Finally, some local 1st bike contenders

[UncleS2]

At long last there are 3 local(
1. Only ~20 miles away(!), just posted tonight:
1982 Yamaha XJ750 R, ~15,000 miles, shaft drive, alum wheels, inline vertical air-cooled 4-cyl. Considered quite fast in 1982! Owner's a long-time motorcycle guy, it's in nice shape & clean, near-new tires & batt. One slow leak front fork, "no-go" switch under kick/centerstand acts up, says he'll fix that switch. Asking price, $1200. Downside- Yamaha XJ formum details very complicated carb procedures & valve clearance setting. ~540 lbs wet weight, & has rep for being front and top-heavy "feeling". Probably a real nice bike, but maybe better for someone with some real experience, instead of a newbie like me.

2. ~70 miles away: 1980 Honda CB650 C(not a Nighthawk), 26,000 miles, chain drive, 650cc air-cooled inline 4-cyl, also near-new tires & batt, might need tuneup- probably same boat as the Yamaha with valve setting/carb tuning procedures. A little lighter than the Yamaha at ~470 lbs wet. Asking $850, maybe gone by now, but worth a look.

3. ~70 miles the other direction: 1985 Honda CB700SC S Nighthawk, ~24,000 miles, shaft drive, 700cc air-cooled inline 4-cyl, hyd valve lifters(no valve setting, nice w/4 valves/cyl!), beautiful blue & black original paint, factory mini(OK, micro!)-fairing. Pristine tank, no dents outside or rust inside. Center & sidestand like the Yamaha, has "crash" bar, new batt. Will need new rear tire soon, otherwise he claims it needs nothing. *Very* impressive reviews & owner satisfaction with these bikes. Claimed to be very well balanced & to feel lighter than its ~515 lb wet weight. IMO the pick of this litter & priced accordingly at $1950.

all 3 bikes look very good in photos, have clear title, & should serve well as a 1st bike. The Nighthawk 700 calls to me strongly & might very well do to keep, period. I forgot to mention, it also has a spin-on oil filter!

Of course, they may all turn out to be awful, you can hide a lot in CL pix!

 

[XS650]

Prices seem high, but I haven;t bought motorcycle in a long time.

25+ years old is also old for a motorcycle. Even with good care they will have age related problems from stuff just dying of old age.

I had a 1985 Honda CB700SC S Nighthawk and absolutely loved it, but an 85 is still 26 years old.

You might consider a 2000-2003 Honda CB750, Or Suzuki GSF600 or SV650. 10 years old is a lot less trouble prone than 25 years old.

 

[Silk]

I'd go for the Yamaha,the XJ's were a good looking and well sorted bike.

Have you looked at BMW's of the same era? I reckon an Airhead is the best value for money on todays market.Simple,easy to work on,spares readily available,and parts interchange across the models.

 

[Smoky14]

The Yamaha XJs were good bikes. They had great electrics and the valves almost never need adjusting unless you wring the snot out of them.
That 650 Honda is a non-starter for me, they were not a good bike from the start.
The 700 is a must see, depends on the owner care...as do they all.

 

[boraticus]

I owned a brand new '82 Yamaha XJ750 Seca. It was one smooth rocket in it's day!

Great Jeckyll and Hyde machine. It could be ridden quietly and sedately around town with excellent control. Take it out on the open road, crack the throttle and hang on! That thing would change sound and character from mild mannered to a fierce accelerator. The sound at w.o.t. was incredible. Definitely one of my favourite bikes ever. I had to trade it in for something more sedate, a new '82 BMW R100. Didn't really like the R100. It was an OK machine but just didn't suit my riding style.

 

[dwendt44]

Some of those prices sound high. Don't know if NADA goes back that far, but checking with that site might be worth a look; if for no other reason that a bargaining tool.

 

[UncleS2]

Yup, all prices are high around here. Just like used pickup trucks.

I saw the Yamaha- for a 29-yr-old machine it's a real beauty, started & idled great, exc tires, lotsa factory electronic bells & whistles for a bare-nekkid bike(no windshield/bags/rack/etc). BUT: it really felt top-heavy to me- even the owner agreed with that- and there's no way I can come close to flatfooting the bike. A doggone shame, because if I had even a little recent riding experience & *slightly* longer legs it'd probably be in the carport now. It is Very Nice, Great Looking Motorcycle, silver-gray, only a couple of tiny paint chips that I saw, no dents- and you could probably buy it for $1000, maybe a bit less. Oh yeah- he fixed the kickstand safety switch. If anyone is interested, it should make a great bike, it's located a little north of Longview, Texas. Go to CL- Texas- East Texas(Tyler)- Motorcycles- look for 82 Yamaha Seca 750.

The Honda 650 is sold- just as well. After researching last night I'd about decided to pass on it anyway.

The Honda 700 Nighthawk- looks like owner won't budge on price, it'll also be pretty heavy & have a high seat.

Still looking, but probably back to Plan A: nothing over 450 lbs, 2 cyls & 500cc.

 

[Quattro Pete]

If you're willing to drive 70 miles away, then another 30 gets you to Dallas metro area. There's got to be a lot more reasonably priced bikes there. What is your budget?

I would seriously not consider buying a 30-year-old bike as my first bike. As others mentioned, many age-related issues may pop up and you'll be fixing it more than riding it.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
If you're willing to drive 70 miles away, then another 30 gets you to Dallas metro area. There's got to be a lot more reasonably priced bikes there. What is your budget?
...


Not really. Most bikes here are overpriced. I've seen a beat to death Suzuki S40 for $2500, Shadow 750s with 40,000 miles for $3995. and weathered older carb'd 883 Sporties for $5000. Go a little into East or West Texas and the prices start falling off. I don't know why. Maybe being the 4th largest metro-area in the country, we suffer the same price gouging as other big cities.

