Why I hate my PO

[ryott52]

crzydood17 suggested that we have a thread about how our POs messed up our bike, so here goes.

So far my PO put a 180 rear tire on a 3.5" rim, never cleaned the chain, and overtorqued the sprocket nuts so badly I rounded off two of them removing them.

[ben2go]

How in the h377 did that tire not rub the chain and get a hole in it?I am running a heavily modified Bandit 600 4.5 inch wheel and GS sprocket carrier, with a 160-60-17 tire, and I have to stay on top of my chain tension or mine rubs the tire.

[ryott52]

It was pinched so far in that it somehow cleared the chain by about 1/8 inch. Tire was so rounded that it was riding on about an inch of tread on the middle of the tire. Swapped that off about a week after I got it.

[ben2go]

It was pinched so far in that it somehow cleared the chain by about 1/8 inch. Tire was so rounded that it was riding on about an inch of tread on the middle of the tire. Swapped that off about a week after I got it.

Glad to hear you did.That was a wreck waiting to happen.Most 180's are rated for a 5 to 6 inch wheel.

[Big Rich]

Some of the worst I've gotten: when I bought my old CL175 there were no air filters on it. And the guy selling it was telling me how great it runs. "Just the other day my nephew was riding it up and down those piles of dirt on the other side of the field". Thanks buddy.

The last GR650 I bought had mud in the float bowls, sand on TOP of the diaphragms, choke slide busted off the carb, and an honest to goodness wooden stick inside the oil pan. I think the PO was actually trying to kill the bike.

[crzydood17]

thats taking a idea and running with it...

my PO never did any maintainance, Never adjusted the chain or valves, Never cleaned the chain, Wrecked the bike and repainted it over the old paint and stickers with cheap thin paint, in the process lost a few bolts to the tail section, Changed the oil so rarely that the filter melted and less than 1.25 quarts of oil left... And he was a duck when selling it to me... told me 1200 bux, sold my truck for 1600 to cover all expenses then changed his mind to 1500...

[Erika]

The original PO of my bike was a woman who hardly rode it for 12 years, but seemed to drop it a lot. I have a dent in the tank and a bent clutch lever. I just bought it from someone who bought it off of her and it seems like a sound bike. But I'm guessing she never serviced it in any way. But that might be a good thing. The most annoying things she did to it were all cosmetic... a banana yellow seat on a purple bike and then stupid cute little decals, like a frog on the tank staring up at me. I can't wait to take that thing off if I can figure out how to do it without damaging the paint.

[ben2go]

The original PO of my bike was a woman who hardly rode it for 12 years, but seemed to drop it a lot. I have a dent in the tank and a bent clutch lever. I just bought it from someone who bought it off of her and it seems like a sound bike. But I'm guessing she never serviced it in any way. But that might be a good thing. The most annoying things she did to it were all cosmetic... a banana yellow seat on a purple bike and then stupid cute little decals, like a frog on the tank staring up at me. I can't wait to take that thing off if I can figure out how to do it without damaging the paint.

Use you're hair dryer to soften the adhesive and slowly peel off the sticker/decal.I use rubbing alcohol or WD-40 on a rag to remove the sticky residue.I have another original seat, private message me if you're interested and we can work something out.

[tt_four]

I feel like the current owner of my GS hates me a little right now. I put a bit of work into the bike before I sold it. Had new tires, a new gas tank, fresh inspection, brake pads were good, fresh oil, fresh brake fluid, carb cleaned, new grips, valves adjusted. The bike never gave me any real problems in the 7-8 years I owned it, although me and Heather probably only put 2k miles on it max, I wouldn't be surprised if it was only 1000. A friend of a friend bought it, started riding it all the time, putting some miles on it, highway, in the rain, wherever, and all of a sudden it sounds like it has electrical problems and something is wrong with the motor. They pulled the motor from the frame and I guess are gonna have to put some work into it.

I guess that's some of the risk in buying a bike that's 20 years old. At least I know it ran well when I gave it to him, but you still feel bad. That's why I prefer selling things to people I don't know. Once it's gone, it's gone.

[DaielHancock]

the PO of my 2004 gs500 snapped off two of the oil filter studs then put in normal boltsd, tigthened them up so tight that when i tried to undo them they both snapped flush to the casing.. fun times i had drilling those out and retapping. Also he messed around with the carbs and switched the mid and main jets around and lost a spring on the slide. then he didnt send the log book off.

[vinny]

My PO:
Obviously hadn't changed the oil in years. It was black, the worst looking i've ever seen oil.
Oil was so low it was below the bottom of the dipstick It didnt even show up!
Probably swapped the chain for a useless one (Stretched soo much)
Chain on the bike had a clip-link. The link snapped on me after 2 months and locked up the engine doing 50mph @ 7krpm.
Rear sprocket had lots of rounded off teeth and was in need of replacement
Front disc was at 4mm thickness. Lowest limit to be legal here is 6mm..
Front pads were basically shot.
Front brake level was missing the adjuster and wobbled a lot.
Alternator was DEAD. He must have charged the battery the night before cuz it lasted a week..
Only one rear tail light bulb worked
High beam didnt work.
Handlebars are a little bent but he said: "Ive never dropped it"
The heated grips were set up so they would work even if the bike were off. Great way to drain the battery..
Exhaust was rusted through next to the rear bracket.
Front tyre was OLD and cracked, went to a shop and they said they'd NEVER seen the make before but it looked like a race tyre! Also they said it was dangerously cracked and low tread: "Dont go over 60mph" was their advice. I had hit 100mph the day previous.
Both front fork seals were just starting to leak.
Rear shock linkage had so much slack in it the wheel moved up and down an inch before the shock moved at all.
Oh, and the steering head bearings were getting sticky and rough.
He said he looked after it.

Yet somehow it passed it MoT (Yearly inspection) with no problems or advisories a month or so before i got it..
Oh, and it had 35000miles on the clock, i paid £500 and rode it 150miles home.

[noiseguy]

I usually don't start swearing at PO until I open the carbs, b/c I can see the rest when I buy it. In the case of current GS: bent levers, screwy turn signals, sawed-off exhaust, rotor cover smacked so many times only sticker holding it together.

Carb: Missing upper o-rings. Snapped pilot head top. Carbs full of Kreem / leaking gas into bottom end (started this when I looked at it). Drilled out air-screw covers, one screwed in all the way, other out 3 turns. Plus side ran really poorly, which got figured into the price).

These are starter bikes... they are all going to show evidence of poor maintanance and abuse.

[tialloydragon]

My OP built my bike from a bare frame and parts, so it was missing little parts and had the usual problems when I bought it.  Didn't have exhaust gaskets, passenger footpegs, the metal bar that connects the choke to the carbs was missing a clip, didn't have reflectors, the fuel petcock didn't function except on prime, and was missing the centerstand.  Engine ran great though, but it's sometimes tricky to find the right parts if they are not interchangeable through the years (replacing my brake pads will be fun).

[numus]

My PO left it outside 24/7 without a cover or anything... I am still working at replacing rusted screws and cleaning up random rusty parts...

[The Buddha]

My PO left it outside 24/7 without a cover or anything... I am still working at replacing rusted screws and cleaning up random rusty parts...

I assume everything is bad when I am told its all great. If I get a specific list of what is bad I say OK the rest is likely OK.
My favorite is when people assume I am a clueless Injun so they say whatever they think I'll buy. Yea like rare bike, or even better race bike ... Needless to say I dont buy from clowns like these.
Cool.
Buddha.

[numus]

My PO left it outside 24/7 without a cover or anything... I am still working at replacing rusted screws and cleaning up random rusty parts...

I assume everything is bad when I am told its all great. If I get a specific list of what is bad I say OK the rest is likely OK.
My favorite is when people assume I am a clueless Injun so they say whatever they think I'll buy. Yea like rare bike, or even better race bike ... Needless to say I dont buy from clowns like these.
Cool.
Buddha.

?
Bought it cause I got a great deal on it.. Just finding more and more rust the further i start going into it (removed the tank and sanded it down and found rust under the paint... got it all out and bondo'd what I had to.

[Erika]

Use you're hair dryer to soften the adhesive and slowly peel off the sticker/decal.I use rubbing alcohol or WD-40 on a rag to remove the sticky residue.I have another original seat, private message me if you're interested and we can work something out.

Hey thanks, but I already Ebayed a seat. I just discovered this site since I bought my GS500e last week. Now I know where I'll come first in the future.

[The Buddha]

Sorry didn't mean to quote your post ... in my previous post 
Cool.
Buddha.

My PO left it outside 24/7 without a cover or anything... I am still working at replacing rusted screws and cleaning up random rusty parts...

I assume everything is bad when I am told its all great. If I get a specific list of what is bad I say OK the rest is likely OK.
My favorite is when people assume I am a clueless Injun so they say whatever they think I'll buy. Yea like rare bike, or even better race bike ... Needless to say I dont buy from clowns like these.
Cool.
Buddha.

?
Bought it cause I got a great deal on it.. Just finding more and more rust the further i start going into it (removed the tank and sanded it down and found rust under the paint... got it all out and bondo'd what I had to.

[ben2go]

Use you're hair dryer to soften the adhesive and slowly peel off the sticker/decal.I use rubbing alcohol or WD-40 on a rag to remove the sticky residue.I have another original seat, private message me if you're interested and we can work something out.

Hey thanks, but I already Ebayed a seat. I just discovered this site since I bought my GS500e last week. Now I know where I'll come first in the future.

You're welcome.

[XealotX]

The PO of my bike replaced the fork oil, the air filter, and the spark plugs as well as installed new tires. He had just finished changing the oil when I showed up to pay for it.

Then again, it was low on fuel so I guess he sucks...