Looking for my first bike and i've found one in my budget. It's an 88 CBR 600, 32,000 miles, has a damaged faring, tires will need to be replaced by the end of summer, and the timing chain makes some noise. Seller states it runs and drives great and is asking $1100. My budget is around $1000, since it's my first bike I just want a beater I can drive around without worrying about damage. Question is, should I be put off that the bike makes noise from the chain? He said it should be ok until the end of summer...but, i'd probably want to address it before. I don't do my own work, how expensive is this job? What would a realistic offer be for a bike of this caliber?

 

How you doin' man?

The first thing I would try and figure out is if the fairing damage is really only fairing damage OR fairing damage plus a bunch of other 'little' things that REQUIRE replacement for operation. Signal lights? Mirrors? Brake/Clutch levers?

If the fairing damage is really only fairing damage and the bike can legally be ridden on the street then that's a start. Small things will add up though.

Tires: depending on what size and brand/model they are gonna be around 100 bucks each (+/- a few bucks) if you get them online. Install is gonna be around another 100 bucks (front cost me 40 bucks labor to get installed).

As for the timing chain, that's probably the tensioner that needs to be replaced. Relatively common for them to go bad. A replacement piece could be had for around 50 bucks. I just replaced mine with the 50 dollar piece and the job wasn't hard, but it was kind of annoying and time consuming since I didn't take anything off the bike to allow easier access to the area. Not hard, but if in doubt, have it replaced professionally.


I bought my 89 Cbr600 for 600 with 24,000 miles. Mine had 'fairing damage' which in reality meant: bent upper fairing stay ($50 on ebay), broken front brake master cylinder (I think $85 at local wrecker), broke mirrors ($20 on ebay), no rear turn signals (15 on ebay), broken windscreen (haven't bought, but priced around 50), not to mention the labor to remove and replace all the parts which for me was free because I did it all myself, but if you can't, it's gonna raise the cost significantly.

All the above was 'fairing damage.' This does not include timing chain tensioner (50), shot chain and sprockets(160), broken peg(removed and rewelded), messed up paperwork ($300!!!).

Look the bike over real good.

 

as stated above, it depends on the extent of the damage. look through the fairings for damage also on the headers, side cases, radiator/oil cooler. check if the subframe or forks are bent. if it needs more work than stated, it will be way over your budget. and thats still spreading out the items it does need when you get the money. i'd try and get it for under $900
got any pics?

 

all that has been stated is great so far. if it does look to be a truly easy fix to get it on the road then go for it. they are a nice solid little bike that has plenty of power to learn on, and you will learn some mech skills fixing it in the process. and get some pics of it posted if you can