Smoking Bike...worth buying

[pizzle600]

looking to purchase another xr600 and found this one on craigslist in CA (Plated!). the add states that the bike is a street legal 1990 that smokes a lot, and has two flat tires, but starts right up $900. Do you guys think its worth a look. If so, what should i look for, and why do you think it's smokeing. thanks a lot. ? any advice would help. Also, what color smoke should i look out for.

http://www.craigslist.org/sby/mcy/46977341.html heres the link

[BWB63]

Do you already have a bike?

They will probably take a lot less $750?

If this is going to be your first bike you might want to save up a little longer and get something you won't have to be worked on. If it smokes all the time...that is a lot of wear. If it smokes a little then stops once it is warm that's not bad. There are to many of these out there to get one that is going to be a major fix job. Dose it have a ton of road miles? There is a difference in bad valve guide and a worn out bike. A worn out bike is worn out! ? and I wouldn't want to get into splitting the case on my first bike ?

It wouldn't be cool if this is going to be a first bike to brake and you think Honda's are like that! ?

[pizzle600]

No i have another 87 600, that im starting to learn the ins and outs of (only owned it for a couple months). ya i definitally dont want something thats gonna require a lot of work, just wondering if theres a way to tell whether or not the bike is trashed or needs some minor repairs. thanks for the help ?

[BWB63]

Best way is compression test ? sound and then see if the smoke goes away once it runs for awhile...if all are good and $750 it's a good buy! It's a pain to get the compression tester in the spark plug hole and it has to be the type with a hose. if it is above 130psi good ?

we took off the hose and ran it through a spark plug socket that is open on both ends (made for two spark plugs) put it back together....that way we could tighten it.

[JMC]

I would look for wear indicators like- Worn foot pegs (if they are stock) worn shifter or brake pedal surfaces if it were me so I could try to get a guess at the mileage. Some body here on TT had a great article on XR's and what to look for. Even gave mileage est. on common repairs- whl. bearings, t. chain and one other com. repair (can't remember ?). My local Honda shop said you can get pretty deep cost wise on a XR top end. They just did a total rebuild on one w/ a few mods and it went for just under a grand. Heck it might be worth it for a parts bike!

[pizzle600]

Bike smoked like a mother#$%@er...decided to pass. Looking at another reck right now that looks to be in pretty decent condition. its an 85 and runs great except has been known to die sometimes when it gets hot. Whats that all about? Again, is it worth a look? what should i look for?

thanks guys ?

[pizzle600]

Any thoughts???thanks guys ?

[Old_Man_Time]

Bike smoked like a mother#$%@er...decided to pass. Looking at another reck right now that looks to be in pretty decent condition. its an 85 and runs great except has been known to die sometimes when it gets hot. Whats that all about? Again, is it worth a look? what should i look for?

thanks guys ?

That is a known electrical problem. Call Baja Designs, they can help you with it. If that is the only problem with the bike and the price is right, you should be ok.

[pizzle600]

Thanks a lot!!! any idea of the kind of work and money involved to fix the problem??? ?

[Old_Man_Time]

It's been years since I owned a XR600 but yes you will have to purchase a part. It wore out due to heat over the years. I don't remember if it was the stator or the black box that this commonly happened to. If I was you I would call the Techs at Baja Designs first before you purchase the bike. They can give you an idea of cost. They no longer carry the information on their web site on the XR600. I used to have one of their old old catalogs which went into detail about this problem and the fix. IF I can dig it up somewhere I will let you know.

[don87xr600]

pre '91 stators were bad. You can buy a new one from ricky stator for $130, puts out 200 + watts.