Looking for my First Bike!

Hi, my name is Ben and Im new to the forums. Im looking to buy my first motorcycle and after reading through some of the forum I thought I would ask you guys for advice on my choice.

Its a 1982 Yamaha maxim 650. He says "Bike Runs and shifts smoothly through all the gears. Bike has removeable windshield and cruise control. No rips in the seat. No dents in tank or exhaust. Bike looks great for it's age. Asking $1000obo"

He did not say how many miles. I Blue booked the bike and at retail it comes out to $985, trade in at $585. I figure its worth something in the middle around $750-$800 because its a private sale. What do you guys think?

Thanks
Ender

 

Well, go look at it. Have him start it and listen to it, ride it if you can. If possible, do a compression test. See if it smokes excessively when first started. See how many miles are on it. Look for obvious oil leaks, signs of road rash, etc. Take a solid object and tap on the bottoms of the mufflers to be sure they're not about to rust through. Be wary of aftermaket 4-1 exhaust sytems or pod filters; if the bike has a solid stock exhaust and airbox it's a good thing. Look in the gas tank for excessive rust (SOME can be relatively easily dealt with.) Don't worry about the tires, unless they're under three years old you'll be replacing them anyway. Same for the brakes, you're going to refurb them anyway unless he's just done it.

If it starts and runs and seems solid, $800 isn't unfair. You're going to spend that much again bringing the maintenance up to date, remember.

You might want to read this: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14581.html Just so you have a full understanding of all of the ramifications of taking over a 27 year old motorcycle. This is not for the "faint of heart" mechanically; but the results can be VERY rewarding, it just takes patience and a bit of CAREFUL work. Just be sure you understand what you're getting into.

 

And good luck. These old scooters are a BLAST to ride. For their age, weight, and displacement they are amazingly quick. Quick equals fun. When they are running at their peak it is hard to remove the grin from your face.

Fitz is right! It takes some cash and some time to bring them to top notch condition but it is worth the investment.

Bon chance on getting the bike.

BTW for a good running, clean specimen there is no crime commited to pay above retail. Just be careful. If you are going to pay above retail I would definitely insist on a compression test on all 4 cylinders and it would be good if you could hear it run as well as hear it shift through each gear. You would need to meet him somewhere it would be unlikely to get a speeding ticket. Let him ride it, it's a lot to concentrate on for an inexperienced rider

Listen 4 smmoth RPM build with no rough spots. If you can hear cylinders cutting out as the RPM's build then you will need to rebuild the carbs. No big deal but takes time and money. Listen 4 smooth shifts and operation in all gears. You don't want to rebuild a transmission. Unlikely anyway but there are some conditions that stop the bike from shifting that require splitting the cases to effect a permanent fix.

Take someone you trust with you when you go to look at the bike who is familiar with bikes.

Don't expect to ride it yourself until after the cash has changed hands. I personally would never let a potential buyer ride the bike until after the transaction is finished. Too much potential for theft, accident, and injury.

WAMAXIM

 

Often we put in the bill of sale a provision for a return within _____ time, usually a couple of hours so that the new owner can "test drive" it on his own dime. If something is discovered, then it can be "bought back". (As long as its not in pieces). This protects the seller from the above, while also giving the buyer some piece of mind.

 

My brother bought a Maxim in perfect condition for $1700.00
I paid $1000.00 for my Seca that needed a little work on the carbs and had some cosmetic damage.

I defiantly think these bikes are worth more than "book" if you find one that was well taken care of and is in great condition.

As far as it being your first bike it's an excellent choice. They are fast, beautiful bikes. You will learn how to work on them the longer you own it. After a year there won't be anything you'll be afraid to do, just log on here and ask questions.

 

Amen!!!

 

Shoot thanks for the tips guys, you better believe I will be asking questions on here. I know almost nothing about fixing bikes or working on them so I hope im not biting off more than I can chew. I really want to get into this though, ive always wanted a bike and I think this is a good one to start with.

Thanks for the suggestions, now If I can get the guy to email me back we will be in business.

 

Just heard back from the seller, the bike has 53,000 miles on it!!! He said the lowest he would go on price is $800 bucks.

Still worth a look?

 

Yes, still worth a go & see. $800 is at the top end of what you thought it was worth so give it a go. It doesn't cost anything to look. It only gets expensive when you get excited. I got my 650 for nothing but it took about $670 to get it up & screaming. It was worth every penny in what I have learned, the joy of doing it my self & the great people I have met on this web site. Do what fitz said, have him start, ride etc. then make your decision. Good luck & welcome to the site & the fabulous world of the xj.
Gregg

 

sure mine has 42k and runs like a top.

 

My 750 has 100,000 kilometers (60,000 miles) on it and is still going strong. Mileage is'nt the problem with these bikes it's neglect. I didn't know much about bike repair when I started and I'm still learning.This is an excellent site to get a good answer to any xj questions

 

Hate to be negatory, but for a first-timer without mechanical experience (or tools, probably), I would suggest spending a little more cash up front and getting a lower-mileage example. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Depends on if he wants to learn mechanics or not. My first two cars were a MGB (broke alot and wierd stuff) and a VW bug (easy to work on). I bought the bug for a back up to the MGB. Both were cheap, but taught me alot about car repair, workings, and maintenance.

