Newbie!!

[suds750]

Hi to all,
I wonder if anyone can help a newbie.....?
I'm currently riding a Blackbird but find that increasingly I'm getting not getting the enjoyment that I once was! I think the problem is that I feel under too much pressure to ride it fast every where! I've been looking on ebay for an Africa Twin that needs work doing to it as an ongoing project, and think I've found just the thing (item no. eBay Link - 300228458679)...but need some advice.
Is this bike too much of a risk? what should I be looking out for? I guess that with the fact that there is damage to the fairing and the tank and fairing sides have been replaced and /or resprayed that I should keep an eye out for frame damage?
Any help would be gratefully received!!

[BobA]

Welcome Suds!

You're in the right place to ask questions.

My personal opinion on that bike is it may be overpriced, depending on whether it is just the fairing thats knackered, or if there are other hidden horrors.

I've purchased all of my AT's via eBay, but one thing I have learned is ALWAYS view it before bidding. It's perfectly acceptable to make a cash offer there and then!

Satisfy yourself that it's only the fairing, and there's no fork or frame damage, damage to the rads, clocks, front subframe etc. You will get all these bits on eBay, but if it all adds up to the same as buying a good bike in the first place, why bother buying this one?

I would say keep looking as well. There aren't many AT's on eBay at the moment, but in the past there have been many. Personally, I think it's possible to get a running bike that's worth restoring for under a £1000, although values do seem to have risen recently.

Have a god look at this forum, know what to look for, and look at a few before committing yourself.

Main worries are; Gearbox output shaft getting stripped, wheel corrosion, binding front brakes, and the usual accident damage.


Good Luck



Bob

[icenian]

I've been looking on ebay for an Africa Twin that needs work doing to it as an ongoing project

"Africa Twin that needs work". I that that's a tautology

[OED link inserted for the benefit of the GS riders. They're not too bright, bless 'em.]

If buying something cheap, I'd budget on the wheel being knackered and probably at least one of the front brake calipers too.

Wheel rims corrode, and this happens worst from the inside so it's hard to spot. Apparently you can sometime see it around the valve hole, but really you need to take the tyres off and look under the rim tape. That's not practical, but it seem to happen to all of them. You can get the wheels rebuilt with quality stainless spokes and nice rims, people seem to quote about 300-400 pounds for a pair. It's a lot of money on an old bike but you get something better than the original, at least; and you'll save that much on you tyre bills compared to the 'bird, within about 6 weeks probably

Front brake calipers are a right pain. They corrode around the bores, and the dust seals can actually start to come out. This is easy to check in a couple of minutes of the seller will let you take the calipers off. Some (like mine) only made it to about 5 years old, but some seem to escape it. You can't fix them, and the cost each is about 240 pounds new from Honda; ones from breakers may be knackered. 650 Transalp caliper bodies fit the RD07 apparently, and don't seem to corrode as often.

Those two things likely problems, but also the only common expensive problems, unless (like BobA said) someone has overtightened the chain and knackered the gearbox output shaft bearing (tip: measure the distance between the chain and the underside of the swingarm just forward of the rear tyre, bike in neutral on side stand; should be about 70mm; if much less than this, the chain is over tight; the Honda manual and sticker on the swingarm specify far too little slack).

Don't be put off by the lists of problems you'll find here. Any model of bike will have faults at the sort of age/mileage we're talking about, and at least with the Africa Twin you can fix things. It's unlikely to blow up on you, and most stuff can be fixed with the information you'll find here, and without spending much. You'll probably throw away more cash on Touratech bling, a Tour-X lid, FOAD mx boots and Hein Gericke Rallye gear than fixing the bike...

Oh and finally, if the bike runs like a dog, has an erratic idle and maybe smokes (black/grey) a bit, then 100:1 it's a seized choke. This is a fiddle but basically easy to fix. Replacing all the choke parts (cable plus plunger/springs/etc. at each carb) will cost you up to 130 in parts and it'll seize again within 6 months, so most people just disable it (dead simple; you'll find details here) because the bike starts easily without choke unless it's really cold (sub zero).

[suds750]

Thanks for the replies guys....most enlightening!
The general plan is/was to offer the blackbird in px. ie he gives me bike + cash for my bike. I then use the cash for parts. But being a cautious soul, I thought it prudent to check those that know before making a move! (Anyone who wants to do a swap just let me know)
I think now I'll give the guy a call and go see the bike and maybe go from there...at least, thanks to you guys, I'll know what I should look out for. I'll report back what I find.

[boboneleg]

Welcome and good luck Suds

[Lord Vader]

"Africa Twin that needs work". I that that's a tautology

[OED link inserted for the benefit of the GS riders. They're not too bright, bless 'em.]
.

I soooo object to that
Welcome to the site suds
as you can notice you can not listen to everyone on here as a lot of them are only on Day release
but do listen to the advice cause "some" of these guys know what they are talking about

[Dilbert]

Hi dude, I'm just here on day release that's a painfully bad repair to the fairing, more than a little amatuer, so I'd be a bit worried about how well it's been maintained, check out the service history though as it sounds like maybe he got someone to do it for him, in which case maybe it's Ok