I have this chance to buy a ‘97 600cc Bandit for a pretty good price.Since you can generally tell the condition of a car that is 16 years old, can I apply the same for a bike or not, or what is the approach here?
First, do the math, it's 17 years old. Owning and restoring motorcycles for all my life, I'm 57, I have a pretty good idea what to look for. First check plastic, pegs and bar ends to see if it's been down. If so, RED FLAG. Next, check the chain and sprockets, looking for wear and rust. Then check fluid levels and color. Look for dirty oil, bad sign or maintenance. Check brake fluid and check for brake pad wear. Make sure you can see some pad left. Check your rotors for discoloration (overheating) and for heavy scarring. Make sure all your lights and signals work properly. Check you tires for proper wear and make sure there's plenty of tread left. Then listen to the motor, listening for knocking or pinging, both bad signs of internal engine wear. If all checks out, take it for a SLOW test ride, checking braking and acceleration. Look for smoke coming from the exhaust too. If everything passes your test, take it to an inspection station and make sure it'll pass to get a new sticker. Good luck and keep the rubber side down my friend!
the taller the tire, the slower your acceleration, the shorter the tire, the faster, width has no effect unles you have enough power to worry about traction
My big truck tires sure seem to cover the ground faster! That scenary just flies by!! But then that could be due to the amount of pressure I put on that skinny little peddal on the floor!! Accelaration is due to the engine size of the vehicle.
Jay P and Dr. J have most everything covered. The only thing I want to add is mileage. Bikes rev at much higher rpm's and they are smaller engines, most are not build to get over 100,000 miles. Few will get over 50,000 before it is finally destroyed in a crash or engine gets blown. So, look at the mileage. If it is over 30,000 then expect it to be good for less than 20,000 more miles. But if the mileage is very low, less than 5,000 miles, then start asking why? Some people have problems with the bike and don't fix them for years, others simply did not enjoy riding as much as they thought they would.
A lot of the stuff that you look for is common sense type of stuff.has the bike ever been dropped, do all the lights and signals work, is the idle smooth, is the exhaust smoke clear, etc. When you ride it you also need to check the operation of the throttle, brakes, clutch, and transmission. All should be smooth to operate. But a second opinion never hurts. You can always have the bike checked out by a dealer or motorcycle shop of YOUR choosing prior to finalizing the deal. This way you will a much better overview of what you're buying and minimizing the chance of any unexpected repairs within the forseeable future.
