craigslist gs500 good deal?

[crazycorkey]

hey guys,
I want to get a gs500 for my first bike and saw this on craigslist $1000.
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/mcy/881139610.html
I asked him how many miles and how he burnt out the clutch.  We responded with 26,583.8 miles and a pic.
So IF he let it run low on oil and burnt out the clutch could the engine have been damaged as well? or will the clutch go before that.
Is there another way to burn out the clutch besides being a noob on a manual?
Is this a good deal if I figure I could change the clutch myself?  Should I be worried about other things wrong with it as well?
Thanks for any advice.
Cory

[TheGoodGuy]

burning out the  clutch happens when you ride the clutch aka: burn outs!

otherwise normal riding wont hurt the clutch.. its a good deal for a 2001.. i have one.. as per engine damage you got to look at the bike

[ohgood]

it's worth $1,000 easily IF the bike is ridable and you can verify the engine wasn't toasted (by riding it).

I don't see a chain in the picture, and there are a million oil stains on the driveway.

Start it from COLD, let it warm up with the choke, turn the choke off, start it again HOT. Listen, feel, and watch for oil. If it sounds good once warmed, ride it and REV IT but do not exceed 10,000 rpm. There is no rev limiter, and you could blow the engine if you over rev it.

Look for smoke on startup. Look for smoke on WOT (wide open throttle). Look for smoke on deceleration.

Are the tires ok but worn ? cool
Worn and need replacing ? subtract $250 from the  price
Is the TITLE CLEAR AND IN THE SELLER's NAME ? yes = no worries. no = $500 off the price of $1000
Do all the lights/gages work ?
How's the inside of the tank look ?
Run it through the gears easy AND HARD to feel for weirdness.

NOTE:
if he burned the clutch, he did something very wrong, for a very long time. burnouts ? oh ya. remember the gs is oil cooled, and can't take burnouts forever without frying something.

(welcome to the board)

[crazycorkey]

thanks guys

The clutch is wet right? so if the oil level was low it could burn out?

[ohgood]

thanks guys

The clutch is wet right? so if the oil level was low it could burn out?

yes, it's a wet clutch. if the oil level was low enough to hurt things, i'd be more worried about the bearing surfaces than the clutch

the clutch is a cheapish thing to replace. the engine, not so much.

[The Buddha]

A clutch can be fried in 1 afternoon ... heck I could see how to burn it in 1 hour ...
To get maximum life out of it ... in first gear you should let it out just fast enough, and give just enough throttle that the bike is on the verge of stalling.
Rev up high and hold it in and let it gradually out that you power yourself out of a dead stop = disaster for clutch.
In all other gears when moving ... you pull in and let out instantly.
26K heavy traffic may actually be normal life for it. However it should not jump out of gear that = disaster, part it out then and its not worth 1000, maybe 200  ... it should stay in gear and rev up the motor without moving in you whack the throttle open ... you accelerate slow and it should pull away.
Cool.
Buddha.