Feedback requested on buying a used 2004 FJR

[Ignacio]

Plus, 1200 miles on a bike that I haven't ridden before is kinda far...lol. I'd prefer to stay a little more local in case I have a problem with the bike.

A big point about this bike...is that 1200 miles is just barely a days ride with the FJR. It's an intracontinental cruise missle! Unless it's horribly abused it won't strand you--there's a reason it's the single most popular model these days in the Iron Butt Rally. To my knowledge none have failed in stock configuration--they're that bullet proof.

That said, I'd keep my open for one a little better deal than the Texas one, but I wouldn't worry about the miles away from home as much as the arranging of transportation to go pick up a good one.

 

[SkooterG]

What about the one I linked to above that is in TX? Offer $5500 and that would be a good FJR to have assuming it's in as good a shape as the owner claims.

Sounds like a good deal, but I'm not sure if I want to go out to TX only to find that it wasn't as great as it sounded. Plus, 1200 miles on a bike that I haven't ridden before is kinda far...lol. I'd prefer to stay a little more local in case I have a problem with the bike.

True. That is a bit far, but I wouldn't worry about the bike braking down. And hopefully, with only 11k miles you wouldn't have to worry about it being ratty.

How about the 05 I linked to? That one is a bit closer to you. It's actually an ABS bike and has over $2500 in mods in just the suspension and seat. Ask anybody around here and they will tell you the value of a custom suspension and Russel Day Long seat. Original owner, so I bet he has all the records for it and probably has taken pretty good care of it. Try to negotiate and get that bike closer to $6,000 and that would be a lot of FJR for the money.

 

[SkooterG]

That said, I'd keep my open for one a little better deal than the Texas one,

Interesting. What do you consider a good deal? I think that one is a pretty good deal, especially if you can get it for $5500 or a little less. 6-12 months ago it would have only been an ok deal, but prices are going up this spring.

 

[JET]

Hey guys, I had to go take a quick b-day ride on the Sabre

The GA bike seems right in line with what I'm looking for. I'm going to give him a shout. I'm headed to New England for work next week and going to visit my folks over the weekend so Im going to look up there too.

Let me ask you guys a (stupid) question, how many guys have bought a new bike unseen, picked it up and drove it back home more than 500 miles? I'm just not sure I would trust driving that far, unless I knew that the owner kept great care of the bike. But, I'm willing to give it a shot if the opportunity presents itself for a great deal!

edit: unless he's sold it, I think I found that great deal!

 

[mikatollah]

Sounds like the price might be in the ball park depending on maintenance records and curb appeal. The deal breaker for me would be the non-abs. In the 5k miles I've put on mine in the past two and a half months they have kept me upright twice. I'll never own another bike without abs.

 

[liljohn]

You've got some electrical work to do and the CCT on an '04 will need to be checked. Judging from the condition, you'd probably better figure on a valve adjustment and TB sync while you're at it. The price would be fair if the bike showed any signs of having been maintained, but that thing sounds like a fixer-upper to me - possible a $1,000 worth. An easy trick is to take a quick peek at the oil and the air filter. I'll bet they're both dirty. Talk him down a grand or walk.

 

[idealistix]

I live in Michigan. Last year I went down to Texas to pick up a Honda VTX1800 sidecar without having seen it in person. I did see plenty of photos and talked to the owner. I go with my gut feeling when it comes to trusting a seller or not. In this case, the seller seemed honest and appeared to have taken good care of the bike. I am happy with that purchase and got a very nice bike that was not available locally. The key is to talk to the seller on the phone in detail. Don't be shy about asking questions. You can also have one of your friends check out the bike for you if they are local.

BTW I would stay away all three of the bikes in your first post. You can get a much nicer bike for a similar or slightly higher price. Check the following sites for bikes listed for sale: this one, ebay motors, cycletrader, advrider. You can do a better search on craigslist by using the following website : crazedlist.org (searching multiple locations at once).

Hey guys, I had to go take a quick b-day ride on the Sabre

The GA bike seems right in line with what I'm looking for. I'm going to give him a shout. I'm headed to New England for work next week and going to visit my folks over the weekend so Im going to look up there too.

Let me ask you guys a (stupid) question, how many guys have bought a new bike unseen, picked it up and drove it back home more than 500 miles? I'm just not sure I would trust driving that far, unless I knew that the owner kept great care of the bike. But, I'm willing to give it a shot if the opportunity presents itself for a great deal!

edit: unless he's sold it, I think I found that great deal!

 

[Patriot]

Hey guys, I had to go take a quick b-day ride on the Sabre

The GA bike seems right in line with what I'm looking for. I'm going to give him a shout. I'm headed to New England for work next week and going to visit my folks over the weekend so Im going to look up there too.

Let me ask you guys a (stupid) question, how many guys have bought a new bike unseen, picked it up and drove it back home more than 500 miles? I'm just not sure I would trust driving that far, unless I knew that the owner kept great care of the bike. But, I'm willing to give it a shot if the opportunity presents itself for a great deal!

edit: unless he's sold it, I think I found that great deal!

many here are willing to go evaluate a bike for you that is for sale within riding distance of their home/work

I've posted a local for sale bike and when someone asked about it, went and checked it out...if something in Looziana pops up on Craiglist or ebay, I'd be happy to go see it for anybody here -> even for free

I'd pick you up at the airport, put you up in my home, and take a local ride one day, and ride a-ways toward ya home the next

Same done for me when I was shopping/kicking tires a year ago...there were bikes for sale in New England and a couple of peeps went, saw/rode/evaluated them, and gave me a report and their opinion

I consider that very close to me seeing a bike in person

 

[pmspaul]

Let me ask you guys a (stupid) question, how many guys have bought a new bike unseen, picked it up and drove it back home more than 500 miles? I'm just not sure I would trust driving that far, unless I knew that the owner kept great care of the bike. But, I'm willing to give it a shot if the opportunity presents itself for a great deal!