The selection is better here, I mean you can actually find a 'Guzzi or an old BMW K-bike if you want one, but a lot of it is just way over-priced.

 

[Quattro Pete]

I saw an '09 Vulcan 500 for $3500 or a '96 one for $2000 that would fit the OP's bill, under Dallas CL. But I agree, they all do sound a bit overpriced... maybe it's the time of year... bikes are usually more expensive in the Spring when people start to ride again... at least up here it's like that. And then in the Fall the price come down as people try to get rid of bikes so that they don't have to store them over winter. But you guys in Texas probably ride all year long, so that argument doesn't really hold water.

 

[UncleS2]

Pete, Spazdog has it nailed. If anything, bikes are even higher in D-FW than here, I suspect because there's a lot more money in Dallas, & Houston too. I'm about 130 miles from Dallas by any reasonable route, though if I could drive straight west it would be ~100 miles. The few really good deals I've spotted anywhere are usually gone within an hour or two. I know some are bought by dealers, because the same bike pops up a day or two later, priced from $900 to $2500 more than it was before.

Wrong time of year, plus I live where there are slim pickings. And yes, I had originally planned to go no older than 10-12 years or so, maybe a bit more for a really "good 'un". I'm all too aware of the things that go wrong with a car simply as a matter of time & age, & feel sure motorccycles are the same. Well, I guess bikes have a lot less weatherstripping.

 

[Ken2]

Try telephoning your local Honda motorcycle parts counter and ask what's the oldest year of parts available from the Honda warehouse. At some age they stop making and stocking parts, and getting parts for old bikes has the owner mainly relying on eBay and luck.

 

[mjoekingz28]

You can probably find some late 90s Shadow 600s for less than $2k.

I test rode one that was not in good shape and it surprisingly stretched my arms in first gear. It didn't look like much fun to work on, but it wasn't too heavy and the owner said it would do 80mph all day.

If you want a sportbike, you don't get a literbike as a beginner because of the power available. So, I would think if you're new to getting a cruiser you don't want a 750-1100+ because it would just be too much work muscling the thing around at low speeds.

But once you've started on a reasonable bike for your height, weight, skill level and developed the leg muscles for holding it up, the arms for low speed maneuvering and deft touch of the hands and wrists for manipulating the controls (throttle, clutch, front brake) then you will know more about what you want then find a bike that suits.


Start small and learn to drag the hard parts, execute small turning radii, and hustling around the curves then you'll be able to master a bigger bike more readily. If you start too big, IMO, then you'll really limit yourself on your potential ability to ride, ride strong and ride safely.


EDIT: When you find a bike that fits you. It will be like an extension of your mind. It will do what you want it to do. Start small, master it and determine how it holds you back. If its cornering you want then you may look into a sportbike. If you find you just want to blast away at stoplights then a VMAX may be in your future. Or if you KNOW you just want to lay bike and take the world as it comes and don't want to exploit your cat-like speed and reflexes then a Harley Sportster would be nice to have in your arsenal.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Good advice from mjoeking above.

 

[UncleS2]

Sounds like good advice. I decided that while too old might have to do, too big would *not* do, & have quit looking at 750s & anything with a curb weight approaching 500 lbs. About the largest I might go is the old Yamaha Virago 535, dry ~39x lbs, wet ~425. I sat on one & it felt very good to me- but then again I have no experience. There's a V-go 535 beauty now, I'm waiting on a reply to email via CL(only contact possible), & suspect I'll never get one. It was posted just before 9am this morning, & was 4pm when I got computer time & saw it. Rats.

Finding anything suitable & reasonably priced has been a lost cause. I just deleted over 100 emails from my "sent" file that I've sent out in the past ~2 months. So far, not one reply. Zip. Any good deal is gone like a flash, often bought up by dealers. I've seen ads go up & come down within an hour and a half. I now have my "ca$h $tas$h" ready to go, so can hook up the trailer & leave if something pops up. The search isn't going very well though, & I'm looking up to 350 miles away.

Thanks for the input, gotta go search CL again now.

 

[Spazdog]

Quote:
You can probably find some late 90s Shadow 600s for less than $2k.
I test rode one that was not in good shape and it surprisingly stretched my arms in first gear. It didn't look like much fun to work on, but it wasn't too heavy and the owner said it would do 80mph all day.


IMHO, they messed that engine up.

It's descended from the Hawk GT engine (and Transalp) but it doesn't feel like a Hawk GT at freeway speed. The Hawk GT has a nice steady "thrum". Even the older VT500C Shadow had that nice feel. Effortless freeway cruiser

For some dumb reason, Honda got rid of one of the transmission's ratios. Changed up the internals to alter the sound I guess. Now, It buzzes and numbs your hands and feet.

I can ride a 400cc 4cyl stressed member engine for hours. The VLX numbs me too bad at freeway speeds. I wish they had just used the VT500C engine with the 6 speed on the VLX

 

[dwendt44]

The sprockets are easy enough to change though. Up a tooth in the front and down two in the rear would ease the highway strain.

 

[UncleS2]

It's Too old, I know- but how 'bout: 1985 Honda NightHawk 450?

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Stuart Hughes
It's Too old, I know- but how 'bout: 1985 Honda NightHawk 450?


Prince had a 450 Hawk. He's all of about 5'2"

 

[UncleS2]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: Stuart Hughes
It's Too old, I know- but how 'bout: 1985 Honda NightHawk 450?


Prince had a 450 Hawk. He's all of about 5'2"

You're really trying to put me off the Honda 450, aren't you?

Well, it ain't gonna work, not even the fact that Prince(yeesh!) once rode one can drive me away. Close though!

I have someone to go look at it for me(it's almost 300 miles away). In about an hour I should have an eyewitness report.