[72suzuki]

I just got my first bike but not sure to sell it or not. It's a lot of work for a newbie. It has been sitting out and he said it ran when he parked it. It has been neglected, poor condition. Anybody give me a generic answer w/o a pic would be cool.

 

[Drake]

I got a 1975 Honda CL360 that was garaged, frame had been bead blasted and repainted, everything was in pretty good condition but the carbs needed a lot of work (I fully rebuilt them). I got that for $300. If I were you, I wouldn't consider spending much more than $1-200. You say it's been sitting outside. How weathered is it? Is the seat in good shape? Do all the electrics work? Does the engine get spark and you just have carb probs? I never believe someone when they tell me "it was running fine before" unless I got to meet them face to face and talk with them for a while (to get a sense of what kind of person they are).

The nice thing about these older bikes is they are relatively easy to work on, if you've done some wrenching before. If you've never worked on a motor vehicle before, well, this can be quite a learning experience for you. You basically need a good Clymer or Haynes manual, and you need to debug your bike. Top down. Check all your electrics first. Get it so that you know that your engine is getting spark. After that, work through your carbs and make sure they are functioning properly and all cleaned out etc. Then make sure your engine is getting compression. I very simplified way of making sure your engine is getting compression is to pull one plug at a time. Put your thumb over the hole for the plug, and have someone crank the engine over (either with kick-start or electric start if you have it). The pressure should pop your thumb right off the hole. If not, you have valve probs which can be another monster entirely.

Good Luck.