So I checked out a used GZ for the first time...

[Thorag]

This was the Craigslist ad:

2005 Suzuki GZ 250 with 4968 miles. Great bike, black metal flake paint, electric start, garage kept and adult riden. 80mpg. $1500.00. obo.
Please email for information.


Apart from the particular bike: I am 6"4 210 lb. I didn't feel cramped. I have short legs though. I was a little disappointed about the acceleration. I rode a friends 200cc Vespa for some time and that seemed to have a little more pep. I even the think the GN125 i rode at the MSF a couple of weeks ago was at least as fast from a standstill to 20mph. Anyhow, I am sure for around town it's OK. Maybe it will improve when it's used more?

I never had a motorbike before, so I didn't really know what to look for. The guy had told me before hand that his son used to ride the bike, before he moved away after school. They supposedly had it checked every spring. I looked up his phone number and found his house and google maped it. Had a Mercedes in the driveway. I figured they would take care of the bike so his son would have a safe ride.

However when I was there, he told me the bike was stored for 1.5 years. I told be he rode it for 10 minutes every month though. However, it didn't look like a really well maintained bike. There was a little rust underneath the back seat (should have unscrewed it. Don't know how it looks underneath it) More rust (again, a little) at the tank. Well not in the tank, but at the circular "seam" around the "tank hole". The inside looked spotless though. Chain was a little rusty. Obviously wasn't lubed in a long time. Couple of bolts were rusty. A little oil/grease on the left side of the motor. Didn't seem to increase after I took it for a 10 minute ride.

Neither the neutral nor the turn indicator worked. Half an inch was broken off the throttle lever, it had been laid down once. I discovered no other signs of the crash though. One of the big chromish looking bolts at the engine was missing though, Im not sure how that would happen.

Original tires which I definitely like to change.

It sounded good, but when I arrived another but just come back from a test drive, so it was warmed up. Shifted through all gears without a problem. Brake squeaked a little but worked good without pulsating.



From my amateurish description, what do you think of the bike? How much should I worry about the rusty spots? Particular around the "tank hole" I dont really care about cosmetics, I just want the bike to last 3 years as my daily driver to school. What about the oil/grease at the left side? A little is normal, right? It did NOT look like he washed the engine to hide a big leak.


I am planning on eventually maintaining it myself. I did quite some home improvement and am kinda handy, never really worked on a car, let alone a bike though. So I guess I'll bring it to a dealer to get it tuned up. How much do you think that would set me back? Would it potentially hurt if I ride it home 70 miles without having it serviced first? I guess I would lube the chain :roll:

What would a fair price be?

Wow, that was a lot of text and a lot of questions. Sorry about that, I am just so excited and disillusioned art the same time.

[JWR]

Oil and filter change, new tires @ +/- $200.

The rest sounds like TLC.

Price sounds right.

[Skunkhome]

Well, it is extremely hard to tell much without photos but rust to me would be red flag however I don't live in the rust belt. It is easy to keep a bike rust free down here if you can keep it shredded. A little rust on the chain side plates is no big deal but if it is stiff I would consider chancing as soon as possible. Riding for ten minutes every month is worst IMO that just putting it on blocks and letting it sit. 10 minutes of riding is not enough time for the engine to heat up enough to drive off the moisture released by the products of combustion. In other words you end up with a wet engine. I think I would discuss the shortcomings you have noted here and see if you can get him to come off the asking price. If you do purchase I would not drive it 70 miles home or much at all until you have had a chance to drop the oil and change the filter. While you are at it make sure your cables are all lubed and free. Also check the chain for frozen links, if they are all loose, clean, lube and adjust before you hit the road.

[Rookie Rider]

Id buy it. But id tell him i'll give him a thousand bucks. If he says no then bargain to the most $1200 You can do the tune up yourself like i did last year. My first bike too. Change the spark plug, air filter, buy an oil filter and oil, clean and lube the chain and make sure its tensioned correctly. Maybe give a good cleaning, (some of us like it dirty tho). Its really easy. You can find how to do all of this by checking the correct thread here on the forum. Thats how i did it. Most youll spend on all that is about, $ 30.00. But there is more to check, like your cables and all too. Youll see. I say GO FOR IT !!

[Water Warrior 2]

Sounds like a pretty decent bike overall. You can do all of the above maintenance yourself while you completely go over the bike for loose fittings, nuts and bolts. Lube everything that moves. The bike is probably in need of a valve check too. I would leave that to a shop. It is usually a one hour job so won't break the bank.
The battery will likely need to be replaced at some point if original but that almost goes without saying on any used bike with little use.

