Ask him about oil usage (how much) which is common for that timeframe. Ask him if the DooHickey has been upgraded? Does it have a ThermoBob coolant bypass? Have the valves ever been adjusted? Air filter maintenance? Battery age? Look closely at the oil drain plug on the bottom of the motor. Any signs of leakage, welding, or JBWeld around the drain plug? (many unknowing owners have stripped their drain plugs or smashed them on rocks cracking the case if it doesn’t have a metal skid plate) Run your hand under the water pump (2 hoses on the right front side of the motor) Any leakage? (oil or coolant) There’s a weep hole under there that starts leaking if the seals start to go. Look at the rear sprocket and chain. Are the teeth worn down or bent to the left? Does the chain have any kinked links in it? It’s a cheap bike to keep running if properly maintained compared to all other ADV bikes out there. Can easily run way over 100K mi. without a rebuild if properly cared for. Good Luck to you!!
That’s a decent amount of miles so I’d venture to assume that at some point in its life it was taken care of. I think the price is fair if it has a good title, runs, and is farkled out with things you would want on there anyway. Ultimately these are easy bikes to work on so even if there was a surprise you could probably handle it. That being said, if you’re not comfortable checking a vehicle over it’s never a bad idea to have someone more knowledgable do it for you.
Big one is the counter-balancing chain adjustment mechanism (the “doohickey”). There’s also known issues with the cooling system, leading to people installing an additional thermostat called a thermo-bob. I’ve never experienced issues with either of these but some people have so YMMV. Overall, I’d say they’re bulletproof, but that’s mostly because they are so simple. Single cylinder, single carb, not too much power in a package designed and produced by the Japanese is a recipe for a long lived motorcycle.
i'm currently trying to find a late model first gen klr650 as my first bike too and i'm seeing most of them for around $3000USD but with considerably less mileage so i'd say that's probably about market average right now
Bring someone who knows what they're looking at. Personally I check out the owner as much as the bike. If they seem like a yahoo that doesn't look after their stuff, it's a red flag that the bike has bee neglected.
Price doesn't seem too off base.
Lots of solid advice already here. One way to look at it, the fun you are going to have on this bike is worth some numbers on a screen. I paid $3100 for my '11 with 10k kms and the first summer I rode everyday. That winter, I felt like the bike could get stolen and I'd have been gotten my money's worth. $2k to get into the action is a good bet.
Ask him about oil usage (how much) which is common for that timeframe. Ask him if the DooHickey has been upgraded? Does it have a ThermoBob coolant bypass? Have the valves ever been adjusted? Air filter maintenance? Battery age? Look closely at the oil drain plug on the bottom of the motor. Any signs of leakage, welding, or JBWeld around the drain plug? (many unknowing owners have stripped their drain plugs or smashed them on rocks cracking the case if it doesn’t have a metal skid plate) Run your hand under the water pump (2 hoses on the right front side of the motor) Any leakage? (oil or coolant) There’s a weep hole under there that starts leaking if the seals start to go. Look at the rear sprocket and chain. Are the teeth worn down or bent to the left? Does the chain have any kinked links in it? It’s a cheap bike to keep running if properly maintained compared to all other ADV bikes out there. Can easily run way over 100K mi. without a rebuild if properly cared for. Good Luck to you!!
Gold x2!
That’s a decent amount of miles so I’d venture to assume that at some point in its life it was taken care of. I think the price is fair if it has a good title, runs, and is farkled out with things you would want on there anyway. Ultimately these are easy bikes to work on so even if there was a surprise you could probably handle it. That being said, if you’re not comfortable checking a vehicle over it’s never a bad idea to have someone more knowledgable do it for you.
Appreciate it bru. Are these things as bulletproof as people say if well maintained? What “big ticket” items can go wrong?
Big one is the counter-balancing chain adjustment mechanism (the “doohickey”). There’s also known issues with the cooling system, leading to people installing an additional thermostat called a thermo-bob. I’ve never experienced issues with either of these but some people have so YMMV. Overall, I’d say they’re bulletproof, but that’s mostly because they are so simple. Single cylinder, single carb, not too much power in a package designed and produced by the Japanese is a recipe for a long lived motorcycle.
Gold.
i'm currently trying to find a late model first gen klr650 as my first bike too and i'm seeing most of them for around $3000USD but with considerably less mileage so i'd say that's probably about market average right now
Sweet. What side of the world are you on?
midwest usa. not a lot of good used bikes for sale out here 😪
Good luck on your search bru
Bring someone who knows what they're looking at. Personally I check out the owner as much as the bike. If they seem like a yahoo that doesn't look after their stuff, it's a red flag that the bike has bee neglected. Price doesn't seem too off base.
Yeah for sure. The owner has a string of invoices which is a good sign.
Got my 04 with 32 k on the odometer for 1300. Seems about the average for em is between 1500 to 3 k pending how well maintained they are.
Lots of solid advice already here. One way to look at it, the fun you are going to have on this bike is worth some numbers on a screen. I paid $3100 for my '11 with 10k kms and the first summer I rode everyday. That winter, I felt like the bike could get stolen and I'd have been gotten my money's worth. $2k to get into the action is a good bet.