Anyone looking for a First GEN???

[bluerstd08]

I found this add while looking around for a bike for the wife. The first gen is a bit tall for her. Shes 5'3''. This is not my bike, just thought I'd share my find.

 

http://www.lejeuneyardsales.com/item17832896.html?itemId=17832896&src=SEARCH

[Dano]

She needs some work, but has all the right pieces. Might want to send Muffinman a PM and let him know about it, he's closer. If'n I was in the area, I'd pick it up!

[painterman67]

If I had the money it would be onits way to me..Lots of chrome on that old girl that I dont have on mine.

 

 

david

[skydoc_17]

Well, after speaking with Ron on the phone, It looks like I will be taking a road trip to NC this weekend!

I guess I needed "another" project bike! (yea right!) I hate to see a good bike get parted out! I will let you know how it goes with the pick-up!

Wish me luck,

Earl

[Dano]

Yeah, well, you know if you need a new home for that radiator grill, the engine guard footrests, the side panels,,,,,,,,,,,, Oh yeah, the chrome brow up under the nose would be nice too!!!!!

 

 

I'm just sayin'.........

[painterman67]

with the area code that is on the phone number it cant be too far from me. Let me know when your going to be in town and Ill try to show up and help yopu with the loading or at least a dairy queen visit. And if its close enough for you to my house you are welcome to stay here also.

 

 

DAvid

[mlew]

If none of you pick it up . I'll go get it, I live just a couple of miles away. To bad I did not see it sooner.

[Freebird]

I think SkyDoc has bought it. Look up a few posts. He is supposed to pick it up this weekend.

[bluerstd08]

Im only a few minutes away, but cant afford a pproject so I just passed it on. I did PM the Muffin man, but hes out of town I think.

[OutKast]

Looks like I am a day late for Kitty AGAIN

[bongobobny]

Yah!! I think Earl did all right even if it does end up being parted out!! Great price for what it is!

 

He says it's a 1200 but the picture shows a MK2...

[Venturous Randy]

Have been having problems with the bike. It used to start right up. When cold, a full choke and tap the starter and it started up right away. I put new plugs and wires in last November after I bought it. I have redone the clutch. Put it the heavier spring plate mod from Earl that I bought from Dan. I've replaced the clutch slave. Lately it won't start if I go anywhere near the choke and it sounds like the starter clutch is about to give up the ghost any time. I have a used one to put in but right now I'm so discouraged that I just want to lock the shed and forget it's there. I love working on it, but it seems one fix uncovers another problem and I'm running out of money. I live in Florida and for the last ten years, all I could think about was getting another bike. I got one and I love it,but I'm at the end of the rope with this and I'm afraid to look any deeper cause I am so discouraged I am actually thinking of cutting my losses with it. If I can't fix it right I'm afraid it will die on me in some remote spot and I'll have to stick a rag in the gas tank and light it up! (Just kiddin') but I can't enjoy it if I have to work on it all the time. I'm not a bad mechnis, I have enough sense to stop when the cloud of doom is closing in on me. I think if I got a reasonable offer I might let it go. It would probably save my marriage! Every time I buy something, the atmosphere gets real heavy aroiund here. Ain't no fun that, my friends! Pics are in my profile.

Earl, are ya interested? I know it's a long way to Pa.

ARRRGH!

 

Would you take $400 for it like this one went for?

RandyA

[skydoc_17]

Well, I left at 3AM Friday morning and drove 550 miles to the South Eastern corner of North Caroline with my truck and a rental trailer to pick up the 92'VR that was listed in the Ad posted at the beginning of this thread. I had spoken with the owner a dozen times and asked EVERY question I could think to ask to try to confirm if the bike was worth making the trip for.

Well, to say that I was surprised when I got there was an understatement! The pics of the bike were more than a few years old, When the owner transported the bike from Virginia to North Carolina it had gone down HARD on the right side, every piece of plastic from the front to the rear was broken beyond repair! EVERY area of the upholstery had rotted long ago and the foam padding had turned to dust. All of the chrome pieces had a very bad layer of rust on them and the rear chrome aftermarket bumper as well as the red YAMAHA reflector were broken into multiple pieces. This bike had sat outside for a LONG time! (Years) Because of the false statements the seller made, I could not be sure that the motor would be usable, and the condition of the electrical wiring did not allow me to install the good battery I had brought to try to crank the bike. Not to mention the fuse box had melted in more than one place so I was suspect that the CMU and TCI might be fried as well!

To say that the seller "totally misrepresented the condition of the bike" is being kind!

I truly believe that by having me drive all the way from Pennsylvania with money in hand would force my to purchase the bike even though there wasn't a decent part on the bike worth having, not to mention, getting the bike running was almost out of the question! The seller attempted to "bully" me into buying the bike saying that he had passed up other offers to "save" the bike for me!

Well, as many of you know, I hate to get ripped off, so I told the seller that if he hadn't "lied" about the condition of the motorcycle, I would be loading it on the trailer at this moment. I have brought more than a few First Gens. back from the "dead", but there wasn't even a "pie hole" to breathe life back into, on this one.

For anyone that is interested in viewing this motorcycle, please feel free, my business is done with the seller.

It sure was a lonely, disappointing ride home! For all of the VR.ORG members that offered me lodging and food, I thank you ALL very much! After viewing this motorcycle, I was in such a bitter mood, that I would not have been very good company.

