Bought used - have issues!

[mbx5]

Well, I bought a used 2007 YFZ 450. It was on ebay, didnt meet the reserve. Reserve was $4k...not too bad...so I made an offer outside of ebay.....probably my first mistake...supposedly it had 10 hours or so on it - some cosmetic scratches, but in good shape. They threw in a nice pair of boots and a helmet.

The bike showed up - I had it shipped freight. It was in a very sturdy crate, undamaged.

Fired it up today...runs good. Noticed that the steering is tweaked HARD to the right while the wheels are straight. Bars arent bent... Took it for a ride down the street. Left wheel is bent badly - probably almost 1 1/2" out of true (edit...its a pretzel).... On/off switch is jammed in the run position, and the light switch is cracked.

Seems that someone caught a tree pretty hard....tweaked the stem and bent the rim... All which was undisclosed.

Seller was a nice guy on the phone...very professional. He mentioned his son bought it, but had a football accident and shattered his wrist... Pieces starting to come together yet?

Sounds like the boy either lied to dad (ever see the Christmas Story where Ralphie shoots his eye out...) and said it was a football accident, or the dad is possibly covering for it too...

I kind of feel bad for complaining because I still feel its an ok deal - I called his dad tonight and he was seemingly totally oblivious to it! Couldnt believe what I was saying - said he actually rode it right before they crated it.... this thing is bent bad enough that someone who never rode a 4 wheeler would notice something was wrong.

I bought it sight unseen - my fault for risking that. It is as-is, where-is....buyer beware. I still think I got a good deal baring there arent serious mechanical issues...

Anyway - had to rant a little....real bummer because I wasnt expecting to have to change a stem.... BTW - how bad is changing a stem on a YFZ? THis is my first one.

Thanks!

[squadie]

Steering stem is easy to replace. It won't slip through the stem clamp (behind the gas tank), so you'll have to remove the tank cover, tank, and stem clamp. Torque the nut on the pitman arm to spec (130 ft/lbs). Some grease on the splines will help it slide into the pitman arm easier. Give the stem clamp some grease too. Be careful on what stem you buy -- the 07 has the fat bar clamp. Can't remember what size handle bars the 06 uses. 04/05 models have the 7/8 bar clamp.

[yfzrider310]

06 uses standard clamps not oversized...be sure to get the 07 stem.

[06YFZ450SE]

That sucks the quad was f-up. Sorry to hear about your bad luck.But the quad is in goos running order tho right.. Rim/steam/ and switch can be replaced. Good luck with your YFZ450 I like mine.

[mbx5]

Thanks for the comments. Yes, so far it seems in good working order - I havent really gotten a chance to ride - just a quick jaunt down the road. I am going to change the oil and filter, clean the air filter, grease the joints, etc...I don't think the kid that had it really took great care of it unfortunately...lots of loose bolts, misc. stuff that shows it was ridden hard and put away wet on more than one occasion.... But it isnt too bad... It was really sh1tty of the sellers to not disclose the damaged stem and rim - I mean it is so obviously wrecked... I am going to take a short video of it to email the seller... the father has blatantly denied anything being wrong with it and actually said "well it must have come from the factory that way" - umm, either that dude is extremely dumb and his kid has him by the nads, or he is a flat out liar.

Regardless I am pumped to have a YFZ and cant wait to get out riding!

[06YFZ450SE]

I go over my bolts every other ride and I wash it every time I ride.I change my oil/oil filter every 10-15 hours I clean my filter every 2-3 rides. Good luck with it.