Hello, ZX riders im the new guy and i need some help " I wanna buy a used bike "

Ok, I've never owned a bike but I wanna get 1 this summer, I know the ZX1400 is a big powerful monster to be starting out on but hey, Im 6'6ft / 320LBS. any advice. Whats a good price range for a 06-08 bike and whats moderate mileage to look for..... Thanks, if u can help...

& if you have some cool pics of upgrades to your bikes please post them, cause I have no clue outside of adding an exhaust.....

I think you'll be fine if you use common sense. The 14 is a befitting of a guy of your size. It is very predictable. Practice in a parking lot five minutes then rest 20. work up to 15-20 minute practice. Don't let yourself think you can ride for long periods until you work up to it. Really this is a good rule to follow because learning to ride requires intense focus.....that is not NORMAL riding; it is learner riding. Give yourself a lotr of breaks even if you don't think your brain needs it.

06-08 bike, used, 3000 miles----about $6000-$7000????? Does that sound about right fellas? I have over 25K on my 08 and I would be asking $6000 at most. Lots of used bikes and people wanting to get rid of them.

Look at sides of fairings for scrapes. Look at the bottom of the lower fairings for Any pitting or scrapes. look for busted feeler pegs and scrapes underside of mirrors. These are tell tale signs the bike was dropped. Not to big a deal in a garage but will give you bargaining power. Look at chain. Is it adjusted to 3rd mark? That may need replacing soon and it should not unless the bike has 18,000 miles. Look at rear sprocket. Saw tooth, over-tightenning the chain. busted teeth or teeth look too pointed --sprocket is worn out---should not be under normal use until about 18000 miles. Brake pads--are the markers 3mm or more? They should be on a low miles bike but some of us are harder on brakes than others. Tire--is it a Bridgestone BT-014? that is stock and if it is not worn too bad at 3000 miles that bike was treated pretty gentle. Most say they get 3000 miles on a tire.

Look at the protector shield that sticks down in front of oil drain plug. Any scrapes and that bike has come down hard out of a wheelie at least one time or at least ran over something and scraped. Scrapes under exhaust pipes, the bike has been cornered exceptionally hard which is fine but tells you the owner definitely did some sport riding. Back tire worn up to edges--the guy was a sport twisty rider which is fine but tells you the engine was also prolly run hard. IMO, I would feel comfortable about buying a low miles bike that was run hard as long as the owner was not abusive. There's a dif between peak performance and senseless abuse. These bikes should be run hard sometimes. I have done low wheelies and lots of cornering and high speed touched the rev limiter plenty of times. I would be 100% confident to ride that bike to Maxton and then top out in the mile. The bike was made for sport riding.

Look for rubber chunks under the tail--burnouts.

Tell the owner you want to hear a cold start. Feel the motor and the pipes. If they are hot the guy had it running before you got there so i t would sound smoother. Listen to the motor on a cold start. If it rattles for 9-10 seconds and fades, that is normal cam chain rattle. Annoying but normal. Also a big clunk and a small jump into 1st from neutral--they all do it pretty much.

Ask to see evidence of routine maintenance. Reciepts for parts and service should have been saved or photos of the work being done.

What mods does the bike have.....do you like them or will you want to replace them? I'd take any mods but don't pay much extra for crap you don't like. Slipons, I think you might give a couple hundred extra. PC-$150. General rule---pay half for used mods or less if well used or you just don't like. You can tell the owner you will buy without mods but that might piss him off. He will try to sell to someone else who wants the mods. But if its still sitting a month later wave a bank roll under his nose.

Ask the owner to ride the bike next to you while you ride in a car. Ask for a demo hear and see the bike run up to 70 mph in 1st gear if the guy will do it for you. That will show you how the motor runs across up to peak rpm. Personally, I wouldn't buy a bike I never saw or felt ridden. If you get serious, you could offer the guy $100 deposit to let a buddy ride for you or just tell him you want to see him do a demo for you while you follow in a car.

Good luck. Hope it works out for you. I'm suure it will if you want to do the wheeling and dealing.

* Last updated by: Rook on 2/28/2011 @ 10:59 PM *

@ROOK, thanks a ton man i really appreciate you bringing me up to speed, and also giving me some pointers for my practice rides....

Rook, pretty much covered everything. If this is your first bike with no true ride experience; just take it easy learning the bike....

If I may, Knight, this bike will still be a handfull with your weight. You really won't understand the power until you're on it by yourself. Just realize how fast things can go wrong on a bike. I would really suggest you take a MSF riding course since you're learning on such a strong bike. You'll be surprised how fun they can be especially with a friend. And just treat that bike like your on a lions back, the first time you quit paying attention it'll turn around and bite ya in the azz. I should know, I lost my foot stunting bikes.
Good luck, have fun, and welcome to this forum!

Rook has ya covered in what to look out for with buying a used bike.... Shogun and Edgecrusher have taken care of the warnings... so I'll just say .

@Shogun1, @Edgecrusher, thanks for the advice. I'm going to take one of those classes before I get my bike (http://www.scridered.org/locations/aiken.htm) I plan on getting my bike in May that way I give myself enough time to get educated, & grab some experience riding a friend of mines bike..... Thanks again fella's !!!!!

knightheet, Any bike you learn on will be good for experience but if you do not learn on a sport bike, I think it will still be an adjustment getting on one for the first few weeks. My experience was confined to big cruisers. The forward position took some getting used to but once I did, I noticed a great improvement over the cruisers for handling. Until then, I had a couple weird and scary experiences. Actually was having trouble negotiating a simple gradual corner at 55 mph on the expressway and just drifted into the next lane. Lucky nobody was there. There was no reason for that except I was not used to the bike.....So yeah, be extra careful the first year and more careful after you develop riding skills. Lots of riders crash at 2 years, I once heard. They think they know what they are doing but they find out they know not quite enough.

For a fella your size, i'd recommend buying some brock's clutch spring spacers. It will help the clutch hold onto the power (hate to say it, but weight kills clutches). Just keep that in mind when you pick one up!