Want old Jap bike 600-900cc

I want to buy an old Jap road bike (say 1978 to 1995) with engine size
between about 600-900cc. I won't be using it all that often - mostly
getting out and about on a sunny weekend with very occasional touring - so
I don't want to spend a fortune.

What's more reliable than most? What would you buy and why?

 

In aus.motorcycles on 13 Aug 2009 23:49:49 GMT

If it's still around, it's reliable enough!

THe same things apply as with any machine
- chain vs shaft?
- how sporty do you want it? More sporting, more touring, cruisers
are nice?
- twin or four?

As you want an oldish bike, wander round a wreckers and see what's
common so you know you can get crash spares. Then ask dealers how
easy it is to get things like cables and brake pads for the bike.

As my answer to "what would you buy and why" is "A Guzzi of course!" I
can't help beyond that.

Zebee
- who figures a MkV Le Mans would be a good buy giving you a nice mix
of play and tour, with parts easily available, it's easy to work
on, and they are very reliable indeed.

 

Thats simple.
1995 VFR750

 

Ping BTh. Here's a man who needs a GPz.

 

RF900/RF600 because, being Suzukis, they're ugly and unpopular and
therefore cheap, but as reliable as any other Jap bike.

Nev..
'08 DL1000K8

 

To those two I'd also add the Suzuki GSX750F (the previous shape) for
the same reasons as above.

In addition I'd suggest the Yamaha Diversion 900 which has shaft drive
(and optional factory panniers) if you're looking for a tourer.


G-S

 

I have a black 2001 Yamaha FZ1 with < 30,000 k on the clock - needs chain /
sprockets / battery and won't start due to being idle for a long time
(unregistered and probable starter circuit fault). I'll sell that for a
comparable price to what you are looking for (has a gearsack tank bag,
touring screen, throwover panniers, rack). It's in Darwin - I'd be prepared
to get it into 'ride away condition' but of course that will factor into the
selling prince.

P

 

this is too broad of a question.....
too many years/vintages of bikes to pick from, no price range.

I'd say if you like the retro naked style of bikes then stick to the
70's. in the 80's bikes were mostly ugly, all cast iron and nasty
nasty nasty but didnt yet have decent brakes or suspension, or modern
engine technology. If i were going for an older style bike then I'd
probably drop down to the sub 600cc class and go for maybe a cx550 or
a virago 535. I have seen some very nice looking cafe style examples
of both these bikes that have been done up nicely and can be had for
around $5k. If you want something a bit bigger.... Maybe a CB750?
bigger bikes from this period were mostly pigs.... plenty of grunt
but not all that nice to ride. You can throw a lot of money at them
to make them work.... but why? Stay away from all the gimmick bikes
of the 80's with their silly suspensions/anti dive brakes etc that
never worked, and any bike with a turbo. Katanas have some fans
(especially the popup headlight ones) but these are getting rare and
pricey. Maybe an SR if you can find a nice one. I find most bikes
from the 70's are getting pricey now, but probably for good
reason.... most bikes from the 80's are getting pricey but without
merit. People buying them are mostly looking to relive their misspent
youth. Or have a go at misspending it if they did everything 'right'
the first time around ;-)

in the 80's I cant think of any bikes at all that i like much. The
Viragos are not bad bikes especially for shorter people, and easy to
ride. I had an XV1100 for a couple of years that i put a lot of miles
on. The engines are very reliable, almost unchanged throught their
nearly 20 year production and some reach half a million km's. shaft
drive is very low maintenance. a great little plodder, i rode one all
through asia.

In the early 90's there are a lot to choose from.... but this is a
different era of bikes again. mostly good bikes with modern
suspension, brakes and handling that can be had for not a lot of
money. For well under $5k you could go with a CBR1000F (very
comfortable sports tourer, I've owned a couple of these), or the RF
that somebody mentioned is very good value for money (also owned this
one, the 600 and very nice in red). These are all faired bikes
though. The early CBR600 was an excellent light all purpose bike that
did pretty much everything, but hard to find a good example now. I
quite like the early 90's YZF750's (havent owned one yet) but they are
also getting pretty rare. A lot of early 90's bikes were really nice
looking, much better than more recent bikes in my opinion; I'd take a
92 CBR900 over this years model any day of the week, ditto for the
VFR750.

Shaun