I’m targeting a used CBR6 for my next workhorse - but every now and then I indulge myself and take a peak at R1’s/Blades in the same price bracket.
Seen a Y2K R1 offered by a trader - 5 owners in 11,000 miles
Doesn’t sound very good does it? :ermm:
Why would 5 people ditch this bike after (doing the maths) only riding 2000 miles or less on it?
Uncomfortable to ride even for short distances?
Its a toy and they don’t play with it much?
Bought the bike but can’t afford the petrol?
Misses, dog (my excuse), cat, kids, won’t let you leave them to play with it?
Yes - it could be all of those reasons.
I’m just wondering if it might be something more sinister.
I doubt it.
Sinister, or shall I say flawed race track bikes, get writtenoff on the road because they are so highly tuned that when they fail they become 100%lethal when riden as intended.
You won’t know until you take a look at the bike (and the owner).
Yes sounds like a lot and would ring alarm bells but at the same time there may be innocent reasons. If you can get a good deal, it’s a bike you like and are happy it’s legit both in terms of ownership and mechanically then you might get a bargain.
At the same time if you think you might get out of your depth taking a look and worry you’d make a mistake there are plenty of bikes out there looking for new owners.
The world is you oyster (or garage…)
Yep - wrong to judge until you’ve seen it, and taken it out for a ride I guess. 
did i mentioned my bike had 7 owners before it came to my possession (with about 15000 miles on it)?
nothing wrong with it, do the appropriate checking and take advantage of the low price and mileage.
I found a fireblade 929 back when them was the blade of the time ,1 year old 4500 on the clock and 4 owners . It was a bit sus, and also cheap ,so I went and looked . It was mint ,not a mark on it . All standard zero mods . Could find not a fault despite serious beyond the normal checking over . So I bought it . Got it home . Took it for a ride all was going well until I crossed a white line while on the throttle ,It started shaking its head . Not massive tankslapper it never threatend to actually throw itself down the road but enough that it repacked your turd .Its the only reason I think it had so many owners . One idiot screwed the suspension up , and then 3 more clueless twats came along and bought it afterwards . I put the suspension to pretty much hardest settings all around and then backed it off a few clicks/turns over the next day or 2 and it was perfect from then on . Bargin blade
Thanks for the benefit of your experiences SilverR6, NumNum
Yeah - this R1 defintitely looks a bit of a barg (hopefully as in bargain - not barge 
)
Been looking at the 929 as well.
Nothing beats a thorough check and a proper ride on the thing.
To be honest I don’t really need a thou even though I’m currently runniing an old Yam T’Ace - but it’s like notches on a bedpost - I’ve got to have had an R1 before I high side off this mortal left hander etc . . .
Lots of reasons for low mileage/multiple owners but my immediate reaction is “boys toys”.
Before I was a grumpy old bastard, I owned five cars in one year. The Ford Falcon V8 lasted 200 miles and two weeks before common sense prevailed.
At the other end of the scale my mate has just bought an immaculate Guzzi. One owner, three + years old with 3K on the clock. The seller admitted to it being a boys toy.
Yeah - I agree - this pattern of multiple short term ownership kind of illustrates the last decade of easy credit fuelled ego driven materialism which has landed us in the sh1t we currently find ourselves in.
But I can’t really criticise - a CB500 would do everything I want but I still feel the need to ride a litre sportsbike . . .
Jeez the summer’s over and you’re still looking.
More riding, less worrying.
Just try before you buy, and at least you have some come back if you go through a dealer…It’s highly likely that a used bike will not be perfect though.
Working on that Kwak must have given you plenty of knowledge of what can go wrong with bikes so just use that experience.
You’re going to loose that Ninja badge if you carry on like this
To be honest I don’t ride bikes for fun anymore (sacrilege I know) - I’m doing 400 miles a week in rush hour traffic which kind of kills the passion a bit - come the weekend the last thing I want to do is throw my leg over a bike even if the weathers brilliant.
so whether I get it in winter summer makes no bones to me - I want a sportsbike because for me personally it’s the best tool for the job.
I’ll just wait until the right bike appears.
