www.zxrworld.co.uk

I am going to look at a ZXR400 on Saturday.
It's a 1993 on an L plate, with 15k miles on the clock.

The HPI check came up clean, although 8 owners and for some reason says it's a 1998???

Listen for strange engine noise top end valve clearance noise, cam chain rattle.........easy fixed IMHO but nice if you can buy without having fix

A rattle in the clutch that goes away when you pull the lever in is normal

Crash damage...................and perhaps check and try and figure out if it's been raced

Make sure brakes are working good and not spongy on the lever

It should start easy if it's been in regular use................stored for a while and it might not start so easy

Look for signs of water in the oil...............again easy fix but potential hassle

I'm sure others will add to this

Good luck

Go with a mate.

Get him to pull the bike onto the back wheel and side stand to lift the front wheel.
Give the wheel a spin, and a shake to check the bearings annd brake discs. warped discs are ballache.
Then lift the back wheel and do the same.
Turn the bars, check for knotches in the headstock bearings.
Bounce the front end, check for leaky seals. Inspect the fork seal dust covers incase there is tissue/rags stuffed in there to hide leaky seals.
Ask the bloke to not start the bike for atleast a couple of hours before you get there, check for cold start probs.
Feel the engine casing, if its warm he has warmed it up before you get there.
Leave the engine running for a good 20mins while chatting some bullshit chat.
Try a hot/warm start - check for hot/warm start probs.
Test ride if possible, check all the gears, check for flatspots and mis/non-firing cylinders.
check the brake discs for

im a twat when im buying a bike

CaNsA wrote:Go with a mate.

Get him to pull the bike onto the back wheel and side stand to lift the front wheel.
Give the wheel a spin, and a shake to check the bearings annd brake discs. warped discs are ballache.
Then lift the back wheel and do the same.
Turn the bars, check for knotches in the headstock bearings.
Bounce the front end, check for leaky seals. Inspect the fork seal dust covers incase there is tissue/rags stuffed in there to hide leaky seals.
Ask the bloke to not start the bike for atleast a couple of hours before you get there, check for cold start probs.
Feel the engine casing, if its warm he has warmed it up before you get there.
Leave the engine running for a good 20mins while chatting some bullshit chat.
Try a hot/warm start - check for hot/warm start probs.
Test ride if possible, check all the gears, check for flatspots and mis/non-firing cylinders.
check the brake discs for

im a twat when im buying a bike

Obviously, it isn't my first bike so for the most part I can just take a look and check for the general problems that I see occurring on my bike, and those that belong to my friends.
But, any specific advice is especially useful, especially when considering I haven't looked at, ridden, or even know a huge amount about the 'older' bikes such as those with carbs.

If things go to plan, there will be about three or four of us going to look at the bike, all turning up on bikes ourselves. That should be enough to make the poor owner feel a tad uneasy!

He claims that the previous owners were friends of his who weren't using it. Apparently bought for a girlfriend (you know the story).
So he bought it, cleaned the carbs, and did some minor work to it, and used it over the winter.
It's a second bike to him, and now that it is approaching summer, he is selling it.

I will ensure that the bike is COLD when I arrive, so that I can see it start from cold.

It is claimed to be on 15k miles, how much can I trust that?
I don't know much about mechanical ODO gauges, but from what I can see in the other threads here, it can easily enough be removed, and perhaps tampered with?
It is also supposed to have a partial service history, but he sounds like the kind of guy who has been doing his own servicing and carrying out his own work on it...
I am slightly suspicious of the price if I am totally honest... only 1200 for a 15k miles bike which said to be in good condition, other than the bodywork which is as you can expect on an 18 year old bike.
1993, on an L plate. And it has a carbon Micron + wavy disks.

Obviously, he could just be after a quick and easy sale, as he only has it as a second bike...
*
How do I know if it is an import (or a grey import I should say rather?). **I could just use the search box, as this has probably been answered elsewhere. **

And finally, what are the signs that it has been raced?

I've personally just bought a 1993 ZXR 400 import. I paid £1200 for it. 15,000miles. Good condition, needs a few little cosmetic touches, which I've already started, and it needs new fork seals. That's it. So the price is about right. The fact it's an import puts some people off due to insurance, but my quote was actually the cheapest I've had on all the bikes I've looked at. (VFR 400, RVF 400 etc..)
The fact it was registered in 1998 is normal for an import, as that's the year it was imported. Mine's the same. Imported in 1998.
Run a hpi check. Only about £2 from your phone for the basic info. Tells you everything you need to know.