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How stupid is it to pick up zxr400 without checking?
Posted: Mon May 16, 2016 10:24 pm
by johnnynapalmsc
I was looking to get myself a zxr400 but all the examples that I find are no where near Bournemouth (Dorset) I was wondering how stupid would it be to get it delivered from private seller without checking?
Re: How stupid is it to pick up zxr400 without checking?
Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 9:15 am
by banner001
if its close to a member on here they might be able to go and check it out for you, obviously the more mileage it has the more chance of things hidden being a bit crap, the older it is the harder it generally is to obtain parts for.
its an easy bike to work on, however if you are expecting to put the key in, fire it up and ride into the sunset worry free then you are sadly mistaken.
with the best will in the world you are looking at a 15+ year old carbed high-revving bike that wasnt fantastic from new, they need a lot of looking after and maintencnce to keep them in tip top shape, ask for all reciepts of work done, service history, all past MOT certificates etc, the general stuff, ask for pictures of the fork stancions, brake calipers, rear shock as a general indication of how fastidious the owner has been with their cleaning, but other than looking over it its hard to say with no pictures to go on, if its a decent price (under £600) you can probably make your money back by stripping it or selling it back on, if its up to a grand its up to you, over a grand i would want to see it.
Re: How stupid is it to pick up zxr400 without checking?
Posted: Tue May 24, 2016 10:45 am
by fstarocka
mate - ive done this with the last 5 purchases (1 car and 4 bikes). havent been burned yet - heck i even bought a boat as well as 2 bikes from half way across the world-
major score each time.. if the seller is communicative it helps alot - done it plenty times.. of course it can be a gamble - but u have to collect anyway -
the again ppl in my country are usually very honest so not hard to trust folks - and yes im in AFRICA (south to be exact)!
Bought these from far away -
Husqvarna TE570 for $200 (needs timing set - otherwise gr8 nick)
XR500 for $250 (needs rebore and frame related bits n pieces)
90 z400R h-2 - $300, needed rings, battery, head bolts and gas!
77 camaro 350 chevy (worth 4 times what I paid for it now after fitting vortec roller motor, trans, dual exhausts, etc)
4.2m rib with ski bar, ctr console and 60hp on a trailer incl equipment - for $700! :p
A good deal is worth the risk imo -
Re: How stupid is it to pick up zxr400 without checking?
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 5:50 pm
by johnnynapalmsc
banner001 wrote:if its close to a member on here they might be able to go and check it out for you, obviously the more mileage it has the more chance of things hidden being a bit crap, the older it is the harder it generally is to obtain parts for.
its an easy bike to work on, however if you are expecting to put the key in, fire it up and ride into the sunset worry free then you are sadly mistaken.
with the best will in the world you are looking at a 15+ year old carbed high-revving bike that wasnt fantastic from new, they need a lot of looking after and maintencnce to keep them in tip top shape, ask for all reciepts of work done, service history, all past MOT certificates etc, the general stuff, ask for pictures of the fork stancions, brake calipers, rear shock as a general indication of how fastidious the owner has been with their cleaning, but other than looking over it its hard to say with no pictures to go on, if its a decent price (under £600) you can probably make your money back by stripping it or selling it back on, if its up to a grand its up to you, over a grand i would want to see it.
Is it really to find this bike for 600 quid? The cheapest ones I've seen go for like 1.2k... Any idea what I should be checking when I am inspecting one? And also what sort of yearly maintenance costs am I looking at if I don't have a garage and will probably take a bike to a local mechanic
How does this bike sound in comparison to inline 4 600cc bikes?
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 6:04 pm
by johnnynapalmsc
Does it sound worse, or does it sound pretty much the same? I am looking to swap out my ninja 300 for the zxr400, just because I am sick of my boring ass parrelel twin sound, but I want to make sure this one sounds something along the lines of ninja 636, cbr600rr etc etc. And no I have no chance to see for myself, because the closest bike at the moment is located 100 miles from bournemouth
Re: How does this bike sound in comparison to inline 4 600cc bikes?
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 10:28 pm
by CaNsA
Tell me what you want to hear and I will say it for you.
Re: How stupid is it to pick up zxr400 without checking?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 9:20 am
by banner001
usua things are damage to fairings, non standard bar end weights/mirrors/levers/indicators/footpegs, check the suspension front and rear as well as the brakes, bring a torch and either have them remove the fairings on the front, or get a torch in there and check the downpipes, the radiator, oil cooler, general external condition of the engine, get underneath and look at the downpipes (good place to find rust).
maintenance costs depend on its current mileage and how much mileage you expect to do, but if you are going for new oil, filters, coolant look at £100 from a garage each year, pads will run you £50 a year, chain and sprocket about £50 a year, tyres about £200 a year, valve clearances £100 a year...but thats before things go wrong/wear out...and they will...it aint a modern bike, things will wear down, and at a faster rate than modern bikes...so be warned
however for flickability, general fun, decent speed and acceleration, you cant go much better than a sorted 400, just remember that its all 15-30 year old technology, especially the suspension.
Re: How stupid is it to pick up zxr400 without checking?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 9:21 am
by banner001
i bought mine for £1200, but ive also bought a track day one for £250 from a guy 5 miles away from me.
Re: How stupid is it to pick up zxr400 without checking?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 10:10 am
by johnnynapalmsc
Great response thanks a lot, although you don't really need to have your valves and wheels done every year do you? Also I would only own this bike for a year and then swap it out for CBR600rr, this is for my A2 year
Re: How stupid is it to pick up zxr400 without checking?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 11:45 am
by CaNsA
johnnynapalmsc wrote:although you don't really need to have your valves and wheels done every year do you?
Like every single bike ever made, ever, it depends on how many miles it does.
Re: How does this bike sound in comparison to inline 4 600cc bikes?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 12:47 pm
by johnnynapalmsc
How does this bike sound in comparison to inline 4 600cc bikes?
Re: How does this bike sound in comparison to inline 4 600cc bikes?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 1:19 pm
by Dominik
There are many reasons for the 400. If you´re only after some sound the bike would be wasted and I´d recommend some headphones for helmets with an inline four soundbox.
Re: How does this bike sound in comparison to inline 4 600cc bikes?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 1:49 pm
by johnnynapalmsc
Haha that's fair enough
Re: How stupid is it to pick up zxr400 without checking?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 1:51 pm
by banner001
johnnynapalmsc wrote:Great response thanks a lot, although you don't really need to have your valves and wheels done every year do you? Also I would only own this bike for a year and then swap it out for CBR600rr, this is for my A2 year
i was doing 15,000 miles a year on mine at one point, so it was 4 changes of tyres and 2 valve clearance checks a year...
Re: How does this bike sound in comparison to inline 4 600cc bikes?
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2016 8:14 pm
by guitarcarrot
At track days, the noise test Marshall asks if mines a 600, I agree and it passes the test, tell him it's a 400 and it fails. Seems there's a shitload of high frequency resonance at 7k rpm where as it's fine at 6k. (Never been black flagged for noise either) If you can tell the difference then you're a better man than me.
Also, you ever heard of YouTube haha?