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What would you pay?
- Thread starter timothyd
- Start date
+1.
+1.
lower the handlebars and use the seat for a while. The stance changes with the low bars and that seat is comfortable.
New York prices are lower than most other places and yes the bike is an American model made for the American market. The compliance plate will show this.
Ask for a pic of the compliance plate. If you can show him you know something and ask the right questions, that will make the owner aware you know he may telling a few porkies, (ask about the differences in the tack and speedo), then negotiate down , catching a seller out lying makes me want to run away or negotiate down low and be prepared to walk away.
A lean running bike will hole the piston so a compression test would be important when going to look at the bike.
I like the 78/79 Specials better. Show some pics of it. Tell the 80 Special guy your also looking at this one and make it sound like a good deal.
Look at the peg and kicker rubber for wear.
Speedometers can be changed but people tend to not change rubber.
Speedometers can be changed but people tend to not change rubber.
Not really, when you register (at least in my state) they simply ask for declared mileage...no one really checks and you can put down anything.
For what it's worth...it looks like it's in decent shape. I doubt it has 25 miles, but still a nice bike overall...$2500 nice? Not for me...but I'd have a hard time paying that much for any bike 30+ years old.
For what it's worth...it looks like it's in decent shape. I doubt it has 25 miles, but still a nice bike overall...$2500 nice? Not for me...but I'd have a hard time paying that much for any bike 30+ years old.
CDNTX650
XS650 Guru
78 standards are very desirable. If good buy grab it.
The mis-routed speedometer cable is NOT reassuring.
Folks have been known to disconnect the speedo cable to keep miles down...
After taking a second look at the pics, there is something fishy going on there. As pointed out, the speedo rings looks new, but the tach ring looks well worn. Looks like the seller may have done a speedo swap, so the 25 miles looks fraudulent to me.
Disregard my earlier price estimate, as it was based on an almost new bike condition.
Somebody is telling some lies about this bike, so what are they covering up...............is there some hidden damage, perhaps internal to the engine????
Disregard my earlier price estimate, as it was based on an almost new bike condition.
Somebody is telling some lies about this bike, so what are they covering up...............is there some hidden damage, perhaps internal to the engine????
Maybe that's it. All the 'domestic' Hondas I came across (shipped over by GI's stationed in Japan), had metric speedometers. So, yes, I can see a speedo swap in the history...
Crashomon
XS650 Enthusiast
if you're concerned AT ALL about it; go with the $1000 bike.... you'll still have $1500 available for fixing/customizing the bike that WOULD have been tied up in the 25 mile bike (at least, that's how I Look at it). But if the $1000 bike is a runner, go for it; make it 'your own' and ride the wheels out of it.
I've owned 15 different bikes and passed up hundreds of bikes.... no worries about missing out, just go for the one you like at the price you think is fair and move on.
There will always be other bikes in your future. Cheers.
I've owned 15 different bikes and passed up hundreds of bikes.... no worries about missing out, just go for the one you like at the price you think is fair and move on.
There will always be other bikes in your future. Cheers.
Hi Tim,
sellers all tell lies, so don't trust the mileage numbers.
Me, I'd go for the higher priced 1980 because it has no-points ignition, a disk rear brake, a lift-off seat and artillery wheels that'll take tubeless tires.
If you've ever tried to patch a tube by the roadside you'll happily give up the look of wire wheels so you can fix a nail-punctured tubeless with a can of tire slime to get you home.
Note that XS650 parts swap like LEGO so if you'd prefer the look of a Standard the Standard's bigger gas tank will drop right on.
Now that exhaust pipe bluing is a concern. The stock dual wall pipes shouldn't do that.
The seller sez there's a set of new pipes that comes with.
If the pipes on the bike are aftermarket single wall, those do go blue in normal use.
Spider John
XS650 Enthusiast
Conceivably, the bluing on the pipes could be due to the low miles. A few intermittent, short rides with months or even years in between would leave condensation and corrosive exhaust byproducts to sit in the inner pipes. 35 years of this may have corroded the inner pipes. Just a thought. (You'd hear the buzzing of the rotted inner pipes as soon as you revved it a bit.)
Also, If it was originally a JDM bike, the swapped speedo would have equally benign reasons.
Also, If it was originally a JDM bike, the swapped speedo would have equally benign reasons.
650mark
XS650 Enthusiast
I just bought that very same bike(1980) here in mesa Arizona for $1600. about 13,000 miles, all stock, p.o. had quite a bit of work done to it and it looks and runs very very well. it's my 4th '80 xs650 special so I'm pretty familiar with them. very unlikely those headers have only 25 miles on them. being that discolored from running very lean takes at least several hundred miles. however, it looks like a nice bike, for $1500 or so
nh-jk
XS650 Addict
Who adjusts a factory carb, on a stock bike, with only 25 miles on it? My bike had 9k on it and the pipes were not discolored like that..
650mark
XS650 Enthusiast
timothy, regardless of the comments here on the forum
give some serious consideration to obtaining that bike. IF it has a clean title, IF it is truly all there, IF it really runs and of course IF you really want to get involved with a 35 year bike. My first xs650 barely ran, brakes completely failed about half way home, cost me $1,100 to buy and I then spent another $1,000 on it. but it was the best $2,100 bucks I could have spent at the time. sold that bike for way more than I had into it. My next xs650 had been laying in a guys back yard for about 15 years, had a rather large shrub growing through it, and had to be literally dug out of the dirt. after restoring it I put about 4,000 miles on it before selling it on to the next owner. these bikes can get to be an addiction
and a really nice, unmolested one is getting very hard to find. good luck
give some serious consideration to obtaining that bike. IF it has a clean title, IF it is truly all there, IF it really runs and of course IF you really want to get involved with a 35 year bike. My first xs650 barely ran, brakes completely failed about half way home, cost me $1,100 to buy and I then spent another $1,000 on it. but it was the best $2,100 bucks I could have spent at the time. sold that bike for way more than I had into it. My next xs650 had been laying in a guys back yard for about 15 years, had a rather large shrub growing through it, and had to be literally dug out of the dirt. after restoring it I put about 4,000 miles on it before selling it on to the next owner. these bikes can get to be an addiction and a really nice, unmolested one is getting very hard to find. good luck
I'd be looking at that '78 Roadster with cash in me pocket and an intent to lower the price.
Hi Tim,
don't be put off by what's been posted here, you'll need to check them out in person before you decide whether or not to make an offer.
Buying any bike that old has to be a crap-shoot and judging by the photos either of those two bikes will give you a better chance than most you'll find.
