Chaharly Posted March 8, 2015 #1 Posted March 8, 2015 Well we went to Ohio to pick up the 89 that I was so excited about. Spent $40+ in tolls one way to get out there. Was not really impressed with the toll roads at all, thats is just price gouging and not fair to travelers.... Oh well, I was excited about getting my 89 with only 23k miles. I'm the third owner and was told it had no broken plastic and no major scratches. I certainly didnt believe that it didnt have ANY broken plastic, because of the nature of the First Gens I had just assumed there would be some hairline cracks etc. I was under the impression that I was getting a good deal because we talked him down to 2400 bucks. So after driving 975 miles one way we got a place for the night right outside of Leavittsburg, the town I was getting the bike at. Got ahold of his buddy who was selling it for him the next morning and went out to take a look at it... Boy was I dissapointed... Did the first walkaround and noticed that the left side of the air dam (oil filter cover?) has a hole big enough in the left side that I can nearly fit my hand through. The fairing looked to be in excellent shape though. Walked around the left side and noticed about a foot long gouge in the darker cherry part of the left saddle bag. It is a pretty deep gouge, probably nearly a millimeter deep by a centimeter wide. They had Jerry Rigged a lawn mower battery in the trunk to the motorcycle battery and had just run wires to both batteries. They said that way itll start without them having to buy a new battery. When he opened the trunk to show me the battery I immediately noticed daylight coming through the lid where the passenger arm rest (?) meets the trunk lid and noticed a huge gouge going down the right bag vertically. Again probably about a millimeter deep and a centimeter wide, nearly a foot long. This gouge started from the lid of bag, down through the pin striping and into the darker paint of the bag. Continued my walk around until I found the side panel has a broken tab that holds it on by the fairing. No big deal, I've seen this happen before. I looked at the front tire and discovered it was the original tire on the bike. This guy rode for 7 years on a tire that was 20+ years old. We got it fired up, and although it was cold blooded it did seem to run fine once it got warmed up. No bad engine noise, no serious misfires. I hopped on and checked the clutch and the brakes and they all seemed to work ok. The gear position indicator worked on all gears, the horn worked, and the cruise control turned on right away. Being that Ohio was blanketed in a sheet of ice and snow, I couldnt get it out to go on a real test ride, not that I wanted to anyways because the bike was not sold as advertised. It has an oil leak coming from somewhere, which didnt bother me too much, a 27 year old bike is going to have some problems. Looked at the title and found that it was also an 88, not an 89... Another lie coming from Leavittsburg. We put it on the trailer and brought it out into the daylight and to my pleasure it did sparkle and it still did look pretty nice. I couldnt get ahold of the guy who was actually selling the bike, because he lives in Montana and it was 7am ohio time. So looking at it in the light i was debating on just leaving it and heading home, but I decided that since we've already spent 200 on fuel and 50 on tolls the cheapest thing would be to just buy the bike and put all the work I put into my 99 into this 88. I really dont want to work on this bike because the last time I put my heart into working on a bike I took it out and totalled it and broke 2 bones in my arm on the first extended test run. The air pump seems to work good, the front shock fills up fine, but I believe it needs fork seals and probably new front springs. It doesnt seem to want to fill rear shock, I dont know what I'm going to do about that. Also I noticed on the way home that they let the battery leak all over the engine and the paint is flaking off the right front head really bad.... I also noticed when I got it home that the front left turn signal cover seems to be pushed out, there is a big gap between the windshield and the chrome trim, and the right speaker doesnt work. So basically I drove 2000 miles to pay 2400 for a bike that is probably worth closer to 1800 dollars. It sort of leaves a bad taste in my mouth just thinking about it. So after the drive was finished I spent 3grand on an $1800 bike that needs alot more work than I was expecting and was clearly not sold as advertised. I need to get ahold of the guy to send me a spare key, but I feel like I might fly off the deep end and really give him a piece of my mind. I may not call him at all. Really thinking about changing my trip to Arizona this summer to a trip to montana, inviting him out for a cup of coffee, and giving him a nice swift size 14 boot up his A$$ just so I can really get my $3000... Just needed to vent guys!!! If you guys have any suggestions for any easy fixes please let me know! Thanks!!!
ragtop69gs Posted March 8, 2015 #2 Posted March 8, 2015 My first thought is, why didn't you have a closer member do a pre inspection BEFORE you made the drive . Now that you have it, I hope you can make it to your liking fairly cheap.
