Friend of mine has been looking to buy a bike out here and has seen a v good looking Thundercat for much less money than the likes of the R1, Ninja, CBR 600. Is there a good reason for this?? Have heard rumours of gear box problems, any comments?? 
Thundercat is a very good bike, like itâs bigger brother the Tâace. They are cheaper than the bikes listed because they are basically a generation behind. So they are heavier, less powerful and therefore slower than the R6âs etc.
But thatâs not without itâs benefits. I reckon a Thundercat will be more comfortable and easier to live with, cheaper to service and insure, and less nick-able than the more modern bikes.
Nowadays these two bikes would fit the âsportstourerâ pigeonhole that journoâs love but for sure will be able keep up if ridden properly. lots of nice torque and creamy carbâd engines mmmmmmm thatâs why I love my 7r so much.
Early Yams suffered from gearbox issues where the bike would jump out of gear and into neutral when accelerating in 2nd.
Some low quality nuts and boltsare to be expected tooâŚLike most Jap bikes of the era.
Other than that, great bikes.
I bought a Thundercat as my first bike and they are very capable bikes. Have you seen Elad riding his? :w00t:
So will this be obvious from test riding the bike, what can be done to check? Also is this a problem that starts early on (i.e, will be apparent already if buying a second hand bike) of is it a problem that may still manifest in a 3 or 4 year old bike?
2002 Kawasaki ZX6R, ZX9RsâŚGreat also.
It should be pretty apparentâŚFind a quiet road and nail it in 2nd up to the limiter a number of times. 
Try 1st and 3rd too.
Since when has a Thundercat been an âEarly Yamahaâ :w00t:I donât know, these youngsters;)Alice, they are a cracking little bike, as said, they are of a previous generation, but still able to be hustled about with the best of them;)
I love my thundercat, does absolutely everything I could want, m/way touring/B road scratching/track days, can stick a top box on and go abroad easily. Pretty bomb proof if you service them regularly. At the end of the day its still a 90Bhp 155mph motorbike, which can mix it on the track (its got fully adjustable suspension) - see my avatar for proof!!The gear box issue is that you need to give it a fair whack between 1st and 2nd, and sometimes I get a false neutral between 3rd and 4th, but this is only when I have been really pushing it. The 1st and 2nd problem can be worked around by changing the angle of the gear selector, loads of poeple have done this in the states.The riding position has advantages and disadavantages, it is much more upright than modern sportsbikes, but then this makes it a lot more comfortable than them as well.The reason they are cheap is cos noone wants them as they are not as flash as the new ones, to me thats an advantage, less likely to be stolen (although dont mention this to HambleyâŚsoz mate!) and a better sense of achievement when you stuff the latest and greatest up the inside at druids!!Also they only made very very slight changes while the model was in production (96-01 I think) and they have only just stopped making them in the states this year, so there are LOADS of spares and that available.But its horses for courses, depends what your mate wants to do, more than happy to chat via PM if you want more infoâŚbut I say - get it!!!
ive had 2 of them which i sold to family and a friend both very good bikes with no problems at all, really the R6 took over from the thundercat in a way,
You old dufferâŚNext youâll be saying the FZR 1000 is the latest and greatest (though Iâve heard good things about them too) :DAlice, itâs all like Elad says reallyâŚAll the people I know that have owned them have rated them highly.The gearbox 2nd gear issue was more publicised on early 1st gen R6s so I think I may have gotten it wrong and the Thundercat may have been unaffected (they use completely different engines).I say get one too.EDIT: errr :unsure: I say, your friend should get one.
An Old Duffer and proud of it mate;)Donât forget - it was The Ace and The Cat that re-wrote the book on brake calipers:cool:Apart from the finish not being quite as good as it should have been, I donât think there is much wrong with a Thundercat:)
Were those 4 pots first seen on those bikes then?Heard they were made by a French company or something.
Yes E, them Blue Spot jobbies were IIRC first seen on the Thundercat and Ace.Back in the day when it was trendy for the Japs to make up English sounding names⌠Whats a Thunderace FFS? I always imagine it to be one of them farts you are really proud of:w00t:;)
So Is a a Thundercat a pussyfart?. :w00t:
Thundercats are great bikes the gear box problem is only on a bad bike or if its been used to wheelie LOTS, I had one for a year and I loved it wish I never part ex it, they are easy to work on the only down side is the body work is brittle the lugs will be snapped here and there and it might wobble a touch but other than that they are bulit proof. It is a great all round bike I would have another one mind did 45,000 miles and is still going 2 year on from selling it.