Because I took the time to view this motorcycle with my own eyes, I don't feel like the travel money was ill spent. The fact that I "walked away" from this attempted scam, reminds me that I have the choice to say "NO" and not get caught up in the excitement of the moment. The money I spent to remind me of this fact was money well spent. When shopping for a 20 plus year old used motorcycle, remember to use your head, not your heart. Thanks for letting me rant.

BUYER BEWARE!

Earl

[Guest HdHtr]

Sorry to hear that Earl.

[Yammer Dan]

I guess I'm glad I missed this one!!

[RandyR]

Earl,

 

Thats a shame. Its strange how some people think that they can hide behind a computer and scam other people. Its a good thing you were able to see the bike.

 

Has someone filed a scam report with the web list? answer. I see its deleted off the web page

Edited November 13, 2010 by RandyR
I see its been deleted.

[mlew]

Did you get any pics of the bike Earl? The pics in his add looked good . I'm curious how it looks now. I might consider it for parts if he will come down on the price.

[Freebird]

Same thing happened to me a few years ago. I saw a first gen on Ebay with a really good buy it now price. I corresponded a few times with the owner. The pictures looked fantastic and he absolutely swore that the bike looked just like it had rolled of the showroom floor. So, I did a buy it now. I'm glad I didn't pay immediately. I was going to get it within a couple of days so just got cash to take with me. As soon as I drove into the guys driveway, it was obvious that he had completely misrepresented the bike and that the pictures were very old...if even of the same bike.

 

I got out of the car and he had a huge smile on his face. He said something like ..."See...is it not perfect just like I told you". I wanted to explode but simply told him that the bike was a pile of crap and that there was no way I was going to take it. He didn't like that much but I suppose he could tell that coming back with any smart remarks or objections was NOT in his best interest.

 

I had just drove a good distance into New York pulling a trailer...probably spend $60.00 for gas and was not very happy about it.

 

The think is, he put it right back on Ebay...same false representation...and it sold for more than I had been going to pay for it. THEN....I saw later that they buyer left him great feedback. I guess when two fools meet....and all that stuff....

[friesman]

Sorry to hear that you had to go thru all that, Earl. I hope guys that try to scam others get theirs one day.

 

I am wondering if its possible to start a list somewhere of scam artists names somewhere so we could just have a quick look before we buy something off ebay, or CL.

 

I guess there would just be too many to keep a list like that up, and thats just too bad thngs are going that way.

 

Brian

Edited November 14, 2010 by friesman

[muffinman]

Sorry to hear that Earl guess I should have made the trip down to look at it for you.

Get in touch with Lagune yard sales and tell them about the meeting and the sellers additude they may keep him from posting anything else again I am not sure but its worth a try

Jeff

[Guest HdHtr]

Hey Jeff, you remember that old guy we met while we were waiting for Squid and Bobby to get their tat's. He said he had several VR's and a VR trike at a junk yard of his in the area there or something like that. Wonder if it was one of his relics?

[Evan]

Earl, your helpful as well as positive attitudes (even after this fiasco) continue to come through and impress me. Your experience reminds me of something a bit similar a few years ago. I went considerably out of my way to look at an 88VR based on the owner's posted pictures and responses to all my questions. It was junk. Soon after that, I debated about another long trip to look at another 88 after the owner said it was only in fair condition. I did make the trip and that bike was far better than described by the owner. That is the bike I currently own.

[skydoc_17]

Hey Evan,

Thank you for sharing your story with me, as well as Freebird! It is uplifting to know that when you take someone at their word, when the truth turns out to be a lie, it is not on you, but the person that fabricated the lie. I have had such positive interaction with the members of this site that I sometimes forget that other people are not as honest and forthright as the members here.

To Jeff, (Muffinman) I just wanted to say that there is no reason for you to feel bad, you are a very busy person and I didn't feel right putting this inspection off on you. If the bike would have been a block away, I might have considered it, but 4 hours each way is a bit more than I felt comfortable with. Not that you would not have done it, (you did offer) but it is not in my nature to burden someone else with things that I should do for myself.

I try to come "proper" when I deal with people, it's just the way I roll. I sometimes forget that not everyone carries themselves in that manner. This trip was an excellent "wake up call" for me and reminded me to expect the best from people, but be prepared for the worst.

If this helps the members of this site realize that you can't take things for granted, then it was time and money well spent.

Thanks for EVERYONE's help.

Earl

[Zane]

Hey Evan,

Thank you for sharing your story with me, as well as Freebird! It is uplifting to know that when you take someone at their word, when the truth turns out to be a lie, it is not on you, but the person that fabricated the lie. I have had such positive interaction with the members of this site that I sometimes forget that other people are not as honest and forthright as the members here.

To Jeff, (Muffinman) I just wanted to say that there is no reason for you to feel bad, you are a very busy person and I didn't feel right putting this inspection off on you. If the bike would have been a block away, I might have considered it, but 4 hours each way is a bit more than I felt comfortable with. Not that you would not have done it, (you did offer) but it is not in my nature to burden someone else with things that I should do for myself.

I try to come "proper" when I deal with people, it's just the way I roll. I sometimes forget that not everyone carries themselves in that manner. This trip was an excellent "wake up call" for me and reminded me to expect the best from people, but be prepared for the worst.

If this helps the members of this site realize that you can't take things for granted, then it was time and money well spent.

Thanks for EVERYONE's help.

Earl

 

Earl, here's a tip for you, When someone posts something like that for sale ask them to email you a current photo of the bike and a current headline from a newspaper showing the date included with the same picture. I know that if you are looking local it's no big deal and not a major inconvenience to have to look at a lemon, but when you drive the distance you did on this one you could save yourself some misery. If they don't want to do this, then you know there's something fishy!