Buying an older scoot

 I'm going to look at an '85 Virago 1000 I found on Craigs, but don't
have much experience with older bikes. It's got 14k miles and has new
tires from last season. The seller told me it'll need front brake pads
and has some pitting in the chrome, but in the photos it looks pretty
clean. He's got it listed for $1500, so it's not gonna break the bank
if something does go south. How well does Yamaha support something
this old? What kind of problems are typical of a 24 year old bike?

 
I'm not all that experienced, but do front brake pads typically need
replacement after 14k miles?

As for the rest, I'd count on rebuilding all the hydraulics, fluids, and so
on.

If this bike sat outside much, which is likely, the electrical system is
probably a mess.  You'll have to deal with corrosion, dirty contacts, and
very brittle connectors that may break as soon as you mess with them.

If memory serves, Yamaha had some issues with their Virago 750.  I believe
the starter and flywheel didn't get along too well.  Don't know if this
carried over to this model, but there were fixes for it.

Oh, and title.  When I was in the market for an older bike, I noticed hardly
anybody had a valid title, which would have meant endless hours in the
purgatory of the DMV trying to get it fixed.

CS

 

OK for service items: not so good for obscure trim, cosmetic bits, etc.
But there are masses of aftermarket possibilities.


Depends on how well it's been stored and when it last ran. Could be
zero: could be endless hassle.



--
BMW K1100LT  Ducati 750SS  Honda CB400F & SH50  Triumph Street Triple
GHPOTHUF#1 chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom
Nothing is more dangerous than an ignoramus with a workshop
manual, a 'can-do' attitude and a cheap set of tools

 The Older Gentleman wrote:

Agree 100%, the Virago was popular enough that getting parts shouldn't
be a problem, most hard parts will be available from a dealer, and
anything that isn't will be available from bike breakers.

And as another poster mentioned, if the bike doesn't have a title, and
you haven't had experience getting a title for a bike without one, run
away.  There's plenty of used bikes out there in good condition that
have titles and have been well cared for.  There's also a shitload of
poorly maintained and basically unloved bikes out there that are nothing
but a big bag of trouble, the trick is knowing the difference.

 wrote:

The two-word answer to your question is, they don't.

If you ever need extensive mechanical repairs, forget going to a
*Yamaha* $tealer$hip, they probably won't touch it.

See, $tealer$hips have to run mechanical repair department$ that are
set up to work on *recent* model$ that are still within the original
warranty period or an extended warranty.

Yamaha $tealer$hip$ can't make any money off of 25 year olf
motorcycles, so they will shoo you away.

If you can't do the mechanical work yourself, you'll have to find an
independant mechanic and expect to wait forever to get the work done.

However, if you are the enthusiatic type of do-it-yourselfer with a
repair manual and a set of cheap tools (the kind of owner that Piggy
despises), you can probably get almost any part you want from mail
order houses that supply aftermarket repair parts. www.oldbikebarn is
just one of many that will provide carburetor parts and brake parts.

You can mail order just about any part that normally wears out from
the Tucker Rocky Catalog, Cycle Parts, Dennis Kirk, etc.

But to get an idea of what *Yamaha* original equipment parts are
available, look at  http://www.powersportspro.com , or www.bikebandit.com,
or any mail order house that catalogs OEM parts.

If the parts list says "back ordered" or "call" for any listed part,
chances are you can't get that part new, but it doesn't mean you can't
get it *used*.

There are motorcycle salvage companies all over the USA and they have
an incredible amount of parts in their racks. If they don't have what
you want, they may offer to check for you on their communications
system with other local salvage yards.