First off, I'm fairly new to motorcycles and while I have ridden several I've never actually owned one. Now, I'm considering buying one bike in particular and am curious how much its worth/I should pay...

1990 Suzuki GS500E
- 7900 Miles on the odometer
- Good F/R tires
- Never been laid down (that I can see)
- Bike rides good and seems to be well taken care of...
- Some minor rust and such on a few areas that looks to be easily fixable (especially since I own a Powder Coating/Polishing business)

Thanks for any help/info...

Scott

OK powder coating... you are my new best friend...  :mrgreen:
Anyway should be worth a max of ~16-1800... but as usual low ball till he faints. Start at 800 max and let him push you up hill...
90 bikes look for rust, everywhere... in the tank, under the frame rails, pipes, etc etc etc.
Cool.
Srinath.

Srinath gave you good price info. Be especially wary of rust in the lower tank corners. If you see any paint bubbling, there are probably rust pinholes in the metal and it's gonna start leaking.

Okay, I went and looked at the bike again... and talked to the owner this time. It will need a new rear tire in the near future (I didn't look close enough last time), but the guy hasn't ridden it in a while and simply wants rid of it. He's moving to Atlanta to start a restaurant...

So basically, he told me $700 and it's mine... so given the info I've told you, you guys think I should go for it? I think it's a helluva deal, but just want a couple opinions... I'm probably gonna buy it. He might even throw in his helmet...

Thanks,
Scott

Sounds like a pretty good deal.

$700 is great. Word of advice on the helmet.... take it, but do not wear it, and give it away when you sell the bike. I never let test riders wear my helmet... and going to buy a bike I take my helmet... and if a guy shows up wanting to buy a bike wihtout a helmet... I have a ton of helmets I got (some of which were mine before I brike the face sheild or something and I let them wear it on the test ride. Buy a new good one that fits just right on your head. Also jackets and pants are a good idea... and buy those ones with lots of holes cos the damn summer humidity in NC will make it impossible to wear the non hole kind.
Cool.
Srinath.

Exactly my thoughts on the helmet thing, I was actually considering Ebay'ing it to re-coup a few dollars from the bike transaction. I already have a nice helmet that I use when I race my car, so that will be my passenger/test ride helmet. I'll buy a new, nice one for myself.

Thanks for the comment though  

Scott

OK you want to stay as far away from morons on ebay that'd buy a used helmet off ebay... well you might want to sell them ocean front lots in Tuscon AZ... Frankly not worth the effort and expense of boxing the thing and sending it out... I'd keep it and it gets used for test rides when you sell it.
Cool.
Srinath.

you could also get one of srinath's bars