About to Buy My First Raider. 3 Bikes, which would you choose. HELP!

[KiwiYamaha]

Hi There,

I am getting really close to purchasing my first raider and am pretty excited.

In my area(ish) there are 3 Raiders i am looking at. Any advice from people on these forums with regards to what you think about the 3 options below is very much appreciated.

 

(1) The 2013 Raider: $6600 - Color of bike is Candy Red.

Pros:

• Only 600 Miles on odometer
• Is a 2013 model (newest of the 3 i am looking at)
• Located 15 minutes from where i live.
• Has the cobra black pipes (even though they are scratched a little), can i clean these up? Paint over them and make look like new again? (More about this damage below in the CON section)
• Can buy today for only $6600 (Seller has come down from the original agreed $7000 as he moves out of state in 4 weeks time).
• Priced cheap as (a) Owner leaves state in 4-6 weeks and would like to sell, he has a lien on the bike still and would like to break even and get out of it (b) The bike was knocked over in a carpark whilst at a standstill, few cosmetic issues - see below (c) I think he got cash from the Insurance company already and didnt put it back into the bike. Fair enough?
• Bike already had its 500 mile maintenance and seller has receipts.
• Seller has agreed to me taking bike to shop to get the damage checked out (at my expense).

Cons:

• It has a few scratches and marks on the pipes from when it was "dropped" (At standstill, hit by a truck apparently).
• The right brake lever is also heavily bent as shown in the photos.  I still haven't taken it to shop.
  *See photos of this bike and the damage i talk about here in this other post from a few weeks back. "Buying A Raider that was dropped - Advice please" Link below.
• There is an exposed cable near the back right foot peg. (Can be seen in this photo here: http://postimg.org/image/7q1rjtcup/ ) - I am still not 100% sure what the cables are. The seller wrote today and advised...
  
  "The cables controlled a butterfly valve that prevented backfiriing on the stock pipes that had an opening for the valve, I havent found an aftermarket pipes that have a place for the valve"
  As i am not mechanically minded, and as i have never owned a raider, I am unsure if this is plausible answer. Seems a bit off. Thoughts?
   

• I feel weird buying a bike with a few scratches on it. Maybe just my OCD. But it is a 2013 with only 600 miles...
• Insurance quote was approx $4000 for the fixes. The shop who did the damage assessment told me this over the phone, however they dont have what actually needs to be fixed, said their computer system is out dated... or something to that effect. The seller said he doesn't have the Insurance quote the shop gave him either but is happy to go into the store with me to get it. Shop says damage report to get an estimate to fix bike up is $200 just for the estimate. It is another $115 for pre sales inspection. Maybe i can work a deal.

(2) The 2009 Raider: $6000 Color of bike is Black.

Pros:

• Bike is black, i think i like black over red? Interested on other peoples preferences.
• Seller will sell for only $6000. The cheapest of the 3 i am looking at. Lives in a smaller town in a remote area. (See cons below)
• Modifications complete are side mount license plate and turn signals integrated into rear tail light. Looks nice.
• Owner said "Hes been turning wrenches for 25 years", hes a mechanic so i thought this may mean bike has been well looked after
• New Rear tire last year 240 Size, good tread on front tire.
• Comes with quick detach saddle bags that can be removed in seconds and leave no trace on bike.
• Bike has no record of maintenance from a Yamaha Dealer. Said he did all the oil changes himself? Is that easy on this bike? Someone told me once if the seller cant provide receipts for maintenance... walk away. Would you guys agree? Is this a red flag?

Cons:

• Bike is located 300 Miles away, So i haven't actually had a chance to see it in person. I would fly to look at it and (hopefully), ride it back. Assuming it checked out OK. Thoughts on this?
• No After market pipes, other 2 bikes do have the Cobras. I am not a fan how the factory stock pipes look.
• 5800 Miles on Clock? (Is this a lot for a bike?), compared to the 600 miles of the 2013 raider above, i placed the 5800 miles on this bike as a con.
• Flights to destination is $400 this weekend, or  $150 if i went in a couple of weeks times.

