[Newbie Advice] Buying A Used Motorcycle

[Watchman]

I guess we've discussed a lot relating to things to look out for when buying a car, but I dont recall reading much on motorcylce buying advice. So I thought a new thread could be useful. In this case; for me.

I'm planning on buying a scrambler (200cc or less for now cos that's what the s'pore law says). Being a complete newbie to bikes I've joined a local forum to see what's happening in the local scene. But when it comes to mechanical advice I prefer asking a forum that I trust more cos we all know all forum's have their share of dumb-asses no matter when they joined or how many posts they have.

The local forum has a buying guide, which seems quite comprehensive but still better safe than sorry i guess. So Any general advice you guys have is most welcome. I guess I (and anyone else) can post more specific questions as we go on.

Thanks guys!

[Watchman]

Right now the bikes I'm looking at are the Yamaha WR200, KTM 200, Honda XR/XLR 200. Most bikes are 10+ years old and so parts are generally considered a problem at times. The most dreaded is the CDI.

Q1:

I'm not too concerned about the fuel consumption, though the XR is known to give much better figures due to being a 4 stroke (at the cost of lesser power). Some oWR or KTM users rid eon premix while some use the separate tank+pump. What's your opinion on this, is one better than the other?

Q2:

I hear the words "top/fully overhauled XX months ago" quite often. What exactly does it mean, and parts wise what exactly is replaced?

Q3.

A number of users have states that they do oil changes every 1000km or 2000km (with some doing an engine flush every time), it seemed awfully short for a service interval, so is this normal? Or are riders here being extra cautious?

[Ripper]

Out of the three bikes... IMO...the most reliable is the XR. decent grunt and overall a great bike to thump around. Only downside on the XR to me is that the suspension setup is pretty poor for offroad or trail riding. For light trails and road commuting this isn't an issue.

I dont know much about the KTM's but for competition and hard trail riding they are supposed to be pretty good.

The yammie too is a great bike but if my memory serves me right both the KTM and the WR are two strokes innit?

So you'd have lot more power at the top and and less torque at bottom end.

Personally i like the power delivery of the XR. Especially if you can hook it up with a pumper carb.

The stock XR carb's throttle response is a little lazy but a mikuni pumper should be able to sort that out easily.

I'm biased towards the XR As i have been owning one for a good 8 years now

I wouldn't worry too much about CDI's. at least not for the XR.

you get these popping up on ebay often and they aren't expensive. Also in SL, they fix these nowadays

a1. my older mtx200 too has a separate 2t tank setup with a pump. I've always used this setup on that bike and never opted to pour 2t into the tank.

for one thing, the bike was originally designed to run in that setup and i did not see any reason to change without seeing any obvious benefits.

Also adding 2t to the fuel tank means that oil goes through your carb too. possibly increasing risks of clogs.

I have seen people adding 2t to the tank directly to either save up on 2t cost and reduce smoke (which i think is stupid and can make the piston run with less lube)

or when their 2t pump is kaput and dont want to bust the moolah to fix it up

a2. Top end overhaul mostly applies to two strokes i suppose cos on 4strokes it's not a very common repair.

On a two stroke this involves re-boring the block and putting in new pistons, rings etc

On a 4 stroke it's pistons plus the valve train depending on what needs replacement.

Basically the top end repair of an engine usually means the bits you get above the crank level. piston and up basically

Bottom end means whatever that comes below the piston, excluding the piston.

generally bottom end repairs are more complicated since the engine cases have to be opened up. local lingo "engine eka palu karanawa"

a3. Oil changes depend on style and type of riding you do. Similar to cars. If you ride hard, ride for longer times etc... changes will have to be done a bit more frequently.

Duration change from bike to bike too. I'd say for basic commuting sorta thing you should be able to get about 3-5k. Unless of course the oil goes bad for some reason or the manufacturer has recommended shorter intervals

Doing flushes dont make sense to me.

On my XR, once a year or so, i open up the clutch cover and clean out the oil filter screens placed on the inside of the crank case. Some metal shavings and wear bits tend to get stuck there and even that cant be "flushed" out without opening the case

[Watchman]

Hey ripper thanks for that. Really helpful.

Yes I've read it too that the WR has stiffer suspension which doesn't make regular road riding as comfy as the XR, which on the other hand apparently bottoms out on hard falls/jumps. And the XR has a e-start as opposed to the kick start on the KTM and Yamaha which makes more sense if ur gonna be riding it to work and around town too. And yes, you're right the WR n KTM are 2 stroke.

Like you said I should probably look into getting that pumper carb. And you're right I think on the 2t issue. From some comments on that other forum, some people who add direct (when they shouldnt be) are people with busted 2t pumps.

[Watchman]

Can someone tell me if my understanding of a regular fork and an inverted form are correct?

An regular fork is one where you get the spring on the outside of the telescopic shaft while on an inverted fork the spring runs on the inside.

And where does the shock absorber itself go? I did google it a bit but the resulting articles used more technical terms which made it a bit too hard to follow.

Thanks!

[Straga]

Guys i need a little help. Planning on buying first motorcycle and since i dont know much about bikes thought id post here and get some advice. Anyway my budget is upto 50k. I want a bike that is reasonably good looking, not one of them indian ones, is reliable and one that has decent fuel economy. Yeah thats about it and suggestions will be welcome.

[Gyiman]

  On 1/17/2012 at 1:22 AM, Straga said:

Guys i need a little help. Planning on buying first motorcycle and since i dont know much about bikes thought id post here and get some advice. Anyway my budget is upto 50k. I want a bike that is reasonably good looking, not one of them indian ones, is reliable and one that has decent fuel economy. Yeah thats about it and suggestions will be welcome.

