Hi folks, I'm going to look at this bike tomorrow and hopefully pick it up. Seems like the asking price is about right, but I'm new to the sport and despite following these forums, I'm still figuring things out. Last summer I did four track days on a 1992 CBR 600 F2. I'm looking to move up to something more capable that I can grow into as I learn more, but also something that won't break the bank, has lots of spares/parts available for when I crash/break things, etc. I was looking at a variety of early 2000s R6s and GSXRs. Probably next summer I'd like to try doing some CCS races locally. Here's what I'm thinking of getting. Asking $2,900 2004 GSXR 600. fully prepped/wired for CCS. -Motor replaced last fall (2019) with 2005 motor with 7k-miles - Power Commander 3 with ignition module -Dynojet quickshifter setup for GP shift -Vortex rear sets -Penske rear shock (Serviced by Turn One Racing in 2019) -Brembo RC19 Master Cyl -BRAKING SK2 wave rotors all around with DP XRace Titanium Pads and titanium caliper bolts -Galfer braided line out back and Goodrich braided lines up front -Ohlins Steering damper -Forks are not stock but I don't know what's in there (TSE has all the details) - (Forks serviced last year by me) -Woodcraft Case Covers -Anti Gravity Li Ion Battery (New in fall 2018) -Hot Bodies Bodywork -Brand new Vortex X-Ring v2 520 Chain -Stomp Grip tank grips -Titanium Headers with M4 slip-on (Not Ti) -Spare set of new Bridgestone R11s (never opened) and a set of Michelin rain race tires included - both sets always kept indoors -Multiple front/rear sprockets -Box of spare parts including forks, rotors, calipers, rear shock, a spare motor and a few other odds and ends. Let me know what you all think. Anything in particular I should look for when I check out the bike?
Isn't a guy allowed to just want a bike for the track that isn't 30 years old? OP, I'm not an expert (or even mildly knowledgeable) on GSXRs, especially that vintage. Without seeing any pics, knowing the title status, etc, it's hard to say. Assuming everything is in good shape that seems reasonable to me with those extras.
Take the 3 grand and get an SV. http://forums.13x.com/index.php?threads/2008-suzuki-sv650-track-ready.365774/ it will teach you more. (yes, I’m the first one to say it)
Any bike I've bought, I've never ridden beforehand. All thru eBay etc. Ride that sumbeotch and see how ya like it. If I hadn't parted out my 98 GSXR750 (which I paid $760 on eBay, picked up 70 miles away) it'd be my first choice again for a track bike. 2001 RSVR from Phoenix. 2007 ZX6R from Hudson Valley, NY. Seems like you already know the bike....imo price seems high. #noexpert but I do like a good deal.
To add to the comments above, if you're somewhat bike agnostic, you can probably be able to do better than that...
Thanks all. Title status is clean. Attached a pic. I definitely looked at some SVs, but nothing that fit came up in my area. And I don't know, it may not be a good enough reason, but I love the way inline fours scream and I just couldn't get my heart into an SV even though I know that's the smartest choice in a lot of ways. AS for the F2, it had over 50,000 miles on, about 30,000 of them mine, but when I went to get it going this spring spring mice had moved into the airbox. I tried rebuilding the carbs, and dealing with some sticky throttle issues, but I couldn't get it running right and I wanted something a little more reliable. It's also really beat up after a pretty hard low side. Bent front fairing stay. I had a shop look at it any they couldn't make any progress. At some point I just had to quit putting money and time into it, even though I loved the old beast.
I think, it’s a decent deal, by the description. It’s only when you see it in person will you find the truth, though.
Definitely not saying that *this* bike is the answer. But it's not unreasonable to want something newer.
not disagreeing but Id hate for someone to go from a known entity to an unknown. I honestly have come to distrust used bike sellers until proven otherwise. There are always isssues that even a seasoned buyer could miss and the seller is concealing.
You can get a lot for $2900. These are both good examples. http://forums.13x.com/index.php?threads/2000-suzuki-gsxr-750.362292/ http://forums.13x.com/index.php?threads/02-gsxr-750.363858/
What you can get for $2900 also depends on if you care to have a title or not and that is somewhat geographic dependant too. Out here on the East Coast it seemed to add $500-$600 to the SVs I was looking at. In the midwest it didn't seem to matter that much, maybe $100-200. For me it is a worthwhile tradeoff to be fairly certain that I properly own the bike and there isn't someone out there that had it stolen from them.
Honestly that bike doesn't look bad at face value, going off one picture. To kind of piggy back off what TurboBlew said, I believe that feeling out the seller as a person in general will say a lot about the bike. I can't stand people that don't take the time to clean up their bike prior to selling, so that guy gets bonus points for that. All too often you'll see 3 seasons of brake dust on the front wheel, chain/sprockets at the end of their life, zip ties holding on half the bodywork, etc. If the fork stanctions are 100% clean I'd be inclined to believe there's a fork seal leak and they wiped them off with brake cleaner and a rag moments before you showed up. They should be clean (if the bike was taken care of), but I would totally expect to see a "dust line" at the very bottom of the forks. Just keep in mind that there's always a few constants with used track bikes: - Suspension was "just refreshed" - "Track ready" - "Needs nothing" All that being said, a used track bike is a used track bike. Don't expect a mint garage queen. If it's been tracked, there's a 95% chance it's been down. From a seller standpoint, nothing more annoying than a person with a $3k-$5k budget nit picking everything. I usually tell them to go buy a new bike and build one themselves. All depends on what your budget is, but even for me (and I'm a cheap bastard), that bike is starting to age out. Adding $1k-2k in your budget would move you up a good 5-8 model years. Had a 04 600, the 09-12 ZX6 that I have (and selling now, ironically enough) and the 08+ R6 are lighter and faster in every way. Maybe the motor was tired in that 04, but it wasn't at the level that my more recent past bikes were at. Parts for either platform (newer ZX6, GSXR, R6, etc) aren't that much (if any) more expensive than that 04 would be. The 04 is aging to the point where it's going to start (if not already) harder to source used parts for it than any 600 bike made after ~08-ish.
Thanks all, - as it turned out I decided to walk on it. Bike started pissing coolant and it raised a lot of questions because it turned out the engine installed had never been taken to the track (or it seemed, really tested at all). RRP - just sent a message on the link you posted. Still looking for a reliable, capable 600, not beaten to death and something I can learn on and grow into. $3,000 is really my limit, even though I know I could make a big jump for $5,000.
@rbatzell, not sure how IMPORTANT your set of criteria is. But there are plenty of bikes for sale with spares...like what @RRP posted. I was looking at that bike yesterday. Being able to know, and ask about, a bike's history (race/crash/ownership) is helpful. That falls in line with what @TurboBlew said: feeling out the seller is important.
I meant to add: - I bought a 2006 g i x x e r 600 last year and am totally satistified with it. About the same price with a small set of spares. - I don't think that g i x x e r 600 (posted by @RRP ) will sit for long. Typically, springtime is when even the less-desired track bikes get snapped up. COVID-19 probably has some bikes sitting longer than usual.
Wouldn’t is just be easier to type GSXR? OP - I’ve bought stuff off the guy in that last link I posted. I had a very good experience and very helpful.