Its late in the year so there arent many bikes for sale in central NY right now. After winter I thing I'm gonna pick up a 01-03 F4i. I was wondering how much I would probably pay for a good condition, low mileage bike(under 10,000 miles). I don't know much about bikes so I was wondering what kind of things I should look out for when buying a new bike? Are there any problems that I should check for? And I was also wondering if buying a bike off ebay is a bad thing? Where else should I look? If someone could give me some tips I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

 

You could start by going to the F4i forum. Just kidding. Be looking to spend around $4500 - $7000.

 

Buying a bike is like buying any other vehicle. Do your research (forums, magazines, 'net sites) and buy what you can afford/ride. If you want to buy mine, it's for sale.

 

dont buy off ebay--its too easy to scam you, or otherwise to sell you a problem bike. stick with a bike that you can put your hands on before you buy it. watch out for bikes that have been layed down or were in accidents. you can usually tell these bikes by the minor scratches on some areas of the bike (rear of the swingarm, shift lever, mirrors, levers, front forks, underside of the pegs. etc) most people who will repair wrecked bikes will miss somewhere on the bike that shows scratches because its either too expensive to fix or they just miss it. if the bike has been layed down expect to pay about 80% of what you would for the same bike that hasn't been layed down. STAY AWAY from salvage title bikes no matter how good the deal is. ask the dealer first off if the bike has EVER been layed down, dropped etc. THEN check for those tell tale signs, if he says no and you see those signs you know hes full of **** and you can only guess what ELSE he is hiding. also, when you buy the bike either from a private seller or a dealer, put into the sales contract that the sale is subject to a FULL inspection for any MAJOR mechanical defects or problems, say that the inspection must take place within 3 days or 50 miles of purchase, anybody selling a legit bike will have no problem signing that--explain to them that you are a new rider and dont know what to look for on a bike but your mechanic does so you want to get a chance for him to inspect it, if he finds a problem put in the contract that you are elligible for a full and unconditional refund. anyone that has something to hide will have a HUGE problem signing that.....that ALONE will tell you if the bike is good or not. good luck man and welcome to the forum

 

Good advice from hopkinslax12. And since you're not going to buy until spring you have plenty of time to look around and ask for even more advice.

Not so good advice in my opinion.

Not to jump you aj but if you're spending $7000 on a 5-7 year old F4i then I think you're spending way too much money. MSRP on a brand new ('06) is $8,499 (I got mine off the show room floor in '03 for $8,000 otd + a new helmet). And if you're thinking that $1000 worth of mods by the current owner is going to drive the price up that much then you're sorely mistaken. Mods, while worth every penny to owner, don't demand that much dough at resale. Sad but true.

Since you're a new rider I would recommend $4.0k as your limit (don't wanna spend 5-6k and dump it a week or two later). Also - finding one of these bikes with under 10,000 will be very difficult (especially one that old). GOOD LUCK HUNTING.

 

I got my '02 F4i with 3k miles for $4500.

 

always 1 in the bunch to contradict the preceeding post.

 

+1 on that. But what txmorgan forgot to mention was that there was no engine in the bike Just kiddin' bud... I had to retort!

But yes, there are always exceptions to the "rule"...

 

lol whatever guys, i would just recommend no matter what you do to shop around. I've always found that taking the time to hunt and get a great deal is worth much more than the satisfaction from an impulse buy.

 

if you consider buying the bike during winter season, there should be a significant price drop. alot of people choose not to ride in cold and dont like the idea of storing the bike over the season. if you buy after winter, the riding season is beginning and the demand for bikes will increase along with prices. at least that is how it is here in CA.

dont buy off eBay (fleabay, eGay, etc.)!! there are plenty of scams on eBay as well as Craigslist. trust your gut instinct and use common sense. shop around the understand the value and market in your area of the bikes you're interested in. always look over the bike in person and be prepared with m1 and cash if you want a test ride. dont be afraid to ask the owner questions and never assume. typically, if there are short up/down rashes it means the bike was just dropped at a standstill. if there are long deep rashes along the sides of the bike it means the owner crashed. just because there is a clean title doesnt mean it was never damaged. look for obvious signs like mirrors, bar ends, fairings, levers, rearsets, dented tanks, etc. the most important thing is that everything works and the frame is perfect and straight. common F4i issues are the CCT noise and 2nd gear popping out under hard acceleration. the 2nd gear problem is not that common IMO.

theres so much ground to cover but i dont want to sound like im repeating everything you've already read in the above posts. here is a guide that i used to help me buy my bike. good luck!
http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html