When this magazine started seven years ago (yes, doesn’t time fly when you’re enjoying yourself) it was a relatively easy manoeuvre to buy a middleweight motorcycle, ride it into the ground for a year and flog it off without a loss or even make a small profit. Sure, you had to know what you were doing but there were so many used motorcycles on the market that all it really required was a bit of low cunning, a pocketful of dosh and enough cheek to make a silly offer. It wasn't even necessary to be an ace mechanic, all that was needed was a little care in the choice of the bike, so tough, reliable and durable had many Japanese cycles become. Even insurance, if you were over 25, was not so unreasonable as to make a course in arson a necessary retributory action on rip-off, predatory companies.
How things have changed! Year after year, sales of new motorcycles have declined, mostly as a result of ever increasing prices, poor design and general incompetence of the manufacturers and importers. The result is that the availability of used bikes has contracted just as more and more people want to buy them.
Only the horrors of the recession have managed to keep prices in check. Things have gotten so weird in the used market that it almost makes as much sense to buy a horrid Yamaha XZ550 as it does a tough Suzuki GS550. The latter has been so hyped by endless article after article (which basically repeat what you can read in the Used Guide in a few minutes) that it has assumed almost mythical proportions, whilst the XZ can still be picked up cheaply. Or it could until I wrote that and the mindless brats in the rest of media start to regurgitate its more than dubious statistics.
Insurance rates seem to go up every month. I, who in nearly twenty years have never made a claim (not quite the same as never crashed, unfortunately), have found that in a time of supposedly minimal inflation (what a joke!) that my insurance premium has tripled in cost and when I complain to the agent he merely reels off a bunch of statistics about the poor old company only taking in a third of the revenue that they are paying out, completely missing the point that most of the accidents are caused by blind car drivers and that the knock-for-knock resolution of claims is entirely unfair to motorcyclists.
The way things are going the only machines that are going to be affordable are either 100cc commuters that are so ugly, slow and just generally horrible that it'd be more fun hopping to work on a pogo-stick, or ancient British dross that’s so unreliable and unpredictable that walking would surely be quicker and safer (even given the endemic strain of violence that has taken over our cities to such an extent that it makes even Bangkok seem safe).
Prices are so out of sync with reality in this country that you can go on holiday practically anywhere in the world and buy a secondhand bike for a fraction of the cost here, ship it home, pay the extortionate customs taxes and fix it up for UK roads, still coming out ahead on the deal! The only problem with that scenario is that once out of the country, you probably won't want to ‘come back here again!
Insurance rates seem to go up every month. I, who in nearly twenty years have never made a claim (not quite the same as never crashed, unfortunately), have found that in a time of supposedly minimal inflation (what a joke!) that my insurance premium has tripled in cost and when I complain to the agent he merely reels off a bunch of statistics about the poor old company only taking in a third of the revenue that they are paying out, completely missing the point that most of the accidents are caused by blind car drivers and that the knock-for-knock resolution of claims is entirely unfair to motorcyclists.
The way things are going the only machines that are going to be affordable are either 100cc commuters that are so ugly, slow and just generally horrible that it'd be more fun hopping to work on a pogo-stick, or ancient British dross that’s so unreliable and unpredictable that walking would surely be quicker and safer (even given the endemic strain of violence that has taken over our cities to such an extent that it makes even Bangkok seem safe).
Prices are so out of sync with reality in this country that you can go on holiday practically anywhere in the world and buy a secondhand bike for a fraction of the cost here, ship it home, pay the extortionate customs taxes and fix it up for UK roads, still coming out ahead on the deal! The only problem with that scenario is that once out of the country, you probably won't want to ‘come back here again!
After that dose of negativity I suppose I should get positive by telling you how to survive the recession and get your rocks off on some splendidly exciting bolide on a pocketful of loose change and a handful of broken tools. However, with the extortionate insurance rates likely to cost a lot more than most hacks, it’s a rather depressing scenario to even write, let alone ride, about life on C90s and the like. Fuck that, I shall just have to assume that you have your own solutions to the insurance dilemma...
I have found that the best way to get a bargain is to advertise in the local paper. Once upon a happy time it was possible to actually specify some details of the machine required, but these days there's really no way that you can be so specific because there aren’t enough machines to go around. Something general, like “Motorcycle Wanted, anything considered,” and a time when they can phone you should do the trick. Even if you don’t have a phone, you can always loiter outside a public call-box for an hour or so every day. Most towns have free newspapers which will have very cheap or even free advertising. Cards in newsagents windows are OK but not so effective.