[greatmaul]

I'm new to bikes and not that great of a mechanic. If it were me, honestly, I'd keep looking unless the price got down to around 1200 as stated before. The bolt off of the engine disturbs me a bit. When you say the turn indicator didn't work, I assume you mean the little light on the dash. That should be an easy plug in fix for both of those bulbs.

As far as oomph, I'm no expert but I'd assume the carb has been sitting with gas in it for 1.5 years, and that might have caused some varnishy buildup. Usually on here, a tank or two of double strength carb cleaner, a la seafoam or chem b12 is recommended. That might pep it up a bit, as would the new plugs as mentioned here also.

The GZ is a very hardy breed, so as long as it is running good, and it sounds like it is, it probably is going to be just fine. 4900 miles is, of course, pretty low, so that's good, too.

If they have a mercedes, they probably aren't backyard mechanics, so they're used to paying shop prices, so if you mention you might need to replace the chain, tires, etc, that might get them down on the price. I don't think you'd actually have to replace the chain, but they don't know that probably.

[alantf]

Half an inch was broken off the throttle lever,

This seems highly improbable. Do you mean the brake lever? :)

[Thorag]

Thanks for all your input. I guess I am going for it. Im in the market for some time now, and there arent a lot of reasonable priced gzs out there.

If im willing to pay 1200, should I offer 1000 like rookie rider stated? 1100? (I hate being so cheap, but I am going for a second degree at age 31 without any grants, just savings and eventually loans)

@water warior: I did mean the break lever :blush:

[Rookie Rider]

Id say, "i'll give you a thousand cash right now". Then if he says no, see what he says, but tell him no more then $1200 cause work needs to be done on the bike.

[Rookie Rider]

If he dont come down at all on the price tell him to put new tires on, if he does, then id give him the $1500

[Water Warrior 2]

If he dont come down at all on the price tell him to put new tires on, if he does, then id give him the $1500
Be sure to tell him what new tires, installation and balancing will cost you. He might just subtract that amount from the asking price. It will be the easy way out to sell the bike.

[mrlmd1]

The tires definitely need replacing regardless of what they look like, how much tread they have left - they are 7 years old and are too hard and brittle from age to be safe on the road.

[riningr]

as far as the overall condition of the bike I'm kind of biased because I think I got a hell of a good deal, I bought mine this spring for $1400 and it was almost mint condition aside from one small spot where the paint had been rubbed off when he trailered the bike without knowing how to tie it down (so he ran two straps over the seat and one of the straps rubbed a small spot in the paint on the tank) but its only about 1/16" diameter spot that the paint is missing and its right by the seat so not very noticeable... had 9730 miles on it when I bought it, at first I was kind of getting disappointed with the bike because I am used to bigger bikes (kawi KZ750, Yam XS1100), but I've rode my GZ250 to work now 7 of the last 9 days that I worked and it is QUICKLY growing on me =) at first my main disappointments were top speed because I wanted to ride it to school which is 30 miles from my home and all freeway, I can get it up to 70 (even hit 80 on the freeway going downhill with the wind at my back a couple times) but now I've quickly decided I don't need to ride the freeway, so taking back roads at 55-60 the bike is very quickly growing on me =). Might not put quite as many miles on it (and save me as much gas as I initially thought) since I probably won't ride it to school much, but just back and forth to work and on the weekends riding back roads I've put about 700 miles on it so far this spring and the weather is just now starting to break (most mornings that I've rode to work so far have been about 38 degrees F in the morning, but getting in to the 60's and 70's and even a few in the 80's in the afternoons). I'm only getting about 55mpg on mine (because I'm 5'11" and 240lbs) but it sure feels a lot better to put $8 in every 110 miles rather than putting $40 in every 300 for my car or $100+ every 400 miles for my truck...

[Rookie Rider]

I put $8 in and got 214 miles before filling up again. I still had gas and reserve left.

[Thorag]

I guess I forgot my good upbringing for a while when I didnt tell you how the story ended: I called the guy, and the bike was already sold. He got 1300 for it.

Bummer.

[Skunkhome]

There will be more and nicer bikes, believe me. I thought for the list of diffencies he was lucky to get $1300.

