Old Second Hand Bike 750cc or above

At the age of 50 after a gap of about 15 years I'm about to buy myself
another motorbike. I'm looking for suggestions for older cheap Jap bike
models 750cc or over that are reliable and still have spare parts available
should I need them. The budget is flexible but I don't want to spend a
lot, ideally roughly around $2,000. Suggestions please. Thanks Geoff.

 

You need to specify what sort of bike you want - sports, naked,
cruiser etc

For 2grand you're likely to be getting fairly worn kit, if you can
squeeze up to 3 or 4 you'll get better and more reliable kit.
Alternatively if the dollars are fairly fixed I suggest you reconsider
the >750 and include the 500 -750 category.

Assuming based on unfounded prejudice that you're most likely to want
a sports tourer or naked then

GSXF 750

Bandit 1200

ZX9R

ZZR1100

GPZ

If you're willing to look at slightly smaller bikes then

GS500
ER5
CBR600F
You might even get an SV650 Hornet600 or Hyosung 650 for 3 or 4K

JL

 

Cobber wrote:

Rethink the budget!

Yes, it is probably possible to get a bike such as you describe at
$2000-ish, but you'd need to know enough about bikes that you wouldn't
be asking here. And, no I am not being nasty.

Do you know that a green slip, compulsory third party insurance required
for registering an over 400cc motorcycle in Sydney,NSW costs about $500
per year?

If you don't like that answer, how about rethink the target?

For about the 2 grand you might well be able to get a daggy wee scooter
which could be mechanically OK.

Fifteen years is a biggish lay off, and a lot has changed in 15 years,
older cheaper bikes can often still have lots of power, but, when they
get that cheap, the suspension, steering and brakes all have to be, at
the very least, suspect.

As a rough indication, I'd suggest that you need to be prepared to spend
something in the order of 5 to 6 grand.

That would leave you money to get some gear, but you'd still be looking
at a fairly elderly machine, with an allowanced for getting stuff fixed.

Oh, and we still haven't go to what you want to do with it.....

regards,
CrazyCam

 

:

I have an open mind at this stage, either sports or a cruiser sound fine. A
dumb question no doubt - what the heck is a naked motorbike?

 

Old style no fairing

 

Ok, a bike without a fairing. I don't like large full fairings. A small
fairing is OK. Using it mainly for occasional weekend trips away, not for
commuting. I'm in West Oz (Perth) and we don't have those annual green
slips over here thank heavens. No annual inspections, you just cough up
your rego money every year.

 

Are you looking to pick up where you left off, in the early 90's, or
are you looking to go older or newer? Are you after something upright,
or are clipons and rearset pegs OK?

The above is going to have an effect on what sorts of bikes make
realistic purchases on your budget.

If you're happy with something sporty, then $2000 will stretch to
something from the turn of the 90's, but if you want an upright bike,
the selection is going to be a lot older, albeit cheaper... there's a
big gap from a time when only sportsbikes sold in significant numbers.

 

He's in WA so no green slip. $200 a year covers rego and third party
(this is not no-fault).

Agreed, for $2K he'll get a heapp of crap that requires a lot of time
effort and knowledge to make it work reliably.

Theo

 

Damn! I've got a real nice XJ750 I wanna' sell but I'm about as far
away from you as I could be!! (Brisbane).

 

Distance hasn't stopped you from buying, so why should it be any
different selling?

regards,
CrazyCam

 

If you are in Melbourne I might know where you can get an SV650 for
around $4k.

Fraser

 

Damn! I've got a real nice XJ750 I wanna' sell but I'm about as far
away from you as I could be!! (Brisbane).
--
Clem

Offer free delivery.

Boxer

 

You can always trust that a Scotsman will be concerned about the lay-out of
money

But I will agree with him on this point
You will have to spend around $4,000 to $5,000 to get a good one

 

I'll be first.. Three fiddy?

 

wrote in :

Re your Yamaha XJ750. What year, how many kms has it done, what condition,
got a pic and what $ would you let it go for? I have ridden across the
Nullabor Plain six times before. That wouldn't be a problem for the right
bike.

