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Post by wonderbadger on Dec 15, 2013 17:17:53 GMT
Hi, I've started looking around for possible donor bikes (well it's rude not to have a nice Christmas present!) and I now have more questions than when I started. Wondered if some of you could share your experience on finding a good donor and thoughts about what age is the best bet. One downside to living in Norfolk there are not a glut of good bikes over here and it takes a while to pass all the tractors to get somewhere else to shop for one (I don't mind traveling to get a good one, I just need to understand what a good one is before taking the time to travel). 98-2001 donors - in Theory available between £1800 and £2000 although I haven't seen anything clean in that range. Normally seem to be in the £2500 upwards range for anything with a reasonable service history and looked after (they now seem to be being counted more and more as "future classics" so good ones fetch a premium and bad ones look a little tired). I like the idea of a carb model but then I don't really see injection as a downside - power isn't a concern either as 150bhp is more than enough to make me grin stupidly so newer for the sake of power doesn't come into it. 2002 - 2003. Despite saying injection isn't seen as a downside, from what I've read I might pass on the models in the 2002/3 range as they were early injection models and seem to add complexity without too much advantage (you are welcome to correct me - I am used to being wrong) 2004 - 2006. Bikes in this range are obviously more expensive but there does seem to be more chance of finding a bike which won't bite me as a donor (ie cleaner, lower mileage and lower number of owners etc). I've seen a lot of references to the wiring being more complex - am I right in assuming this just means making sure more wires are extended correctly as opposed to having to do a lot of other work which I can't imagine what it is? I have found a couple of clean 2004 bikes that might be worth a look, they will mean my budget will need to grow by about £1k but I might prefer that in the long run rather than the frustration of having a still-born tR1ke. The rest of my build (so goes the plan so far) would be relatively basic, no reverse (never missed one in the previous Blade/Striker), manual gearchange etc etc so affordability should still be on the right side of crying at my bank account. I had best stop waffling now, congratulations to anyone who made it this far - any ideas/feedback is appreciated. Thanks Andy
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Post by erik on Dec 15, 2013 19:34:03 GMT
I'd suggest to chose a low mounted exhaust prio#1. I used a 2001 bike, 20300km. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to make a break even point on price/milage to find the best bang for buck. Find a swingarm color to match your tR1ke sheme.
br, Erik
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Post by andy7b on Dec 15, 2013 21:22:06 GMT
Hi Andy There so much choice and such a huge variety of prices, I am from Lincolnshire though living in the midlands I found a nice 2000 example back home in Louth with 25k and full service history for £2500 and after stripping and selling I returned £2450 back.
In my opinion the later carb model is a good option as the 98 model has some gearbox problems so 2000-2001, like you say the early injection model isn't worth a look really and the later ones are more money but have more power, but I do think as long as its clean and well looked after and you strip it properly and clean bits before selling it then you really can return most of what you will spend.
If you have a bike licence it is worth having a ride so you can feel for yourself if the bike feels ok. If you find one with a few extras on it I found they tend to sell well, rear sets, steering damper, bolt kits, I was amazed to find that the pro bolt kit that came on mine went for £30 and the carbon frame protectors got £60 and it all adds up :-)
And the next 6 weeks are a really good time to be buying a bike so armed with some cash you should have a strong chance of coming out with a nice bike for not too much. Good luck Andy
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Post by slugshot on Dec 15, 2013 23:29:37 GMT
Its getting harder to get a XV for less than £2k and the JJ seems to be holding good value as well. My donor came from ebay for £1500, its an 99XV model it had been down the road and converted to a street fighter which put most people off bidding but it had only covered 18k miles and was clean enough but more importantly mechanically sound.
I think any model will be fast enough, the 02-03 is the same basic motor as the carb models but has yam's first attempt at injection, its fine if you don't mind 3 times the amount of wiring. The good thing with this model is it still has the earlier gearbox ratios with a lowish 1st gear.
But for not much extra £££ the 04-05 is a better bet, it has proper fuel injection and the wiring is no more complex. The swingarm looks good (to me) but the exhaust would need modifying if you don't want to leave it over the top.
The 07-08 is the most powerful version but only at very high speeds because of the gearing, 1st does 90mph+ The swingarm is the problem with this model, though the chassis may of had modifications to sort the ground clearance by now.
Most importantly though....don't leave it too long as you have to be on the road for next summer.
Happy hunting
Cheers Kevin
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2013 23:44:51 GMT
Most importantly though....don't leave it too long as you have to be on the road for next summer. Like Erik I suppose
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Post by erik on Dec 16, 2013 16:36:43 GMT
Hey Andy, Don't get bummed by the pushers. If you take your time there will be no tinkering needed after MVSA
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Post by wonderbadger on Dec 16, 2013 20:33:08 GMT
Thanks for the tips, sounds like what I thought isn't too wide of the mark and its just a case of waiting until the right bike comes along. There is a W reg (2000) bike I've spotted with full history and 25000 miles on it up for £2500 which might be worth a look, absolutely standard though with no shiny bits to sell on, might get some movement on the price - only thing which does make me cautious is the fact current owner has only had it for 4 months (apparently as he's fallen for a different bike - plausible given the other bike is a Buell. Other than that theres a chance I could get an 04 bike down towards £3500 which could be worth a look - at the end of the day I think it will be a case of the right bike will find me, ie if its not a straight bike it won't get a look-in. I don't know enough about R1s in depth to know exactly what to look out for but I can take them for a test ride and listen for any mechanical gremlins and take a mate who is an ex-R1 owner to cast sensible eye over it.
