Buying Older Bikes

[Deno]

Say you want to buy an older bike (late '70's maybe early '80's), for riding, not for restoration. What are some things to watch and listen for to make sure the motor, tranny, carbs, etc. are in good shape and won't require major $$$ to repair? In other words, what would convince you not to run away from the deal as fast as you can?

I grew up riding 2-stroke street bikes and would like to get one again, just for the fun of it.

[DrBob]

When I buy an older bike I look for one that is being used as a daily driver. Sitting is very bad for a motorcycle- dry rotted tires, carb boots, and hoses; rustes and fragile cables and linkages; dried out engine seals and gaskets; gummed up carbs; critter in the intake and exhaust; rust...nothing good comes from having a motorcycle sit for a long period. After a long slumber, or even a period of only occational use, a sudden increase in usage often is fatal. I will take a high-mileage but well maintained daily driver over a lower miles bike that has been sitting any day.
I bought a 1979 Harley FLH from the origianal owner a few years back, and still use it as my daily commuter. between us we put somewhere between 200,000 and 250,000 miles on the thing, and the longest is has ever sat is probably 3 days. The bike runs very well, gives me no troubles, and I rode it to Texas and back last month and Florida and back this month without giving it a second thought. But I also bought a used 1993 Intruder with only 7000 miles on it, which had not been started in several years, and it took me months and several hundred $$$ to sort out all the bugs, fix everything that broke, and make it reliable. My first Intruder went 135,000 trouble-free miles of daily use, so I know it is not the design that made the bike a bear to get into shape, it was the sitting.

[Deno]

Problem I am having is finding one that is being used regularly. I've come across a few locally, but they have been setting in a corner of a garage or barn for a few years. An example is a former coworker has a Suzuki GT750 Water Buffalo, but he hasn't started or ridden it in ten years. I haven't gone to look at it yet, but if all it needs is a little carb. work and cleanup, that I can handle. If the engine or tranny have problems, then I don't want to mess with it. We haven't talked price yet, so that may be a whole other issue.

The best bike I ever had was a Yamaha RD400. I would love to get another one, but if they are in good running condition, the going price is in the $3000 to $4000 range, which is too much for me!

[Tab B.]

I like the way DrBob thinks. Other things to think about. Try looking at bikes that were really popular in their day. This might take a little research. What I'm getting at is, if the bike was reasonbly popular, you stand a better chance at finding parts, and there might still be some aftermarket support for it. DrBob is right on the money about a daily driver verses a sitter. If you can't find a good daily driver, at least getting a popular bike might be less painful to get going. Also, like this forum, there should be a bunch of people who might be able to give you advice, if you need it.