Is anything intrinsically wrong with older bikes?
I’m of the opinion that a quality bike that is well maintained can go on for ages.
Am I correct?
Reason i’m asking is that i’m looking to replace the YBR but newer bikes are a bitch to insure.
I’m looking at older 400cc bikes because they are cheap to insure. Problem is, the ones i’m looking at are 15-20 years old.
If I find a well maintained one, will it give me any problems over that of a normal bike?
I would say all the older bikes i have had its been more the lack of use over the years is the problem.
petrol left to crud up the carbs , poor electrical connections etc
a nice low milage 20 year old bike thats stood around can be a lot of trouble , better to try a 6 to 10 year old with higher milage
engines in all things are better when in use every day.
Got my eye on a 1992 GSXR400. Its only got 10,000 miles on it so its undoubtedly been sitting for a while. Found a few locations for parts and spares.
I’m starting a course in Motorbike Mechanics in September so I’m gonna try and fix it up myself.
Steer clear from carbs. Not any people work on these anymore. I had 2 flat mates that had endless trouble trying to get them to run properly… :ermm:
There’s nothing wrong with carb’s, you can learn how to get them running and not every one has newer injection bikes. I’ve stuck to a carb model purely for the reason that you don’t have to take it to a dealer for a lot of the silly things, as said if it’s been used it’s ok as long as it’s maintained, if it’s been stood up it’ll be ok as long as precautions are taken like dropping the petrol and keeping every thing upto date.
All the best John
Mate - any decent experienced automotive/bike mech should know how to build and set up carburettors - it wasn’t that long ago that the majority of bikes had carbs - and there are still a hell of a lot of bikes around from the carb era.
Carbs are good . They were around a long time and reached a form of perfection . Easy to work on, easy to remove ,easy to replace . These new fangled double fly injection whirlymagigs are a pain in the ass … and snatchy … and not as good as good carbs were … yet .
Gixxer 400 … thats is the rare one . If you think you can get spares go for it . I doubt it will lose value, they bottomed out years ago . Buy cheap ,do it well you might even make something on one of those .
Where are you studying?
And is it the black and red GSXR400 with the Yoshi exhaust?
I’m studying at Lambeth College.
It is black and red but it has the ORIGINAL silencer. (Those are very rare)
Sadly, I’m gonna stick a new can on it but I’ll keep the original.
I’m about to phone the guy and put down a deposit so he wont sell it and then go up on Monday to look at it.
Well it depends don’t it. Old bikes might have had moving parts wear more from use, non moving parts deteriate from years in the environment, but probably the worst thing about old bikes is in a disposable society they just don’t make the spares no more.
I was quite horrified a few years back when nobody madetyres for my GPz no more. They do now, but can you imagine a worse thing to be struck with, worn tyres and no hope of replacements… ever. As an owner I’d ride any age of bike, but owning one would depend how easy to get spares are, so no vintage bike for me.
Older pre '80’s bikes are easier to hotwire too.
You can get PR3s for this badboy! :w00t:
I’ve found crash protectors and bar ends, brakes parts, fairings, seats, controls, seals and gaskets. There are loads of spare parts floating around.
Ideally, i’ll buy another to pull spares from if I need to.
Have a look here http://www.400greybike.com/ specialist site for all things 400.
There’s nothing at all wrong with older bikes, my youngest bike is 17 years old!
Ian
Do it!?! I’d love one of these bikes, been hankering after one for years…
Get it, work on it, enjoy it! You’ll learn a lot, I’d be happy to help you out with it as I’m sure a lot of others on here will as well.
mmmmmmmmmm
That ninja I did up had been stood since 2004… granted that was only 8 years compared to a possible 20 you’re talking about, but mine was mostly fine. Bit of solid crud and some corrosion but nothing a bit of patient attention couldn’t sort out…
Oh, and carbs are awesome. People that slate them have obviously never seen the inside and studied the sheer genius of design.
That’s a beauty, I’m really coming round to the look of sports bikes I had posters of on my bedroom wall when i was 15.
Ah ok…
I applied for lambeth and barking but lambeth didnt get back to me for ages, id already paid the deposit for barking when they sent my letter for enrollment
Going to view it on Monday morning. Had an argument with dad who says its a terrible idea and I’ll end up with egg on my face. At the end of the day, it’s my face and my money. Anyone want to come with me?
where is it
Lichfield. Just a little north of Birmingham. I’m not too worried about distance because there’s no warranty. Don’t have to worry about getting it back there if it breaks.
Don’t worry about missing out on this one mate. There will be plenty of others on sale in the coming weeks.
Take it from me, don’t go for the first bike you see. Go look at this one, give it a good looking over, then say thanks no thanks and go see another. You’ll then notice the differences between the two, you’ll get to know what to look out for, bits to haggle over, that sort of thing.
Don’t rush into it! 
