1st Bike: At Last! The Winner Is...

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Monday night, after the '85 Honda Nighthawk 450 fell through, my brother & I rang off near 10 pm. Told myself I should drop all this motorcycle business- of course, as I said this to myself, was looking through all the Craigslist ads again!
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So just after 10pm, went through my whole list of CL locations, looking for something suitable newly posted; ETex, Deep Etx, Texarkana, Sheveport, Waco, Kileen, Austin, San Antonio, Little Rock, Ft. Smith, Houston- nothing! College Station, Dallas, Tulsa; Wait! There was something on Dallas after all:

1996 Yamaha Virago 250 V-Twin, shiny black, very good condition, windshield & saddlebags included, new batt last summer, clear title, 2700 miles. Near McKinney, TX, and a good price. Photos looked good. I called, though it was almost 10:30, & was told I'd have to wait till tomorrow to talk to the husband who was asleep- but wife confirmed that yes, it was 2700 miles, not 27,000 miles. Bought by daughter about 2 1/2 yrs ago. She took my name & #, said I was first they had talked to & he'd call Tues.

I figured,"Great. Here's another near-perfect bike, very good price(*Really* good for the DFW area, with the springtime bike-buying frenzy in full swing!), & I'll never hear from 'em again." After 2 months, trained in pessimism, that's me!

But he did call, about 2:30 Tue afternoon, we talked & he said he had another 8 calls + 10 emails waiting, & he would wait to answer them until I got there & looked it over. That was as good as I could ask for.(also let me know it was gonna be asking price or walk away) I was on the way by 3. Problems with road construction & a missed exit caused 1-hr delay, but it was worth the trip. Beautiful condition(shiny black looks *much* better in person than in photos), only a little "skin-up" on the bottom of the exhaust pipe, no dents anywhere, ran sweet, nice windshield, plus saddlebags, easy to flatfoot- and only 2700 miles! Oil was changed in Sept. 08, at 2600 miles- 2.5 yrs & 100 miles on the oil.
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Hey, you knew I'd want to know about oil changes!
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I paid, got signed title & transfer form, and then he & I tied it down on my utility trailer. Neither of us had ever done it before, but we got it done pretty well, though it took us awhile. He even threw in a scrap of plywood we used for a makeshift ramp. By the time I left they had several new calls & emails, several from dealerships. No foolin'. I headed back into the awful Metro Area traffic, got back to 380, and made it home without serious incident ~11pm Tues night, after getting a warning ticket from a friendly Tx Highway Patrolman because all my taillights, both truck & trailer, had gone out. We talked about motorcycles a little, & I limped 60 miles home on the 4-way flashers. Can anyone tell me, when did Texas DPS Troopers get so young?
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And so ends the Great Motorcycle Hunt. Thanks for all the good advice & encouragement.

Some pix from the driveway, where my truck & trailer now have a finely sprayed coating of light gray mud(from before loading the bike), & the bike now has its required ETx coating of pollen. Can't get 'em to show, guess you'll have to click on 'em.

Pic 1

Pic 2

Odometer
 
Hey, congratulations man! That looks like a beautiful score. If you don't mind my asking, how much did she set you back?
 
It was *mumble mumble*. Yup, that's how much.
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OK, since you twisted my arm- $1250. Compared to the the 85 Honda 450 Nighthawk- and the Honda woulda cost the full $1200 seller was asking- the Yamaha was: $50 more, 700 less miles, 11 years newer, ~100 lbs lighter, 4" lower seat height, no seat repair needed, no bent shift lever, windshield & bags vs naked bike, and it's still made & sold as the V-Star 250 = easy parts availablilty now & for years to come. From what I've read, there have been no Honda 450 Vert Twin street bikes imported to the USA since 1987.

