[Xencer]

This thread isn't about what bike to buy, but what to look for in a bike when buying...

So I've decided on a ninja 250, or a GS500. I found a 98 GS500 for $1250 with 15k miles on it (I don't have much to spend). I plan on setting up an appointment to check it out. But the only thing I know about buying bikes is to make sure the chain is tight. Anyone give me advice in what to look for?

 

[teedubyaw]

Do you not know how to search? Here, this one is even a sticky:
http://www.sportbikes.net/forums/general-sportbikes/315253-used-motorcycle-evaluation-guide.html

 

[Xencer]

sorry =[

 

[Stick N Move]

Why should the chain be "tight"?

 

[skyjumper88]

I was woundering the same thing. So far from what I have learned I thought a chain is supposed to be slighty loose.

 

[LessPeople_MoreRobots]

Welcome to the forum, Xencer

And congrats on having sense enough to pick an excellent bike to learn. That sticky that was pointed out has some good advice about picking up a used bike. Its also not a bad idea to bring someone with you, if you have any friends that are familiar with bikes.

The chain should have just a little bit of slack to it. If you wiggle the chain up and down, you should have 30mm or so of play from top to bottom. Chain slack is easily adjustable though, I wouldn't really use that as a measure of quality of a used bike. Except if the slack is WAY out of line, it means the previous owner didn't maintain the bike as they should.

 

[Squid Killer]

Ask the owner what they know about maintaining the bike. If they are clueless then how could they have been taking care of it. Knowing the rider can give you a lot of information about what you are going to buy from them. For every question I ask about a used bike I ask one about the owner.

 

[bumblebee]

Now that you have made a short list of bikes to buy, get all the information you can about them. Get shop manuals and go through them to familarize yourself with how the bike works. Talk to people on the board who own them and find out what issues they have had with their bikes and the corrections they made. Get as much information as you can. Don't forget to take someone with you who can look at simple things like the clutch adjustment, brakes, oil, chain and sprockets, etc...so you can get a good bike at a fair price