Would you buy this bike?

Back story:

A few years ago I decided to sell my sportbike and look into a getting a cruiser. I'd done the speed thing and was looking to slow down a bit and enjoy the ride a little more. Well life kinda got in the way and now 4 years later, I've been looking at getting a bike again. I'm a Honda guy to the core so I started looking around for either an older Magna or a Shadow Sabre.

My question:

After a few months of searching, I've come across a good deal on 2005 Honda Shadow Sabre with a little over 4,000 miles on it. It's being sold on consignment at a small bike shop. They don't allow you to test ride the bikes so all I can do is sit on it and start it up. I started it and seems to idle fine. Upon initial inspection, I noticed the tires are the original set from 2004. I'm thinking it will need about 400 - 500 to replace the tires and all new fluids.

The bike is carbureted and I don't have any experience with a carbureted bike. All my past bikes have been fuel injected. What concerns me is what other potential problems could I be facing with a 10 year old carbureted bike that's been sitting most of it's life? Would you take a gamble on this bike?


Update (12/30/16):

I went down to see the bike again, and after talking with the shop, I didn't get the warm and fuzzies about the bike. To be honest, I think they were more concerned with selling repair work than the bike itself. Something in my gut was saying to stay away. So I passed on it. Another 2004 model popped up a few weeks later. Went to go see that one. During the test drive, it ran like crap. Felt like it was misfiring or only running on one cylinder. Needless to say, I passed on that one too.

During my research, I came across info about the Kawasaki Mean Streak. It had everything I was looking for. Fuel injection, tachometer, hydraulic lifters, shaft drive, and over 1100 cc. Further research and searching led me to several late model units with low mileage in the same price range as the Sabres I was looking at. Fast forward a few months, I picked up a 2008 Mean Streak 1600 with just under 6000 miles. Here she is.

 

The carbs should be cleaned, todays fuel is hell on carbs. If you do it yourself i read it can be a pita, if a shop does it it should be no more than a few hours labor. I would just find a fuel injected bike if it were my money.

Buying a used cruiser should be a little easier than buying a used sportbike, because the cruisers typically are not abused. That being said i would be uneasy buying something without riding it. My last three bikes i bought were used, first was a private seller, i let him see i had a motorcycle license and gave him a copy of my i.d. and he felt good enough to let me ride it. The last two were a used bike dealer.

Tires are the most important thing on a bike, next to a quality helmet, if the tires are shit that could be a good indication the bike wasnt maintained.

Whatever your choice is id say you have about 2 weeks to make it before bike prices skyrocket. Also for what its worth i have gone through your scenario, i had a gsxr, sold it to afford my house, after a few years the riding bug bit and i got a honda shadow, i didnt like the shadow, sold it and got a sv650 the next year, the sv650 wasnt sporty enough, i sold that and just got another gsxr....

 

Buy it. Deal w/ the shop and have them change the fluids, clean the carbs and replace the tires.

 

You're right about the tires being a good sign. I'm guessing that sucker has been sitting for years collecting dust.

Oh I can handle changing everything out. But since I've never dealt with a carbed bike, I'm just concerned as to what possible problems could arise in the future because of the bike sitting for so long.

 

As long as the jetting was correct to begin with, all you should need to do is clean them. Replace the fuel filter in the tank if there is one. I'm sure it's all degraded/gummed up as well.

 

May require a carb rebuild. If your cleaning them I would personally go ahead and do a basic rebuild while you are in there. Tires should definitely be replaced. I can imagine they have dry rot..Also check inside the tank for rust. A bike sitting for long in prone to rust in the tank. So shine a flash light in there. You'll know if its bad. Best of luck!

 

I had a Shadow Sabre. Great bike with tons of power/torque down low.

The only thing to be mind full with the Sabre is there are dual carbs, meaning they will need to be synced at 1000 rpm.


my old ride:

 

Great advice. Thanks everyone. The bike is still for sale. I'm gonna go take a good second look this weekend. I've also found two other ones equally equipped and comparably priced.

 

Also, when you go check them out and hear them run, listen for the 'Sabre Tick'. Not all have them. It is basically a oil starvation issue that some Sabre's develop.

 

Check for rust in tank if it's been sitting for a long time. Also, inspect any hoses and cables, things get brittle as they age, check for cracks, tears, etc. Otherwise, if the price is right, buy it and run it.

 

my guess the bike is worth around @2500-3500, but why bother with carb if you don't have to? But if you ride it often enough, then gas wouldn't sit too long to gum...assuming the initial carb work prior to purchase.

 

Shadows are great bikes, reliable etc. but I just got rid of a carbureted bike because I got tired of dealing with it. Shaft driven though which is nice

 

My dad has a Shadow Aero. Carbs are no hassle. It takes a few minutes to warm up, but I would just start it and let it warm up while putting on my helmet and jacket. The carbs have never had to be touched and his is a 04 as well. My dad has around 4000 miles on his and still has the stock tires. Tons of life in them and not dry rotted.

 

This doesn't sound right. Most motorcycle tires won't last longer than a couple years

 

It has plenty of traction when I ride it.

 

Yeah but I bet they take forever to get heat into them, and they feel slick. My tires are only 3 seasons old and i have to replace them next year

 

No.

 

Not my bike so I'm not putting new tires on it. It's a large cruiser, it never gets ridden hard. The work and have plenty of traction.
I replace my bikes tires about every 1.5 yrs as I wear them out.

 

For street riders, tires can sit for a long time without changing, as long as it's on stands when sitting for long time to prevent flat spots...like over winter. Different coming from a track pov though.

 

Yeah when you only have 2 tires I like to make sure they're in good shape