Buying used FZ1 gen 1

[Moonraker]

Looking to pick up a used 2003 (40,000km/25,000miles) on the weekend, pretty much decided that an older FZ1 fits my needs.

Is there any common problems/faults that i should be looking out for while inspecting the bike.

Cheers

 

[FZ1riderNY]

Looking to pick up a used 2003 (40,000km/25,000miles) on the weekend, pretty much decided that an older FZ1 fits my needs.

Is there any common problems/faults that i should be looking out for while inspecting the bike.

Cheers

You should find out first off if the Valve inspection was done yet first and foremost. I'm only saying that because it's due at 26,000 miles and it will cost you about $300 dollars more or less to have someone do it for you, and thats if everything winds up in spec and no shims are needed. It may be a bargaining chip when negotiating the price.

Other than that you should check:

Fork seals
Brakes
Tires
Fluids
Chain and sprockets
Etc........

 

[Dustin]

It's my experience that most owners neglect a lot of the things that the above mentioned.

When I buy a bike, it almost always needs a chain & sprockets, fork service and brake pads. The brake fluid is almost always really old and most of the cables have never been lubed.

Use these as bargaining chips to get the asking price down. It works every time for me and I can often get the price down low enough to fix the bike up, ride it for a year and then flip it for profit.

I think a lot of people just don't know better or are too cheap to do anything besides oil and tires