Goose68 Posted March 8, 2015 #3 Posted March 8, 2015 Man I am sorry you had such a bad experience. I have been on the end of them myself a few times. Hope once you get the plastic fixed it ends up being a solid bike for you, and if you need help in Montana give me a holler.
cowpuc Posted March 8, 2015 #4 Posted March 8, 2015 Wow Cha, I am truly sorry to hear about all this stuff! You do have a beautiful beginning to an outstanding bike there though, just take one item at a time and sort it out. With a little bit of elbow grease, I see many many great miles of fun sitting there just waiting to unfold!!
bongobobny Posted March 8, 2015 #5 Posted March 8, 2015 Yup! One issue at a time and before you know it you will be 100%! We have your back on service issues...
Brenner Posted March 8, 2015 #6 Posted March 8, 2015 Chaharly, The pics of the bike do not look that bad and again it is nearing 30 years. I understand your pain as when I made the deal on my 85 it looked really decent in the barn at night. When I went to pick it up I was less impressed but I am a man of my word and a deal was a deal. When I finally got the bike in my garage and started tearing it down to go over it is when I realized the attention my bike needed so it became project lemonade. When you get a lemon you make lemonade. Thanks for posting the condition as even for me I am still learning the value of these bikes and condition they are generally in. I have learned and viewed a few more local first gen that others are using as projects and after seeing what is out there at what price I am coming to realize my lemon was not such a lemon but rather just an old bike needing attention. Look at it positively, when you are forced to repair a part if an upgrade is an option you can build it the way YOU want. Once you have done that you know what you have. I prefer rebuilding a bike in advance rather than riding an old bike and it letting me know it needs attention during the riding season. Make it reliable, and trust your mechanical skills. If you bought it to make a buck you lost. If you bought it to make it yours than you are winning. I really do not know why so many people fuss over the paint and mileage of an old common bike as IMHO they are buying an odometer reading and a paint scheme of someone else's taste. Make it yours and enjoy it as these are not high dollar bikes or collectors edition. Look at Puc and Tweeks she surely stands out in a crowd and he likes it that way. If we meet and you see my 85 it too will stand out as it's paint scheme and modifications will not fit in with the stock first gens. YOU got it, YOU own it, make it YOURS and ENJOY it. I look forward to seeing your updates on your wrenching. Remember anyone can BUY a bike but not everyone can BUILD a bike or resurrect one. I have respect for anyone keeping the old wheels on the road.
vzuden Posted March 9, 2015 #7 Posted March 9, 2015 It looks pretty sharp in your pictures and cosmetic issues can be cleared on your schedule. Take your time and correct them gradually. did you really force the old girl to ride all the way home looking at that Hardley sticker on the tailgate of the truck??
BlueSky Posted March 9, 2015 #8 Posted March 9, 2015 I'm really sorry you are disappointed. But with the low miles, it should be good for lots of pleasure packed miles. I'm terrified I will drop mine and scratch it up. I should have bought one that had a few scratches on it to begin with.
Chaharly Posted March 9, 2015 Author #9 Posted March 9, 2015 My first thought is, why didn't you have a closer member do a pre inspection BEFORE you made the drive . Now that you have it, I hope you can make it to your liking fairly cheap. Stupidity on my part Dear Watson! I talked to the man several times on the phone for over the course of a few weeks and I'll be honest. I just blindly trusted the guy! Its a pretty good lesson to learn this early in my life though! Man I am sorry you had such a bad experience. I have been on the end of them myself a few times. Hope once you get the plastic fixed it ends up being a solid bike for you, and if you need help in Montana give me a holler. We tore into it today a bit and for the most part the plastic seems to be all there. I havent found anything broken plastic wise except for the tabs on the right side panels! And as far as that special trip to Montana goes, I think I'll just turn the other cheek while I'm riding the bike he wished it could've been!!!! Wow Cha, I am truly sorry to hear about all this stuff! You do have a beautiful beginning to an outstanding bike there though, just take one item at a time and sort it out. With a little bit of elbow grease, I see many many great miles of fun sitting there just waiting to unfold!! Well with seeing your what was it 5th venture with over 100K miles on it I know damn well these are reliable bikes. And youre right, once I got home and got a little sleep I fiddled with it some and I'm happier than I was when I got home. Yup! One issue at a time and before you know it you will be 100%! We have your back on service issues... that is definitely true my friend, you guys have saved me time, money, frustration, but mostly you are all so cool about everything. i get lost on this site for hours even though I'm usually just lurking soaking up the information!!!! Chaharly, The pics of the bike do not look that bad and again it is nearing 30 years. I understand your pain as when I made the deal on my 85 it looked really decent in the barn at night. When I went to pick