If anyone can buy 'em lots cheaper where you live- I say good for you! Buy up a truckload, come to Texas, sell 'em & make lot$a $$.
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I'm happy with my deal. You should see the stuff priced at $2K & up down here. First things: I already have a shop manual & owner's manual downloaded. I'll get a cover from WM, try to get a coupla of extra keys made(Ace Hardware, or are keys Dealership only?), & use up some credit card credit$ on a crash bar, maybe a small rear luggage rack too. I'll order some oil filters off the Inet- already have a gallon of Delvac 15w40 on the shelf, that'll do 2 oil changes on this bike.

And if in a few months I decide I was crazy to try this, I should be able to sell it easily & get my $ back, or even make a couple of hundred on it.

Yes, it's a 250, with a real world rep for excellent gas mileage right out of the box. Some folks(including at least one BITOGer) change the sprockets to gear 'em higher & bump their mileage up into the 80's, maybe even 90 mpg! If gas goes way high again, may make these models worth their weight in gold.
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That's a great deal on such a nice bike. Enjoy, and just ride the tires off of it! You'll never forget your first.

While I got my training from Honda, I have to admit that I'd take the Yamaha any day. I know that displacement is everything to some people, but I've yet to ride a 250 that wasn't a complete blast.
 
Thanks, I will! Speaking of tires- it has the original tires with plenty of tread left. Must have been stored in a rubber-friendly place, because so far I haven't found a weather-crack on 'em. Something else I don't have to buy, at least for a while.
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yaaay!

First thing I noticed post MSF was it gets WINDY over 40 MPH. You're going to like that windscreen, not a barn door in the wind like a Goldwing, but enough.

Have heard those Virago 250s get a buzz around 55-60, maybe a new sprocket might move the resonant frequency somewhere else.

My 82 Virago 750 is my first and only bike, and I only wonder, are other designs such a hoot as well?
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Originally Posted By: Stuart Hughes
Thanks, I will! Speaking of tires- it has the original tires with plenty of tread left. Must have been stored in a rubber-friendly place, because so far I haven't found a weather-crack on 'em. Something else I don't have to buy, at least for a while.
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Regardless how good they look on the outside, I would not advise anyone to ride on 15-year-old tires. Old tires on a car is one thing, but old tires on a bike is a completely different story - if you have a blowout, you will go down. My recommendation is to get new tires ASAP, new tubes too.
 
Originally Posted By: Stuart Hughes

If anyone can buy 'em lots cheaper where you live- I say good for you! Buy up a truckload, come to Texas, sell 'em & make lot$a $$.
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no doubt.

I'm suprised that I'm not seeing more Chinese bikes. They're about the only thing here that is remotely affordable. But even the authorized American Lifan bikes require more tinkering than the average Japanese motorcycle so they end up broken behind someone's shed.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Stuart Hughes
Thanks, I will! Speaking of tires- it has the original tires with plenty of tread left. Must have been stored in a rubber-friendly place, because so far I haven't found a weather-crack on 'em. Something else I don't have to buy, at least for a while.
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Regardless how good they look on the outside, I would not advise anyone to ride on 15-year-old tires. Old tires on a car is one thing, but old tires on a bike is a completely different story - if you have a blowout, you will go down. My recommendation is to get new tires ASAP, new tubes too.


This is very good advice! 15 year old tires & tubes are just too old to risk your life on! If you buy new you will know for sure that you should be good to go!

Enjoy! Sometimes I feel the 250 Nighthawk is the most fun of my bikes to ride!
 
About the tires- that had occurred to me, guess I'll just bite the bullet & replace the front one very soon, the rear pretty soon. Gotta get a helmet, of course- I'd prefer full-face protection, with the tilt-up lower section & vents for our hot humid Texas summers. Any recommendtions?

Gotta get to the courthouse today & get title transfer & sales tax paid. Should be no problems there, and my previous questions at the Tax Assessor's ofc have saved me from paperwork disasters twice.

