Decisions, Decisions,,,,,

[Jase]

'ello peeps, long time no erm, erm, erm, type?


Anyway, 'bout a month ago some light fingers little toerag had it on their toes with me Speed Four. :(

No more radiant orangeness in my life!


So it's replacement time and i've just been to look at a bike a friend of a friend is selling, it's a yellow Daytona T595, it's pretty much mint except for a small scuff on one side in the centre of the fairing where it's been dropped in a car park (damage would be covered by a 50p peice) and a scratched bar end on the same side and the battery is shagged (has been standing 12+ months) so i couldn't hear it running. It's got a full service history, O.E. alarm & immobiliser, a shiny tool kit and just 7000 miles on the clock!


He want's £2500 as is or £2600 and he'll MOT it.


So subject to hearing it running (and providing the clutch hasn't a death rattle!), what'd ya reacon, should I be biting his hand off? He won't budge on the price as he just needs space in the garage to build his new toy, a '76 Guzzi café racer and from the size of his house, the Audi RS4 & T5 camper on the drive, doesn't need the cash!

Part of me wants to hand over wades of me hard earned, the other part thinks it's a lot of cash for a 13 year old bike!

So, am i just being tight?

[Willopotomas]

They are awesome little machines. Pack quite a punch and the sound of that triple motor under load is brilliant. I've worked on a couple of these. One was a wreck, the other had done 12,000 miles but hadn't been very well looked after. They're quite well engineered bikes all round to be fair. A bit fiddly for the home mechanic, but on the whole are pretty simple.. Just soddin awkward..lol..

Single sided swing-arm is more or less the same as that used on Honda's VFR800's of the late 90's so spares are pretty easy to find.

They sound better and feel less chocked with a decent after market race/street can/system on. Changed one from standard to a Mivv race and the change was immediate.

Fastener's can corrode quite badly. If it's fitted with the 'D' loop odie clips around the fairing, check the bottom ones more so as they're a right pain to get off.. If seized too badly, you can risk damage to the fairing. Because of the style of clip, they're virtually impossible to drill out.

Paint finish behind the fairings can be quite bad. Check around the coolant filler/expansion tank for corrosion. Most of it will be hidden under the fuel tank and air box.

Personally I'd ask to hear it running. Make sure there are no nasty noises coming from the sprag starter clutch. These are buried right in the centre of the engine and needs a total strip and rebuild to sort out..

That's about it really. Nothing else I can think of apart from the usual stuff you look for when buying a bike..

[Willopotomas]

Sorry.. Price. Sounds on the high side to me, but i've not seen the bike. If it's a minter that's been well looked after and has service history etc, then it'll help, but still high IMO for a 13y/o bike. You'd only be looking around the £2,000 tops from a dealer.

[Kwackerz]

Thats way too much money for a bike that hasnt been looked after!! A service history is a service history, but a dead battery and a bike that's sat for over 12 months is.. neglect really?

If the battery hasnt been looked after, I'll assume it's not kept in a heated garage, is left on it's tyres on a concrete floor, and generally sits in a corner clutching to the fact it's got a FSH! Bless it. New tyres needed maybe? It sounds like it's sat more than turned a wheel so they'll need changing and a year of not moving will maybe cause some other niggles along the way. Seized calipers possibly? Other things too? Ok they'd be rectified for the MOT.... basically at your expense..

Thats a lot of money for a 13 year old Trumpet Triple.

I'd be inclined to walk away after showing him 2k in used 20 quid notes..

[HowardQ]

Sorry but must agree, that's way too much.
I was looking at later Daytonas before I got the 9R and nearly bought an excellent low miles 2006 for just over £3k.
You can get nice ones at that age for less than £2k.
Try offereing him £2K max if you like it!

[Jase]

Cheers peeps, too much was what i thought after a nights kip, but i guess i was just smitten initially!

Oh well, just bought a Sprint RS off fleabay, going to pick it up on Saturday, first time i can remember being excited for a while!

[Samray]