it up I was less impressed but I am a man of my word and a deal was a deal. When I finally got the bike in my garage and started tearing it down to go over it is when I realized the attention my bike needed so it became project lemonade. When you get a lemon you make lemonade. Thanks for posting the condition as even for me I am still learning the value of these bikes and condition they are generally in. I have learned and viewed a few more local first gen that others are using as projects and after seeing what is out there at what price I am coming to realize my lemon was not such a lemon but rather just an old bike needing attention. Look at it positively, when you are forced to repair a part if an upgrade is an option you can build it the way YOU want. Once you have done that you know what you have. I prefer rebuilding a bike in advance rather than riding an old bike and it letting me know it needs attention during the riding season. Make it reliable, and trust your mechanical skills. If you bought it to make a buck you lost. If you bought it to make it yours than you are winning. I really do not know why so many people fuss over the paint and mileage of an old common bike as IMHO they are buying an odometer reading and a paint scheme of someone else's taste. Make it yours and enjoy it as these are not high dollar bikes or collectors edition. Look at Puc and Tweeks she surely stands out in a crowd and he likes it that way. If we meet and you see my 85 it too will stand out as it's paint scheme and modifications will not fit in with the stock first gens. YOU got it, YOU own it, make it YOURS and ENJOY it. I look forward to seeing your updates on your wrenching. Remember anyone can BUY a bike but not everyone can BUILD a bike or resurrect one. I have respect for anyone keeping the old wheels on the road. Brenner you're a man who really seems to know his stuff! Really, I know the challenges that this bike has for me arent anything I havent tackled before, and they arent anything that I cant fix. After taking a closer look at the plastics I'm pleasantly surprised with the condition of the lower fairings and really with the overall condition. The paint condition it in would be considered a 10ft paint job, which at 10 foot, heck even at 6 foot Its still a sharp bike. I suppose one of the things that frusturates me is that these are such a great bike that people could treat such a fine crafted product in ways that just destroy the beauty of these machines. What you said about comparing price to similar ventures for the condition sort of resonated with me. I've seen alot more of them in worse shape than mine. I found i can do most of the body work to it really simply and can definitely make it a 2 foot paint job! Like puc said earlier I was more than likely going to need to put some attention into the front shocks, and yamaha was certainly kind enough to make most of this stuff easy to do! About making it my bike you're right I bought it to make it mine, and all the little cosmetic problems just give it a little character! It looks pretty sharp in your pictures and cosmetic issues can be cleared on your schedule. Take your time and correct them gradually. did you really force the old girl to ride all the way home looking at that Hardley sticker on the tailgate of the truck?? I tried convincing dad to pull the enclosed trailer so I wouldnt have to torture my new venture with that sticker all the way home! I dont think he really appreciated the comment!!! But i'm going to tell him what ya said just for the kicks and giggles of it!!! And really being that I'm still in a brace and it has only been 4 weeks since surgery I wont be doing alot of riding anyways. Thatll give me plenty of time to take and make it a pretty kick a$$ bike!!! I'm really sorry you are disappointed. But with the low miles, it should be good for lots of pleasure packed miles. I'm terrified I will drop mine and scratch it up. I should have bought one that had a few scratches on it to begin with. Haha I didnt think of it that way! I figure with this color its going to be dirty about 10 miles out of the driveway anyways. I'll probably only wash it twice a year!!!! I'm just picky, and I'm jealous of every single person who got to ride out with a venture new. Some day I'll get myself a brand new bike, and then I can only blame myself for scratches it has on it. Really guys its not as bad as I was making it seem. I was just really hoping that he was a gold ol' boy who really took care of it and babied it. It seems these ventures never get the respect the goldwings have. Dads owned well over 15 goldwings, and thats with more than 10 being 1500s and I've NEVER seen super gouged out goldwing paint. Thanks for the inspiring words guys, like I said i started tearing into it tonight and my wrench head brain started spinning and honestly I was just happy with having something to do and something to care about again! You guys rock!!!! Thanks you!!!!!!
Hummingbird Posted March 9, 2015 #10 Posted March 9, 2015 Chaharly - when you were in Leavittsberg, you were only 50 miles North of me and a rack of ribs. Sorry we missed each other - regarding the bike - I've made several trips to buy bikes, seems the ones I want to buy are always 500 or more miles away. I always take my wife and if I find the seller did not represent correctly, me and my wife find a nice restaurant, have an overpriced meal and go home the next day (empty trailer and all). I've done it a couple times, we just consider it a night out.