*Texas title transfer factoid- after you buy, you have 20 working days(about a month) to transfer title. If not, you incur a fine of $25/month until it is transferred, apparently with no limit. This is strictly the buyer's responsibility/problem. So that nice bike you were looking at, that has a 5-yr old date written on the back of the title in ink, will cost you about $1500 to get it in your name.
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I love how you were so excited you couldnt get it off trailer before snaping pics, shows your pride in your purchase!!
 
Originally Posted By: Stuart Hughes
About the tires- that had occurred to me, guess I'll just bite the bullet & replace the front one very soon, the rear pretty soon. Gotta get a helmet, of course- I'd prefer full-face protection, with the tilt-up lower section & vents for our hot humid Texas summers. Any recommendtions?

Yeah, you should definitely invest in a new set of tires. There's a lot that happens to tires as they age, and not one thing is good.

Good decision on the helmet and type. The highest percentage of head strikes is to the chin area. I don't know about you, but I can't risk looking worse than I already do. That's a joke, by the way...

Anyhow, my key recommendations are these:

1: Buy a helmet that, at first, seems too tight. As the padding takes a set to your head-form, and you become accustomed to wearing a helmet, it will not feel as confining as it first does. A loose helmet does not protect as well and can be annoying. It may be able to move around and will allow additional wind noise.

2: As there are different head-form shapes, so are there different helmet head-form designs. The only way to ensure that you don't end up with a helmet design that causes painful pressure points is to wear it for a while. Just try on as many full-face helmets as you can, even if they're not the design you're looking for. This will help you narrow down what your head-form shape is, and thus the helmet designs that will work for you. Spend some time at a dealer, and just walk around checking out the shop while wearing a helmet. You'll be able to eliminate some helmets quickly, as you'll immediately feel too much pressure across your forehead or your temples. Or you may find that the chin-bar and your chin want to occupy the same territory.

3: Just because the helmet felt good and met all the criteria at the dealer, it doesn't mean that it's a keeper. When you get a new helmet home, it's your chance to really spend some time with it. Put it on and leave it on. Yeah, I know it looks funny, but watch TV, goof around on the computer or whatever, just keep it on for an extended period. If there is anything that can cause pain or irritation, you'd rather find out about it on the couch than on the road. There'll be no crud on the helmet that you suddenly find has to be returned and you don't have to cringe at putting it on again, just so you can get back home.

4: No helmet is a replacement for proper hearing protection. It may not seem bad, but that constant noise is both tiring and damaging to your ears. There are a number of options, depending on how much you're willing to spend and what levels of protection and convenience you desire.


I have my preferences, but these recommendations will get you headed in the right direction.
 
Originally Posted By: rshunter

4: No helmet is a replacement for proper hearing protection. It may not seem bad, but that constant noise is both tiring and damaging to your ears. There are a number of options, depending on how much you're willing to spend and what levels of protection and convenience you desire.

x2. I highly recommend getting some foam ear plugs, the kind you roll up and put in, which then expand. 29-30 db rating or so. The nice contoured soft ones are pretty cheap and you can pick them up at any hardware store.

jeff
 
Congrats on the new bike. You stole that thing. I have been researching 250cc bikes for a short time and the Yammy is the strongest from what I can tell. Nobody makes a bad one though. You would be amazed at the distances some people ride these things. Some dude named PatricK Henry rode a GZ Suzuki 10K miles on a trip!!!!!! Said he held it wide open all the way across Texas and it didnt blow up. LOL The bike already had 35K on it before he left out. It was maintained to the tee though and not mistreated before hand. Thats impressive I dont care who you are.

http://home.comcast.net/~pat1776/Alaska05/index.html

Have fun and please be careful.
 
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Just changed the fork seals and ordered two new tires for a 1974 Yamaha RD200 street bike. It's a 200cc two stroke with a blistering top speed of 85 mph! Light as a feather and handles accordingly. Wouldn't want to take it on a 10,000 mile ride though. I'll use the Valkyrie for that.
 
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