Quick bike help/opinions please.

PittSpeed Automotive
1

Copy/pasted from another forum I found. Kind of late to ask, I know.

I am buying this tomorrow for $1k - 92 KATANA 600

My question is this - is it going to be a PITA?

History : He bought he wrecked/rebuildable 3 years ago from a salvage yard. Bike had no frame damage, all plastics. He bought everything new from the Suzuki dealer (600 alone in plastics,) new starter, new CDI, new battery, new alternator, tires, brakes, new run/off switch, etc etc. Aftermarket pipe and jet kit. He has receipts and photos for this every step of the way. He got sick, and hasn’t rode the bike since '05. It did pass inspection then.

It now will not start. Turns over great, won’t fire. He says he thinks the jets are too much, and are flooding the engine out. He said that it was a problem since he had it jetted, but it would eventually start for him, so he let it go. He then (as I said) got sick and hasn’t touched it since, other than the random start and go around the block maybe.

So, is this worth it for a first bike? Tons of new stuff, including the manual (so I suppose I can get OEM jets for it?)

I’m new to carbs (used to newer, FI vehicles) but a friend is very much into dirtbikes (rebuilds them, etc) and said he could help me, but he is used to one carb, not multiple.

Just looking for any suggestions/opinions.

2

beat him down since it doesnt run haha

3

depending on your price range, there should be plenty of bikes that are in perfect runniing shape, to get for a first bike.

4

yeah, you could probably get a similar vintage ninja running for the same price.

That being said, carb work isn’t that bad, if that’s the real problem. I would take $800 or $850 and be like “I have cash, bike doesn’t run. Take it or leave it”. Jets are like $5 a piece and whole carb rebuild kits aren’t much usually. Look to see if you can find the pilot air screw or the cover for the screw. Usually brass with a tiny hole in it. It could be that he just didn’t know what he was doing when he replaced the jets and didn’t change the amount of air / fuel the carb was getting. Real easy fix.

I think that Don guy who races, from Latrobe (name might be eurodad) on here, is pretty good with carbs so hit him up. I think there was a thread in the off-road bikes section that he was posting in.

chris

5

ya, Don can give you tips on the carb, if you decide to get it. my advice is to find something decent that runs, unless you get that thing for dirt cheap

6
7

little more $$ but no drama

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/mcy/504334283.html

8

[QUOTE=eurodad;640294][/QUOTE]

way to much for a kana tuna

i sold mine for like 500 bucks and it ran perfect… i beat the wang out of it but still 100 bucks for a tuna no way

9

Katana = :greddy:

A katana isn’t a real sports bike but it tries to look like one, you are better off buying a bike that’s a few years older that starts/runs. A decent vintage Honda/Yamaha that hasn’t had the piss beat out of it will be (a) easy to ride, (b) easy to work on, and © easy to re-sell. To me it sounds like you are buying someone else’s headache. It’s gonna suck too when you drop it on your 3rd ride and ruin the new plastic.

I know it’s probably an issue of taste and style, but here, seriously:

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/mcy/509009441.html

That’s a good first bike. (1) Nighthawks run forever, (2) They are STILL in production and parts are very very easy to come by, (3) They are very easy to work on (I’ve owned 2), (4) It runs, it’s clean, and it only has 7k miles.

Take your extra $300, throw on some drag handlebars, get some low profile signals, chop the rear fender, get a windscreen and put the rest into maintenance items or pay someone to professionally rebuild and sync the carbs. The bike will be more reliable and you will have much more fun learning, and “Standard” bikes like the Nighthawk are very easy to sell once you’ve moved on.

10

That’s a good first bike. (1) Nighthawks run forever, (2) They are STILL in production and parts are very very easy to come by, (3) They are very easy to work on (I’ve owned 2), (4) It runs, it’s clean, and it only has 7k miles.

Take your extra $300, throw on some drag handlebars, get some low profile signals, chop the rear fender, get a windscreen and put the rest into maintenance items or pay someone to professionally rebuild and sync the carbs. The bike will be more reliable and you will have much more fun learning, and “Standard” bikes like the Nighthawk are very easy to sell once you’ve moved on.

Great Advice. You’ll have way more fun actually RIDING your nighthawk than you ever would trying to fix some POS Katana. And as stated above it will be worth 700 in two years after your done riding it and ready to move on.

11

very good advice from everybody on here. Old Katanas are poop.

Another good starter bike is a Suzuki GS500 twin. Lightweight, been the same for many years, usually cheap to buy & easy to sell. The newer ones have full fairings. You could prolly buy an older one & then add the fairing later on. They are available usually between $1000 & $1500 for the older ones (GS500E).

This:
http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/albums/oldgallerybikes/aah.jpg

is the same motorcycle underneath as this:

http://i11.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/ca/c2/7385_3.JPG

12

I have to agree on this one, I’ve ridden a couple different GS500s and they are a freakin’ blast. Not a lot of power but then you can’t really get yourself in trouble and they are fun to toss around. Same story, too, when you’re done they haven’t depreciated, the bike has been largely the same FOREVER so it’s mostly bulletproof and the parts should be very easy to find. I personally have a thing for the old standards from the 70s/80s but if you want something that looks a little sportier the GS500 is a nice compromise. A suzuki SV650 would also be fantastic (I’ve owned 3) but I’d say harder to find for the price you’re at.

13

GS500E was my first bike. It was a blast. I put a generic cafe racer fairing on it from the Chapparal catalog for $41. Insurance was cheap, too. $17/mo full coverage.