mbx5
03-25-2008, 05:43 PM
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!
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!