.... Another 'hmmm'. 'twas an early (1990) Pan with low mileage (37k) MOT etc blah blah. The picture in Biketrader looked a bit manky, though. Phoned the owner, who confirms the finish is a bit grotty, mainly because it has spent the last 10 years outside and his mate (previous owner) couldn't be bothered to clean it. So it got washed down when it rained. Hmmm. Turn up, and the bike indeed looks like something the cat dragged in - the paint is dull to the extent that I don't know if a good polish will sort it out. Strangely enough, the paint is worn through to the plastic roughly where the top of the rider's boots would be - the spot is about the size of a 10p coin on both side, but it's the first time *ever* that I've seen this on a Pan. And I've looked at several high mileage ones, but most of them were owned by people who learned the art of bike cleaning from JP... Nevertheless, it starts on the button and sounds like a good 'un. No funny noises from the engine, it just wirrs away as they do. Further inspection reveals that both front and rear brakes are beginning to seize - the bike's done about 70 miles since August 2002 so that's not much of a surprise as it sat outside, but it's annoying. Given that the rear brake is rather reluctant to release I politely decline the test ride offered. Another quick look through the docs suggests that money has been spent on the bike, but there is no service history to speak of. The old MOTs check out against the mileage, so at least that's genuine, plus it's got a Motad system (more hmm, mainly because I got the impression it's leaking slightly). But I find *three* invoices for front fork seal replacement, which made me wonder a bit. Is this something that occurs often? Or was it the competence of Motorcycle Shitty, for it was them who fitted the seals? So all in all we've got a Pan in dire need of a service, but unfortunately I think it would need trailering away because there's no way *I* would ride it through Central London. As it has been written time and time again, the brakes on these aren't that hot when they're in good condition. I don't want to know what they're like if they're like this. The seller dropped the price considerably once I pointed out all the problems I found (TOG would probably have found even more) but I'm still somewhat undecided if I want it or not. For a few hundred more there's a high-mileage one available with FSH from a dealer (with a proper warranty), but then again it's one of the lower mileage ones I've seen so far. *Sigh* Why do all the good bikes hide when I'm looking?