Freebird Posted March 9, 2015 #11 Posted March 9, 2015 I have done the same thing. I bought an '86 I think it was off Ebay one time. Spoke to the owner a few times and was sure that he was an honest seller and the bike was as described. So I clicked buy it now on Ebay but told him I would pay in a day or two when I got there. Hooked the trailer up early one morning and drove from Oberlin, OH to somewhere NE of Buffalo, NY. I knew instantly when I pulled into his driveway and saw the bike sitting there that it was nowhere even close to how he described it. Total piece of junk. I got out of the truck and he came walking out of the house with a big grin on his face and said "so, what do you think". I said I think that you are either a liar or completely blind. Pointed out a dozen or so things that were terrible and made it clear that I wasn't pleased about spending a day and a couple tanks of gas for nothing. Got in my truck and drove home. You just never know until you get there. I have bought a few bikes off Ebay or Craigslist and etc. and most have been exactly as I expected. It happens though.
ragtop69gs Posted March 9, 2015 #12 Posted March 9, 2015 Stupidity on my part Dear Watson! I talked to the man several times on the phone for over the course of a few weeks and I'll be honest. I just blindly trusted the guy! Its a pretty good lesson to learn this early in my life though! I'm sure you've heard the saying,,, "Trust but Verify" Especially true with LD buys. That's the beauty of this site, it can raise your comfort level when making a long distance purchase when there is a member close by the prospect. I'm in Detroit and the trike we bought for my wife was in Atlanta, Ga. A VR member down there did a pre inspection for us before I made the 12 hour drive with lots of cash in hand. Happy to hear it's not as bad as your first report. Heal up yourself and the bike then get out and have lots of miles & smiles.
jonesy Posted March 9, 2015 #13 Posted March 9, 2015 I did a look see for a guy from Fl. on a bike here in Ma. that he wanted, saw nothing wrong with it, he bought it over the phone and had it shipped to him and was very happy with it. I was nervous that he was spending 10k on my word but he was very happy with it, saved him trouble from wasting a trip up here for nothing. Happens all the time on this site, riders helping riders, glad to be of help when I can.
Oldodge Posted March 9, 2015 #14 Posted March 9, 2015 I am glad you feel better after you slept on it. I hope you can put the purchase behind you and end up loving the bike anyway. I had a hankerin for a Honda GL500 Silverwing a couple years ago. I saw an ad for one about four hours away and called. We talked quite awhile and they assured me it was as described. When I got there he lived 2 miles down a dirt road. You can imagine what I found. The man and his wife were enthusiastic about bikes and had recently bought their dream bike, an old BMW R100. He had recently been diagnosed with a condition that would end not only his riding but quite possibly his life. As I ran through what he had told me on the phone, I realized everything he said was true, my interpretation of that description painted a different picture in my head, and the couple polaroids he had shown in his ad looked nicer than it was, pictures tend to do that. When I got there I was disappointed, even a little angry. After talking to him and his wife, and clearing my image while looking at the bike, I realized I had heard his description in my context, not his. I told him it wasn't what I wanted at that time because it would require a complete teardown and rebuild to be what I wanted, he replied "you came all this way with a trailer, can you do the work and make it what you want? If so, make me an offer, I won't be offended". We made the deal with one stipulation, he wanted some photos of the restoration and when it was completed. A real gearhead type guy like me. On the way home my wife asked if I really wanted another project, and I replied "I do now"! That turned out to be one of the most fondly remembered bikes, and best projects, I ever owned, I think due to the effort it took and the friendship it sparked. I sent pics to them via email throughout the process and also when it was done, I thought someday I will ride up and show it to him. About a year after I finished the bike I got word from his wife that he had passed. She sent a nice email saying that he had enjoyed reading my emails and seeing me do what he used to do with bikes, I didn't know his health had deteriorated so quickly. Had I decided at the time I got there that he had lied to me on the phone I would have never made an offer, but I truly believe I was just hearing what I wanted to. Long story, but sometimes the sweetest lemonade can come from the sourest lemons if you work with them enough.
rbig1 Posted March 9, 2015 #15 Posted March 9, 2015 you will just have to drive the miles out of it till your down to cheaper than renting it. Then your even. And got to enjoy your investment. I have my old bike down to 50cents a mile and I got all that enjoyment out of it. I don't know why I don't want to turn wrenches any more. but it is what it is. Enjoy make it yours. Looks good
Chaharly Posted March 9, 2015 Author #16 Posted March 9, 2015 Chaharly - when you were in Leavittsberg, you were only 50 miles North of me and a rack of ribs. Sorry we missed each other - regarding the bike - I've made several trips to buy bikes, seems the ones I want to buy are always 500 or more miles away. I always take my wife and if I find the seller did not represent correctly, me and my wife find a nice restaurant, have an overpriced meal and go home the next day (empty trailer and all). I've done it a couple times, we just consider it a night out. I was considering putting a post on seeing if anyone wanted to meet up in the area and grab lunch. But I went with dad and although I'm not working right now he only had a few days off. Ohh now you got me thinking BBQ too. All in all me and dad had a pretty good drive up. Probably saw about 300 or more deer in indiana!!!! Ill keep you guys posted on the progress!!!! Thanks all for the kind words and the stores that made me feel alot better! Glad to see I'm not alone!!!
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