Fixing vs buying new?

[fireball]

today after having my little play with Rawberrys oily bits i started thinking, as much as this bike has been broken down/need of repair and pissed me off, shes not such a bad bike and if i spent the time fixing her she would be better. So then came the question: what would need to be fixed and adjusted to make her fine? so in a short amount of time i have made a short list of sorts and its as follows....

Suspension
Fork oil
Chain
Breaks
Tyres (god knows what shoes she should be wearing)

and this brings me to 2 questions how much would this cost? and would it be cheaper/more return if i purchased brand new and just adjusted the suspension......

i have yet to sit my 6R (procrastinated getting 6L:stupid:, but will sit 6R end of the month) so have alot of time to kill before getting my full and i am doing aprox 1000ks per week just to and from work so the bike needs to be right!

anyone with knowledge in this area that could answers my questions would be great!

Edit: Rawberry is a GZ250 Marauder if that helps

[awayatc]

Doesn't sound like a big list to me....not big enough to warrent buying a new bike....

[R6_kid]

all of that is run of the mill stuff, what do you want to do with the suspension may i ask?

[fireball]

all of that is run of the mill stuff, what do you want to do with the suspension may i ask?

would like to set it up for my body weight etc as at present when i go over a tiny bump in the roas it tends to bottom out and it hurts my back like you wouldnt believe

[Henk]

All the things you listed are things I tend to do as a matter of course when I buy a second hand bike. The cost won't be huge, the question is one of mechanical aptitude, I asume you have never done any of these before, if you have a decent collection of tools and feel confident that you cn do the work without beating yourself to death with a spanner buy a manual and get stuck into it. If you have a mate who has more experience working on bikes than you get them to give you a hand, bikes are easy to work on, the only thing you have planned that I don't do on road bikes is the tyres, and thats because I haven't got a bead breaker or balancing rig.

[toebug]

Spend the money to get your current bike sorted. Getting new bike instead is just laziness! Sooner or later you will have to maintain it, but then again you could just sell the next one when it needs maintance too.

[R6_kid]

would like to set it up for my body weight etc as at present when i go over a tiny bump in the roas it tends to bottom out and it hurts my back like you wouldnt believe

Ok, in that case it's probably shot... I mean you weigh 50kg MAX. Perhaps check at a wreckers for a replacement, or perhaps you can get it 'rebuilt', i think Jebe Bruin may be able to help you if you want to go down that road.

If you're going to do fork oil you might as well do the seals too. You could also possibly put some spacers in if you need to firm it up a bit at the front. Seals should be relatively cheap (less the $70 I would think) Fork oil is about $15 for a 1L bottle and comes in different weights. 10w is about standard.

Brakes should be relatively cheap, i'd assume your bike would be sorted for less than $70 for the pads. Then you just want lots of brake cleaner and a good brush. I would suggest also flushing and re-bleeding the brake lines at the same time.

Chain - do the sprockets at the same time. You get what you pay for, but don't bother going for the expensive lightweight alloy ones on your bike :rolleyes: stainless steel will do just fine. Chain, perhaps go for an o-ring chain, but the main thing is that you maintain it correctly... have someone show you how to adjust the chain tension, which you should check every 300-400km, also clean and lube the chain every 700-1000km. All up i'd guess you'll pay $150-180 for chain + sprockets depending on the chain you get.

Tyres... talk to cycletreads, should be able to get hooked up for about $300 a set on the 250. I dont have any experience with cruiser tyres but I'm sure they'll be able to help you out.

And if you need help fitting/doing/being shown how to do any of the above then just ask.

[Squiggles]

Where is rawberry located?

[daaatomic]

I've got the rear shocks off my old 250 Katana. Dont know if they would fit, but if they do, you're welcome to them.

[fireball]

Where is rawberry located?

she is out east in pakuranga you uni boys wanna play?

[fireball]

I've got the rear shocks off my old 250 Katana. Dont know if they would fit, but if they do, you're welcome to them.

i dont think it would fit my bike but if we measure it all up and they do i may quite possibly be keen!

[Squiggles]

she is out east in pakuranga you uni boys wanna play?

Yeh, we're good at doing that...

Can give it a good looking over, change the fork oil and seals, brake fluids and pads, a bit of grease here and there... maybe the tappets if needed, wont take too long and theres plenty to learn

[Mike748]

So many variables here, when you say buying new are you meaning brand spanking new, or just another second hand bike?

