NC30 Buying Advice

[CMSMJ1]

It is not very standard at all IMO.

Pretty sure it should have gold calipers, has had the OEM can hacked off.. Not worth £2500 ever..not really worth £2k either

I'd stop worrying about any perceived high mileage - I'd rather have a 30k miler that was kosher than one hat was 13k maybe miles and obviously not standard - as it was purported to be.

[Neosophist]

As Mark as said,

The engines are known for their bullet-proof reliability, so long as they have the oil changed fairly regularly and valve clearanaces checked they should run well into the 100k k/m + range

So as long as it's well maintained it shouldn't matter about milage too much.

It does look a bit of a bitsa.

The end-can has been changed, so cut off and welded.. not the end of the world if your not a purist.

It's a Type 1 1989 color scheme which should make it a VFR400K, 110 jets.

The front calipers are later type (black) they should be gold on this model.

You need to see what forks are on it.. can you get a picture of the tops... later ones have a smaller brass adjustment screw in them.

If it's just the calipers that have been changed then it's likely the old calipers were sized up and rotten and they've been replaced.

If forks have been changed too then either somebody wanted to upgrade the front-end or it has been crashed bad enough to break the original forks.

Hard to tell with an import but if you can get more details. sticker under the seat etc then can see what the deal is.

Still think it's a bit over-priced but have a ride if you can see what you think

Don't feel you have to buy the first one... there are loads about and you can get some decent buys if you shop

[pockets]

Thanks chaps, certainly food for thought and made me take a step back rather than rush into anything, I'm not worried about high mileage gernerally, more that theres no evidence at this stage of its actual mileage which I belive to be higher and its this that concerns me.

I'm going to see if the seller has any info on what the info might actually be i.e a copy of any import docs and see about the price and if I'm not satisfied then I will wait a few months and keep my eyes open for a really nice one from the UK mainland.

[CMSMJ1]

Good call. To me, that is not anywhere close to a "really nice one"

[VFRkieran]

I wish id have waited a bit longer to buy my nc30 last year, i rushed in bought one because it was cose to where i lived and ended up paying over the odds for a bit of a dog. I dont regret buying it mind love the thing to bits but i have had to spend a bit of money on a few modifications, my plan is to get it back to a really nice condition bike, its gunna cost me a fortune but im not too worried cus its a briliant bike to ride and own.

[philfingers]

pics of mine here kinda before and after http://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z143 ... %20VFR400/
I paid £1350 for mine, off ebay, not really mint and original as advertised. I wasn't after a mint bike, I have others which don't see rain. looked at 1 other which was advertised as mint too and wasn't which cost me £30 in fuel and 4hrs. You could spend a long time looking.
Briefly i've fixed the fairing cracks, it's mostly presentable, been over the chassis with a fine tooth comb and it's now very usable.
I've changed the screen and indicators, fitted new C&S, rebuilt Ohlins rear damper, head bearings, fork rebuild with Rick Oliver (search- he's the man for spares) fork kit. I succombed to an Art can, seeing as the original and been cut and sleeved anyway
It owes me £2k now, nice usable bike, handles lovely. Just requires the exhaust headers repairing and new tyres.
What i'd say is that if you buy a bike that is right mechanically and cosmetically it's worth maybe £2k. Bearing in mind where you are, you have to either pay the higher price OR (and I really appreciate this) have to spend time and money over on the mianland chasing rubbish which could cost you more in the long run. And this latter option could take days. Which would be time and funds to make the one you've found the way you want it

[pockets]

Thanks for your input Phil, you have hit the nail on the head really and its difficult to explain to someone who doesn't live on a small island with their own equivalent on the DVLA, as you say to get one from the UK mainland involves alot of risk/trust/money/time and things are usually more expensive here because of the lack of choice/smaller market/cost of importing anything so its swings and roundabouts.

I did ask the chap if he'd look into the mileage for me which is my main gripe with the bike but he never got back to me and he's readvertised it so I'll just sit back and see what happens, no rush to buy one at the mo. The only non standard things that stuck out in my mind were the anodised fairing fasteners, the screen and a few stickers all of which are easy to remidy, it was suggested in an earlier post that the exhaust wasn't standard but I don't honestly know but it doesn't look bad and mechanically the only issue the chap said he had was that he had to have one caliper mounting hole fitted with a threadsert.

[philfingers]

Keep an eye on the forum, if there's an established member on here selling a good bike then it's maybe worth a consideration.
When i bought mine i didn't want a mint bike, because i'd fall into the same trap as the others I have and not use it if I thought it was going to rain. I'm still a little green on NC30 matters (existing members shoot me down if I'm wrong) but a mint UK bike with nothing doing I reckon is worth probably 3.5k (they're getting collectable), a similar import is probably going to be 2.5k (a whole 1k cheaper due to different indicators, paint, carb settings, lack of an oil cooler etc). A tidy usable import again with nothing needing to be done will be £1500 upwards, dogs with an MOT and full fairing from maybe £700 upwards. So it's easy to see buy a dog and spend on tyres, chain, service etc and you're up towards £1500, but it's still a bit of a dog.. . ..
Sorry if I'm teachiong you to suck eggs!

[lillywhite23]

Hi guys I'm looking at a nc30 1991 its going to be my first big bike,the guy says its a 1991 yellow rossi race replica, its going for _£1000 with 12months m.o.t and tax New tyres what does everybody think?
Advice would be great thanks.

[philfingers]

whilst it maybe letting the cat out of the bag if you've found a nice one it maybe worth having a search through the forum and see if there's anyone on here local to the bike who could have a quick look at it for you. without seeing pictures, spec then it's hard to say. However if it looks tidy then at £1k with tax, mot and new tyres it's worth a consideration. you've got £250 there in tyres, mot and tax pretty much.