Would you guys buy this?

[nran29]

I am in the market for a new bike. I have not ridden in a year because of school and getting married. Just been plain busy. Previous bikes were all 2 strokes my favorite being a yz125. Anyways, I kinda had my mind set on a 4 stroke just to see how they are. I plan on racing here and there and want a bike that will compete. With that said I just saw an 07 yz250 smoker for sale for 1700 bucks. Supposedly it has a new top and bottom end but wont start because the guy or kid who owns it adjusted the float height. Is it worth taking a shot on this?

[USED YZ426F]

I am in the market for a new bike. I have not ridden in a year because of school and getting married. Just been plain busy. Previous bikes were all 2 strokes my favorite being a yz125. Anyways, I kinda had my mind set on a 4 stroke just to see how they are. I plan on racing here and there and want a bike that will compete. With that said I just saw an 07 yz250 smoker for sale for 1700 bucks. Supposedly it has a new top and bottom end but wont start because the guy or kid who owns it adjusted the float height. Is it worth taking a shot on this?

If the bike has good compression, and doesn't appear to be thrashed, it might be worth a look.

Take a spare plug with you and a gallon of fresh premix and check for spark. If the plug is dry, then it could be a float issue. If the plug is wet, and you have spark, you should be able to kick start it.

If there is no spark, even with your new plug, you may have some serious work to do to get her running. Or it could be as simple as a bad kill switch.

On the other hand, if you go and it is completely clapped out, broken plastics, bald tires, bent/broken levers, no compression, etc, it may be more trouble than it is worth.

[nran29]

Waiting on pics. Hopefully it's nothing major.

[schrode]

i'd pay $1000 for it. that's about it for a non-running bike. personally i wouldn't do anything to get it going before buying it. if you show up with gas and plugs and start tinkering around and get it running he might try to bump the price and tell you to beat sand if you don't like it. but keeping it to a grand and you can recoup most if not all of it parting the bike out if it turns into a basket case. my .02.

[ar2stroke]

If it looks 'good' as in the other post not JUNK, then offer a $1000.

I bought a YZ125 from the original owner one time, it had sat in storage for 3 years, it might have had 30 minutes of riding time on it total.

I got it at a low price because it would not run, the carb needed cleaning, fresh fuel and new plug, changed the coolant and put in a new air-filter. Fired right up, however these are not very easy to find.

I would pass it by if looks rough, too many other race-bikes for sale right now. In this economy most people are NOT spending much money on hobbies.

[nran29]

Here is a picture. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/855/yz2502.jpg/

[ar2stroke]

The bike don't look bad in the picture, however with all used bikes it is always best to put in a fresh top-end and inspect the bottom end. Who did the work on the motor, is there any proof of it??

Why did they tinker with the float level, I have never had problems with float levels.

Like the above stated see if it has a spark, if it does not then there is some other problem. I would not give $1700 for it, it is always a gamble on something like if someone has been tinkering with the bike all over the place I would run from it.

The fact is there are a LOT of used bikes right now, the economy is shedding jobs like fleas...

[RCannon]

If it were easy to start, the current owner would start it then sell for full market value. Hell, he coudl even have a shop fix it and it woudl be worth more tuna 1700.00. I woudl be very wary of this one.

[ttugrad95]

Agree 100% with RCannon. Why would someone put a new bottom and top end in then stop at adjusting the float level? Its really hard to mess up the float on these things anyway. Its worth 1700 in perfect running shape, maybe, but I wouldn't touch it even at 1000 because IMO if its not running its junk. When a bike won't run never trust the seller for a reason on the reason why.

[sdjclevland]

If you had your heart set on a four banger then jut get that cause if you buy the yz you will probably still wanna try a four stroke.

I would not buy it unless you were a good mechanic and could work on it yourself to solve the issue. I was gonna sa the same as the guys above if they know it's a float issue why would they not jug put it back? Ask the owner what track they ride and get their last name maybe you can ask around to find out more about te bike

[shagger]

If you know how to work on bikes I think it's a good deal. If you don't? Well, knowing how to fix bikes rocks.

Most problems with a two stroke are pretty cheap to fix if all you have to buy are parts. A four stroke? Not so much.

[ar2stroke]

I would stay in the 2 stroke arena, unless you have a lot of cash to spend on parts and I mean a lot.

Like I have stated before, MX bike mags make spending $1000 on exhaust and thousands more on 4t parts like it is a sabbatical or something.

You will recoup your money with a 2t bike, they have went up in value and are being sought after. The 4t bikes are everywhere, people cannot sell them with the 'fragile' motors and people see dollar signs if something go awry. (which it will)

I hardly see fun in a $8500 4t bike then another $1000 on exhaust then hundreds/thousands more on regular maintenance items. You could have $15,000 in a bike worth about $3000 IF you can find someone to buy it...

Lots of 4t bikes all over, used and new ones on showroom floors just sitting...

I am looking at a 2010 Yamaha YZ250 *new*, it will last me for many years.

[TommyB 754]

wow, surprised to see to see the replys. Here in the NW that bike running would fetch 3k, it's cleaner then most bikes on CL.

It's just a two stroke dirt bike, they are as simple as a bowling ball, parts are cheap and readily avaliable. If it were near me, I'd show up with 15 and load it up, I don't see any reason why not?

[singletrkstar]

If it were easy to start, the current owner would start it then sell for full market value. Hell, he coudl even have a shop fix it and it woudl be worth more tuna 1700.00. I woudl be very wary of this one.

I agree, if it won't start because he adjusted the float height, then why don't he just fix it? Like you say, would be well worth it. Doesn't make sense.

[sykal]

i'd pay 1k for a non running yz 250, i wouldn't care how clean it looks.

[nran29]

He says his friend put the new motor in and you can see new cylinder bolts on the motor. Says he needs money to fix his truck. I might offer a 1000 cash.

[ttugrad95]

He says his friend put the new motor in and you can see new cylinder bolts on the motor. Says he needs money to fix his truck. I might offer a 1000 cash.

Ok, just be careful and go over every part of that motor. I would be scared that you will get it home "fix" the float put oil in the tranny and fire it up to find that his friend cracked the case or jug doing the repair and thats really why it won't run. It wouldn't be the end of the world but it would no longer be a good deal.

[ronbuell]

I'd bet it needs crank seals, and he didn't do that when he did the bottom end, and doesn't want to tear it back down. No base compression.

[DewmShrewm]

How would an 07 need a bottom end done? Really? I just cant imagine a bike being that lapped out in what 5 years? There just has to be more wrong with it than minor carb work.

[sledhead999]

It's possible his buddy didn't get the timing right when he put the bottom end back together and its firing at the wrong time. I didn't need to remove my stator when I split my cases. That bike running around here would be worth about $2500~2800.

I just checked the lash in my '98....still good after 13 years and the previous owner abused it. By the condition of the case it's never been apart either!

For $1500 I would jump on it if the rest of the bike is in decent shape. That would leave you $1000~1300 in repairs to hit market value around here.