Reason being, I'm looking at a '90 with a price tag of $NZ2000 (or 1K quid). It's done 55,000 miles and apart from an oil leak on the gear change side... looks ok. Service history is unknown.

This would certainly put it in the high miles bracket, but with some TLC and the original build quality, do these engines hold up?

If not, what's a good indication the donk is on the way out?

Really don't want to sink 2 grand in, only to find I have to sink another 2 grand in just to keep her running... would rather spend that on mods!

(...should probably add that this is my first post on 400Grey... what else...I'm a kiwi, been riding for 18 years... honda & duc fan...never owned a V4.... really glad I found you lot- some awesome info in here. Cheers!

Im on 61173 if it seems ok and looked after i wouldnt worry

allow me to summarise the last 15 years on here, the general feeling is, so long as its been ridden often, oil changed often, warmed up a bit and owned by someone sympathetic then 150k is quite achievable
owned by a series of baffoons, thrashed from cold, wheelied, and abused where possible then anything from 20k to 50k upwards.
they are tough though, see the buyers guide on the homepage

What Paul said ^

The engines in these bikes are tough and engineered well. Consumable parts on the rest of the bike can be easily replaced and are available. I'd be looking closely at where the oil leak's coming from, could be an engine apart job in the worst case.

A compression test should give a good indication of the engine condition, bare in mind though that they use 8mm thread plugs so most comp testers will need a rare 8mm adapter.

There's a few nz members on here I'm sure they'd be willing to lend a hand if you get stuck.

Welcome firstly. The oil leak is a common one it's the input shaft. The correct way of doing this though is to split the casings. Not a good start if this is your first NC but will help you to understand the mechanics!! Some people can do this without splitting the casings but there is a lip on the seal which sits in a recess on the casing halves. The method for doing the job without splitting the casing is getting a couple of self tapping screws and pulling the seal out. Not sure on the replacement! If you do get this job done chage the small seal for the clutch push rod also. Good luck.

Hi i once changed an output shaft oil seal on my honda VT250 without spliting the cases by pulling out the seal with two self tapper screws screwed into the side of the seal and pulling with two pliers. And with a sharp blade slicing off the raised lip from the side of the new seal and then with the right size drift pushing in the seal with a few taps after applying a little seal fix to the side of the seal this worked fine for several years hope this helps rick

I wouldn't buy it simply because it looks like shit. Wait around and you will see some nice NC30's for not too much more.

Link?

Cheers for the replies everybody.
Scot and Rick: fantastic tips on the input-shaft seal fix- cheers!

Do you know the bike I'm talking about, silent? If so, then NZ is a small place!

And yes, I would wait for a low-miles, never thrashed bike with the full service history, but cash really is the issue and I have a feeling I wouldn't be the only person interested..... Not many NC30's floating round for two grand, unfortunately...

Now, of course, I have CRM's "Buy the best you can find, not the best you can afford" ringing in my ears...

Just out of interest, what's the highest genuine mileage anyone's heard of on a stock bike?