Posted: 2/19/2010 10:11:08 PM EDT
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Long story short I was chatting it up with my buddy about how I've been looking at bikes on craigslist and he tells me his friend has a Suzuki 500F. I've never ridden before and this seems like a great starter bike. Guy wants 1,000 for it and it has about 11,000 miles on it. Also it needs to be painted (not laid down, was just half way in between a project and he bought a R1 and lost interest. . . or something along those lines) and a new chain. My same friend works at a shop and tells me he'd do both for under 200$. Says he'd buy it himself but doesn't have a 1,000 in liquid cash.
SOOO 1200$ for a 2004 Suzuki 500F, friend says this is a win/win cause by the time I get a hang of it and want a bigger bike I'd be able to sell it for a minimum of what I have into it. What say you ARF does this sound like the deal he's making it out to be? He's one of my best friends and very knowledgeable about such things, and I know he'd charge me nothing more than the paint/parts but like myself he's an impulsive guy sooooo I would love some second opinions. Thanks as always, Micah *UPDATE* Sooo I went and looked at the bike on Friday, the thing has way more problems than I was origonally informed of. The bike infact had about 19,000 miles instead of 12. The plastic was also painted a horrible color black. The guy told me this was his first bike and so he took all the plastic off and spray canned it black  But I did notice quite a large scuff on one of the pieces. Also the bike didn't start up immediately and needed a jump. SOOOO in summation, bike has 7K more than I thought, plastic was beat, needs a new Battery, new chain, and possibly a carb rebuild. AND on top of all that he didn't have the title in hand. I told him get the title and I'll think about it but at this point I know it's not the deal I thought it was. My buddy tells me he can fix everything in a month, but the end cost will be more like 1600 now instead of 12 or 1100.
Didn't take pics cause I was kind of annoyed. What say you ARF? |
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Are you looking for a crotch rocket? I am not a fan of them but some folks like them.
That does not sound like much of a deal to me. I'd check blue book on it . If it were in good to excellent condition it may be worth it but needing painted seems it would be a project I wouldn't want. If he didn't take care of the paint, what did he do with the drive trrain? I think I'd keep looking. |
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I am in fact looking for a crotch rocket. I wanted to start on a downed 600 (ninja/GSX/anything around 2500) but this seems like a good compromise (looks and power). He doesn't know the exact amount of mileage and told me it couldn't be more than 10,000 so I listed more mileage just to be sure. Chances are it will be more like 8k.
I live in WA state, so yes the price of bikes does go way down during the winter (our 8-10 month winter  ) Blue book looked to be about 1750 if it had 12k on i but again not sure cause KBB seems to be a little bit on the ambiguous side when it comes to bikes. Again he promised it wouldn't be a project said he'd have it painted with new chain in under a week of purchase. More concerned with if this was a good model/good starter bike/ good deal (considering condition is decent) etc etc. Again I am a novice and I've always wanted to get into riding just never had the funds.
Thanks for all the quick input guys. Appreciate all of it. |
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If you want a "crotch rocket," (I've had had an '04 SV650S, '06 GSX-R 1000, '04 GSX-R 600) don't get that bike.
The bike is basically a standard with sport bike-ish fairings. It is not going to be fast. It will, however, be a pretty decent starter bike. The downside is if/when (most likely when) you drop it, you'll have more of a pain in the ass on your hands. If you've only got $1k at your disposal it's about the best you'll do. However, if you've got more money, there are better options. With KirkP long banned from this forum, I guess I need to help carry the flag: ETA: The SV isn't all that fast, either. It's just generally acknowledged as a better bike, though I haven't ridden a 500F, just read about them. |
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I do have more than 1k at my disposal, but I feel like if I had to shell out 3500 or so for a 600 I'd just end up being out more when/if I do drop it. I'm not really worried about the bike being "fast" cause like I said if I find this is my new calling in life I'll most likely be looking to buy a different bike next year or so. What's the deal with the SV? Is it in the 2500 price range?
As of right now I'm going to take a look at the bike next Saturday. If I like what I see at this point I'm gonna go for it. If I jump on this deal I'll be posting pictures of the bike before and after painting. Thanks again ARF. All insight is appreciated. |
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Quoted:
I do have more than 1k at my disposal, but I feel like if I had to shell out 3500 or so for a 600 I'd just end up being out more when/if I do drop it. I'm not really worried about the bike being "fast" cause like I said if I find this is my new calling in life I'll most likely be looking to buy a different bike next year or so. What's the deal with the SV? Is it in the 2500 price range? As of right now I'm going to take a look at the bike next Saturday. If I like what I see at this point I'm gonna go for it. If I jump on this deal I'll be posting pictures of the bike before and after painting. Thanks again ARF. All insight is appreciated. With that said, pick up the GS. I would imagine if I was starting out again, it would take me 9-12 months of regular riding to get tired of it. It'd be hard to find an SV for $2.5k, most clean '03+ (FI/updated chassis/etc.) SV's tend to go for a minimum of $3-3.5k around here. The SV is kind of a sport-standard. It has a 650cc 90 degree V-twin engine, makes a claimed 72 hp if I remember correctly. It has a totally different character from a typical Jap bike (I4) –– much more of a torquey feel. It lacks the inverted forks of most sport bikes, but on the whole is a great bike. A lot of people do use SVs as track bikes, but typically they need to play with the suspension a bit (known to be too soft for heavier riders, for example). The bike normally compared to the SV is the Kawi Ninja 650R, which is a parallel twin that I don't like nearly so much (a friend has one). Edit: Spelling is hard. 
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I live in WA to. I've found that the best way to "price" bikes is to check craigs list, cycletrader, several bike dealer websites and the Seattle/Tacoma papers. KBB and NADA have prices that are lower that what you will find people/dealers are actually selling them for.
Check PNWriders.com's for sale section would be a good place. |
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Assuming it's as good as you make it sound, $1k for a GS500F is a very good deal and will make a great starter bike or commuter.
Ask your friend to teach you how to replace the chain, as well as oil it. Not much bodywork there, just pull it off and use some Duplicolor to paint the parts. Ride it for a year or two (or until the wheels fall off). At that point, you'll be in a better position to decide what you want in a bike. SV650, SV1000, Gixxer, CBR, Motard, cruiser, FZ1, KLR, Rockster, etc. Lots of bikes out there and they can be very different. Assuming you don't wreck it, if you do sell it in a year or two, you'll get your money back. All you'll need to do is pay for gas, oil, and tires. And on planet Earth, the 500F is not a crotch rocket. Not sure about what it is on the planets some of these other guys live on. |
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yea my friend told me it's more of a sport bike (since you almost sit upright when riding) but it has ferrings that give it the apperance of a crotch rocket?
Like I said I plead ignorance, just trying to gather reliable info! But for the record at this point I gave my buddy the go, and chances are were going to be picking up the bike next Saturday. Pics to follow! Again thanks guys. |
| I think you will like the bike. It was in my running for my first bike but I never could find a good deal on one. I surely would not have passed up the deal you are getting. I ended up with an 06 FZ6 which I liked. The only complaint I ever heard when researching the GS500 was that at times it was difficult to start when cold. Other than that it was a bullet proof motor. |
| Hey just curious for anyone who still may be able to help me. I'm planning on heading down on Friday and buying it. I've never bought a vehicle so how does this work? give him the cash and should I write out a bill of Sale? Do I take the title to the bank? is there tax?? anyone have some experience with buying a bike who might be able to help me out??? |