It all comes down to the dollars, will your bike be worth any more if you fix it up??
Can you get a better second hand bike for only a few dollars more??

Most of your issues sound like general maintenance, which means you could be up for the same issues on any second hand purchase.

Given your licence status and the K's your racking up I'd say you probably should just fix it up, get your full licence and then trade up.

[Subike]

Have looked at this issue myself,
to upgrade my existing bike would be cheaper than replacing it.
and I already know its limitations
but my bikes big nuff for me
But as said before
you will probably upgrade to a better bike once you have a full licence
so just maintenance at the moment would be the thing to do
there have been some good offers here of assistance, and lessons on what to do to keep your ride healthy,
I would take those offers and learn from them, best place to learn, off the people who ride the machines

[skidMark]

would like to set it up for my body weight etc as at present when i go over a tiny bump in the roas it tends to bottom out and it hurts my back like you wouldnt believe


Your bodyweight. :eek5:

You weigh less than a little japanese man! :dodge:

[fireball]

So many variables here, when you say buying new are you meaning brand spanking new, or just another second hand bike?

It all comes down to the dollars, will your bike be worth any more if you fix it up??
Can you get a better second hand bike for only a few dollars more??

.

looking at the market as is i can get 4000 max for my bike and a brand spanking new bike for 5000

current bike has no speed 120max and feels like it struggles alot plus she has high ks now for a 5yr old bike

but after some thought im still undecided

[Squiggles]

Dont forget about instant depreciation on a new bike (even a 250), and the run in maintenance and break-in issues

For 5g a new one probably isnt going to come with awesome tyres and a quality chain :(

[HungusMaximist]

The question is, if you're a full time working professional and got the dosh then get a brand new spanking bike every-year.

If not, then you might want to consider your options.

Generally speaking a standard bike is pretty cheap if you keep it that way and upgrade every-year but when you start modding it that's when your money blows away.

[Mike748]

looking at the market as is i can get 4000 max for my bike and a brand spanking new bike for 5000

current bike has no speed 120max and feels like it struggles alot plus she has high ks now for a 5yr old bike

but after some thought im still undecided

I gather you have a cruiser style of some sort, have you thought of going a little more sports-ish.
Have a look around at some second hand bikes, there are some well looked after bikes around with most of the money already spent on improvements.

If you purchased new I would still allow for decent tyres and brake pads, minimum.

[jim.cox]

I generally figure that fixing what I have is advantageous.

Its usually cheaper, and you end up with something of known quality.

Buying something new just opens up the possibility of a whole new, different, can of worms.

[FROSTY]

To be honest you would be best to take ya bike to Cycletreads.
Book it in and get a chain,brake pads and tyres done at the same time.
Adjusting the back shocks is a 2 second job so why not get em to do that at the same time.
Leave the forks alone for just now untill you assess the difference new ruber,chain and adjusting the rear shocks makes for ya.

A couple of comments here. If you are more than happy wit the way the bike accellerates why not change the gearing by a couple of teeth at the rear. Slightly slower acceleration- the trade off is better top speed.

About the sore back thing. If you aint totally fixed on the custom bike look You might want to try a set of flatter/lower bars.
Sounds cookey but it will change your riding position and as a result should reduce the effect of the back shocks jolting you.

Ya could try taking Jorjas Scorpio for a ride --I suspect you will love it--better top speed better riding position and at $3750 brand new you'd be better off financially

[breakaway]

I've been dealing with this issue as well fireball.

Sometimes I feel like selling my CBR, it has a lot of 'little' things wrong with it (sticky throttle, lights for the dash etc) but if I do that, then it will mean that I never learn how to undertake highly mechanical activities like cleaning carbs, maybe even an engine rebuild. I mean, it's not like I can't do an oil + filter change, but I'd like to learn how to sort the more complex stuff on my own.

My biggest problem is that I have nowhere I can store the bike, and I'm not keen to open it all up without know what / where / how to fix. Don't want my shit lying around all over the place.

For now I think I'll just keep it till I can organise a prefab shed or something :\

[jrandom]

Scorpio

Best advice in the thread so far.

[fireball]

cheers guys.. i had taken EJs scorpio for a blast when it was still in one peice and i dunno it was very 'farm bikeish' and reminded me of the CT125 i used to own i think that that kind of bike would get me into alot of trouble as i would want to thrash it and be naughty:whistle:

but yeah have decided to start with the chain and sprockets then move onto tyres and breaks once i get the cash together