Guest Kestrel Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 All, I looked at a 3rd gen for sale in the area a few days back... ~$1100, clear title, and in so-so condition. Plastics are pretty terrible, and the bike has higher miles (58k.) Mechanically, it ran pretty well and I didn't detect any transmission problems, oil burning, or anything like that. I said to myself... Cheap thousand dollar beater, throw on a different tail and ride the crap out of it. But, looking back at one of these photos I took of the bike, I'm a bit worried about something... See the oil below the sprocket area? Owner lubed the chain quite a bit, but that amount of oil sure as heck looks like a countershaft seal leak to me. I can't exactly bring a tool kit and start taking apart somebody else's bike, so I figured I'd ask for a second opinion. Here's the swingarm... That's a lot of oil being flung around.. More than I think I would safely attribute to excess chain lube... Looks like a bad seal on the sprocket shaft, and the leaking oil is getting on that chain and getting everywhere in the process. Chain is shot and needs replaced, but that's not a deal breaker for me. Larger images here... From what I can see up front, I don't think I can attribute that leak to the clutch rod seal, nor something like a leaky waterpump. I wiped some of the residue off the swingarm, http://i.imgur.com/MnN6u.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Q0ZsX.jpg Part of me says.. Cheap beater. That's not bad for a decent condition titled bike - get it and ride it til it dies, and then throw another engine in. Another part says, however, that it's more trouble than it is worth. That seal requires splitting the engines to fix, and I'm not aware of any temporary fixes that may keep everything working nicely. What do you all think - more trouble than this bike is worth? Would that single issue prevent you from grabbing this thing for a grand? Is there a fix that would allow me to avoid splitting the cases? I had a 'project' bike last year which is now running wonderfully, but took a lot of excess time and money. My gut instinct is to skip this bike and wait for something else. That price is damned attractive, but I doubt it would stay that cheap in the long run. If you think there's some redeeming factor here that warrants a purchase, let's hear it! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer jeremy77 Posted May 16, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 16, 2012 Looks like its all from that horribly maintained chain to me... But I'm not there. KBB excellent retail is $1700 The bike is far from excellent and you only pay retail to a dealer. I'd offer $600 cash, wave it in his face, and walk if he doesn't take it. At $600 you can degrease the crap out of it, replace chain and sprockets and check the oil regularly. And still have screaming V4! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V4 Rosso Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Looks like its all from that horribly maintained chain to me... But I'm not there. :+1: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kgsmotorcycles Posted May 16, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 16, 2012 looks just like standard chain oil never been cleaned up.... At least its been lubed.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer rescue Posted May 16, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 16, 2012 mine was same....prev owner used standdard grease. took me 2 says to clean everything.tells alot thou of the owner and the upkeep of the bike. you will need to repair and replace everything. its a hard year to sell. no rush in buying. lo ball for sure.sometimes i feel i overpaid at 1700.good plastic.was asking 2500. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 As a follow up, the gentleman never got back to me on my offer. Which worked out just fine, as I just purchased a 24k mile 1998 VFR800 in pretty darn good condition for a touch over 2k from a gentleman that was moving cross country. Much better outcome for the money involved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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