[northsidegz]

Agreed. I think you'll find something. When I first read how the guy advertised it (80mpg), personally, that would make me shy away from the start. I don't know anyone that gets 80mpg with this bike, but I could be wrong. Just leads me to believe the guy is not truthful and I wouldn't trust him. Add in the rust (garage kept?) and original tires and I guess I'm not as optimistic as most comments were previously.

I poked around and I'd be contacting this guy personally (but maybe it's just me) :) ===> http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/mcy/3018023872.html

[PimpS]

North: nice kawa and nice price tag. As I'm amazed by vintage bikes, i know my ability to service them and that's why this is one of the cons i don't buy older bikes. But don't be discouraged by this, my friends buy those bikes cause they like them, they are registered as oldtimers, so the costs of insurance are low and they are happy, even though they know nothing about mechanics. I'm more of a 'secure' guy, maybe i'll grow better with my GZ and become more able to do regular service by myself and even more. Good old kawa vn 750 or honda magna 750 is still my dream.. :)

[bonehead]

Keep a constant vigil on craigslist. Mine was only on there for 8 hours.

[greatmaul]

Keep a constant vigil on craigslist. Mine was only on there for 8 hours.

I agree. I checked cl about 8 times a day, and the one I bought just popped up on there during my lunch break. Luckily it was about 5 miles from where I work, so I ran over there and gave them $800 down and picked it up the next day.

And, it was the best one I'd seen of all the ones I had looked at or tried to buy, so you never know.

If you're on a smartphone, there's craigslist apps that would probably help.

[Skunkhome]

.... When I first read how the guy advertised it (80mpg), personally, that would make me shy away from the start. I don't know anyone that gets 80mpg with this bike, but I could be wrong. Just leads me to believe the guy is not truthful and I wouldn't trust him. l

Well, I wouldn't condemn a seller on that alone simply because I can tell you even with all the talk and concern about miles per gallon nowadays there are few people who can actually calculate their own mpg's.
People will simply parrot what they have heard or read on the Maroney Label. (Suzuki advertised 82 mph on the Gz) I will often ask what kind of mileage people are getting and I will get answers like " real good...I drove to New Orleans and back and only used a half tank of gas". Now that is a very quantative statement. That said. My GZ regularly gets between 73 and 75 mpg with E10 fuel. If I started using pure Dino gas that might kick it up to 78 mpg and if I took it easy and lost about 50-60 lbs, 80 mph might be obtainable.

[Thorag]

Damn that kz 440 looked nice. Unfortunately I was super busy with school and wasn't on craigslist for a while. Usually I check it around 125 times a day. :popcorn:

Today this popped up:
nice dependable kawasaki vulcann 500 witch is the ninja 500 motor on cruiser frame and body. has 4400 miles brand new brakes and tires and speedo cable 10 miles on all new parts. selling because i got new bike. has small dent in tank fr
om kids in the garage runs and looks great. valves have been serviced timing chain inspected oil and filter done with hi flo chrome filter. ready for the summer just needs rider. asking 1800 o.b.o any resonable cash offer accepted. this is a great bike. text or call

its a little farther away so I just offered 1300 for fun. The guy agreed! Said he needs garage space as he bought a sportsbike.

Sounds good, right? Almost too good?! What should I look for?

[JWR]

What year model?

I have owned a 2005.

[Thorag]

Oh sorry, i thought it was in the description. It's a 1996.
Was just about to get ready to pick it up, when i got his last text. i asked him if he had the title. he replied that he has aprinted copy and bill of sale. he just got his plates and the real one is in the mail, will be there in 5 days.

so even if all that is true im now guessing that he just bought the bike, something is wrong with it, and thats why he sells it... :fu:

i wish i just had a couple grands more in the bank so that i could just walk into a dealership.

[mrlmd1]

Check out used bikes at dealerships. Sometimes they can do a search and get one from another dealer close by, and you may get some type of short-term warranty if they've gone through the bike and there's no problems. At least you know the title is secure.

[Thorag]

Check out used bikes at dealerships. Sometimes they can do a search and get one from another dealer close by, and you may get some type of short-term warranty if they've gone through the bike and there's no problems. At least you know the title is secure.

