new and looking to buy

2226 Views 22 Replies 10 Participants Last post by fuzzybutt, Jan 18, 2007

dangjalopy

Discussion Starter · Jan 13, 2007

First of all i am new to the forum. i am in the market for a bike to make into a cafe racer. however, i haven't owned a motorcycle since i was a teenager racing dirt bikes. so i was hoping for some help from you guys.

i found this on craigslist: http://columbia.craigslist.org/mcy/261447937.html

is this an ok bike to work with. i haven't found out what all is missing yet but i noticed a few things by looking at the pictures. is this a reasonable price? any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Travis

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joe c

· #5 · Jan 13, 2007

i paid 650 for my 650 about 15 years ago. it was all there but needed everything. it was a good deal. 2k seems high. unless the motor is fresh, or all the parts are good.

just my opinion. i dont know much about those 750's

je

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joe c

· #6 · Jan 13, 2007

also, i did basincally the same thing. dont forget, those british bikes require a lot of specialized wrenches and tools. and before you buy it, make sure you have a good source for parts and a good shop nearby that specializes in brit stuff. otherwise you life might end up being taken over by mail ordering, and making phone calls and wishing you hadnt bought it.

the nice thing is if you can make that run, you can probably get just about anything to run.

id look for something a little easier. for a first bike.

jc

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joe c

· #11 · Jan 13, 2007

my experience is that there are plenty of places to get british stuff. when you look at the parts , in cost comparison, there are plenty of japanese parts that are waay overpriced. amd parts you can only get from japan. or, you cant get them at all. the british stuff has been popular alot longer it seems, so there are plenty of good places to get good repro british parts. the problem is, you cant jus head down to your local triumph dealer to get them. like you can with honda, or suzuki, or yamaha parts. so you need to have either a local place you can trust, or spend alot of time on your computer or on the telephone. the british stuff ive found is not hard to work on. the factory books are pretty good. almost caveman like. but there are fasteneers that take special sized wrenches. b.s. wrenches, or imperial, or whitworth, and the threads arent like anything you use now. so in addition to having to buy alot of parts, and bolts, youll need special wrenches too. things like seats, or pipes, or headlights, gastanks, etc....all about the same price.

jc

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joe c

· #12 · Jan 13, 2007

i should add, there is nothing cooler than riding a british twin.

jc

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