Machan for 50K its quite unlikely you would get something decent IMHO. You may need to dish out a bit more, but maybe one of those little scooters. They do the job & are good on fuel.. But they are Indian I myself am looking for a vespa that I could do up. But the ones that I have seen so far, looked like they had been hit with mortar shells.

@Watchman albeit late in the day, machan aren't the inverted forks the 'Upside down' folks? i.e like the ones on the WR, etc etc.

[Straga]

Maybe something a little older..? 50k is all i can afford atm unfortunately

[Straga]

and nope a scooter wont do the trick mainly i want a starter bike for experience and then move on to bigger ones..

[Gyiman]

  On 1/17/2012 at 3:27 AM, Straga said:

Maybe something a little older..? 50k is all i can afford atm unfortunately

Something like a old TZR/RZ perhaps? You'd be quite lucky if you can fine one in good nick for that price though. Haven't really seen many RZ's on the streets though.

[Straga]

Yes a TZR was definitely an option, found an old thread about that as well.. An RZ is a yamaha? no chance on any hondas/suzukis in that price range..?

[Gyiman]

  On 1/17/2012 at 4:22 AM, Straga said:

Yes a TZR was definitely an option, found an old thread about that as well.. An RZ is a yamaha? no chance on any hondas/suzukis in that price range..?

Yep RZ is Yamaha, they came with & without the YPVS. Obviously the one with it is the way to go. If you want something like a CD125/GS125 you should be able to come across one.

[Watchman]

  On 1/17/2012 at 2:59 AM, Gyiman said:

@Watchman albeit late in the day, machan aren't the inverted forks the 'Upside down' folks? i.e like the ones on the WR, etc etc.

Yep, it's not as complex as I initially thought; its just a flipped such that the spring is at the wheel end instead of the handle end. Thanks

[Watchman]

Out of curiosity, how much does a 2nd hand XR250 go for these days?

[Straga]

  On 1/17/2012 at 6:55 AM, Watchman said:

Out of curiosity, how much does a 2nd hand XR250 go for these days?

Googled it and most of the examples seem to be above 250,000. Shame, seems like a really nice bike

[Straga]

  On 1/17/2012 at 4:29 AM, Gyiman said:

Yep RZ is Yamaha, they came with & without the YPVS. Obviously the one with it is the way to go. If you want something like a CD125/GS125 you should be able to come across one.

Hmm looks like the only sporty looking bike for my budget is the tzr/rz. Any idea if there is a cheaper alternative to the XR250? You know a dirt bike kinda look..?

[Gyiman]

  On 1/17/2012 at 6:55 AM, Watchman said:

Out of curiosity, how much does a 2nd hand XR250 go for these days?

http://www.autolanka.com/ad.asp?ID=63420

[Gyiman]

  On 1/17/2012 at 7:20 AM, Straga said:

Hmm looks like the only sporty looking bike for my budget is the tzr/rz. Any idea if there is a cheaper alternative to the XR250? You know a dirt bike kinda look..?

Not too familiar with them but for that price I am thinking, KTM's, DT125, XL125. They will be really old though.

[Straga]

ah probably gonna end up buying a TZR.. Saw another thread with some useful info will try and drop the guy a pm to see how much it was etc

[Straga]

Guys how those Chinese mopeds that are advertised in the papers? they seem to be a little oughtta budget but maybe i can stretch it by 10-15k.. Anyone has experience using these..?

[Ripper]

that XR on AL is over-priced by a fair bit.

I doubt he'll find a buyer at that range.

I'd say if "straga" looks around a bit...he should be able to find a tzr 125. might have to stretch the budget a bit to find a decent specimen.

pretty reliable bike.

Also if your intro trail bikes...the honda mtx too is a good option. I still have a 200 but unfortunately not in running shape. stored in my garage for the past 8 or 9 years.

quite relaible and fast bike. Looks pretty good for it's vintage and in my opinion one of the nicest looking trail bikes of the era. You get the mtx 50 and the 125 also.

another alternative might be older jap bikes that were really not mainstream in SL. bikes like the MBX etc. VT250 is another one

these for some reason were never runway successes. might be able to pick one of for little.

Even the older XL's go for a lot more money os they are still in demand and pretty darn hardy bikes.

they will outlast the indian and chinese junks not by years but by decades. even with hard use.

I would just swift through papers and settle on a few models depending on your budget and then further reasearch and see which one suits you best.

[Straga]

Thanks for the reply 'ripper' A fried actually has a Loncin 90q motorcycle but he wants around 90,000 for it. It seems worth because its done only 500kms.. Do you guys think the deal is good or can i find a much better motorcycle for that much?

[Ripper]

i wouldn't waste that much of money on a crappy chinese bike!

but there are plenty of those bikes on the roads so something is working for them.

the 100cc or somethink harley-look-alike loncin is very popular.

[Straga]

this doesnt look like a harley more like a moped, but yeah its 90cc. Will do what you said, il look through the papers and then see. thanks

[Gyiman]

You're considering a moped when you said you didn't want a scooter You might want to consider checking out the Sinhala newspapers too, & or Kurunegala, etc etc? Damn back in the day places like panchikawatte were full of proper bikes, now all you get are those little mozzies.

[Straga]

aha its not a moped exactly, the thing that attracts me is the fact that its so new.. but yeah i will look through the papers and then see.. You have any suggestions off the top of your head? thanks