Bike Advice Kawasaki ZXR 250sp 1989

[divvy]

Hey guys, what do you reckon about this as a first bike? i don't have any mechanical expertise so i'd want to get it checked out. But i think it looks pretty tidy. Do you reckon the K's are pretty high? What about the replaced head gasket dose that mean that it could have had some major mechanical issues? any help appreciated.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=255811237

Cheers Div

[Dirty Heathen]

I actually was going to have a look at that bike before I got my FZR but being Wellington is was no go for me.

The best bet man is get it checked out a by a mechanic its worth it in the long run.

No one will be able to tell you much from photos apart from "yer it looks ok"'

[R6_kid]

Looks to be a pretty fair buy. I sold mine in 2005/6 for $3750 which had similar km's - though it did have a carbon fibre exhaust. It had just been painted gloss black.

Get a trusted third-party (perhaps someone from KB) to have a look at it and see how it seems mechanically. Rear shocks for those bikes don't show up very often and are usually over price - a rebuilt is about $300-400. The 'little holes in the exhaust' won't be expensive to fix.

Not sure if their is anything particularly special about the 'SP' part, probably more marketing than actually being more Sports Production than any other ZXR250A.

It would seem to be a good buy at that price - being 'original condition' as much as it can be for a bike of that age. See what the chain & sprockets are like for wear, likewise with the tyres and brake pads. The main mechanical problem with those bikes is the cam chain, or more specifically the cam chain tensioner - you'll hear this as a loud mechanical rattle at idle, but someone in the know will be able to pick this up pretty easy.

Maybe ask if you can take it to a bike shop to get a pre-purchase inspection done?

[magicmonkey]

I think Boyles in the Kawa dealer in Welly, they might be your best bet for getting someone to look over it...