Hay-ulp...!

[Zapf]

isn't the bike in Aussy? or is that where u are :P

if you are able to ride a 400cc you can also consider a Honda CB400 Superfour.. they have a 0.77m seat hight as well and the weight is very low.

it was designed for the japanese local market with smaller people in mind...

http://www.honda.co.jp/factbook/moto...ge/001_001.jpg

[jazbug5]

Well, the height is absolutely fine; only trouble is, I am looking at

• paying to re-register it
  getting it picked up
  finding the parts (handlebars, headlamp, clutch lever) which are apparently rare (?)
  and not knowing if it will definately start: last started two months ago, he reckons the battery has just gone flat...

However; the guys seems on the level, and the bike seems in fairly decent nick. It could cost, at worst, about another grand for the bits & bobs (including paprework for a year). The only thing I did notice was that the chain was a bit gungy.

He got the bike for 3 grand originally... the damage is from a low speed drop.
Please tell me what you think, folks. This good be a great deal... or a great deal of trouble..!
PLEASE ADVISE....pleasepleaseplease thanks people for all your input so far...

PS Stuck on a 250 for now, mate... will think of the 400 for when I get my full in a couple of months..

[Paul in NZ]

I'm always a bit suspicious of these deals. If it was worth fixing, surely the current owner would have done so? Usually there is a bit of unobtainium missing!

However, If you aint fussy about original stuff, aftermarket shit would be the berries at less $$$!

By all acounts these are seriously good bikes. Engine is the same as the 250 Virago so it's probably worth sorting out?

I can stick out an alert on the aussie Guzzi list if you need physical help. What city are you in?

Cheers

[jazbug5]

Cheers Paul!

Well, he says that after his little bin his fiance went off on one about him riding any more. He tried to find stuff with wreckers, but was looking for 'proper' as in original stuff- and he said basically the bits new were going to set him back about 700 bucks... so, what with moving closer to the city and not needing it to commute any more he decided to get rid.

I'm in Brisbane at the mo... any and all advice, i am most grateful for...

[badlieutenant]

should of got you to take some up close pics for us to have a look at. Hard to say "yay, go for it" when it may be a lemon. I will say it has to be better than the gn the unobtainium may be a problem. What does it cost to re-register in auzzy? are the tyres ok and when you rego it you will need to wof or something as well ? add up the things needed. then have a think. While the money is in your pocket you still have the power to choose. Dont hurry buying it yet.....other than that I dont know bugger all about these bikes. have you tried googling it for common errors/problems ?

[badlieutenant]

found this
Yamaha SRV250

So big is the retro game in Japan, that they will do almost anything to take the market by storm. The SRV has a chassis that wouldn't have troubled Norton in their heyday, having defined good handling in the sixties and then thrown it away with the rubbery Commando, and a vee-twin engine cloned from their custom bruiser, which puts out a little more power whilst sharing the majority of engine parts.

The overall effect would probably have the people at Morini spewing up their pasta in disgust if not envy, but the reality of such a small vee-twin engine is a lack of zap, even compared with the better Jap thumpers, a capacity at which the single cylinder idiom really excels as there's minimal vibration to absorb by the balancer. 250cc is about right for optimum engine efficiency for a single, with a vee-twin there are too many frictional losses.

Torque the SRV motor has, it even claims 27 horses, but doesn't seem to move as well as a similarly powered 1970 Honda CB250K3! I had the impression that the motor was churning through an excess of friction, that the oil was turning to treacle and that it lacked the kind of sweetness exemplified by a Morini 350 Sport when on the cam, a design ruined more by modern emission and noise regulations than any intrinsic engineering faults.

Finesse and quality had done a runner in favour of style over substance. This initial impression faded after a couple of days, for 20,000 miles had left the mill a touch vibratory and it took that long for the buzz to fade into the background. A newer model proved much more stimulating, almost had me waxing lyrical as the suspension was a lot firmer and the handling an order of magnitude improved in its precision and accuracy.

Neither did the finish of the older one inspire - rotted alloy, peeling chrome and scarred paint. This on an eighteen month old example that had been thrashed all its life, reflected in a £1500 price in Tokyo. The immaculate ones fetch closer to £2500, which means rather silly money in the UK, where they are still, unfortunately, rare.

As a practical hack, price aside, low mileage examples would make the grade and they would certainly have the old codgers going all nostalgic. The high mileage ones probably aren't worth the effort, so a careful eye has to be kept for clocked examples in the UK, an all too pervasive manoeuvre in the good old motorcycle trade.

If your not loaded it pays to buy common (for parts) might not be too bad tho if the motor is common.........

is it just me or do they look a bit like a retro gn with a v-twin ?

