Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Original

What's it worth? 2004 kx500 with some pics...

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sandblaster:
To be honest, it is very hard for anyone to determine the value of your bike.
I live down in Oregon.
Condition and location is everything...
Putting a new top end together is a good start but that does not give you a full rebuild... That is considered normal maintenance.
A solid full rebuild is going to run you 2000 and up.
Sure, the bike is a 2004 but all that means is it is 13 years old.
There could be a lot of life left depending on how it was maintained and how much it was ridden, or it could be a grenade.
To me, it depends on how much you trust your boss and how much he really knows about his bike and how it was rode..
Snow track usually means a lot of high winding riding.
A paddle tire generally means the same thing.
If the bike really is in good shape then yes, it's worth 2400 on the west coast.
If you do buy it, I would recommend that you disassemble the swing arm, shock linkage, wheels, and steering parts to clean, grease, or replace all the bearings.
I would also pop the pistons out of the brakes, clean the seals, polish the pistons, and bleed the brakes.
These are items that I see commonly ignored even by seasoned bike riders.
One thing for sure, you'll either love your boss or hate him  :lol:

1980mcneil:
The other bike I'm looking at is a used 2007 crfx from a dealer.  I would guess all of those rules still apply to that bike as well?  Dealer says they "inspect" it but all that has to mean is they made sure it runs and change the fluids right?  It could look great and had the piss ran out of it every weekend?
Or do reputable big dealerships usually really go through the bike and inspect the bottom end and all that?  It could be that the dealership bike looks good but the owner never changed oil and maintained it as well?

sandblaster:
It varies from dealer to dealer.
Before you buy from anyone, ask them to remove the seat so you can look into the air box.
If the whole thing is a mess... pass...
If the air cleaner is new or clean but the air box is a mess... pass
If the air box is clean as a whistle you still don't know how the bike was rode but at least the seller took the time to do a good job.
Look closely at the drain plug... Is it leaking?
Inspect the engine cases carefully and look for repairs or worse... JB Weld... It's easy to hide repairs under the cases.
Inspect the cables by pulling the levers and look to see the exposed cable...
Look at the inspection window (If it has one) and see if it is dirty or clean around the outside edges.
Look at the bike from behind and see if the rear fender and seat sit straight on the bike.
Put the bike on a stand and spin the wheels... Are they straight or wobbly?
While it is on a stand, turn the forks left to right, is the movement smooth?
If the brake master cylinders have windows, is the fluid clean and clear or yellowed?
Is the chain or sprockets worn or rusty?
Look in the tank with a flashlight, is it clean or dirty?
Look closely at how much paint is worn from the engine cases, frame, pegs, ect.
Actuate the rear brake lever to see if it is wobbly.
Actuate the pegs to see if they are loose or wobbly.
That will at least give you an idea of the relative hours.
How does the bike start, easy or hard?
Is there any paperwork on past repairs?
Try to meet where you can ride it to see how well it runs, shifts, stops, ect.
Never be afraid to make an offer...
There is a ton of other things to look for but that is a brief excerpt of what I look at before I buy.

Danger4u2:

--- Quote from: sandblaster on March 30, 2017, 03:03:38 AM ---Look closely at how much paint is worn from the engine cases, frame, pegs, ect.

--- End quote ---

Sandblaster you nailed all the important check points. That's a very thorough list!
Your point about paint at the foot peg.  Most the bikes I've bought were from
Craigslist. If the paint was worn really bad, frame, cases...It was a good sign
that they were a hard rider and I would pass on that bike.  I was up to 17 bikes
in the stable, if you count the minibike.  I learned fast you can only ride one at a time.
It's hard to keep up the maintenance on that many bikes, even if you don't ride them all.
Now I'm down to a manageable 7, counting the minibike.

1980 McNeil keep us posted.

1980mcneil:
Thanks a lot guys. That's great information. I guess I really can't take somebody's word for and have to go through all those inspections. It's kind of weird when it's your boss but it's almost like you're supposed to just take his word for it and shouldn't go over the bike with a fine-tooth comb. But I'm definitely going to and from what I've seen I'm going to low ball him a little. I appreciate the information pass.

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