 

I did say that my budget was flexible. So what year/make/model do you
reckon I could get for say $4-5 grand? I want a Jap bike I could use for
some touring - flat bars and a smallish fairing.

 

It's an '83 grey import. It's identical to an '83 XJ900R ('cept the
colour) but the Japs had a 750cc limit back then so it's basically a
900 with a 750 engine.
It was brought to Australia in the late 90s with about 40,000km on it,
complianced and then bought by Bumblebeeman from this group.
Later he sold it to a mate of mine from work who took it up to 100,000
or so and then parked it in his shed when he bought a Wee-Strom.
Four days before I was due to set off for the Phillip Island GP this
year my Trumpy shat itself so we dug out the XJ, tried to charge the
battery, removed the tailpiece and sidecovers in an effort to disguise
it, made a crude rack from reo and set off!
I was bedevilled on the trip by what turned out to be a cracked vacuum
hose and the rooted battery was a pain in the arse but otherwise it
was faultless (as XJs tend to be!)
After I got back I put some new rear shocks on it and I've got a new
heavy-duty sealed-lead-acid battery but then I fianlly got my Trump
back up and running so the XJ is surplice to requirements.
I haven't got a good photo of it (and it'll take me the weekend to get
on cause I've gotta' put the bodywork back first) but it looks a bit
like this:
http://www.halford.org.nz/albums/Family-and-Friends-Bikes/XJ750_1.sized.jpg

It's now got about 115,000km and I want about $1750 for it.

 

It's an '83 grey import. It's identical to an '83 XJ900R ('cept the
colour) but the Japs had a 750cc limit back then so it's basically a
900 with a 750 engine.
It was brought to Australia in the late 90s with about 40,000km on it,
complianced and then bought by Bumblebeeman from this group.
Later he sold it to a mate of mine from work who took it up to 100,000
or so and then parked it in his shed when he bought a Wee-Strom.
Four days before I was due to set off for the Phillip Island GP this
year my Trumpy shat itself so we dug out the XJ, tried to charge the
battery, removed the tailpiece and sidecovers in an effort to disguise
it, made a crude rack from reo and set off!
I was bedevilled on the trip by what turned out to be a cracked vacuum
hose and the rooted battery was a pain in the arse but otherwise it
was faultless (as XJs tend to be!)
After I got back I put some new rear shocks on it and I've got a new
heavy-duty sealed-lead-acid battery but then I fianlly got my Trump
back up and running so the XJ is surplice to requirements.
I haven't got a good photo of it (and it'll take me the weekend to get
on cause I've gotta' put the bodywork back first) but it looks a bit
like this:
http://www.halford.org.nz/albums/Family-and-Friends-Bikes/XJ750_1.sized.jpg

It's now got about 115,000km and I want about $1750 for it.
--
Clem

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Which is $1000 too much

 

Cobber wrote:

Hi Cobber.

Mea Culpa, I didn't explain properly what I was getting at.

The lower down the "asking price" gets, the more money left over from
your budget figure meeds to be kept aside for fixing up stuff.

At the time of your original post I wasn't aware that you were in West
Oz, so my comments about NSW Green Slips didn't apply, but, having had a
15 year lay-off, I assume you need to buy fresh gear, which can be done
on the cheap, but equally can easily account for well in excess of a grand.

Perhaps Theo might be in a better position to comment as to WA
circumstances, but I meant that, if you buy a bike for 2 or 2.5 grand,
you really want to have fifteen hundred to 2 more grand "available" if
you have to pay someone to "fix" problems on a cheap bike.

If you are lucky, you may not have to spend that money, but, it (to my
way of looking at things) should be there in the budget.

BTW, one good approach, IMHO, is to go for the wee engined options....
like Clem's 750, while most of the rest of the same model were 900s.

I got an 850 BM, and I am sure it was a better price than getting an
1100 engined, identical bike.

regards,
CrazyCam

 

There is an FZR 750 on perthstreetbikes.com that looks like it would
suit the OP to a T. Alternatively he can up his budget and buy my K4
GSX-R 1000 for 8 grand.

Fraser