Buying ex-race bikes

[R6_kid:Me]

This has been a point of discussion for me for some time. In October last year I purchased a 1999 Yamaha R6 off of an Army Serviceman who originally came from Christchurch. He told me the bike had never been crashed or dropped and that it hadnt been a race bike BUT he had used it on the track.

Now, at the time $8k for a 1999 R6, with new tyres, chain, a two bros slip-on, K+N filter, Dynojet kit and steering damper with only 22k on the clock seemed like a bargain. And it was, at the time shops around the country had R6's with similar km's and no mods for as much as $12.5k so i was pretty chuffed.

However what i didnt consider was the honesty of the seller. The sump plug had been drilled (he said this was for track days) but i have never seen a trackday where drilling the sump plug was requirement and i dont know anyone other than racers that would just do it anyway... Also after my first off (crash) I discovered that the fairings had previously been cracked and repaired, and that their were some bolts missing from the fairings.

I must conceed that the three accidents i have had would have added to the stress on my bike, and that I havent been particularly nice to it over the last year with the way i've rode it. It's up to 60,000km now, yep i've done 40,000km of riding in a year And in that time i've now spent $2610 on mechanical repairs, thats more than 1/4 the value of the bike. On top of this of course is oil, tyres, chains and sprockets... and thats just so i can put gas in it to ride it!

I'm not saying that ex-race bikes put back on the road are bad deals, but you need to keep in mind that even if the previous owner/racer changed the oil and filter regularly, it doesnt change the fact that a race bike is getting a total thrashing on the track - racing isnt about taking it easy. The only way to know for sure that the engine you are getting is strong is for it to be rebuilt or atleast examined by a professional mechanic.

Often racebikes are sold at a bargain price and a lot of buyers will look past the fact that it was a race bike and just see the super low price. Dont get me wrong some bikes will hold up fine, but if you look at buying an ex-race bike consider how old it is, how long it's been raced, and how much use you intend to get out of it and perhaps if you are going to be using it on a daily basis then know that it's possibly not your best option.

If i had used the R6 only for weekend rides and trackdays im sure i would have got a lot more use out of it, but the stress put on it during racing and the added fact that i've run the km's up so quickly has meant that it hasnt been as economical as i originally thought it would be.

It certainly appears that these days there are bikes designed for a shorter life of hard riding, and some that are designed for a much longer life of commuting etc, but not much that really falls in between.

There's a lot to think about when purchasing a bike, and hopefully my experience will allow those stepping up to the 600cc+ capacity bracket will be all the wiser from what i've learnt in the last year.

To those that sell on their racebikes, please understand that this is not a snipe at you, you all sell your bikes in good faith and not to rip people off. But there are those out there not so well in the know that wont take in the whole picture if they havent heard any different from someone else.

[Karma]

You saying the R6 has had it?

[R6_kid:Me]

had 'had it'. I've just had the gearbox rebuilt. The top end was freshened up and compression wise its still spot on at 150psi on all four. The carbs are worn, mechanic thought it was needles but its actually a part thats pressed in to the carbs and so only way to rectify is with new carbs.

Basically im going to get it up to scratch when i have some more cash to sort the carbs, in the meantime its still fully functional and rideable, just has a rich spot down low which doesnt help much with commuting, no problem on the open road or track though.

I still got a good deal on the bike, just with money the way it is for me being a student it hasnt been the best experience, so yeh it could have just been me jumping in too deep at the start - thats what im trying to warn against.

[The_Dover]

when I was a student we took the fuckin bus.

[slinky]

ur making me worry...... i have just bought my bike,
he had taken it to track a few times ..
and to mere mere once.

i think mainly used on the road though...did bout 4-5000km between 6month warrents.
just under 60k when i bought it,
got it for 4,700

[Sketchy_Racer]

It's a 7 year old sports bike with 60,000kms.

you HAVE to expect things to go wrong.

