I'm new to the forum and VERY new to motorcycles.I would appreciate any advice I could get.

I'm looking at buying a '99 f4 but it has 26,000 miles on. I don't see too many sport bikes with this many miles and would like opinions about this. What kind of problems/maintenance am I looking at down the road? The listed price was $3500, but over the phone he told me he would go as low as $3000. Most CBRs (not sure about regular f4s)in our area sell for $4500+ and this is the best price I've seen.

I haven't seen the bike in person yet, but the pictures look like it is in good shape. The owner said it was dumped once and it has some scuffs, but nothing you would notice unless you are standingwithin 10 feet. He said the owner before him popped the clutch doing a wheelie and dumped it.. so I'm a little worried that it may have beenridden hard.

 

26000 is not too high for these bikes. i've heard of f4's going into the 60,000 mile range.

i bought mine with 20k on it for 3300. it's hard to tell damage from those pictures, but judging from what you said about it, i would say definitely get down near $3000 and not much higher.

 

when I see a bike with relatively high miles...25k for a bike less than 10 years old tells me someone did some serious riding and if you really enjoy riding that much then something tells me you're gonna know how to take care of your bike. That bike looks pretty nice from those pics. Worst case scenario, something in the engine brakes and you have to shell out a few hundred for a replacement motor or repair the problem with new parts, either way it doesnt take much to get them back on the road...just make sure it doesn't have a cracked frame or something. There's a lot less to these bikes than youd think and people trash a lot of them so replacement parts are easily found. Go for it, 3k sounds like a pretty good deal. Looks nice too, I like the polished lip on the wheels.

 

If you have any friends that ride, take one of them with you to check it out. It looks good, and the price is right considering the miles it's got. If you can get it inspected or something before you buy it, then do that. Once it checks out, then I'd be on it like stink on ****.

If the guy that owned it had the know how, and patience to polish the rims like that, then odds are he took pretty good care of it.

 

he told you he dumped it by dropping the clutch and doing a wheelie? nuff said right there....abused bike don't buy. ill sell you my orange and black F4 with 23k for 2900. It runs perfect, no leaks, new chain, -1 front sprocket, d&d exhaust, the only thing (and this just started yesterday) is it needs a new relay...not too sure which one though. but its about a 20-40 dollar fix

 

Thanks for the fast replys guys! I'm definitely taking my brother with... who is pretty new to bikes as well, but still knows quite a bit. Him and I are hopefully going to check it out tonight if it's not still raining out.

emperor wurm, if you were in Iowa and not 1500+ miles away I might take you up on your deal. Thanks for your opinion, definitely a different perspective that had crossed my mind as well.

 

WHat do you guys think about the seat? My bro said he doesn't like the "banana seat" but I don't really know the difference.

 

the bannana seat is just old school. Most of the newer bikes have the solo seat...except the new f4i...god knows why......but it just basically just comes down to the styling you prefer. The banana seat makes the bike look less aggressive in my opinion. But if this is your first bike I wouldn't sweat small details like that. Just ride it get comfortable then by a RC51!

 

The banana seat is WAY more comfortable then the solo seat IMO. It doesn't look as good... sure, but it's a lot softer, and if you have a chick ridin on back she'll pry tell you its more comfy then a solo seat, if she's a ho, and ridden both. LOL j/k.

 

I live in MA where the prices on bikes are really high id say comparing with some other sides of the country and i sold my F4 with 7k miles with scratches on both sides, no cracks for $3300
so i dont know what to tell you,
but i can say that in fall-winter season they are way cheaper, dont worry still plenty bikes to choose from, just be patient and keep your eyes on ads
good luck