 

I would like to learn how to work on my own bikes. Im a single guy with alot of time on his hands. I know absoloutley zero about working on bikes though. I look forward to learning as much as I can from you guys, and thank you for all of your input. Ill check the bike out this weekend and post back.

Thanks
Ender

 

That's the spirit! Get every manual you can! Another excellent resource usually is a microfiche or file of parts for your model. It will give you excellent pictures of little pieces when you get stumped. Along with all the good help you get on this site, you'll be on your way. Best of luck..

ps: I also own an Alfa and a Ducati, so you all know I'm a glutton for mechanical punishment!!

 

be patient!!!!!!! I boughnt my bike on a whim with a "simple" c;utch fix, found out my model is sort of a lemon and has a transmission problem, and now im kicking myself in the sack cuz i paid to much, and cheap barely used ones pop up all the time.

 

True story Schooter.. I had been looking for a bike for like 2 months, all enduros and such, dirt bikes I could turn street legal. Then I saw my XJ700 on craigslist with jsut a "sticky RPM" problem... Bought it with the quickness and now i've spent a good deal of money jsut trying to get her running!
Not saying its not rewarding or anything. Just dont get yourself into something so quick that you cant get out of. Or get mad you bought a lemon and try to sell it.

 

i think i got lucky like that. i knew a little about what i was looking at and decided to take it on a wim origianly i was looking for something already working but i got attached fast when i saw her.

bike wasnt running and front brakes were seized. carbs wouldnt open. low rust though and good paint. i thought about and asked the guy if he would accept $300 cnd he said he wanted the full $500 and my retaliation i said i would give him no more then $360 and he humed and hawd then said since its your first bike take it. got her for $360 canadian a steal just for parts. im put probably about 160 including a new battery and have never felt a bike as fast. shes not even set up properly yet.

cant wait till i get her done.

its amazing what you can find just keep looking and read up in the mean time. youll find the perfect deal and youll know it when it comes around.

good luck with your first bike. i know im having a blast with my first one

 

This site helped me out a lot:
http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html

Now, that list goes into a LOT of detail; it's obviously intended for checking out bikes that are almost new. If you're getting a bike for $800, there's probably going to be a lot of things that are listed as "problems" there. The point, though, is that you'll know what you're getting into.

And if you're really trying to drive a hard bargain, nothing makes a seller more nervous than you taking a hard copy of that list with you and using it as a checklist. Make lots of notes.
Be careful if you really want the bike, though; either he'll be willing to make a better deal on it, or he'll just get pissed off and tell you to get lost.

 

The people here can teach you just about everything you might possibly need to do/know. The tools to work on the bike are pretty basic for the most part, tools you may already have - metric socket set, torque wrench, screw drivers, multimeter, and an air compressor with a air wrench attachment would be quite handy as well.

There are a couple of specialized things that will be handy as well.

If you have the time and inclination to do the work yourself, for the most part it is fun. Working on carbs is probably the most complicated thing you will have to do and the most tedious and exacting - but at the same time a routine operation and almost always necessary when you first get one of these machines. It is the most common fault from what I have seen. So plan on a good 10 hours the first time you work on them, and then a good 6 hours doing it 1 or two more times until you get it right <grin>.

I found it frustrating at first, but in the end, I was so excited when I finally got it done right and such a sense of accomplishment.

***********************
Very Important
***********************
As you are a newbie, please, PLEASE, take a motorcycle training course.
Most rider-caused-accidents occur in the first year of riding. An approved motorcycle class, such as that put on by the State of Ohio DOT, is considered as conferring two years experience by most insurance companies.

Also, while I love my XJ650, I don't think that it is really a good starter bike as it weighs nearly 500 lbs. You definitely won't want to take your driving test on one. It just doesn't steer tightly enough and at the slow speeds like that it is tough to balance unless you are very experienced. The motorcycle training class used 250cc bikes and those are what we tested on. I never would have passed on the 650. I believe you would find it much easier to train on a smaller bike - like a 250cc to a 550cc - then graduate to the 650 after a couple of months of riding. I actually just bought an XJ550 so that I could have a smaller bike to ride for a while until I feel more comfortable. So, were I you, just starting, I would find a smaller bike in the 400-500 range, that I would be able to easily resell, get that and ride it. Most of these bikes are probably going to need the tires replaced unless the ad says otherwise as many of these bikes have sat for a few years since last ridden. So be sure to check the tires and look for cracking/dry rot as well as tread depth and take that into consideration. Likewise, the windshield is a $150 or so add-on above the Blue Book value, which lowers the effective price from 800 to about 650-700. Sounds like a deal to me.

I got my xj650 maxim w/9K Miles for $500. I had to spend $200 on tires and then another hundred on some other parts and rebuild the carbs. So my effective price was a bit over $800 plus labor and no windshield.