Last fall I found an Ad on CL for a 2000 Aprilia Pegaso in a town not far from me. The price was good and the bike only had 4k miles. So I moseyed over and took a look at it and everything seemed fine. The bike came with a nice Bagster tank cover and small tank bag. The only thing I noticed during the pre-sale inspection was the carbs were running kind of lean so I knew I was in for some fiddling there. Thought it would be kinda fun to have a dual sport in the stable. For those not familiar, the Pegaso is the same bike as a BMW F650. It has the same Rotax 650 engine and shares many parts. Here's the bike:
So, when I got the bike trailered home one of the first things I did was remove the Bagster to take the tank off to get a look at how challenging it would be to get the carbs out. That was when I found my first major surprise. The corner of the plastic gas tank had become distorted and bulged out as if it had overheated somehow. So I called him up and said WTF? He was like, oh gosh. Yeah I forgot to tell you about that. I did a quick search on eBay and found a replacement tank, same year same color for $200. After much lively discussion, he paid for the tank and I opted to keep the bike. It really is a great little bike and a lot of fun to ride. I wouldn't want it as my only ride but it's great for hot days and blasting around on the dirt roads and such.
In NH we all have to get state safety inspections done by the end of June. I brought my other two bikes over to the LBS for their inspection one at a time. I decided to run a little pre-inspection to make sure the Pegaso would pass. That's when I found my second "surprise. I had been riding around on a motorcycle that had no front brake lights. Someone had physically removed the brake light microswitch and cable.
When I bought the bike it had a current NH inspection sticker on it, so this guy had known that the switch was removed. Either he removed it after the inspection or found someone that would give him an inspection without a front brake switch.
:angry03:
Now, I generally do use both front and rear brakes when coming to a stop, which is probably why my son never noticed the problem when he was riding behind me, but sometimes you might get a little lazy and just use the fronts. That could have been really dangerous. I probably should have known to go over it with a fine tooth comb after that gas tank incident.
It cost me a whopping $30 for the replacement switch and cable to make the bike right.
Unbelievable what some people will do to save a buck. :******:
So, when I got the bike trailered home one of the first things I did was remove the Bagster to take the tank off to get a look at how challenging it would be to get the carbs out. That was when I found my first major surprise. The corner of the plastic gas tank had become distorted and bulged out as if it had overheated somehow. So I called him up and said WTF? He was like, oh gosh. Yeah I forgot to tell you about that. I did a quick search on eBay and found a replacement tank, same year same color for $200. After much lively discussion, he paid for the tank and I opted to keep the bike. It really is a great little bike and a lot of fun to ride. I wouldn't want it as my only ride but it's great for hot days and blasting around on the dirt roads and such.
In NH we all have to get state safety inspections done by the end of June. I brought my other two bikes over to the LBS for their inspection one at a time. I decided to run a little pre-inspection to make sure the Pegaso would pass. That's when I found my second "surprise. I had been riding around on a motorcycle that had no front brake lights. Someone had physically removed the brake light microswitch and cable.
When I bought the bike it had a current NH inspection sticker on it, so this guy had known that the switch was removed. Either he removed it after the inspection or found someone that would give him an inspection without a front brake switch.
:angry03:
Now, I generally do use both front and rear brakes when coming to a stop, which is probably why my son never noticed the problem when he was riding behind me, but sometimes you might get a little lazy and just use the fronts. That could have been really dangerous. I probably should have known to go over it with a fine tooth comb after that gas tank incident.
It cost me a whopping $30 for the replacement switch and cable to make the bike right.
Unbelievable what some people will do to save a buck. :******:
