Newbie in need of some advice

[crookzy1]

First of all sorry that this is my 2nd post. I'll stick around, promise :)

Disclaimer: my bike knowledge is shockingly bad.

Just visited a VFR 400 (nc24). I could see that tires were new, brakes worked well, no fork leaks, chain looked good, no major visual damage, lights ok, low mileage (<20k).

Issues:
-Bike takes a minute to warm up and requires the choke on to start. Rider says it's always been that.
-Took it for a quick spin, and I apparently managed to stall it. Didn't think I did, but perhaps I'm not used to older/sport clutches. Anyway I tried to start it straight back up in 1st, and it would start then cut out. Put it in neutral, same again. He put the choke on and after a couple of attempts got it started. He said if you give it any throttle when you start it, it doesn't like it, which is what I was doing.
-Slight chip in the rear exhaust but a very small one, right at the end.
-A few marks on the front forks that are either scratches or corrosion, but they're not too prominent.
-A lot of oil/gunk around the smaller sprocket area. I think this is just a build up over time which can be cleaned out?

So the bike's for sale for £1300 which is far cheaper than any other I've seen. The guy's very local, trustworthy etc. It will be extremely easy to buy this bike, the only thing holding me back is the issue with starting it.

I'm wondering if there's anyone on here who will come see it with me, or can provide some sort of help? It's in Hammersmith West London, I'll pay you for your time :D

Pics:

[jim157]

Firstly I'm no expert on the NC24 (I'm sure Neo will be along in a bit) but if they're anything like the NC30 they like to sit and warm up on choke for a few minutes; try to rev them from cold and you'll flood them.

Secondly, that is way overpriced for an NC24. £1300 would be top dollar for a very clean, low mileage example with original paint. People see the NC30's 'go' for silly money on ebay and assume their 24's are worth a similar amount. Personally I wouldn't pay more than £600 for that 24 as £1300ish would buy you a half decent NC30 if you're patient.

The 30 is a huge leap up from the 24 in terms of chassis, suspension and braking; and real world prices generally reflect that fact.

[crookzy1]

Firstly I'm no expert on the NC24 (I'm sure Neo will be along in a bit) but if they're anything like the NC30 they like to sit and warm up on choke for a few minutes; try to rev them from cold and you'll flood them.

Secondly, that is way overpriced for an NC24. £1300 would be top dollar for a very clean, low mileage example with original paint. People see the NC30's 'go' for silly money on ebay and assume their 24's are worth a similar amount. Personally I wouldn't pay more than £600 for that 24 as £1300ish would buy you a half decent NC30 if you're patient.

The 30 is a huge leap up from the 24 in terms of chassis, suspension and braking; and real world prices generally reflect that fact.

Thanks for the reply.

Really? I can't see any around that have that low mileage, MOT ready, good condition for a similar price. Maybe I am not looking in the right places.

I haven't even seen a (road-ready) NC30 for any cheaper than £1800. And that had 40k miles, way up north where I won't go.

[jim157]

Dont worry about mileage too much, these bikes are mechanically very reliable if they have been looked after/serviced regularly. Obviously though, bike prices are always higher during the middle of summer and will drop down a fair bit in a few months time.

Put a wanted ad up in the classified section, you might be surprised whats out there in your price range.

[crookzy1]

Dont worry about mileage too much, these bikes are mechanically very reliable if they have been looked after/serviced regularly. Obviously though, bike prices are always higher during the middle of summer and will drop down a fair bit in a few months time.

Put a wanted ad up in the classified section, you might be surprised whats out there in your price range.

Ok, advice taken. Although the lower the better in general, right

I've put up a thread, cheers.

[Neosophist]

Dont worry about mileage too much, these bikes are mechanically very reliable if they have been looked after/serviced regularly. Obviously though, bike prices are always higher during the middle of summer and will drop down a fair bit in a few months time.

Put a wanted ad up in the classified section, you might be surprised whats out there in your price range.

Ok, advice taken. Although the lower the better in general, right

I've put up a thread, cheers.

These bikes are all old so as long as the mileage isnt stupidly high id not pay too much attention to that, its easy to abuse an old bike in few miles.

Full choke / no throttle is a good way to start the bike until its warmed up, should only take a few minutes.. perhaps cleaning the carbs / checking everything might improve it a little but it doesnt sound drastically wrong.

I agree though that its way over-priced. Trouble lately with recession and many internet dealers over-inflating prices.
That has non-standard paintowrk so probably been crashed / damaged at some point.

Ask aroudn the in the wanted section. It's clean but if you want a small v4 wait a little longer until a decent nc30 comes along (gives you chance to save up some more money too)

The NC24 is nice especially if you can get a cheap one, used to able to pick up a decent one for 3-500 quid.

The motor is very nice but the tyres / forks / brakes let it down compared to the 30. so consdiering the amount people want for them its not worth to spend.

I have both and would not buy that bike for that money. The most i spent on a nc24 was 650 and that was in better condition than this one

[crookzy1]

Hmm ok, well I'll be a bit more patient then and see what comes along.

Problem is I am not really willing to travel far, so the bike will need to be near London which is what makes this one so easy to buy.

[DocV400]

Make the guy an offer, he probably knows full-well it's over-priced.
You have nothing to lose . . .

[crookzy1]

Right, took people's advice and I'm holding out for a good priced NC30.

Saw this one yesterday. Priced at £1500. The problems I could see were (hopefully) cosmetic damage to the front forks, cracks in one of the dust seals and the headlights seems to be misaligned. Upon further inspection the front fairings had a small gap so I'm assuming these are import fairings? I don't know how to tell if the fairings are original. Either that or the bike has taken a knock, judging by some of the scratches/cracks to the side. Paint peeling inside the fuel cap but presumably no biggy. Also some rust to the pipes.

It just passed MOT. Tires looked pretty healthy. 29k miles.

Here are some pics I took: http://share.pho.to/6ax1G

Again any help much appreciated :)

[speedy231278]

I'd say knock. The panels should fit together neatly, and while I'm only really familiar with the 35, I'm sure there's something excessively wonky going on with those lights. For me, the thing that stands out most is those discs. You will hate them. They are a particular type of EBC disc that is exceptionally rust prone. By that, I don't mean the carriers go a bit scabby, the rotors go orange all over within a few minutes of getting wet, and they get stuck to the pads. Look at the third pic and you can see an imprint of the pad on the surface of the disc. It doesn't affect the performance as best I have ever been able to tell, but if you get wet and park the bike, a few hours later it will sometimes need a good shove to free off the front wheel. In fact, on numerous occasions I've been out in the rain on those discs and the following day it has needed a lump of 4x2 banged on the caliper to free the pads off because the front wheel slide down the driveway! If you were to decide on this bike, I'd chuck them in a skip asap and replace with something else! Apparently the current EBC discs are infinitely better in this regard.