Looking at my first bike

[csdwarf]

Hey guys, getting my first bike and im really excited, ive rode a few bikes without my license for short trips testing them, including a few 250's ninjas vrt's

and a mz scorpian 660?

anyway Im looking at a 97 gsxf 600 for 500 bux + an old dirtbike(600$ value) i used to have.

it runs great and doesnt have any problems mechanically, needs a battery ( it dies) paint? and to be ridden.

only thing is..it has 25-30k miles ( guy didnt know off the top of his head, said he would look)

is this bike still have some life left? im obviously not going to be going super hard on it, it being my first bike, but I dont want to to crap out on me due to just high miles, and have everything be to worn out to fix.


anyway, my main concern is, some bikes are good for 25k, some are good for 50+k, what is this bike?

is it a bullet proof motor? any common problems I should look out for? im mechanically inclined, so that isnt an issue, but even so I cant fix something that is dead.


thanks a ton guys! really appreciate it!

[Kreylyn]

30k is barely broken in.

100k+ is very easy and common.

krey

[Talltec]

Well Just a note of advice make sure second gear is in working order

later
manny

[csdwarf]

will do, but just out of curiosity, why check second gear? my guesses would be its a common gear to take a lot of power ( accelerating ) or maybe its a weak gear in this type of bike?

thanks again guys!

[Kreylyn]

will do, but just out of curiosity, why check second gear? my guesses would be its a common gear to take a lot of power ( accelerating ) or maybe its a weak gear in this type of bike?

thanks again guys!

It's the most common gear that users mis shift on so they tear it up....

Krey

[DClark]

My big tip is to check the bike out real early in the morning when it is cold outside and the bike is cold.
Start it up- if she has any problems with worn valve guides or rings, you'll see blue smoke coming out of the exhaust on start up.
A little might not be bad, but if you smell it and see it for a spell, not good. While these bikes last well when taken care of, all bets are off for bikes that are ridden hard/abused/neglected.
The local bike shop owner owns a '90 GSXR1100 and said that while sacs powered bikes can hit 100K miles, bikes that are ridden hard, tracked a lot, etc can need a valve job at 50k miles.
I envison that the worst life a Kat could lead would be as a commuter bike in Phoenix, AZ, idling in stop and go traffic on the freeway in 115 degree temps. So, locale can figure into things.

[csdwarf]

Picked it up, 500 bux, runs good, test rode it seems to shift fine.

Hesitates a little when cold, but that is probably normal.

there is a rattle in the front end, its the plastics, i don't think they are tight.


and its pretty loud, but that's probably the exhaust it has on it vance and hines? sound right?


anyway, i like it pretty excited to fix it up.

Im sure ill have more questions!

thanks guys!

[csdwarf]

After getting the plastics off they are not in super great shape, they have some patching and bondo making them look decent from the outside.

Is there any cheap place to buy fairings? for 1997 and newer I can find full kits for cheap, but not for my bike.

any advance would be awesome.

also if needed, I can do some magic on the old ones and make them look good, and give them a fresh coat of paint.

any tricks to painting these plastics? what is a good color? right now its like flat black and is kinda squidy lol.

anyway! thanks guys!

[KAT TOY]

search is your friend. the fairings are ABS plastic. you can use ABS cement to make small repairs. harbor freight sells plastic welding kits as well.

[Wild-Bill]

...and red is the fastest color!

Seriously, knock out the Bondo, fix the fairings right and, yes, the stock Burgundy (red) looks really good.

[csdwarf]

Right would be plastic welding? and is there a paint code on the stock burgundy? or do you just get closest.

with out knocking out the bondo, there are only a few small cracks that can be filled with abs plastic cement.

and the dude that owned this, took out the stock review mirrors and filled in the holes????? is that what people do? or is this guy weird?

the bike was kinda... well lets say he has an odd taste with all the american flag stickers on a jap bike ect.

thanks guys!
love the bike, i will get you pictures after I wash it up.

[scottynoface]

I think the PO of your bike was an idiot, and you just need to start over from scratch.

[Wild-Bill]

Right would be stop-drilling the ends of the cracks and then welding them shut. You can make sticker removal a lot easier by warming them up with a hair dryer. Goo-gone will help get the last of the residue.

Some people don't like the stock mirrors and replace them with bar-end mirrors. It is true that the stock mirrors frequently give you a really good view of your elbows but it's mostly a matter of aesthetics.

[csdwarf]

Alright, well the bar end mirrors are not to bad, but I dont like the flat black job.

I can get the welding kit for 100ish bucks and go to town with that, then the paint and labor to have them painted is going to run another 100.

If i can find fairings fairly cheap that might be the best.

I see kits for around 400, anything less pricing? that would be starting from new.

But besides the stupid visual mods the bike doesn't look like it has ever been taken apart or anything mechanically.

so thats good.

[zuma]

Well CSDWARF, how tall are you? This could be a concern.