just let it sit overnight, but you should really toss it on a 1.25amp charger (Battery Tender is a popular name - I'll loan you mine if you want to come get it or just drop the battery off for an overnight stay here).

Thanks for passing on my number ~ I hope they're interested as I found another bike I want to buy.. :P

 

No problem about passing along your number. I hope that everything works out. So we should be ok if we just fill the battery with acid to the fill line and then charge it? I'll check with my neighbors to see if they have a <2 amp/hr charger. If not, I'll give you a call.

 

Well today was the first day that we drove the bike. After replacing the clutch cable, air filter, battery and brake fluid resevior, we were able to start the bike and drive it. Other than a charging problem and a hesitation at WOT, the bike runs great. We can probably fix the hesitation by cleaning the carb bowls, but we will have to investigate the charging problem. Nonetheless, the $300 purchase price and the $100 worth of parts still add up to a great deal.

 

You're gonna steal that bike at $300.

Just listen to Brian and you'll be OK.