Fivyrn
XS400 New Member
Hello!
I wanted to make an intro thread before I jumped into the rest of the forum. Mostly just to say hi but also to hear any comments or feedback.
I recently decided I wanted a motorcycle, but I have never been a fan of large bikes and quickly found that the 400cc-650cc range was perfect for me (in fact most 650cc's I see are too big for my tastes). It's not that I don't like to go fast I just really like the look and feel of lightweight bikes.
After some research I fell in love with the Honda CB450SC Nighthawk ('82-'86) but in my area there is only one in good condition (~5k miles, no issues, looks great) but the seller wants $2k for it which is a bit crazy. Everyone on the Nighthawk forums said not to pay more than $1500 and even that was too much.
So there I was sad and refreshing craigslist every few hours for a few days. I sent some emails after an '80 Honda CM400 for $1100 that looked nice and had low miles but didn't hear back when all of a sudden an '82 Yamaha 400 Maxim (which I believe is model XS400J? I am having a hard time finding a lot of information at the moment) popped up.
It looks to be in great condition, the owners wife has been riding it a little bit for the last 5 years. Only 3300 miles, tires have about 1200 on them, oil recently changed, he had the carbs rebuilt (new jet needles and seats, he says the old ones were pitted), only minor scratches from moving around the garage and normal wear and tear... and only $850.
This seems like a great deal, I am going to see it tomorrow and I think I am going to buy it. He has the Yamaha service manual for me as well. Here are some photos:
So what do you guys think? Good deal / bad deal / average deal / amazing deal? Anything I need to know?
I plan to really take care of the bike, I want to learn to do all the routine maintenance and repairs and I plan to go through all the systems to make sure they are clean and running well, and if not I will repair/replace them with as close to original parts as I can.
Thanks for reading, I look forward to talking with you all once I am an owner
I wanted to make an intro thread before I jumped into the rest of the forum. Mostly just to say hi but also to hear any comments or feedback.
I recently decided I wanted a motorcycle, but I have never been a fan of large bikes and quickly found that the 400cc-650cc range was perfect for me (in fact most 650cc's I see are too big for my tastes). It's not that I don't like to go fast I just really like the look and feel of lightweight bikes.
After some research I fell in love with the Honda CB450SC Nighthawk ('82-'86) but in my area there is only one in good condition (~5k miles, no issues, looks great) but the seller wants $2k for it which is a bit crazy. Everyone on the Nighthawk forums said not to pay more than $1500 and even that was too much.
So there I was sad and refreshing craigslist every few hours for a few days. I sent some emails after an '80 Honda CM400 for $1100 that looked nice and had low miles but didn't hear back when all of a sudden an '82 Yamaha 400 Maxim (which I believe is model XS400J? I am having a hard time finding a lot of information at the moment) popped up.
It looks to be in great condition, the owners wife has been riding it a little bit for the last 5 years. Only 3300 miles, tires have about 1200 on them, oil recently changed, he had the carbs rebuilt (new jet needles and seats, he says the old ones were pitted), only minor scratches from moving around the garage and normal wear and tear... and only $850.
This seems like a great deal, I am going to see it tomorrow and I think I am going to buy it. He has the Yamaha service manual for me as well. Here are some photos:
So what do you guys think? Good deal / bad deal / average deal / amazing deal? Anything I need to know?
I plan to really take care of the bike, I want to learn to do all the routine maintenance and repairs and I plan to go through all the systems to make sure they are clean and running well, and if not I will repair/replace them with as close to original parts as I can.
Thanks for reading, I look forward to talking with you all once I am an owner