Tomorrow I am going to check out a 2005 500r, but i want to know what to look for to see if its worth buying on the spot. The seller is asking $3200. It has about 7k miles and has one "minor" scratch on the side. I hear of people getting this bike or even an newer one with less miles for a cheaper price. Is this price noticably too high? I am rather desperate to get a bike soon due to my mom moving out with the honda rebel. When i give it a test drive, is there anything in particular i should do to test the bike? I have never bought a bike before and am not sure what all to look for, so any guidance would be appreciated.

 

Ask the seller if he's had the valve clearance inspection/adjustment done. (Probably not, if he's selling it at 7000 miles.)
Ask for the receipts for the services, (or if he changed the oil and filter himself, ask for the receipt for that.)
Take a look at the little things, these usually give a good indication of how responsible the owner has been:
~What does the chain look like (clean, snug and lubed or loose, rusty and filthy?)
~What does the oil level look like? Put the bike on the centerstand (NOT the sidestand) and look at the little site-glass window on the right side of the engine, below the large, black crankcase cover with "Kawasaki" on it. Hopefully it's between the upper and lower levels and is a nice honey-amber color rather than black.
I went to buy a used bike once and the oil was massively overfilled. Turned out the guy thought the oil level was supposed to be filled to the level with the bike on the sidestand. I apologized, told him I couldn't buy a ruined bike and wished him good luck.
~Does the bike have the orginal, stock mufflers or louder aftermarket? This is an indicator to me of someone who is less likely to be mechanically emphathetic. Usually the guys with louder aftermarket exhausts who want 'more power' oftentimes have multiple facial piercings, tattoos and no damned respect for their bike.
~Ask the guy why he's selling it. If it's "because I need a bike with more power" he has probably been abusing this bike, revving the pi$$ out of it trying to keep up with his squid friends on larger bikes.

If he doesn't have the receipts from the services, I would probably walk away. For an extra $1800 you can get a brand-new bike and feel confident that it hasn't been abused or neglected.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Peace!
-CCinC

 

the bike is bone stock, a girl is selling it and her reason is that she thought her boyfriend would get her more into it, but it didnt happen and she wants to sell it. Sounds like the bike has not been abused, but im going to go check it out in just a bit and ill look for those things you mentioned. thanks.

 

Where does she live?
It'd be a lot easier for her to get rid of that ****** than get rid of the bike.
Tell her there's plenty of room in my garage for another 500.
And if you could forward my internet dating profile to her, I'd appreciate it.
Good luck.
-Chris in Carlsbad

 

She is in the Hawthorne area of Los Angeles

 

How did you get so good at talking in cursive Chris? I've been practicing for years.

 

Yeah Chris, good luck with your sabatical in the VAN down by the RIVER this summer.

 

OK, Blaine, so now I can put a face on the villain. I was after that bike, too. I called her and she said it was sold - and she got full price, right? How's it running?

I'm going down to southern Southern California on Sunday to look at a couple more 05's at slightly cheaper prices.

I'm a noob about these bikes too, so...can anyone tell me why, after someone puts on a Muzzy, it's so important to keep the stock pipes around, too? Second, if you put on a Muzzy, is it pretty much mandatory to rejet the carbs? The bike I'm looking at has the Muzzy and 11K miles, but was driven by a married couple in their 50's, so they say. We'll see.

Thanks,
Mark

 

If you're getting the bike from a married couple in their 50's, chances are it's probably already got the Muzzy and Stage-3 jetkit on it. You can take the money you've been saving for that and get a tattoo and some heroine.
Peace!
-CCinC

 

like Moll Flanders or Anna Karenina?