 

(3) The 2008 Raider: $7000 - Color of bike is Red with the Factory Flames on tank

Pros:

• Bike is in immaculate condition
• Has Cobra sweep exhaust, chrome version and and they look really nice.
• Cruise control,
• Lean &Mean chin fairing,
• Curb dragger front fender
• Side bag hardware and bags
• Custom grips. "Show room condition".

Cons:

• 4860 Miles on Odometer (Not really a Con as i believe this number is pretty low for a 2008 Bike), but its more than the 600 miles on the 2013 raider above.
• 2 Hour Drive away.
• Rear tire is 260 which is nice. But i am not sure about tread. I believe the tire has done about 4000 miles. Would the bigger tire effect the actual odometer reading?
• Is the most expensive of the 3, is also the oldest of the 3 bikes.
• This Bike also has no record of maintenance from a Yamaha Dealer. This seller also said he did all the oil changes himself?

 

 

 

[Cynic]

The last one for me. A dropped bike needs to be cheap and it isnt.

Scratched, odd parts and the one i dont like is the lever. That means bars took a big hit which may have twisted .

Bike 2 does nothing to stand out and if you fly and its a dud you may buy when you shouldnt. The biggy is the stock pipes. Yuk.

Bike 3 has the goodies and good mileage. Close enough to view propperly too. Age irrelevant. Condition is all.

[KiwiYamaha]

Thank you Cynic. Very much appreciated. I am leaning towards Bike 3 for sure. 

[lallasro]

I will chose first one, was  dropped but the damage is small, is a 2013 and also just 600 miles. I buy mine with 500 miles, 2012 model, I change just tires, oils, oil filters and I put petrol inside. the year is very important, also the low mileage mean you have peace of mind about services and you know the old owner don`t have time to fuck the engine. on lever and some scratches on the pipes mean nothing. the frame can`t be damaged, the bike must look worst to have a frame damaged.

some will say the year is not so important but, I have almost the same milleage on both 1992 FJ1200 and 2012 xvs950. no problems at all with the xvs, and the FJ is  always with problems. every owner has change something on the bike, the wires especially and contacts, etc, they add something, remove another things, is not how a FJ must be. you buy it almost new, you know you have a good bike, unmodified in bad.

[KiwiYamaha]

4 hours ago, Cynic said:

The last one for me. A dropped bike needs to be cheap and it isnt.

Scratched, odd parts and the one i dont like is the lever. That means bars took a big hit which may have twisted .

Bike 2 does nothing to stand out and if you fly and its a dud you may buy when you shouldnt. The biggy is the stock pipes. Yuk.

Bike 3 has the goodies and good mileage. Close enough to view propperly too. Age irrelevant. Condition is all.

Cynic, out of interest what do you consider cheap for bike 1?

[Cynic]

Its broken.

The exhaust valve (or whatever they are cables), are hanging in the breeze suggesting those exhausts have not been fitted at all well.

I think the detail for the accident and repairs are off. Damage to rhs where it landed. Ok. So the truck hitting it did nothing!

The few scratches to the paint are 4k, there is more to that. and i still dont like the bent lever.  Why not put the original exhaust back on. He must still have it. I dont get 600 miles in what could be 3 years eithe.

Dont forget that lever may have done for the master cyl too. Sorry but i just dont like bike 1 something is wrong but dont know what.

 

If you were sharp with a set of spanners id say insult him offering 4k and see what happens. You may be surprised. You can buy good straight bikes for the money he wants atm. So no loss if he tells you to feck off.

As your not a spanner man i say door no 3. Unless your a gambler.

 

As for age i have 2 bikes one nearly 30 years old that i use to go to work and long weekend trips. My old bike is 36 years old. As i said condition is all.

Age pah.

