Your Opinion

Ace4569

Original XS400 Chick
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Found another bike I may try and get but no way am I paying over blue book unless they have done some serious work to it and it doesn't look like this one has anything done. http://columbus.craigslist.org/mcy/2353725324.html It looks a little wierd to me any opinions? They are trying to sell it for a grand...forget that I told them blue book price and said I am kind of flexible on that if they have done any work and can show me
 
Looks pretty standard to me.....

I agree that a grand is a little steep as well. I'd say if it ran great, and the tires/etc. were newer, I'd offer about $700. If the guy said no, I'd say "thanks" and turn around to walk away...
 
as a restoration project it looks pretty sweet.everything looks to be there. do you want a stock bike? are the parts you are going to want to use in good shape?

if your wanting to build a bobber most of the stock parts are useless to you unless you can sell them, and then they need to be in primo shape.

if you want to restore, the parts need to be in primo shape for that price

if everything is marginal, your better off bying a bike for 300to 500 bucks if you have to rebuild and repaint everything anyway.

but if everything works and you want a cheap bike to ride for a while with little investment i'd check it over close to see if it looks reliable.and offer him 700 maybe settle on 850.00

it looks to me like it may have been setting outside for a while! and that is never good!!
 
it's got wires and they're desirable now, and I thinkn it looks ok. You need to look at it in person and bring a friend who can look at it without the rose tinted specs on!

That's about the going rate in the UK, but there's always room for manoeuvre
 
I'm of a little different mindset from some others on the forum. Being a little older, my preference now is to find something in very good condition and pay slightly more. The pic isn't the best but if it is in really great original shape I would pay up to that amount. I prefer not to mod bikes and like the classic look so if you want a bike that needs little or nothing done and want to keep it original, i'd say go for it. On the other hand, as some others have said, if you want a project bike then look around for something cheaper than you can get into. I hate to see a cherry classic old bike cut up but that's just my opinion.
 
Really depends on the state its in, and what you're looking for.
If the bike is in perfect condition, and you're going for a perfectly restored classic bike: go for it.
If you want to customize (bobber, cafe etc) it you're better off looking for a cheaper bike with a dented gastank etc, as you won't be using it :D
 
Yea you would have to look at it in person and hear it run and stuff. If you want to keep it the way it is, make an offer, but I think a grand is a little steep. If it is in good condition offer like 800 for it. If it you are going to do a project way to high priced.
 
I like the classic look. I will probably only change the handle bars but a grand ir really out of my price. I have at most 800 but for an XS400 that's to far over blue book even if it's running ok what if something goes wrong with it after I buy it then all my money is gone on a POS. I'm going to try and talk him down to 7 that's far if it's in great condition a grand is BS
 
well a year ago that was a high price...somewhat...now with the cafe racer attention...everything has gone up a few $100 from where I see it locally.
best to show up...cash in hand...get a feel for the owner...maybe build a little common ground ...see what they say to your offer.
 
they agreed to 800 so I'm ok with that going to see bike tomorrow will probably buy has had regular maintnence and everything so I'm ok with 800
 
sounds ike a pretty good deal....check oil color...thru the side glass...look at the side walls of tires for cracks..or hard plastic looking tires...check the belly of the motor for excess oil/crud.
look at wires for cracking etc,..
 
Thank you skillz looks like you remember my mechanical ineptitude lol. and everyone thanks for telling me what you think it helps alot. I'll let you all know what happens tomorrow.
 
I talked him down to 650. This kid was trying to sell me a bike that the carbs need adjusted on (He said they were just cleaned at some local shop. It doesn't have both mirrors and had been laid down I'm guessing at a very low speed since it was just a small scratch on the gas tank. It would barely stay started (barely Idol) (It had to "warm up") I told him I wouldn't take it for more then 650. This Kid was a complete idiot. It started right up but wouldn't stay on (any advice on that?) The sale is wednesday and I'll put some pictures up when I get it. After looking at it fully I'm probably going to make it into some kind of makeshift Cafe. It's a 78. He wouldn't take less than 650 and that kind of irked me but I didn't have to much of a choice these bikes are pretty rare around here.
 
if you feel you´re paying too much, don´t do it! just be patient... If the condition its in doesn´t correspond with how much he wants for the xs just tell him you´ll look for something else... obviously it wasn´t ´running perfectly´ at all
 
I don't think it sounds too bad for $650. It sounds to me that the carbs need cleaned for sure, which you are more than likely going to find in EVERY bike you look at in your price range. I would look closely at the "lay down" damage. If it's just a tank blemish and small bits, then it shouldn't be bad. For the $650, I'd definitely go look at it myself.
 