I have a budget of like 1500. One of the reasons is that wifey thinks its to expensive So I guess I cant really go to dealers. And if i have to do repairs ill have to shred the bilss :biggrin:

The vulcan keeps getting more weird. He told me he bought the bike 2 years ago for 2,200. It sat for a while, then he let his cousin drive it. Wanted him to have his own registration and license, hence he transferred it to him. He never paid, so he wanted it back. Now he put 600$ in it to get it back in shape and just wants it gone. I though, if he has the paperwork to proof this story, then it sounds like i hit a goldmine.

then i got the next text, and I quote to give you a feel for his writing: "Im ready to go it busy as hell. Got buyer 4 my red bike fridy. 1400 cash". I replied that I am sorry I didn't get it. He told me he talked to the other guy and he doesnt have the money. Also he wanted me to have the first opportunity. From now on he's just telling all callers that its gone until he has the title in hand and he sells it to me. :??:

I did tell him i pay cash and wouldn't do any tire kicking, so i got that going for me. on the other hand i really dont see why he wouldnt accept any other offers. I guess he kinda promised it to me, but come on, who is that honest? Or maybe he really just wants it gone and realizes he doesn't have any hassle with me?

I just dont want to drive there for nothing, or be robbed at gun-point. what do you think?

[Water Warrior 2]

If he doesn't have the title he is trying to sell a bike that belongs to some one else. I'm sure Rionna will clarify that for you.
This bike sale is like 3 day old fish............a little bad smelling. Tread lightly or you may regret not looking elsewhere.
Canada and the U.S. are a bit different but you may want to check out the bike for any liens on it. Here we can legally own a bike and have title to it while there is a lien on it.

[mrlmd1]

That guy is trying to scam you - you know the old adage, if a deal sounds too good to be true,,,,,,,And, Buyer beware.
Keep looking, that''s not the last bike in the world. Tell the guy to call you back when he has the title in hand., or not to pass up the next sucker who calls him.

[Skunkhome]

The problem with the dealerships is that they put a premium on their "going Through it" If he has the plates and registration in his name then it is likely that he also has a title in his name somewhere. (usually can't get her registered without a clear title). It could be that he had some issues preventing the registration until now. Down here you have to have a motorcycle endorsement in order to register any bike in your name. I once bought a scooter that had been transferred twice and had the title but was never registered due to the endorsement requirement. I had to pay sales taxes and registration for each transfer of ownership to get her registered in my name.. I now make a point to ask if they have the title and a current registration in their name before going a step further. With my GZ I had the registration and plate and was riding for about two weeks before getting my title in the mail from the state. Not having the title in hand does not necessarily mean you are scamming someone. I used to sell cars and it was a common issue for people to show up with a trade without title in hand. The usual reason was "we can't find the title". I would still do the deal but charged them $100 extra to generate a new title with the provision that I would refund the money if they found the title and returned with it in 24 hours. They would usually return with the title in hand within the hour to collect their money. All they needed was a reason to spend the time looking for it. It is so easy to paint everyone with a wide brush.

[Skunkhome]

When I am dealing with CL I make a point of meeting the buyer in a busy public place(Walmart Parking Lot) and never at my house so they can scope it out them return to rob me.

[fatoldfool]

Star City in Roanoke offered me a brand new 2009 GZ 250 for $2995. and 0% interest. Only hitch was no choice of colors or something like that. And that was only a couple of weeks ago. Also offered a used 500 (?40) single cyl at $1800 with 30 day warranty. Check your closest dealer, you may find a great deal.

[alantf]

Only hitch was no choice of colors or something like that.

You're lucky. When I insisted on a GZ, they had to find me one on one of the other islands (Gran Canaria) & have it shipped over. There wasn't one to be had on our island (Tenerife). :)

[northsidegz]

Star City in Roanoke offered me a brand new 2009 GZ 250 for $2995. and 0% interest. Only hitch was no choice of colors or something like that. And that was only a couple of weeks ago. Also offered a used 500 (?40) single cyl at $1800 with 30 day warranty. Check your closest dealer, you may find a great deal.

In Minneapolis right now we've got a dealer offering some dirt cheap prices on brand NEW Johnny Pag's. A 2011 Chopper is going for $2,999; A 2011 Barhog (with mod upgraded exhaust and mini-apes) for $2,999 and a 2009 Prostreet for $1,999. They're selling them at their cost just to get rid of them. :drool:

Guess this is off topic a bit, but I was just amazed at the prices for those bikes since they are, in fact, brand new. I've been tempted to go checkou the Barhog, but it just doesn't make sense to sell the GZ for a Pag if I'm not getting a serious increase in cc's (which would be the point for me to get a new bike).