There is a guy around the corner from my house selling his 2003 F4i with 14k for $2100. He's laid it down on gravel, and says it runs fine, "there aren't any shakes, rattles, or any other noises." Opinions?! I can afford it now, but it's a little late in the season..

How bad is the lay-down damage?
Any pics?

14K is not too too bad, thats a little more that 2K a year.
I'd suggest you check it out in person and asses if the damage from the lay-down is minor or major.

Then talk him down.
I'm sure he'd sell for under 2K, and since it's near the end of your riding season, you can fix her up throughout all of winter and have her ready and prime for spring!

Haha Joey I like where your head is at. He put the SevenStars fairings on, so he already replaced the rashed up ones. Here is the ad:

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/1367134856.html

I'm going to see it on Wednesday so look at some other stuff. From what he said the slide wasn't too bad. He got up and rode it home. He said $2100 is the lowest he could go. What do you think??

Dang, that doesent look too bad at all.
I spied a few tank dings, but nothing too bad.
looks like a rather good find.

I think that $2,100 is not too bad either.
I'm sure that flashing $2k in pretty $100 dollar bills will convince him to let it go for 2K flat.

I know! It looks great. I need to get the tank painted anyways, so I can get the tank popped back out =) I just hope it stays at least a LITTLE warm so I can give her a few rides before I put her away.. wherever away is.. but anyways, should I jump on it? I don't have money to waste fixing alot of sh!t wrong with it, so I hope it's solid.

I'd jump on it, but I'd make sure that everything is A-Ok.

Give her a spin and have a buddy that knows motorbikes come along to give it a look-over.
No warped or bent frame or forks from the drop, tranny working properly, engine not making any weird noises.

Then I'd go for it!:icon_wink:

$2100 seems like a real good price but then again without seeing it in person and looking everything over and hearing the motor I can't tell you for sure. Remember you get what you pay for so don't surprised if you have to put some money into it. Like Joey said make sure everything is straight and motor sounds strong and if it all checks out I'd go for it.

I don't your your financial situation but also remember you will need to buy some gear and always wear it (I know from experience). You might also want to get some insurance quotes so you know what you can expect to spend.

Good luck. Hope it all works out cause you will love it.

Sounds like a good deal. If the guy really lives down the street, just ask him to be completely honest. If you find any problems that he didn't tell you about, you can always get a little pay back. But like R Dub said, you get what you pay for. That "accident" in the ad could be a little more detailed though.

sucks he cheaped out in the 50 dollar optional tank cover... good deal though.

Hmmmm. I can't ride it because I don't have my license yet. How can I tell if the frame is bent? I mean looking at it can only do so much, and I'll look for bent forks and such. But how can I tell for sure?

Both sides are the same, take the fairings off and inspect it. I have been down hard on a bike before, and f4i to be exact.... frame was fine

The only way to really know is to ride it. As its moving you will be able to tell if something is bent or our of alignment. Just by looking at it you probably can't tell. Do you have a friend or someone that can ride it?

Out- he said he slid it on gravel and tar. And had to ride it home and nothing seemed different.

R Dub- all of my friends ride dirtbikes, but none of them have they're street license.. =( any other way??

Id be more inclined to worry about things like the forks, swing arms and wheels.

If your new to buying bikes.
Sit on the bike and bounce the bike up and down then check the forks chrome area for oil left behind. If so it need for seals.

Check the chain play up and down Should be 3/4 an inch. Then check the chain wear indicator near the rear axle nut.

Check the engine covers for heavy scrapes or leaks, check the radiator stays for bends, check the upper fairing stay and rear of the headlamp for cracks.

Check the oil level, and find out what brand was used. Run the bike and slowly give it gas and listen for cam chain rattle and valve slap. See if the throttle sticks, check the exhaust for smoke blue in color is bad, white is very bad.

Really there is not another way. Riding it at speed is really the only way to know if the wheels are straight, forks are straight, brakes are okay, trans shifts good and motor is strong. I would ask him how after he changed the oil, if he changed the tires, if he did a coolant flush, if he change the CCTL, if its the OEM battery, what he did to winterize it. Pretty much just try to find out all the maintenance that has been done.

+1 for OutToWin. Check those things as well. The more you check the better off you are.

You could always ask him to give you a ride in the passenger lol. Kind of unethical but you don't seem to have many choices.

He and I have been talking via Email, and he said he is 100% confident that the bike is not bent anywhere. He said it'll need and oil change, but the front tire is pretty new. If there are a FEW little things wrong with it, I can fix them over winter. He's a pretty genuine guy to be honest, and he said if it was in that bad of condition he wouldn't be trying to sell it. I'll check all this out tomorrow and i'll take some pictures and maybe you guys can help me out after i post them. You guys are pros in my book.

If you know how to ride, just ride it. I rode for 3 months without my endorsement, or plates. Just don't do anything stupid to get yourself pulled over. But it sounds like a good deal, will it need brakes, chain and sprockets (replace them all at the same time)(not the brakes), spark plugs, CCT? Thats all routine maintenance ,along with the oil change it needs, will cost about 400 bucks for everything IF you do it yourself. Use that to negotiate, and slap him in the face with 18 crispy Bens (not literally).

Skooby, i've ridden dirtbikes, and i went around the block on dads bmw once, but i've never ridden an f4i before.. i'd rather not dump it before i buy it haha. and i'll try to keep my bens to myself. promise. although it's quite tempting. I'm going tomorrow to look at it. maybe he just wants it gone. his wife is pregnant, and he's refinishing his kitchen. if i buy it now, i can work on it all winter piece by piece. get it winterized, do oil then, and chain, CCT, and sprockets next, if needed. i've still have a few bens left in that bank after i buy so i won't be totally broke haha

That sounds like a good plan Junior.
If you don't feel comfortable riding the motorbike yet, have him turn it on for you at least, and inspect for strange noises as described in a few posts above.

Also ask that he does a few fly-by's in front of you, not too fast, but just so you can hear the engine, and maybe notice anything that might be off to you, try to have him shift through all 6 gears.
Audibly, you might hear something thats off or strange soundin.

Stick to your guns, so far, this sounds like a steal, good luck.:icon_teeth:

How bad is the lay-down damage?
Any pics?

14K is not too too bad, thats a little more that 2K a year.


I don't understand how the milage per year average has anything to do with total milage or value? It wouldn't matter if the guy did 14k in the first 6 months then stored it or 2k a year, he still has 14k on the bike.

If you look at the ad i posted on the first page, i just noticed.. the muffler is a burnt color.. could it really be running THAT rich that the muffler changed? or was that an option on the bike? anybody know?

I don't understand how the milage per year average has anything to do with total milage or value? It wouldn't matter if the guy did 14k in the first 6 months then stored it or 2k a year, he still has 14k on the bike.

It doesent,
simply talking in the "better off" sense, since all he knows is that the motorbike has 14K.
No history of how the miles were put on.
That was pretty much a best case scenerio rought estimate of how the miles could have been put on, had he been running it at an average throughout the years.

Like you say, he still has 14K on the bike regardless.
Trying to look at it in the "sunny side" here.

BTW Junior, I think that may be a BlueFlame aftermarket exhaust, or something similar, but I believe thats the way those slip-ons are made to look.

Oh okay, he just didn't say anything about an aftermarket pipe. and the header looked heatwrapped from the picture, so i thought maybe he was running crazy lean or something. scared me a little. I almost ran to the next city over to get farther away from the bike.