Did he give you any history on the bike? There could be a variety of reasons why it wouldn't stay running. Most of them would be pretty simple fixes. Did it cut out with the choke still on, or when it was pushed back in? If the carbs were off for cleaning, maybe they weren't put back on properly. Maybe the main idle wasn't adjusted. If the kids been showing it he's probably started it quite a few times without taking it for a spin, take a look at the spark plugs.
How were the tires? Did you notice any oil on the forks.

I guess the key is as Requiem said, how do you feel about the final price. Six-fifty doesn't seem bad, assuming its a bike with minor problems.
 
I honestly dont think you get much of a bike for under $1000 anymore....if you are looking for a buy and ride bike you are really looking at more of the $1500 range.
So when you start looking for cheaper bikes,they are almost all going to have a few quirks that need to be worked out.
If the kid was clueless about bikes ...its probably a basic tune up by a qualified mechanic at least.....if you can find a qualified mechanic ...take him with you to look at it...anything major should be evident to a trained eye.
I bought a vintage chainsaw off a guy a few years back...he "couldnt get it to start"....it was $400 sawe back in the early 80's when it was new...he said he'd take $40 for it...I got there he sold me the saw and a 2 stroke leaf blower that had the same problem...$60 for the package.....went home...put pre-mix in the leaf blower.....4 cranks it runs perfect...never done a thing to it...it even looks like brand new...so I went to the chain saw...same thing.....problem with both...................out of gas...literally...that was it.......used the saw for a year...sold it for $275.....

moral of the story.....if it doesnt look to hammered on...beat around...its probably relatively simple...as long as it wasnt making funky noises when it ran.


keeping in mind that a thorough inspection would be in order...things like tires,brakes,valve adjustment,carb cleaning/tuning,air filter,fork fluid/seals,etc,...and the associated service costs
If the kid was inept...those things most likely were neglected.

Sometimes when you find a bike thats in the higher price range you can find one that is already setup....either way it can end up costing about the same.
I bought my bike for $300......and $1000 later...I still havent heard it run...but its a full on project cafe...and the friends I have locally can help me with anything I cant conquer..and I'm a few $100 away from being done,thats just parts and materials..no labor charges.
 
Yeah I'm ok with 650 as long as it's running. around here they are usually 500ish so it's not a big strech. He said the carbs were cleaned but I'm guessing they weren't adjusted right. It didn't have the stock rims which i really didn't like I like the old stock rims. But it's not that big of a deal to me. I'm ok with it needed a little TLC as I want to learn to work on bikes myself so this is probably a good bike for me.

Once again thanks Skillz. I'm definitley going to turn it into a mock cafe I have some ideas about the rear end of it maybe putting an MX style tail on it with the rest done as a cafe
imgres
something like that but with the pipes lower and a different tank. so I'm going to learn some fabricating and mechanics.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...e=3&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:36&tx=81&ty=100

The bike will be lower I guess I'm doing a tracker/cafe crossover
 
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Yeah I'm ok with 650 as long as it's running. around here they are usually 500ish so it's not a big strech. He said the carbs were cleaned but I'm guessing they weren't adjusted right. It didn't have the stock rims which i really didn't like I like the old stock rims. But it's not that big of a deal to me. I'm ok with it needed a little TLC as I want to learn to work on bikes myself so this is probably a good bike for me.

Once again thanks Skillz. I'm definitley going to turn it into a mock cafe I have some ideas about the rear end of it maybe putting an MX style tail on it with the rest done as a cafe
imgres
something like that but with the pipes lower and a different tank. so I'm going to learn some fabricating and mechanics.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...e=3&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:36&tx=81&ty=100

The bike will be lower I guess I'm doing a tracker/cafe crossover
How did you know that it didn't have the stock rims? Is that something the owner told you, I guess? They look like stock spokes to me, but maybe I'm missing something....
 
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