What to ask or look for?

[medicbear]

Potential new katana owner here. Question.

OK got an offer to trade a 95 kat 600 for my cherokee... OK cool he says its in the shop right now for carb problems and tune up... No biggie says all it needs are mirrors and a windshield... says he thinks the guy before him may have lowered it a lil. he says it seems low to him.. anyway what else should i ask about and look at or be aware of or know about with this model.... thanks...

i asked on another cycle forum i am on and this was the response i got..

how about a newer year?

parts replacement is a consideration.

I have a tenent/roomate who has a Katana.

He says it's a bad deal not worth a cherokee

Steel frame so look for damge and corrosion.
Parts not easy to get.
too old.

[JimG4652]

As per CyberPoet:

http://www.motorcycleanchor.com/motorcycle/how_to/mc_buyingused.html

[HemiKat]

Kat are notorious for:

A) Fork seals leaking
B) Second gear wears/breaks, so make sure it doesnt pop out of 2nd

[RossW]

parts are really, really easy to get and since when is 95 too old? That just means the bike has experience. You can have just as much fun on an old bike as you can on a new one. That being said, you don't mention anything about your cherokee. It's hard to say if it's a reasonable trade without knowing something of the trade vehicle.

[scottynoface]

If your cherokee has over 150k miles and is in crap shape, then yes it's a good deal for you. If it's your daily driver and is in decent shape, look elsewhere the bike isn't worth that much.

[tobias]

im gonna agree with snotty on this one

[Mojoe]

95 too old? damn, my newest bike is a 92.....and I would put it up against an 05 or better as far as it's condition.

age is irrelevant. it's how it was maintained that counts.

[The CyberPoet]

95 too old? damn, my newest bike is a 92.....and I would put it up against an 05 or better as far as it's condition.

age is irrelevant. it's how it was maintained that counts.

Yours is an exception to the rule, Mojoe (and you know it, because you were bragging on it).

The one he's thinking of is sans mirrors & windshield (implying it probably went down at some point), got carbs being sorted (means it probably sat for way too long -- and might also be a big contender for gas-tank rust)...

JimG4652 was nice enough to post up my used-bike inspection list from my website -- I highly recommend you use it to do the inspection, and preferably take someone with you who is familiar with bikes...

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Mojoe]

Yours is an exception to the rule, Mojoe (and you know it, because you were bragging on it).

The one he's thinking of is sans mirrors & windshield (implying it probably went down at some point), got carbs being sorted (means it probably sat for way too long -- and might also be a big contender for gas-tank rust)...

JimG4652 was nice enough to post up my used-bike inspection list from my website -- I highly recommend you use it to do the inspection, and preferably take someone with you who is familiar with bikes...

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

I don't know about that. Yes, my bikes is all nice and shiny and new looking, and has been well taken care of, but it still has 80k kms on it. Arstine has the same bike with only 18k miles on it. My 83 1100 has 12k miles on it.

All I am saying is that the age should not be the sole and deciding factor. Especially if the bike is located in a place where it is in storage half the year. riding season here is on average 4-5 months. at 4 months, that would technically make a 10 yr old bike only 3.33333 years old as far as actual "use" is concerned.

your point about the windscreen, mirrors and carbs holds true of course. but I wasn't really talking about that particular bike. I was speaking in general. myself, I prefer older bikes. that is where I seem to find the best bang for my buck.