Buying from the pages of MCN is the rather more obvious course. The only problem with that is the couple of hundred thousand other motorcyclists who also read it, hunting just as fervently for a bargain. It’s sometimes possible to pick up MCN on Tuesday in London which gets you ahead of the game or the alternative is to wait a couple of weeks, going though the ads trying to find someone who has failed to sell their pride or joy and then making a silly offer.
There are other sources of used bikes in some of the motorcycle magazines, the local papers and in motorcycle accessory stores’ windows, but I have found these less effective than both MCN and running an ad for bikes wanted, the latter ensuring an exclusive line to the vendor. For those with a bit of nerve, whacking on people’s doors when you see a motorcycle apparently abandoned in their front garden is also a way of picking up a bargain. Often they will tell you to take the bloody thing away!
If you have to sell a bike, on the other hand, I’ve found that by far the most efficient and rapid way of off-loading machines is to put an advert in the local motorcycle accessory store’s window. I once spent months trying to sell a bike via the local papers and MCN to no avail but managed to sell it the day after I’d put the ad in the store’s window - and for more money. Once I’d cottoned on to that fact, I saved a fortune in advertising. For more expensive and exotic stuff, though, MCN is probably the best bet as it'll pull in interested parties from all over the country.
Before leaving the comfort of your living room or local phone-box, there’s a useful array of questions that can be fired at the vendor. If replying to an advert. never mention the name calling about the motorcycle dealers often have more than one bike for sale. Don’t even admit where you saw the motorcycle for sale, as this might give the game away.
Next in importance, is finding out how long his name has been in the logbook. Not how long he has owned the machine, as that’s a meaningless question unless backed up by seeing the date of acquisition in print. If his name is not in the logbook or has only been there for a couple of months, chances are that he’s into the same game as yourself, buying cheap, running into the ground and selling dear. Back street dealers don’t like to put their name in the logbook, either, more as a means of tax avoidance than anything else.
The ideal vendor is obviously a one owner who has. done minimal miles and never crashed, but these are as rare as honest motorcycle journalists! A bike with lots of owners over a short period is indicative of a machine with a chronic problem or such horrible and dangerous characteristics that no-one can stick riding it for more than a few miles. Still, with the ready availability of engines from breakers, even a well thrashed and abused machine has to be considered if the price is low enough.
It's worth asking if the bike has been crashed or dropped by the current owner, or even has any signs of such abuse from a past owner. It’s often the case that the present owner will deny any crashes blaming bent bits on a previous owner. Personally, I would not touch a bike that has a bent frame or repaired cast wheels. I know they can be straightened out, but the roads are dangerous enough without worrying about whether the frame is going to fail or the wheels explode! I suppose if the price was low enough, a visit to breakers yards could acquire some newish bits to replace such dubious items.
Enquiring if the engine’s been rebuilt is probably a waste of time but worth the effort just in case the owner has an honest moment. If it’s something like a CBX550, you can put a bit of incredulity into your voice and add some comment on the survival of its camchain and tensioner. The Used Guide covers most problems, but engines that have done high miles and been abused or neglected by countless owners are likely to suffer from all kinds of ailments. By all means, ask if the exhausts are smoking but don’t be surprised if they are when you arrive to look at the bike after being told they are as clean as a whistle.
These days, mileage is pretty meaningless. Low miles on old bikes can be just laughed off as a blatant falsehood or evidence that the engine is so unreliable that it spends more time in the garage than on the road. Either that or it’s been around the clock a couple of times. A ten year old bike should have 40000 to 100000 miles on its mileometer.
I have found that the best way to get a bargain is to advertise in the local paper. Once upon a happy time it was possible to actually specify some details of the machine required, but these days there's really no way that you can be so specific because there aren’t enough machines to go around. Something general, like “Motorcycle Wanted, anything considered,” and a time when they can phone you should do the trick. Even if you don’t have a phone, you can always loiter outside a public call-box for an hour or so every day. Most towns have free newspapers which will have very cheap or even free advertising. Cards in newsagents windows are OK but not so effective.
Buying from the pages of MCN is the rather more obvious course. The only problem with that is the couple of hundred thousand other motorcyclists who also read it, hunting just as fervently for a bargain. It’s sometimes possible to pick up MCN on Tuesday in London which gets you ahead of the game or the alternative is to wait a couple of weeks, going though the ads trying to find someone who has failed to sell their pride or joy and then making a silly offer.
