[TJ859]

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If you don't know the history of your bike take the time to check it out before you put to many miles on it .Case in point just finishing up doing down time maint. on an 85 Aspy I bought in August/04 newwheel bearings front and back timing belts, rebilt calipers all around coolant flush gear oil change you know stuff like thatgetting ready to install spin on engineoil filter addapter change the oil guess what ?NO oil filter in the oil filter holder .The engine seems to be ok no smoke plenty power I hope I cought it in time.NEW OWNERS BEWARE tke the time to go over your machine.

 

[axelwik]

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Got mine on ebay and the guy said I could probably ride it home.

Not a chance - the charging system was fried (burned wires and bad rectifier), it was missing the fuel pump (he kept it full enough to gravity feed and bolted a piece of rubber over the pump mounting flange), rotted tires, no fuel filter or air filter, brakes seized, rusted/broken cables, and missing many other parts like the horn, reserve lighting unit, and the list goes on. The carbs were so gunked up I was surprised it ran.

Only thing good was that whoever had it before him was pretty good about changing the oil, and the inside of the engine looked pretty good... only reason I took it.

I tore it down to just the engine sitting in the frame and rebuilt it from there. Nice running bike now - just took it on a 2000 mile trip without a problem.

If a deal looks too good to be true, it's probably not a good deal.

 

[FitzAl]

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You're a brave soul Marco, I would have ran away from that one!

 

[Guest]

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axelwik wrote:

If a deal looks too good to be true, it's probably not a good deal.

Hey axelwik :waving: The most true words you ever said. :whip:

:walker: :18red: :walker:

 

[englishted]

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TJ859 wrote:

If you don't know the history of your bike take the time to check it out before you put to many miles on it .Case in point just finishing up doing down time maint. on an 85 Aspy I bought in August/04 newwheel bearings front and back timing belts, rebilt calipers all around coolant flush gear oil change you know stuff like thatgetting ready to install spin on engineoil filter addapter change the oil guess what ?NO oil filter in the oil filter holder .The engine seems to be ok no smoke plenty power I hope I cought it in time.NEW OWNERS BEWARE tke the time to go over your machine.

Discovering no oil filter would have been the last straw for me. Some people are just gluttons for punishment!

 

[exavid]

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FitzAl wrote:

You're a brave soul Marco, I would have ran away from that one!

Not me, money has always been scarce for toys, if the price is right I've bought some real disasters. I should write a book about the 36 foot ketch I once bought. Spent two years rebuilding. Once she was finished she was a gem, never could have owned or sailed a boat like her if I'd found her in good condition to start with.

I don't know about Marco but I also get a boost out of resurrecting a good old machine, well worth the effort if the starting price is low enough to make sense.

 

[Renegade]

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I'm with you Exavid.. I purchased one or two year old salvage cars and rebuilt them years ago.. I also just purchased a complete set of GL1200 carbs and manifold assembly from E-bay that I will re-build and sell... The stuff is out there if you know how to puff them up..

 

[Goldwinger1984]

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Personally, I have had better luck with used bikes and cars than new ones most likely because the used ones I go through carefully and make sure everything is right. Every new vehicle, bikes or cars, I've had has spent considerable time in the shop for repairsbecause ofa breakdown. The worst part about the new ones is that the depreciation clock keeps ticking and sucking money out of my wallet even though the vehicle is still inside at the dealer.

The reason I bring this up is that TJ859makes a very good point about driving a used vehicle that someone else has maintained. Check it over carefully in spite of any claimed safety checks or inspectionsbecause your life may depend on your own observation and dedication to making your machine right for the road.



Vic