I think the bike your have has done extremely well to get to 60,000kms. And if 2.5g is all you have had to spend on it so far, I would be damn happy.

What makes you think that the guy was lying about it being used for track days? I know lots of people that have wired sumps for track day.

Trust me, people really hate you when you dump a sump of oil on the track.

Personally, I think your bike is past its 'prime' best-by-use date, and the sorts of mechanical problems you are starting to have are more than normal.

What people need to understand with buying race bikes, is not the bike and its problems (that it's going to have in the future), IS

You get what you pay for.

[Coyote]

If you want a reliable form of transport, buy a Toyota

[dickytoo]

The carbs are worn, mechanic thought it was needles but its actually a part thats pressed in to the carbs and so only way to rectify is with new carbs.

The bits that are pressed into the carbs - if its the bit that the needles slide in and out of, are easily replaced. they come out quite easily as well.


If the carb bodies themselves are worn then you may have to replace the carbs.

[bistard]

Hey Dicky two,how are you?
You would have agree,buying an ex race bike is fine,providing the racer actually new what he was doing,We have had numerous race bikes over the years & put them back as road bikes with no trouble
In fact depending on the racer I would prefer to buy a n ex race bike,at least they would have been looked after & set up correctly
As apposed to the average road rider who doesnt even know where to put the oil,or if it is a two stroke or four stroke

[Shaun]

Hey Dicky two,how are you?
You would have agree,buying an ex race bike is fine,providing the racer actually new what he was doing,We have had numerous race bikes over the years & put them back as road bikes with no trouble
In fact depending on the racer I would prefer to buy a n ex race bike,at least they would have been looked after & set up correctly
As apposed to the average road rider who doesnt even know where to put the oil,or if it is a two stroke or four stroke

I agree with that 100%

A bike can be raced very hard by some one who knows how to look after it, not like some people who think it is clever to do burn outs and shit and hammer all the gear box and so on whilst it sits there bouncing, or try to be stunt riders and slam there bike back down to the ground way to suddenly causing huge stress all over the bike.

[The Stranger:Me]

I agree with that 100%

A bike can be raced very hard by some one who knows how to look after it, not like some people who think it is clever to do burn outs and shit and hammer all the gear box and so on whilst it sits there bouncing, or try to be stunt riders and slam there bike back down to the ground way to suddenly causing huge stress all over the bike.

You thinking of any bike in particular?

[Shaun]

Only some one that keeps making dumb mechanical posts and does not seem to know anything about mechanics nor how to figure out what is cuasing his mechanical problems, apart from that, Nah don't think so

[bistard]

Thanks for agreeing with me Shaun,one rider I do recall that i would not have wanted to own a bike from was the late great Robert Holden,he was a good mate, but as I remember he was very hard on allsortss of shit & on the otherhand would be happy to take a bike from Bob Toomey

[Shaun]

Yea mate, there are racers and then there are racers

No disrespect at all to our late great mate! but he was fiiiiin hard on gear, no sympathy at all for the machine, but BOB, He was so smooth and accurate, as well as being a top notch mechanic

I remember watching Bob and Robert before I started racing, I loved Robert for his no prissoners attitude, but really had to admire Bob for his calculated actions, Sought of like Randy Mamolla and Eddie Lawson

[R6_kid:Me]

I agree with bistard, i get the feeling that his particular bike before i owned it was simply used and abused, and not looked after to the extent that most people do. Buying a bike from someone like Shaun i would have no troubles with as i know he looks after his stuff really really well.

Like RG100 said, my bike is now 7years old and near on 60,000km so you've gotta expect things to go wrong. I guess what I mean is that an ex-race bike will age 'faster' and will need slightly more attention - its not a bad idea, aslong as you trust the person you are buying from.

For instance Superdave, who bought an ex-race GSXR600 thought his bike was sweet until he had to remove the sump and he found stones in his sump... some people just dont take care of things properly.