There are other sources of used bikes in some of the motorcycle magazines, the local papers and in motorcycle accessory stores’ windows, but I have found these less effective than both MCN and running an ad for bikes wanted, the latter ensuring an exclusive line to the vendor. For those with a bit of nerve, whacking on people’s doors when you see a motorcycle apparently abandoned in their front garden is also a way of picking up a bargain. Often they will tell you to take the bloody thing away!
If you have to sell a bike, on the other hand, I’ve found that by far the most efficient and rapid way of off-loading machines is to put an advert in the local motorcycle accessory store’s window. I once spent months trying to sell a bike via the local papers and MCN to no avail but managed to sell it the day after I’d put the ad in the store’s window - and for more money. Once I’d cottoned on to that fact, I saved a fortune in advertising. For more expensive and exotic stuff, though, MCN is probably the best bet as it'll pull in interested parties from all over the country.
Before leaving the comfort of your living room or local phone-box, there’s a useful array of questions that can be fired at the vendor. If replying to an advert. never mention the name calling about the motorcycle dealers often have more than one bike for sale. Don’t even admit where you saw the motorcycle for sale, as this might give the game away.
Next in importance, is finding out how long his name has been in the logbook. Not how long he has owned the machine, as that’s a meaningless question unless backed up by seeing the date of acquisition in print. If his name is not in the logbook or has only been there for a couple of months, chances are that he’s into the same game as yourself, buying cheap, running into the ground and selling dear. Back street dealers don’t like to put their name in the logbook, either, more as a means of tax avoidance than anything else.
The ideal vendor is obviously a one owner who has. done minimal miles and never crashed, but these are as rare as honest motorcycle journalists! A bike with lots of owners over a short period is indicative of a machine with a chronic problem or such horrible and dangerous characteristics that no-one can stick riding it for more than a few miles. Still, with the ready availability of engines from breakers, even a well thrashed and abused machine has to be considered if the price is low enough.
It's worth asking if the bike has been crashed or dropped by the current owner, or even has any signs of such abuse from a past owner. It’s often the case that the present owner will deny any crashes blaming bent bits on a previous owner. Personally, I would not touch a bike that has a bent frame or repaired cast wheels. I know they can be straightened out, but the roads are dangerous enough without worrying about whether the frame is going to fail or the wheels explode! I suppose if the price was low enough, a visit to breakers yards could acquire some newish bits to replace such dubious items.
Enquiring if the engine’s been rebuilt is probably a waste of time but worth the effort just in case the owner has an honest moment. If it’s something like a CBX550, you can put a bit of incredulity into your voice and add some comment on the survival of its camchain and tensioner. The Used Guide covers most problems, but engines that have done high miles and been abused or neglected by countless owners are likely to suffer from all kinds of ailments. By all means, ask if the exhausts are smoking but don’t be surprised if they are when you arrive to look at the bike after being told they are as clean as a whistle.
These days, mileage is pretty meaningless. Low miles on old bikes can be just laughed off as a blatant falsehood or evidence that the engine is so unreliable that it spends more time in the garage than on the road. Either that or it’s been around the clock a couple of times. A ten year old bike should have 40000 to 100000 miles on its mileometer.
Some engines seem to thrive on high mileages, other are a pain in the arse - the Used Guide reveals most of what you need to know, but it should be borne in mind that there are always exceptions; apparently good bikes that die quickly and horrid things that should never have seen the light of day that go around the clock. Confused? Well, welcome to budget motorcycling in the early nineties.
Assuming that the vendor has shown encouraging signs of having something worth selling, the next thing to do is to decide if it’s worth travelling the distance to see it. Sometimes, it’s possible to get the vendor to ride the machine over to your house, which at least assures you that he has enough faith to actually ride the machine (some wags actually haul machines around in Transits, parking the van out of sight and riding the machine for only a few yards). However, beware, you have no way of checking if the address in the logbook corresponds to the address of the owner. Modern colour photocopying machines make it relatively easy to fake logbooks and you could be left with a stolen machine on your hands!
Given the shaky state of our justice system it’s even possible you might end up in prison despite your complete innocence! Obviously check engine and frame numbers against those in the logbook, but if in any doubt hit the local cop shop with the documents to ensure you‘re not being sold a rogue machine.
