New Boy wants a GK76a so what to look for ?

[Harvey]

As title really. I know they don't really fetch good money & also not to desirable for the 400 market but why ?
I really like the look as a bit different to the Hondas but what should I be paying for a good one ?
Plenty of buckets out there but don't have no time for a resto as it will be my day-2-day runabout to replace my early R6.
Hoping insurance will give me enough for a nice baby gixxer with a bit (Not a lot) in the back pocket for a "Surprise" or 2!.
Not really expecting to many answers tbh as I'm sure you've had enough but whatever you can muster would be cool..

[dobbslc]

OK deep breath!
I've had about 4 and a half of the things over the years and they are very good bikes when running properly but:
They can be the biggest pain in the arse when they don't.
If you want a ready to ride bike make sure it runs perfectly from stone cold up to fully warm, if it runs a bit rough and the seller says it "only needs a carb clean" walk away.
The carbs on these bikes are a real pain to get right once they've had problems.
Check the electrics carefully as with any old bike.
Check the suspension works smoothly with no slop and still has some damping left in it.
Check it has the V5 document and/or HPI it.
The riding position is quite extreme more so than an R6, with a long stretch to the bars so if it's for a long commute it might hurt your neck...
The SP version is quite common and has fully adj suspension, a throttle position sensor on the carb side, close ratio gearbox and different cams. No faster than a standard one but it has a very long first gear so can be a ball ache in traffic.
Spares are ok to get on eBay etc.
This might sound all bad but they are a really good bike when sorted, one of the best handling 400's.

Prices ? Hmmmm
£500 for a shitter to about £1500+ for a nice one.
Good luck.

[donk]

I've got a couple of these and I think they are great bikes . Pretty much as dobbslc said really but I wouldn't necessarily walk away from a carb problem bike if everything else looks in good shape.i would check the screws around the carbs to see if they've been smashed to shit with any old screwdriver then I might walk away . Check the Cdi under the rear seat to see if its original or a Chinese aftermarket one ,Check for a leaking fuel tap,I've had a rectifier go on mine , check the exhaust down pipes they always go in the centre of the 4 into 1 section take a piece of hose pipe with you to listen down there for it blowing, have a good look around the coolant hose coming off the block by the down pipes there's a tube assembly that screws to the engine to hold that hose in place they corrode and are difficult to make but otherwise buy one they are good bikes

[Harvey]

Guys, that's some really helpful info & advice so many thanks........
Out of all the 4's the gsxr is the I want tbh as you just don't see em but reliability seems like it could maybe become an issue for a day-2-day ride so I feel myself heading back to an R6 (Really missing mine) but buying a resto for winter...
3K for both is doable ....

[dobbslc]

400 400 400 400........
The GSXR I had was reliable for the daily ride into London just a bit hard on the neck and knees.

[morris147]

Ive had 4 and still have 2 racers. Like aboth, brilliant when they work, however some issues can be very annoying. Throughout the 5 years ive had them i have not suffered any major issues with mine, the only issues i have is me binning it afew times.