If I did end up going for an 04 and wanted to re-route the exhaust, how easy are they to find somewhere to modify it? Are they titanium systems all the way through or should it be reasonably straight forward (have searched and found two conflicting sources as to what the system is made from. I designed my old Striker/Blade manifold from scratch and did the CAD drawings to get it made so shouldn't be a problem if I can find someone who can do the welding.
Thanks Andy
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2013 21:20:01 GMT
Im not a pusher, I gave up selling drugs, I just sell IT now..... It doesn't make as much money, but I feel better knowing that my computers stress everyone I sell them to.......
I'm sorry what was the question?
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Post by wonderbadger on Dec 16, 2013 21:56:26 GMT
Now that sounds like job satisfaction :-) you must be good at your job as I feel stressed without even buying a computer off you ;-)
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Post by mattyboy on Dec 16, 2013 23:02:32 GMT
I picked up a 2003 injected bike for £2600 from a dealer full service history MOT etc. It's in superb condition and runs sweet so far. The advise I took from more knowledgeable people on here was see it run from cold start and make sure it is test ridden for more than 15 -20 mins. Also second gear can be a weakness so this should be checked. I went for the early injected model for a few reasons.
Pros (as I see things)
I read somewhere that the early injection models have stronger cylinder liners than carb bikes. (don't know if this is true though)
I thought that a the injection model would be easier to keep running sweetly & may be more reliable than carb bikes.
Tunable through power commander.
Nicer speedo/clock arrangement if you ask me including shift light.
My bike has slightly higher mileage but a full service history and minimal damage for re sale of parts. I couldn't find any other R1's with full Yam service history.
Black swing arm for black frame.
Cons (as I see things)
More wiring (not sure how much yet)
No more power than carb bike. Some say Carb bikes have a very nice torque delivery throughout the rev range, I am not sure about my bike as I haven't ridden it. (my friend test rode it for me)
May be harder to find replacement parts or engine in future as it was in production for half as long.
I am by no means an expert though but that was just my though process that lead me to buy my bike.
Good luck
Matt
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Post by wonderbadger on Dec 17, 2013 12:11:40 GMT
Got my eye on a couple of bikes now, both 2004 but different models - one is the newer 2004 high exhaust and the other a late low exhaust model. Downside to the newer model is £1400 more on the price (before haggling) but local to me, other is a much more reasonable price but a day trip to collect so trying to weigh up the pro's and cons (older model is winning so far). I've seen a lot of mention of 2nd gear issues on R1s, as I am unlikely to be able to test-ride (got rid of my bike and hence insurance last year) is there any way to check for a warn 2nd gear (assume it jumps out of gear under power) or is it just a case of taking a chance if the service history and general condition of the bike is good?
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Post by slugshot on Dec 17, 2013 23:35:04 GMT
Im with you regarding which to go for if you're going to choose between those 2, but not if the price was closer to the older model. I think you answered your own question regarding what to look for when viewing the bikes, Im not fussed about having a service history, I would rather buy off someone who services his own bike and has bills for service parts. This sort of owner usually has more of a clue regarding day to day maintenance. I have also read stories of jumping out of 2nd gear, I suppose this forum is a good place to ask how common this is. Mine is a 99 xv and has a good gear box with no problems.
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Post by mattyboy on Dec 18, 2013 6:07:21 GMT
Is the older one injected or carb out of interest? I guess I could have saved a little money by buying differently. I bought from a dealer mainly because it was local (2 miles away) and I couldn't ride the bike myself having no licence. I noticed that these bikes seem to change hands a lot and I was worried about getting a dud that hadn't been looked after or was owned by the wrong kind of enthusiasts . Slughshot is right though if bike dealers are anything like car dealers then servicing can often leave a lot to be desired. I hope mine is ok in the trike, but I guess you don't know until finally fitted. A local dealer tried to sell me a Street fighter but I was advised against this by my friend who has owned similar bikes. Slugshots trike engine sounds mental in his videos, I think he definitely got a good one! If I was a bike rider or used to bikes and maintaining them I would have been happier about buying one from a genuine owner on ebay or from the paper, and I may not have been worried about documented servicing either. For me, It's was a bit like buying my 1st car all over again. I do tend to worry though.
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Post by wonderbadger on Dec 19, 2013 8:28:59 GMT
Just trying to nail down potential costs a little more and need to understand what extras I will need if I went for a fuel injection model. Reading other build threads it sounds like power commanders are normally required and a session on a rolling road to get over the change in engine breathing compared to when it was happily housed in the bike - are these an essential add-on for injected engines or can they be run without a PC without causing any issues? Only asking as if that is the case then the £1200 extra purchase cost of a newer bike can quickly have another £500 added on with PC and setup time? (sorry if I am asking obvious questions - only dealt with carb'd engines previously which at worst needed a re-jet and tweaking.)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2013 13:09:39 GMT
well from my past exploits with a rolling road, I would never trust that again. I hear good and bad reports on Rolling Road setups, I experienced very bad, and will never do that again. Carb engine plenty enough deliverable power, plenty enough fun. Pretty economical to run also
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