It's important not to be put off by scruffy cycle parts, worn consumables or dodgy electrics. They should be viewed positively as a means of knocking hundreds off the price! Focus first of all on the engine. Japanese engines do not like being stripped down by ignorant hands (rather like Japanese women, but we won't go into that here) and hurriedly reassembled with either old or, worse still, pattern parts. As reliable and tough as they generally are, they are by nature finicky beasts once their internals start to get close to being worn out. Replacing a set of piston rings, for instance, could lead to all sorts of horrors being brought into the light of day.
The trick is to buy a bike with an engine that has a bit of life left in it even if the rest of the thing is falling apart under you. Clutch, camchain and tensioner replacements are just about acceptable as they don’t necessarily mean a major engine strip. Avoid things like big bore kits, even in GS fours they are more trouble than they are worth. Anything with a turbocharger on it should have a match thrown into the petrol tank!
Slight oil leaks from head gaskets can usually be ignored, they are as endemic on old Japs as leaking crankcases are on old British twins. More worrying are leaking gearbox output shaft and clutch pushrod seals. Not because they are difficult to replace - they‘re not, they can usually be pulled out after ramming a screwdriver in them at an angle and replaced from the outside - but because badly leaking seals can drain an engine of its oil within as little as fifty miles. If there’s one thing Japanese engines won't take it is an empty sump!
It’s worth asking how often the oil is changed. On wet sump engines it should be done anywhere from 500 to 2500 miles depending on the age, model and quality of oil. It’s much more important that the engine has had frequent oil changes than regular maintenance. I have known engines that have done huge mileages with nothing more than 1000 mile oil changes and the very occasional filter swap. In these recessionary times it’s very unlikely that anyone has paid out unnecessary dosh for dealer servicing. The owner may claim to have done regular servicing, which is as good a time as any to ensure that you get the workshop manual thrown in (if there isn’t one you know he’s lying).
Hopefully, the engine will be cold, so the ease with which it starts can be seen. Many electric starters will be worn out after a few years abuse, which isn’t the end of the world if there’s a kickstart but rather troublesome if there isn’t. Often it’s only the bushes that need replacing (though not on Yamaha V-twins, beware!) which is relatively cheap (you can often cut up much cheaper car ones). Anything more than four kicks or thirty seconds on the starter has to be worrying; a reluctance to start being either a sign of low compression or poor ignition circuit. Reluctant starters may need nothing more than a battery charge or require the huge expense of a complete rebuild.
The most obvious evidence of frequent engine rebuilds is the state of the engine screws and bolts. If these looked shagged out or have been replaced by allen screws it’s pretty certain that some work has been done, however fervent are the denials of the owner. Both shot valves and pistons will show up as smoke out of the exhaust or engine breather. Often the first symptoms will show up in the latter so it’s always worth pulling the tube off the air filter (newer models weren’t allowed to breathe directly into air). The filter will also be covered in oil if there's a problem with the breather, which may explain poor running.
Given the shaky state of our justice system it’s even possible you might end up in prison despite your complete innocence! Obviously check engine and frame numbers against those in the logbook, but if in any doubt hit the local cop shop with the documents to ensure you‘re not being sold a rogue machine.
It's important not to be put off by scruffy cycle parts, worn consumables or dodgy electrics. They should be viewed positively as a means of knocking hundreds off the price! Focus first of all on the engine. Japanese engines do not like being stripped down by ignorant hands (rather like Japanese women, but we won't go into that here) and hurriedly reassembled with either old or, worse still, pattern parts. As reliable and tough as they generally are, they are by nature finicky beasts once their internals start to get close to being worn out. Replacing a set of piston rings, for instance, could lead to all sorts of horrors being brought into the light of day.
The trick is to buy a bike with an engine that has a bit of life left in it even if the rest of the thing is falling apart under you. Clutch, camchain and tensioner replacements are just about acceptable as they don’t necessarily mean a major engine strip. Avoid things like big bore kits, even in GS fours they are more trouble than they are worth. Anything with a turbocharger on it should have a match thrown into the petrol tank!
Slight oil leaks from head gaskets can usually be ignored, they are as endemic on old Japs as leaking crankcases are on old British twins. More worrying are leaking gearbox output shaft and clutch pushrod seals. Not because they are difficult to replace - they‘re not, they can usually be pulled out after ramming a screwdriver in them at an angle and replaced from the outside - but because badly leaking seals can drain an engine of its oil within as little as fifty miles. If there’s one thing Japanese engines won't take it is an empty sump!
