Topic: 1975 Honda CB 550 4 sale around the corner. Pic - Shoudl I buy???

[JunkyardLife]

Doesnt run, hasnt ran in 3 years. He said it needs a new head gasket, plug wires, carb cleaning, drain gas tank, etc. Gas tank and seat are perfect. Fenders arent bad. Only 11xxx miles. I think as long as the engine turns over, it can be repaired.
Ive been looking for a cheap/older project bike to have some fun with.
The guy has been real hard to get a hold of. Hes giving someone else a chance to buy it from him over the next couple days, and if it falls through he said I can buy it. Part of why Im so interested is because its right around the corner. I can push the bike home when I buy it.
Ill probaly offer him $300 cash, but he may want $500.
Any opinions? bad deal, good deal? Anything in particular to check for?

I coudl only get one pic to upload correctly, but that pretty much shows you everything.

[Chris Liston]

I'd go for it.  I bought mine for 500 and didn't look anywhere near that.  That and besides it sat in a garage for around 13 years.  She fired up in 1 hour.  Look like you have a MAC exhaust on that 550 also.

Chris

[JunkyardLife]

Yea, the exhaust isnt original nor are the side covers(or maybe theyre original but painted black) or the throttle grip.

Anyone know if a head gasket is a common problem with these? Ill see why he thinks thats wrong. Itll be interesting to diagnose. I bet if it turns over with good compression a carb cleaning, plug wires, points, battery and it fires up.

[n9viw]

Even for $500 I'd say it's a good deal, but $300 isn't bad. I paid $300 for mine, and it was "chopped". I put that in quotes because some PO moron put on 8-over upper tubes and 2" drop blocks, a gigantic tractor-seat K/Q seat, sissy bar, the like. It ran when I got it, although it needed a carb sync, and the front brake was frozen open.
I'm wondering if he thinks it needs a head gasket because it's weeping oil out the cam tower ports. The stock head gaskets for these bikes are very strong, I'd find it hard to believe the 550 would be so misused that it would blow a head gasket before something else happened first. Replace the cam tower o-rings with Viton o-rings, and never change them again.
Those side covers look like the Maier covers commonly available from JC Whitney- not as nice as NOS, but good enough, and the mushroom nuts keep them from blowing off as you approach the ton.
The rest of it looks to be in decent shape. My vote is to go for it, and sort out the niggly bits as you go.

[nobrakes]

If you don't buy it, let me know where it is and I will! 

[Kelvin8]

I picked up my '78 for $650. It looked in near perfect condition ... until I got it home. Badly gunked up carbs (slow jets are completely blocked up), outside of tank looks perfect, inside ... rusty. So, it wasn't like the 76 750 I got that just needed a light cleaning of the carb bowls before I fired IT up. Two months later I'm still working on it. Biggest hold up has been securing the carb rebuild kits. If you want a project bike, and that's what you're expecting, buy it.

[GeorgeK]

Here is my 3 cents,

     Things are not always as good as they look at first glance. Make a list of things that you need to know about the bike and then take a good look.  Does it need tires? is the tank Rusty? is the engine frozen?  how is the wiring? whare was it stored for the past 3 years. How is it cosmetically ( do you care?)? Paint and chrome is expensive. The exhaust does not look stock. Stock exhaust is expensive.  I find that when ever I do a restore of anything it is the small suff that will nickle and dime me to death. It could be worth  $300.00 but probly not $500.00.  But if you really want it it could be worth more. 

 Something to think about,

George

[JunkyardLife]

Ill probaly put new tires on it..They look pretty rotted. Just to be safe. Itd be great if I can avoid rebuilding the entire engine/tranny.

Hopefully hes been the owner of it since the last time it ran(pretty sure he has) so he can tell me exactly why and when it stopped running.

Im only 22, but have worked on alot of cars(domestic V8's) so Im pretty mechanically inclined, but know NOTHING about motorcycles. Its gonna be a challenge for certain.

Thanks for the additional info everyone! Ill be posting here daily if I end up with the bike.

[Uncle Ernie]

Hells Bells- if it looks as good in life as it does in that crinkled picture, the parts alone should ber worth more than $300.

[ejand22]

Hells Bells- if it looks as good in life as it does in that crinkled picture, the parts alone should ber worth more than $300.

Yep.  I say go for it.  What's $500?!   

[KB02]

Someone once told me that if an older bike runs, it is worth at least a dollar a CC. Even if the head gasket is bad, I would say it should be worth around the $300 mark. (I'd but it for that anyway.)

I say go for it if the other guy doesn't buy. You'll have tons of fun gettng it going. And if you're anything like me, the project will never end. 

[Buffo]

now adays any running, road legal, full sized motorcycle in decent shape is worth $1000....you can still find "good deals" but it is hard to find the one or two hundered dollar barn Queen now...

Buy it...bring all your money in 20's...the sight of cash can change the tide...pull out three hundered in 20's from one pocket and count it in front of him...let the cash do the rest...make him squeeze every other doolar out of you if he wants more...

Buffo The Magnificent

[JunkyardLife]

Thats pretty funny, considering that was my exact plan
I have exactly $300 in my wallet tonight, all in 20s(simply because thats all the ATM machine give money in). I could stop by an ATM tonight and bring another hundred or so in another pocket, but Ill make him make me go get it.
Ive gotten alot better at negotiating thanks to watching my dad buy cars. Always offer lower than you think. Youd be shocked at what people say yes to without hesitation.

Ill call him up in an hour to see if its on. Its still sitting there so it should be mine to make an offer on.

[JunkyardLife]

This guy is impossible to get ahold of. Ive called him about 10 times tonight and no luck. He said he gets home around 6:15 and its 8:40. I dont know how he expects to sell this bike.
I live right around the corner with cash in hand! For crying out loud. Let me go buy it and get it out of the rain.

[Quail "Owner of the comfortable k8"]

Not if you live in the Shippensburg area.  If you do I want that bike I saw it first.

[JunkyardLife]

Coudlnt get ahold of him tonight. Left message.
Dork is ticking me off.

[JunkyardLife]

The other guy bought it left me a message this morning.

Jerk. I called him Saturday when it was out there and was prepared to pay him cash then.

He sold it Wednesday to the guy, when he was supposedly out of town.

I hate people like that. Whoever has the cash first is the buyer.

[Gordon]

Sorry to hear about that.

Keep in touch with the guy who bought it, though.  He may eventually decide he doesn't want it anymore.  A lot of times people buy an old bike or car because they think it's cool, but don't realize it actually takes work to get it running and keep it running well. 

Several years ago I sold my old VW van to a young couple.  Then less than a month later they put an ad in the paper to sell it, asking $300 less than I sold it to them for.  I still had the cash, so I gave it to a friend who went and bought it from them (for $100 less than they were asking), and then I sold it again a week later for my original asking price!