To buy or not to buy.

[Stormin]

That is the question.
Went and looked at a 1981 xs1100 midnight special the other day. It is rough. Ad said one of the carbs was bad and they had an extra set they were going to rebuild. Also second gear doesn't work. Has 8000 miles on it.
not sure how long it has been outside,but it has been a while. Carburetors were disconnected so the intake manifolds,boots, we're open to the elements. I put it up in high gear and tried to turn the engine over by rotating the rear wheel and it wouldn't turn.
left front turn signal broken off, right rear facing wrong way and loose. Brakes don't work at all. The fuse box has been partially bypassed with spade fuses built into the wires. Tires bad. Front fender rusty.
Looks like the last time it was on road was 2004, by the inspection sticker. He tells me he thought his son was riding it about 4 years ago.
The odd thing is from what I can see inside the tank, it is clean.
They are asking $300 for it.
I have a 1981 xj650 that I picked up with 6000 miles on it and had to do all the maintenance items on it . Brake system rebuild, fuse box, etc.... that hadn't been done ,or needed to be done after sitting for 20 years.
So I'm on the fence, should I buy, not buy, and what to offer.

[Fearthepack]

Stormin, What scares you the most about the bike? and do you have the mechanical skills to over come IT if it turns out to be your worst fear....Also what is the bikes biggest asset? Price... if so take that off the table...Now what do you have left? 8000 miles seems low for second gear problems.... so was speedo cable disconnected for an additional 20,000 if not PO beat the crap out of it. I personally hate buying non running bikes a lot more unknowns. My 79 xs1100 was running and the price was $450 just for some perspective. Good luck in your direction of yes or no... If yes I guess we get to see your mechanical skills...

[3Phase]

Stormin', what's your time and budget look like? From your description of that poor Midnight you should try to be as honest with yourself as the seller is about the mileage on your prospective project.

You usually can't go wrong for $300 but you can buy scrap bikes by the pound or at least a lot less than hundreds of dollars and you can spend a lot of time and money trying to bring one back to life. If the engine won't even turn over and the price isn't reasonably negotiable then you should think about it a lot more: dig a little deeper and see if the engine really is stuck.

Bring a 6mm Allen and a large adjustable wrench, take the left-hand engine timing cover off and see if you can turn the engine clockwise by hand with the wrench on the timing plate.

.

[Stormin]

Biggest thing I guess would be if the engine was full of water and trashed inside. I know this would be a long term project.
I didn't look at the speedometer cable to see if it was hooked up or broke.
Biggest plus is the tank looks good, and so does the seat.

[Stormin]

http://images.craigslist.org/00Q0Q_6...u2_600x450.jpg

[kboehringer]

Buy it for parts..... Look for a good one. (My Opinion)

Stormin,

On May 16 I purchased my first XS1100 (the Ugly Duckling). I paid $300 for it but had to drive 200 miles to get it. It sounds like it was in similar condition to yours maybe a little better as after a quick carb clean it "Started" (that's not saying much!).

I now have very nearly $1000 total in the bike and although it is much better it's still needing a lot more money: tires, shims, exhaust, etc.

If I had to do it all over again.... I would have offered the guy $100 for the bike take-it-or-leave it. I would have stashed it away for the few valuable parts I could get from it (VERY FEW in my case) and should have waited/saved for a better one. That's my experience with a Cheap Bike.

Fyi..... There was a REALLY REALLY nice '80 Special offered in the Atlanta region recently for $2500. The guy might have moved a tiny bit on the price but that bike looked nearly perfect as was driven daily.... If I spend $2500 my bike will still not look as nice as that one.

Kurt

[Radioguylogs]

That picture doesn't look as bad what I imagined from your description.

The guys having experience with cheap bikes have some important points.

I bought mine for $450, and I didn't have to split the cases or even remove the head, but I have about $1500 invested, - not counting 'extra' parts- and it runs fine and looks respectable.....

My point is that I did get a huge amount of satisfaction bringing it back from a scrap bike to something I really love!

[jetmechmarty]

I have picked up nicer condition bikes for free. Then again, you could probably part that out for over $300, but that means work.

[Stormin]

Thanks for the replies. Will think some more on this.
I did email him tonight to see if he sold it yet.

[tcoop]

I picked up a Midnight special a few years ago that was in much worse condition than that one (no title either). It had been siting out in a field for a couple of years. It was given to me as a parts bike when I picked up my 78E. I first I was going to just use it as a parts bike.

Decided to try and get the title to sell the frame (got the title but never sold it). Fast forward to today and it is my daily rider. I don't know how much I spent to get it back to running condition but that was never my concern. That looks to be a mostly complete bike. If you want something that needs to be stripped down then built back up then buy it. These are great bikes! If you just want something that you can throw your leg over and ride, walk a way. For the cost of this + rebuild you can get a newer bike.

By the way this is what it looks like now.

Not perfect but it is running and it starts every time.

(If it was me I would have bought it already )

[Tenorman]

That's s tough one....

I purchased a 1980 XS1100LG a bit more than a year ago for $250 delivered.

I knew the history of the bike as it had belonged to my brother-in-law who purchased it new...and I heard it running...not very well, but it ran.

It had first and second gear troubles and the brakes had to be completely rebuilt with new master cylinder rebuilds along with caliper rebuilds with stainless steel pistons. Tires, brake pads, carb rebuilds and new and used transmission parts were all added to the mix.

Unless you have the time and the money for the parts, I'm of the opinion that in the long run, it would be cheaper to buy a running bike.

I saved all of the receipts for everything, but I'm afraid to add them up...I'm sure that I have more in it than what it would be worth on the open market.

After all of the work, my bike does look good and runs great....but, it's still a 35 year old bike with 35 year old bike handling...and some of the parts are getting difficult to find.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it...just to let you know what you will be getting into...

The Tenorman

[BowlingSS]

Offer him a $100 and use it as a parts bike IMO. The top end will cost you a few hundred+ just in parts.

Good luck.
Bill

[madmax-im]

you can buy it for parts but remember the parts are 35 yrs old and may or may not be useable...personally (since I'm a turnkey guy) I'd pass on this one...YMMV...but if you like a project then have at it....

[Tenorman]

Here's a photo of the 1980 Special and the BMW R1150R...

Lots of money and lots of fun!



Lots and lots of money and not nearly as fast!