Thinking of buying a broken CBR

[latenight]

So I joined a cbr1000 forum for advice as well, but everyone on this forum seems incredibly knowledgeable about other brands as well, so though I'd post up.

I am looking at a 2002 honda cbr blackbird close to where I live. The guy says he bought it as a project bike but is no longer motivated.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/mcy/3039171440.html

In talking with him, he says $1500 is fine. He says there are no fairings on the bike. He says it needs a clutch slave cylinder. He seems to not really be an expert nor have really spent much time looking into it. But hey, I'm not expert and spent a lot of time and effort getting my Kat running... just lucky there were no MAJOR jobs I needed to do!

The bike is fuel injected, and currently only starts with starter fluid up the airbox. From reviewing the cbr forum, I understand this means it is a problem with the fuel system (narrowed down... sort of)....

Could I just ask for peoples' opinions. $1500 for a bike that def needs a clutch slave cylinder (looks like $30 on ebay), plus an undiagnosed fuel problem. The bike is close by, so if anyone told me specific things to look for I could go to try to diagnose before buying... Anything to look for? Does this seem like a steal? or can FI things add up quick?

Any thoughts or ideas are much appreciated!

[Slofuze]

No fairings, no clutch, not starting.......

[arsenic]

A steal? For who? While a CBR is worth a whole lot more than a Katana, IMO $1500 for someone else problems seems a bit excessive.

[latenight]

haha. I appreciate it. I just really enjoyed getting my katana working, and did not put much $ into it at all. but you guys are right... who knows what the problems could be. Its just that little glint of hope that its just replacing one easy part or something...

Thanks again!

[blitz2190]

unless you are very knowledgeable about fi and how to diagnose it run very far away, key sentence in that add It is presently not running. meaning something along the lines of bad computer bad injectors or bad fuel pump all relatively expensive especially if you don't know which before hand, and thats assuming it really does start on starting fluid

[latenight]

still recovering from acl surgery, but running as fast as I can!

[H-2 CHARLIE]

I almost grabbed a 2000 cb 900 this week at a impound sale , it sold for $950 was tagged and ridable but the frt. fairing was gone .. 22,000 miles and ran great , looked like a street fighter . i dont need 5 bikes

[arsenic]

I almost grabbed a 2000 cb 900 this week at a impound sale , it sold for $950 was tagged and ridable but the frt. fairing was gone .. 22,000 miles and ran great , looked like a street fighter . i dont need 5 bikes

So, $550 less and it runs. That says something.

[tec]

Blackbird fairings aren't easy to come by unless you go with the eBay Chinese set. Not sure how mechanical you are but the Fi isn't more difficult than carbs, just different and more expensive. There are plenty of people that buy bikes that "just fell off the stand" or "down at low speed" with tweaked frames. If you can check the frame or take it in. Finally the price seem high to me for what your getting.

Tom

[arsenic]

Not sure how mechanical you are but the Fi isn't more difficult than carbs.

Not sure how familiar you are with Katriders.com, but carbs are VERY difficult for 99% of the members here.

[blitz2190]

... Not sure how mechanical you are but the Fi isn't more difficult than carbs, just different and more expensive.
Tom

Don't know what FI your working on but they are much harder to fix, given bikes are way easier still a lot more potential to go wrong and way more expensive

[black&blue]

Don't know what FI your working on but they are much harder to fix, given bikes are way easier still a lot more potential to go wrong and way more expensive

I haven't worked on an EFI bike, but I'll agree with you that there's more to go wrong and it'll be more expensive if/when it does, but in my experience, EFI is much easier to work with. Got a stuck injector? Run to the parts store or go online and voila, you're good again. It's plug and play.

Carburetors, on the other hand, scare the living hell out of me. As a kid, my fingers were always too stubby to do intricate things like build plane models in small scale, but I worked just fine in the larger medium of Legos.

Just like I can't trust myself to put together a model plane kit perfectly without bending/breaking something, I don't trust myself with itty bitty fiddly bits that i will undoubtedly lose like a carburetor.

EFI also doesn't require the same degree of tuning that a carb does.

While many bike mags/pubs agree that the Honda Blackbird is one of THE best sport tourers ever, winning the #1 spot in several comparos, I would steer clear of this particular example... it's EFI and only runs with carb spray. Okay, it's clear you're not getting fuel. That means you could have a variety of causes for it - not all of which you're prepared to chase down. While replacing an in-tank fuel pump may not be as hard as it is in a damn car, it's not going to be a cake walk either...

Save your money and buy a better example than this one unless you're prepared to put some serious effort into it and even then, sans chinese ebay fairings, you'll end up with a freaky touringfighter.

i'm savin my pennies for a Blackbird, someday.

[latenight]

I appreciate the advice all. thanks b&b

[05RedKat600]

Don't know what FI your working on but they are much harder to fix, given bikes are way easier still a lot more potential to go wrong and way more expensive

Don't take this personally. Only people who don't really understand EFI systems think like this. They really aren't that difficult if you can run a multimeter. Fo srs.

Odds are you will spend less money on a bike with EFI than carbs over the life of the fuel system. True story.

[scottynoface]

Don't take this personally. Only people who don't really understand EFI systems think like this. They really aren't that difficult if you can run a multimeter. Fo srs.

Odds are you will spend less money on a bike with EFI than carbs over the life of the fuel system. True story.

Especially since the FSM has like 130pgs of how to debug step by step.