I did a fly and ride to get my '05. Almost 700 miles to get it home. It gave me plenty of time to enjoy my new ride right outta the gate.

Someone else mentioned it, but talk to the seller on the phone, ask lots of questions, go with your gut. The bike won't let you down. As long as the rubber is good, you'll make it home grinning ear to ear.

 

[Ignacio]

Let me ask you guys a (stupid) question, how many guys have bought a new bike unseen, picked it up and drove it back home more than 500 miles?

The latest used FJR I bought happen to be 250 miles away, however, even if it had it been 2500 miles...I still wouldn't have hesitated and rode it home. The ad and e-mail exchanges get you a clue of how the owner maintained the motorcycle. Then if you commit and fly to the bike (train, bus, pogo stick, whatever) it's a confirmation process. If for some horrible reason the bike isn't maintained as I expected I wouldn't ride it 2.5 miles.....let alone 250 or 2500. That's the real risk in my mind of getting one that's more than an hour drive away.

 

[deanw]

2004, heated grips weren't standard or an option, so it's aftermarket.

Picking nits- There was in fact an OEM option for heated grips, to be installed by the dealer. It was some insane price, though, and not very popular.

 

[JET]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I believe I have found my bike! The GA bike looked very clean in the pics, has some nice mods and after several emails I've committed. The owner has several bikes, all the maintenance records, and seems like an all around good guy. What ever reservations I had are gone concerning an out of state pickup, and I'm looking forward to picking it up. Now it's just a matter of figuring out how to get it. Either catch a flight or get someone to drive me down there or possibly rent a truck or some means of hauling it back. I'd much rather drive it back because like FJR PILOT said I'm sure it would be kick ass to drive it back. Actually, the more I think about it, it's only a 4 hour drive, so I may have to detour to get a longer run in....lol.I can't freaking wait to get it!

 

[SkooterG]

Congrats! Looks like a good one.

 

[Patriot]

IMHO

I would NOT settle for a bike lacking ABS

I'm serious when I say it can and will save your bacon, even your life

You will catch a rain storm on the interstate some day and the traffic will come to a stop

for any number of reasons out of sight over a hill

I hope you'll dodge that jeopardy...riding and survival is Risk Management

ABS gives you a tool to help you survive

enuf said

let's ride safe and be careful out there,

Mike in Nawlins'

 

[SkooterG]

IMHO

I would NOT settle for a bike lacking ABS

Uhhhhh.......Mikey? The FJR he is buying has ABS. :blink:

Besides, people survived on bikes without abs for many, many, years............

 

[animalrooster41]

+1 for ABS. Hope you enjoy the bike and the ride home. The fjr is my first street bike, I flew from salt lake city to san diago to get it. Everyone said I was nuts. By the time I hit Vegas I was pretty comfortable on it. I have since rode to Oregon, California twice (love hwy 36) Idaho, Arizona, Montana (glacier n.p. is well worth the trip) Canada. Mostly solo, no break downs, No regrets. My 17 year old son rode it, then bought his own 04, nothing like riding together with your son on long trips. My longest day has been 900 mi, that's nothing compared to a lot of guys on here. ABS HAS saved me, I am sure of it! Would like to see my son upgrade as his is non ABS. I have a buddy who flew to north Carolina and 3 day tripped his 05 home to slc mostly in the rain, no regrets, thanks to frogger toggers. Enjoy!

 

[Patriot]

Uhhhhh.......Mikey? The FJR he is buying has ABS. :blink:

reaching for my daily aricept

 

[The silver bullet]

I just bought my 04' last week for $5500

Details:

One owner

11,112 miles

Vstream windsheild and stock screen

Hole shot exhaust and stock

New Battery, rear tire, front brake pads, and fork seals

GPS mount

1" bar risers

Throttlemeister cruise control

"Perfect shape"

 

[JET]

SkooterG, I owe you a beer! I just drove a very nice FJR home from GA thanks to you. :yahoo:

I took my time and feel that I made the right decision. Original owner, well kept, and some nice farkles. I wish the ride home had been longer now...lol. I packed the gear I didn't need in the bag liners and stuffed those in the bags and off I went. The bike was in the mountains, so there were some nice twisties right off the bat. The only bad part with the twisties was the sherrif that followed me the whole time I was on them! :glare: I wasn't sure about the speed limit, but I figured 45 was a safe bet and kept it there. I did manage to lose him for a bit, and when he caught up I figured I was getting a ticket, but I guess 45 was the magic number. The bike handled beautifully. Unfortunately there were some major storms passing through and I was afraid to jump on the Blue Ridge Parkway as I thought I would get caught coming down 77 into Charlotte, so I settled down on I-85 for the rest of the trip. It was a very smooth ride, excellent passing ability and just cool enough to keep me from sweating. Got in a little traffic west of Gaffney SC, and with the 1/4 tank of gas I had left was able to experience the heat you guys have talked about. The original owner had installed a heat shield kit so I'd hate to imagine what it would be like without it! The Russel seat fit my butt like silk drawers, I could see sitting on that all day with no problem at all. The suspension felt solid, and she purred like a kitten the whole way home. I managed to put 250 miles on it, and feel like I could have gone another 250 easily.

I'll get some pics up tomorrow, but first I think I need to read the OM to get acquainted!

 

[Patriot]

05 non-abs, 29k miles, %6700 in GA, LOTS of great farkles (suspension): Clicky.

Scoot...now that there's a happy ending...I have some aricept for you