Don't be that guy

joelbaax · New Member Joined: Jul 20, 2009 Posts: 5 Location: West MI

Well I have run into another of the jerks in the world, makes a teachable moment for my 19 year old. He sold his xs400 on Monday so of course we were shopping for another bike as soon as the check cleared. We also happened to have been looking for ideas for the basket case 650 in the barn. How happy we were to find a 650 on ebay 110 miles from home, seemed like a good deal right? Of course not much time left, had to bid or miss out...Got the bike home , start checking things out....funny there was no mention about BOTH pistons being holed! It's not the end of the world, I just hate the sick feeling of some horses arse taking advantage of me. Of course my son had visions of riding asap.
So the jerk made more money than he should have and I get to tear down another bike with my son, I think I'm gonna come out ahead on this one.

What goes around comes around....

pumps · Posted: July 25, 2009, 11:41 pm Post subject: Re: Don't be that guy

So did you leave some feedback? Maybe other members of the forum might like to know so we could avoid buying from him?

650skull · Support Staff Joined: Jul 19, 2007 Posts: 1186

Yea who is the guy, Post for us Joelbaax

nj1639 · Posted: July 26, 2009, 8:42 am Post subject: Re: Don't be that guy

Was it the old 'carbs need rebuilding' bull shyte?

I renegotiated the purchase price on my eBay buy when I saw the mileage posted was about 12,000 off! Further home inspection showed a stripped plug hole. Didn't find the scored cylinder untill I tore the top end down. 'Course the charging rotor was bad also, and the carbs really did need to be rebuilt.

Live and learn. There's a ton of stuff that I've learned over the last couple of years through this site and through working on mine that, I hope, would keep me from getting burned on a buy. Then again, I look at all the stuff I have learned BECAUSE of getting burned on a buy.

You can have that bike up and running in a long day if just the pistons need to be replaced.

IAmGrowler · Posted: July 26, 2009, 9:39 am Post subject: Re: Don't be that guy

I got burned on a '00 V-Star 650 I picked up on ebay.

Started up and ran like a dream when I picked it up and rode it around the neighborhood -- Of course I never got it up to 5th gear riding it around the block a few times.

Got on the freeway and it wouldn't stay in 5th gear -- Then after about 45 miles I discovered that the alternator was shorted out and that it had been running on the battery the whole time.

$2800.00 for the bike itself -- Not a bad price, even with those two issues.

And $700.00+ to have it towed the rest of the way home on a flat bed.

Y'know, I would have still bought the bike at that price if he'd listed the defects, but I would have made other (cheaper) arrangements to get it home.

joelbaax · New Member Joined: Jul 20, 2009 Posts: 5 Location: West MI

I do owe the guy a call to try and "explain" himself but I have been trying to figure out what to say, you know, he didn't flat out lie about the bike. He just left out some details, wink wink. I went back and checked his feedback cause it is 100%....as a buyer.
Any way I see he has another xs650 listed so his screen name is jdawson from shepherd,MI. Another carefully worded ad.
Like IAmGrowler said about his deal, I probably would have bought the bike any way .BUT the whole premise is honesty up front makes it better for everyone.
I have a set of used pistons on the way. Hope they get here for the weekend. This will be my first 650 tear down, any particular items to look for in the top end? I read someone else had the same problem and was recommended a thorough flush but not necessary to completely disassemble.

Oh,thanks for the comments...

georelle · Posted: July 30, 2009, 10:20 pm Post subject: Re: Don't be that guy

Joel
Welcome and sorry to hear you got burned. I think you will find the motor is relatively easy to work on. It might be good to flush it out check the oil filters etc. and lap the valves while you are at it. Get the carbs rebuilt and make sure it is jetted correctly so you don't hole another piston.
I am always looking for used bikes to buy on craigslist and ebay. It is funny how often you see "blah blah blah is wrong with but it is an easy fix and the bike will be up and running" Yeah right if you know it is an easy fix wouldn't you think you would fix it before you sell it.
Goodluck
Georelle

pumps · Posted: July 30, 2009, 11:18 pm Post subject: Re: Don't be that guy

I'm guessing it was this one?
cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotor...0415159353

nj1639 · Posted: July 31, 2009, 6:18 am Post subject: Re: Don't be that guy

Well, I see that nobody asked any questions about the bike, as far as the add goes. Tough one there.
It'd be funny if he was asked a TON of questions by some folks. Hmm.

650skull · Support Staff Joined: Jul 19, 2007 Posts: 1186

Some times they don't post the questions asked. I think it is up to the seller if he wants to posts the questions..........It is the single most important thing, ask the questions................ His wording and lack of grammar would have scared me off, sellers have to be professional if they want to make it a business. .............Would you buy at a restaurant if the menus we not done properly, broken English and spelling mistakes galore.

I am having issues with a seller on eBay at the moment, i asked if he could ship on a small flat rate box price and he agreed. Now he is trying to get me to pay double the postage price, the fun begins......I get a copy of all correspondence sent to my email address so i can save all my correspondence in case of any issues that might crop up

oldbikenut · Posted: July 31, 2009, 6:16 pm Post subject: Re: Don't be that guy

650skull wrote:

Some times they don't post the questions asked. I think it is up to the seller if he wants to posts the questions..........It is the single most important thing, ask the questions................ His wording and lack of grammar would have scared me off, sellers have to be professional if they want to make it a business. .............Would you buy at a restaurant if the menus we not done properly, broken English and spelling mistakes galore.

I am having issues with a seller on eBay at the moment, i asked if he could ship on a small flat rate box price and he agreed. Now he is trying to get me to pay double the postage price, the fun begins......I get a copy of all correspondence sent to my email address so i can save all my correspondence in case of any issues that might crop up

I buy and sell on ebay, though mainly buy. These days a seller cannot leave a buyer negative feedback, so I would think sellers should be doing all they can do to make buyers happy. I don't buy from sellers anymore with questionable feedback, never been burned real bad, but definately have been taken for additional shipping costs! When I sell these days, I just make it free shipping, the starting bid is what I think the minimal shipping costs will be.

joelbaax · New Member Joined: Jul 20, 2009 Posts: 5 Location: West MI

I called the guy to hear what his story is. He claims he had no idea of any major problems, but when we picked it up he talked to us about checking for spark - even had a set of extra coils cause he first thought that was the problem.
y verdict, he bought the bike to fix and resell, no problem there. He started working on it to sell as a running unit - more $ right. When he figured out how bad it was he dumped it on ebay - that's ok too, but no mention of the compression problem - that was greed getting in the way of honesty. Nothing new there.

So we got the motor out of the frame and started tearing it down. There may be a silver lining here, the motor is pretty grubby underneath. I am pretty sure we will go through the motor and replace ALL the gaskets and seals to make it oil tight. Is this worth the trouble? Better question maybe, is this possible - to make it oil tight? This is our first XS650 so I have no idea what the quirks are besides what I've been reading online.

nj1639 · Posted: August 1, 2009, 11:55 am Post subject: Re: Don't be that guy

Upper gaskets, cam end seals, probably check behind the front sprocket. Clutch pushrod seal can be replaced with the engine in the bike if you need to. I wouldn't tear into the bottom half unless you had to, kind of a' fix it if it's broke' guy here, 'cept for some engine improvements. I find gray permatex silicone works well on the cam end and valve covers etc. but that's me.
I think you'll find this is one easy engine to work on, and the more often you take it apart the easier it is, HA!

I sent the guy a question or two and of course he don't know much and didn't post it. Slick. Caveat emptor.

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