Shady motorcycle deal or noobie paranoia?

[ponchopirate]

So I'm new to this forum and I apologize for the lengthy first post but I wanted to get the opinion of people who actually know what they're doing.
I've been searching for a good deal on a GS500 for some time now and I found a used dealer/parts shop with a 1989 gs in great shape.  I went there a couple days ago and test drove it.  It had trouble starting, but then fired up.  I asked what the trouble was and was told that someone left the petcock in the "on" position so the engine flooded.  Made sense.  Everything seemed to run well, I reved it up to about 5k and never got past 3rd gear but nothing seemed weird and everything sounded okay.  I was getting ready to make the purchase when the guy helping me said he was going to go get the paperwork.  A minute later he comes out and says, "I don't want to sell you this bike.  I can't sell it to you."  I asked him why and he told me that he suddendly realized he thinks something is wrong with the head gasket on one of the cylinders.  That seemed really weird to me because I figured a head gasket problem would be pretty obvious.  He tried to show me a couple other bikes but I said I was only interested in buying a GS500.  We were about to part ways when I asked if he could check for the supposed problem, fix it and then sell me the bike.  He said he would but I'd have to put $200 down to reserve the bike.  If he can't fix it I get the deposit back, but if I back out I eat it.  I made the stupid decision of agreeing with the terms, not realizing in my excitement of potentially owning a bike that the whole head gasket thing sounded kind of shady.  If the bike seemed to be running properly does his reasoning seem solid?  Is something shady happening or am I just being neurotic?  Sorry for the long winded story.  Any comments/advice would be greatly appreciated.

[red_phil]

The 'someone left the petcock in the "on" position so the engine flooded' bit sounds wrong.

GS500s have a vacume operated petcock. in the on position no fuel is delivered to the float bowls unless the engine provides vacume to the petcock.
If the petcock had been left in the 'pri' position then yes, then it could have flooded things.

As for the head gasket thing, sounds like he was trying to push you to a pricier bike, but when he realised that wasn;t going to work he sold you the GS on the proviso he could fix the 'problem'.

[luksi]

When I was looking...I ran into a gentleman who was selling salvaged bikes and had a GS 500 real cheap.  When I told him I wanted to get it re-titled and registered for street driving...the bike mistakenly was sold by his partner.  I believe the guy I was dealing with possibly didn't have a title or got a better offer.

Sounds like your guy is planning on trying to fix whatever is wrong (maybe not what he told you)...then again he may have taken your money as a hedge in case another buyer who offered more backs out.  If the other guy comes through...you'll probably get your money back with another lame excuse.

[ponchopirate]

Thanks for the info.  Much appreciated.

[pantablo]

The 'someone left the petcock in the "on" position so the engine flooded' bit sounds wrong.

.

maybe he meant it was left on 'prime'...that would flood the engine, wouldnt it? Would also probably spill gas a bit too in some cases I think.

[AR5ENAL]

Doesn't sound like a scam to me.  The seller probably wanted to push you to buy a more expensive bike, then stopped when he realised you weren't interested.  

Flooding the engine shouldn't be possible if the petcock is left in 'on' position...my guess is that it was either left on 'prime', or something was gunking up the motor.

Make sure to check the bike over thoroughly before you buy it...little problems like rust in the gas tank, fouled carbs, etc. aren't that hard to fix, but will end up costing a lot in the long run.

Make this document your new best friend: Used Bike Evaluation Guide.  It might also help if you have someone more knowledgeable about bikes to go with you.

I'm a GSer in Santa Cruz, and I have to say, it's an awesome bike.  You'll love it, but don't buy a lemon just because you're excited.  I made that mistake and paid too much for a 1994 GS just because I wanted to ride.