ZXR400 at a Preston dealer - VFM?

[paul.in.kendal]

Hi guys (and girls)

I'm returning to biking after 20 years off, and I'm looking for a bike for the 7 mile commuting blast from Kendal to Bowness, plus some fun on the acclaimed Kendal/Shap road at the weekend!

A dealer in Preston has offered to let me spend a morning riding a selection of their machines to see what I fancy, and one of them's a ZXR400! I've ridden allsorts in the past, but nothing with the extreme riding position of the ZXR, and as a slim 5'10" 50-something, I'm not buying one until I've ridden one, and confirmed that I can actually fit on it!

Anyhow, I'd appreciate opinions on the bike in question - see http://tinyurl.com/cdmq4e5

Any thoughts on the condition/price/VFM would be greatly appreciated. And if anyone has firsthand experience of Apex in Preston, that'd be mighty fine too!

All the best,
Paul

[RedexRobB]

Hello paul,

your doing the right thing and having a test, what else will you be getting a ride on? The ZXR will commute ok, plenty here have done it, id imagine you will start to wish your commute is longer if you get one

Only thing I will say it looks a bit tacky with the anodised parts and thats quite a high asking price too, so id test it to get a feel for it and go else where to buy one.

Let us know how you get on!

[MrLuke]

Hi Paul, I agree with Mori Man, have a ride on it to get a feel of it but 2k is verrrry strong money, I saw one similar to that go for under 700 on eBay the other week (but that is very cheap, not sure why it went for so little). I'd say 1500 is better but still on the strong side, keep an eye on this one and see how much it goes for http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290628704687? ... 1423.l2649

I'm sure you'll fit on it fine, I'm 6"1 and just fit on mine, they aren't very big bikes so it'll fit you better than it fits me. It'll be ok for commuting, but if they get stuck in traffic for too long they get a bit hot, you'll want to take the long way everytime if you commute though so be warned

[Mori Man]

A mention with out typing anything

Both bikes have had their side cowl panels resprayed - neither is in original condition !

Not knowing what speed they went down the road check for headstock/tripple damage , front wheel for dings , side of forks for scrapes , stanchions can have small bends in them and still seem to work so if forks feel sluggish to return be warey.

For me, neither bike particularely sticks out from the other so having the oppertunity to test drive would be the deciding factor. Forget about the warranty - not worth the paper it's written on as their mechanic needs to deem it as a fault not you or independant garage ! So go in with 1200 cash if you like it and tell them to keep the warranty and they can keep the wedge for the bike. Otherwise move on, you will soon find an original bike for those sums of monies.

Good luck on your hunt, BTW I get on mine with beer belly and all no worries

MM!

[MrLuke]

Oops haha! Had another tab open at the time, must have been reading something you had written

[paul.in.kendal]

Thanks for the responses, guys, very useful. They talk about a 'full restoration', and I'd spotted the respray, so I'd ask for lots more info about what they've done to it (and before/after pics, if poss) before purchasing. Interesting comment about the warranty, MM - if warranties are so useless, why do dealers still offer them? Is it just down to buyers' ignorance?

No danger of getting stuck in traffic, Mr Luke - I'm surrounded by sublime, traffic-free roads up here - what a contrast to wrestling an FJ1200 up the Old Kent Road in London, which was my commute (a lot of) years ago!

I've waited a long time before deciding to get another bike, so I'm more than happy to walk away from this particular one!

Redex, I'll probably also test ride a 2001 ZX6R, a 2003 Yamaha FZS600 and a 2003 GSXR600.

I've got zero riding gear, so I'd be looking for a deal including some nice Held leathers, boots, gloves (mmmm!)

It was funny, the thing that really made me realise how much I missed motorcycling wasn't seeing other bikers on the road, or swinging a leg over bikes in dealers - it was trying on a helmet in this dealers shop. Just the feeling of putting a helmet on vividly brought back the whole biking experience - strange, eh?

[Mori Man]

If something is in your blood your always going to miss it, so not strange at all

The times when I had no bike on the road I was a miserable bastid! Or so say my family & friends

Private warranties are to give the illusion of peace of mind and justify higher sales prices , I would guess on some claims they couldn't wangle their way out of but 99% of the time you'll be paying.

Typical sales pitch is " 3 month warranty " but in small print or 250 miles what ever comes 1st and exclusions like gearbox, transmission and bores.

By the time I picked up my bike drove it home the scenic route it had done 100 miles , a couple days later I didn't like the sound of the camchain so phoned up the shop to confirm I was coming back with the bike as by the time I got there it would be over 300miles done. They took the bike into the workshop brought it back out and said " Our mechanic finds no problem with it " end of warranty claim, oh & end of warranty - 5 days from purchase. I replaced guides and tensioner and the whole lot shut up , I guess age rather than wear was the problem and the chain didn't need doing for another 2yrs. The shop had absolutely no interest in helping me out under warranty, it wasn't an expensive fix , it wouldn't have eaten into the profit they made on this bike plus the profit they made selling the bike I traded in but hey ho guess they needed the cash !

They gave me 850GBP for my bike as a trade in and sold it for 1,500 and it was seen for many years after that being used in Edinburgh cause there was nowt wrong with it to begin with

When I stripped the bike down for the 1st time 3 months later I discovered all the uni track was shot to bits but had never noticed as the handling was far superior to the bike I had just been using - that should have been another warranty claim not entertained

You've got the right idea though - walk away until the right one comes up

MM!