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I looked at one of these on Saturday, its been sitting for a long time in a shed. Its going to need a battery, a carb and fuel tank cleaning, and new tires at the very least. Its got a few dings in the tank and both fenders are out of shape. It belongs to an 80 year old man who said he bought it but realized he was too old to ride. He bought it new in 95.
I've got a few buddies with Bonnevilles but this thing is different, its got a water cooled triple, a mono shock rear suspension, and huge looking tank.
The bike is borderline rough, its hard to tell how much of the damage was from him riding it or from sitting in an old shed with stuff falling on it. It looks good from about 15 ft away. There's no rust, the tank looks pretty clean but the gas is old. It has spark and compression but won't fire off of starting fluid.
Its got a lot of add on chrome and two leather saddle bags. I see road rash on the headlight on both sides but no other damage, so its hard tell how that got there. I would think the bar ends and levers would have gotten damaged as well if it went down. The rear fender is crunched into the back tire from behind and its cracked from where its been pushed in and out a few times.
The bike is showing only 4,880 miles on it. The speedo works when I spin the front wheel. The tires are Avon brand, and badly dry rotted. The front tire is split right down the middle, almost in two. Its got aluminum rims, SS spokes, and a ton of chrome that's likely been added. Chrome Valve cover, radiator covers, side covers, stepped aftermarket saddle, and a gell battery that's completely dead.
The exhaust appears all stock, yet its got a K&N air filter and modified air box. The carbs are likely stock. The guy said anything he had done was done before he took delivery of the bike at the dealer. its never been back since other than for its first service.
I have zero experience with these bikes or this motor.
I was thinking the bike was fairly cheap at $850 but after looking around for some parts it needs I'm not so sure?
The good things I see is that its got dead even compression and low miles, there's no rust from sitting outdoors and most of the damage is cosmetic other than the things that it needs to run.
The good is that the damage is minor other than the rear fender, that needs to be replaced. The front fender can be painted or replaced. the dents in the tank can likely be removed without paint work by a paintless dent guy. The headlight ring is mashed on both sides, but that's cosmetic, and I suppose I could straighten and paint that if it really bothered me or buy a used one online eventually.
The immediate fixes would be battery, tires, and a carb cleaning, and do a temporary fix on the crack in the back fender for now.
My concerns are about the bike itself, I've never had good luck with mono shock type bikes, I'm a big guy at 6ft 3in tall and roughly 350 lbs. The fit on the bike is ok, but it sits low under my weight. (So do most other bikes of this type).
since I'm unable to test drive it I'm going in blind as far as how these handle and ride.
Its a 6 speed trans, so I'm guessing the power is likely sufficient for most uses but I read more bad about these online than good from the magazine guys but I've disagreed with many magazine reviews in the past. Most of the complaints I read say the bike rides terrible and handles like a wet pig.
They said my Suzuki Intruder was a great bike with excellent predictable handling and its likely the worst bike I've ever owned for handling and ergonomics.
Are there any owners here with first hand opinions?
I've got a few buddies with Bonnevilles but this thing is different, its got a water cooled triple, a mono shock rear suspension, and huge looking tank.
The bike is borderline rough, its hard to tell how much of the damage was from him riding it or from sitting in an old shed with stuff falling on it. It looks good from about 15 ft away. There's no rust, the tank looks pretty clean but the gas is old. It has spark and compression but won't fire off of starting fluid.
Its got a lot of add on chrome and two leather saddle bags. I see road rash on the headlight on both sides but no other damage, so its hard tell how that got there. I would think the bar ends and levers would have gotten damaged as well if it went down. The rear fender is crunched into the back tire from behind and its cracked from where its been pushed in and out a few times.
The bike is showing only 4,880 miles on it. The speedo works when I spin the front wheel. The tires are Avon brand, and badly dry rotted. The front tire is split right down the middle, almost in two. Its got aluminum rims, SS spokes, and a ton of chrome that's likely been added. Chrome Valve cover, radiator covers, side covers, stepped aftermarket saddle, and a gell battery that's completely dead.
The exhaust appears all stock, yet its got a K&N air filter and modified air box. The carbs are likely stock. The guy said anything he had done was done before he took delivery of the bike at the dealer. its never been back since other than for its first service.
I have zero experience with these bikes or this motor.
I was thinking the bike was fairly cheap at $850 but after looking around for some parts it needs I'm not so sure?
The good things I see is that its got dead even compression and low miles, there's no rust from sitting outdoors and most of the damage is cosmetic other than the things that it needs to run.
The good is that the damage is minor other than the rear fender, that needs to be replaced. The front fender can be painted or replaced. the dents in the tank can likely be removed without paint work by a paintless dent guy. The headlight ring is mashed on both sides, but that's cosmetic, and I suppose I could straighten and paint that if it really bothered me or buy a used one online eventually.
The immediate fixes would be battery, tires, and a carb cleaning, and do a temporary fix on the crack in the back fender for now.
My concerns are about the bike itself, I've never had good luck with mono shock type bikes, I'm a big guy at 6ft 3in tall and roughly 350 lbs. The fit on the bike is ok, but it sits low under my weight. (So do most other bikes of this type).
since I'm unable to test drive it I'm going in blind as far as how these handle and ride.
Its a 6 speed trans, so I'm guessing the power is likely sufficient for most uses but I read more bad about these online than good from the magazine guys but I've disagreed with many magazine reviews in the past. Most of the complaints I read say the bike rides terrible and handles like a wet pig.
They said my Suzuki Intruder was a great bike with excellent predictable handling and its likely the worst bike I've ever owned for handling and ergonomics.
Are there any owners here with first hand opinions?