[jazbug5]

Funnily enough, was just reading that myself.

Sort of leaning towrads sacking it- parts seem to be really scarce.(And I searched for 'aftermarket parts' for it and came up with nada.) I quite like the styling (as you say, it is a retro twin) but then again, it's prolly going to cost just over two grand inclusive to get road legal, and I haven't even seen it running! Plus he said in a PM that the steering seems to be sticking. I didn't really notice that at the time, as the bars were bent I put it down to that I guess...

A real shame, and if it was cheaper I might just have gone for it, but it's looking too much of a risk now, especially as the future obtainment of unobtanium may be.. problematic. And it has 40 grand on the clock. Meh.

Back to the drawing board, then- something more 'common' for the Bug...

[sels1]

Hey Jaz, Hows it goin?
Wouldnt yr $ be better spent on a plane ticket back here? Winter's all but over and it looks like spring is coming early......

[jazbug5]

Hey, Sel!

Oh, okay I s'pose. Just going quietly insane without a bike...
still, a lickle trip may be in order, p'raps.
Maybe I could at least sit on the back of someone else's bike for a bit. Test ride something at WMC...? Bit unfortunate my usual contact there has so rudely upped and left, though...

[Ixion]

Funnily enough, was just reading that myself.

Sort of leaning towrads sacking it- parts seem to be really scarce.(And I searched for 'aftermarket parts' for it and came up with nada.) I quite like the styling (as you say, it is a retro twin) but then again, it's prolly going to cost just over two grand inclusive to get road legal, and I haven't even seen it running! Plus he said in a PM that the steering seems to be sticking. I didn't really notice that at the time, as the bars were bent I put it down to that I guess...

A real shame, and if it was cheaper I might just have gone for it, but it's looking too much of a risk now, especially as the future obtainment of unobtanium may be.. problematic. And it has 40 grand on the clock. Meh.

Back to the drawing board, then- something more 'common' for the Bug...

Switch gear and levers look to be identical with the SRX250 , and those are interchangeable with the bigger FJ Yammies of the period. Should be easy from a wreckers. Bars are normal clamp on, anything will fit.

But the headlamp stuff may be another matter. And if it is not running it's a bit of a pig in a poke. Be a bit worried about the hint of steering issues too.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do. And good to hear from you. Ride fast, ride safe, black squishy bits down, pink squishy bits up.

[jazbug5]

Yup, that's pretty much the biggest immediate issue- the headlight. Apparently it's not interchangeable with anything else; and, as you say, it ain't running, so it's a gamble. Plus the costs of getting the legal paperwork...

I did say to him that if I bid (being as how he says it runs in the ad) and then had a mechanic look at it and find out there were more issues stopping it than a flat battery, I'd have to think about whether I had really bought what I bid for (well, this would have been my savings thus far plus half next weeks wages!) but he just mumbled something about maybe giving me another couple of hundred bucks off... hmmm. Ah well. There is every chance that the thing is fine, but I ain't known for my good luck or technical expertise.

Boo hoo.. so near and yet so FAR!!!!

Thanks everyone for all your helpful input. Very much appreciated, genuinely. Missing you all heaps!

[Pixie]

As it is a round headlight unit you should be able to get after market parts.
(Not standard Yamaha) at a considerably lower cost.
And what's wrong with 5' 4",it's only 2" shorter than normal height (5' 6" my height)

[Ixion]

As it is a round headlight unit you should be able to get after market parts.
(Not standard Yamaha) at a considerably lower cost.
And what's wrong with 5' 4",it's only 2" shorter than normal height (5' 6" my height)

Are the headlamp mounting bits (they have a proper name, what the hell is it ? shrouds ?? ) also munted. They may be pretty specific

I'd also be a bit worried about his response to the not running question

I did say to him that if I bid (being as how he says it runs in the ad) and then had a mechanic look at it and find out there were more issues stopping it than a flat battery, I'd have to think about whether I had really bought what I bid for (well, this would have been my savings thus far plus half next weeks wages!) but he just mumbled something about maybe giving me another couple of hundred bucks off...

That doesn't sound like the response I'd expect if it really was running OK.

[Pixie]

Are the headlamp mounting bits (they have a proper name, what the hell is it ? shrouds ?? ) also munted. They may be pretty specific

I'd also be a bit worried about his response to the not running question


That doesn't sound like the response I'd expect if it really was running OK.

BRACKETS -pronounced b-r-a-c-k-e-t-s
you can use after market ones that clamp to the fork stanchions

[Artifice]

You could try Brisbane Bike Wreckers
If they don't have what you want they may be able to track it down for you over t' c.b.