It’s worth asking how often the oil is changed. On wet sump engines it should be done anywhere from 500 to 2500 miles depending on the age, model and quality of oil. It’s much more important that the engine has had frequent oil changes than regular maintenance. I have known engines that have done huge mileages with nothing more than 1000 mile oil changes and the very occasional filter swap. In these recessionary times it’s very unlikely that anyone has paid out unnecessary dosh for dealer servicing. The owner may claim to have done regular servicing, which is as good a time as any to ensure that you get the workshop manual thrown in (if there isn’t one you know he’s lying).
Hopefully, the engine will be cold, so the ease with which it starts can be seen. Many electric starters will be worn out after a few years abuse, which isn’t the end of the world if there’s a kickstart but rather troublesome if there isn’t. Often it’s only the bushes that need replacing (though not on Yamaha V-twins, beware!) which is relatively cheap (you can often cut up much cheaper car ones). Anything more than four kicks or thirty seconds on the starter has to be worrying; a reluctance to start being either a sign of low compression or poor ignition circuit. Reluctant starters may need nothing more than a battery charge or require the huge expense of a complete rebuild.
The most obvious evidence of frequent engine rebuilds is the state of the engine screws and bolts. If these looked shagged out or have been replaced by allen screws it’s pretty certain that some work has been done, however fervent are the denials of the owner. Both shot valves and pistons will show up as smoke out of the exhaust or engine breather. Often the first symptoms will show up in the latter so it’s always worth pulling the tube off the air filter (newer models weren’t allowed to breathe directly into air). The filter will also be covered in oil if there's a problem with the breather, which may explain poor running.
Engine rattles vary enormously - nothing much to worry about in an XS650 or H1 but more disturbing in a Black Bomber or GS550, although the latter, like many a straight four, suffers from clutch rattle at low revs due to out of balance carbs (the logic of that one I leave to more technical minds) which should disappear when revved. The old screwdriver to the crankcase trick reveals a surprising amount about the state of the main bearings. At the very least, it'll convince the vendor you know what you are doing.
I always like to start engines with the lights on as this puts a maximum amount of strain on the electrical system and insist that the test ride is carried out with the lights turned on as well! Even if you don’t know anything about, and cringe at the mere mention of, electrics it’s relatively easy to slip off the sidepanels and seat to check out whether the system has been mucked about with. Just look at the state of the wiring and the battery to gauge the possibilities. After the test ride it’s worth checking that the light is still powerful and that use of the indicators does not cause it to dim. Dim lights that don’t brighten when the engine is revved is a sure sign of electrical malaise.
Also check that the alternator is still connected up. Duff rectifiers feed the battery’s power back into the alternator and to ground when the power is switched off, the only way to save the battery being to disconnect it from the charging system overnight. Even if the electrical system is completely wrecked, a rewound alternator, car rectifier/regulator and a few lengths of wires come to less than fifty quid if you’re willing to get your hands dirty. You needn’t mention that to the vendor, finding the electrical system wasted is as good a way as any to get hundreds off the price. Just make sure you check it and don’t find out on the way home, as the machine grounds to a halt with a dead battery.
Most machines will be modified with a non-standard exhaust, the original having rusted to bits. Those that still have the silencers they came out of the factory with will probably have been welded and patched. I’ve seen silencers that had a crack running nearly all the way around and were bodged together with two jubilee clips and a cut up beer can. In such circumstances, a purposeful kick should reveal the extent of the damage. Aftermarket exhausts, such as Motads, are generally OK but unless they are the stainless steel models rust just as fast as the original stuff.
Even more common, are rusty down-pipes combined with whatever silencers were on offer at the breakers. Depending on the make and model, they are either OK or an horror story with completely wrecked carburation. Even worse are examples that just have cut off down-pipes with baffles bunged up their ends. Invariably, performance is badly affected and the noise horrendous enough to make you a sitting target for the plod. Not the end of the world and easy enough to rectify with a visit to the breakers - yet another bargaining point. But expect scarred knuckles, burnt fingers and broken bolts when putting on exhaust systems.
I always let the owner take me for a ride on the pillion first. The extra weight stresses the engine more and gives you a chance to view the exhaust on the overrun (smoke a sign of worn valves) as well as showing up any deficiencies in the suspension. Pillion pegs are usually less well insulated from engine vibration, any excesses in that direction being - more obvious. Any owner who canes an engine may be covering up poor carburation, especially on strokers which often have a reluctance to run at lower revs. Someone who uses the throttle in a most timid manner may be trying to avoid seizing the engine.