[KiwiYamaha]

Thanks Cynic. I do appreciate it.

 

i think I am leaning on door 3 also. 

 

My my first bike was a Vulcan classic 1500 97' that I bought in 2011 and had only a couple of years.

 

it was a lot of fun.....for a while but it had massive electrical issues. Pumped over $800 into it but nobody could fix it. I ended up selling it and I'm excited to get another bike, my dream raider. 

 

Something feels off about the first bike also. He did only have it a year and he did buy it from a dealer who sold it cheaper as they still had it on the showroom floor beginning of 2015, but I have had a few people question the force it took to bend that brake lever and whether or not that did something else unseen to the eye.

 

gahhh decisions. But bike 3 it might be. Stay tuned

[slice]

Just to chuck my thoughts in there as well, I'm with Cynic, 1 and 2 are ok but 3 would be my choice as well, just from the list you've created.

Also as they are going to charge you $150 (bike 1) just to look it over, walk away from the bent one.

[KiwiYamaha]

Hello All,

I wanted to say thanks again to everyone who chimed in and helped steer me towards the purchase of my Raider!! I am now a very happy and excited owner of a 2008 Raider. (Actually, technically the Credit Union owns the bike....but that aside  )  

I went for option 3, it felt right and i couldn't be more than happy with my new Raider! Just wow. I have wanted this bike for several years since i saw it come out, and now i have one of my very own and she is sitting in my garage as i write. I feel so lucky to be able to have this bike.

I met the seller (and the bike), for the first time at the bike store here in Colorado near where the seller lived. It was a 2 hour drive away, so i had a good friend drive me. I was prepared to complete the transaction all in one visit. $38USD for a pre sales inspection and I was happy to hear the technician confirm the bike was indeed in immaculate condition. The seller was lovely, 69 years old and as his wife doesn't want to ride any more, i was able to get what i believe was a good deal on a bike that has been well cared for and looked after. I now truly believe the seller when he told me he polished it after every ride. It really is showroom condition. 

It was a 2 hour ride back from the store where i completed the purchase, to where i live here in Denver. How amazing it felt to be free again on a bike. It was 75F on Saturday, (that's 23C for you Brits), and how I loved feeling the air temp rise and drop as i rode up Interstate 25 towards Denver whilst looking at the snow capped Rocky Mountains on my left. I truly was grinning ear to ear. 

Anyhow, big thanks again to everyone who assisted here and helping me make the right decision. I couldn't be any more happy.

I plan on doing a few basic mods. She is currently in my garage with the rear fender off as I plan to clean up the back end and show of the 260 Tire that she has on her  - I am installing the Blaster X Integrated LED tail light and also installing a side mount license plate on the left side. She will look amazing. Cant wait to ride to work and show my friends.

Here is a link to a photo I took of my new Baby on Saturday once i had her home! More to come once i complete the clean up of the rear end. 

External link to photo:

 

p.s Not sure why i cant upload into the forum here? Do we have a size limit? It says i can only upload a 0.09MB file here?!?

 

[jimmy]

Lovely bike matey, safe riding.

Re: Uploading pics. I use photobucket to upload pics. Upload onto photobucket from my pics, then click on share, copy 'direct' link and put that onto your post, by clicking on 'insert other media' then 'insert  image from url'

 

like so

[slice]

Beautiful bike mate, well done you. It's 8 degrees here at the moment and pissing down with rain and snow plus the odd burst of hail stones just to make it interesting. Ride safe.

[drewpy]

great buy, glad your happy with the purchase and that ride home sounds idylic.

 

good that you met the owner, it speaks volumes how the bike was treated

[muddyfox]

great result.

[KevtheRev]

Hey , congratulations Kiwi , make sure you rack up plenty o' miles now .

[meatloaf]

loveley looking bike, glad your happy, now go and enjoy

[clarke]

Looks fantastic. Makes me think I may need to buy another cruiser at some point...