Back at the vendor’s house you should have a pretty clear idea of the state of the motorcycle. Any queasiness in the handling should be investigated by shaking the forks and swinging arm. Mono-shock style linkages are especially vulnerable to rapid wear, being open to road grit, usually lacking grease nipples and often being turned out of the factory with only the merest hint of grease on the spindles.
Suspension mods should be welcomed, there’s nothing wrong with aftermarket shocks, stiffer springs in the forks and fork braces. But longer shocks, often used to improve the meagre ground clearance on fours, or (give me a bucket to throw up into, quick) chopper-esque forks, should be changed within hours of acquisition of the machine. Most consumables can be picked up for next to nothing from breakers so their imminent demise is just another way of getting the price down. The important thing is to know the exact state of things. Perhaps the most common bodge is taking links out of the chain when the adjusters are still well within their limits and the chain has tight spots in it but is well lubricated. A sure sign that the owner is just as cunning as yourself!
The test ride itself will be, by its very nature, brief and not particularly fast. This is not the time to test the machine's ability to wheelie, nor to shred what is left of the rear tyre with wild wheelspins. That kind of madness will just get you a clout around the ear and a kick up the backside. All that’s needed here is to test that the gears work OK, that the engine pulls cleanly, that the brakes work after a fashion and that the bike tracks as true as can be expected given its age and mileage. Although the more obvious problems should be self evident it’s important to establish that the bike goes as well as its horsepower and weight would suggest. Some experienced riders can actually tell when the engine is in a parlous state, just on the edge of seizing up. This takes time and experience to acquire.
Some owners will refuse to let you test ride the machine under any circumstances. Some serious form of ID is the minimum that will be accepted as a deposit. If, despite everything, the vendor refuses to let you test ride the machine, even with him as pillion (not a bad idea for the aforementioned reasons), then it’s pretty certain there’s a serious fault somewhere on the machine. Either walk away or offer money that values the bike no higher than as a non-runner.
Over the phone you should have already have established that he’s open to offers. There's nothing more convincing than a large wad of used twenty pound notes and nothing worse than people who offer a vague promise as a deposit. By the time you're ready to talk money you should have a large list of faults ready to rattle off and the huge cost of getting the machine up to a roadworthy standard. In the unlikely event that the bike's really excellent, then more vague complaints like a lack of power or smoke out of the exhaust on the overrun will have to suffice.
If a bike’s on offer for say, £500, start with an ultra low offer of £150. You never know, he may be so overwhelmed with all the faults you've found that he'd accept the money right off. It’s more likely that a compromise will be reached around the £300 mark, though. If it’s a really nice bike that can be ridden for a year without spending out too much dosh you may even have to pay a lot nearer to the original price.
Walking off often changes a reluctant vendor's mind. The worst thing you can do is pay a high price for a bike that you think is going to cause you trouble. After a while, a sixth sense will tell you to walk away from a motorcycle that looks OK but over which you have some minor doubts.
Another way of easing the doubts is to buy a bike as a non-runner at a price that assumes the worst. It’s. still possible to pick up many dead late seventies and early eighties bikes for less than a hundred notes. For that kind of money even if the engine is comprehensively knackered it’s still easy enough to get the bike back on the road by buying a motor from a crashed machine, or better still the whole machine to use as a source of spares. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of mix and matching, fitting different engines to different frames, as long as it’s kept within reasonable limits. Just go for whatever is cheaply available at the time.
Crashed bikes are a whole different ballgame. Usually, breakers are the only source and they are pretty adept at covering up faults and making a large wedge on the deal. I've already mentioned the doubtful practices of straightening out frames and wheels — there are a lot of cowboys around who buy crashed machines, do a quick repair job and flog them off at a nice profit. You have to be prepared to change your address at a moment's notice if things go seriously wrong!
There are still bargains there for the taking but things are getting tougher with every passing year. Just think about it, for every running Jap over five years old, another two or three have been crashed, scrapped or blown up. For every bike in good condition that’s running well from the seventies there are anywhere between five and ten times as many that have been broken into bits, hurled off cliff tops in disgust or merely been stuck at the back of the garage to decay into a rusty heap. For every hundred Jap bikes made in the sixties you’d be very lucky to find one still left running on the road. A pretty dire business that won't perk up until the prices of new bikes are decreased (which would only take us down to the levels of prices in New Zealand and the States), compulsory insurance is abolished and more useful models are produced in Japan. Some hope!
Bill Fowler