Possible odometer fraud? and also new owner :)

[Guest]

Hello everyone, a while ago I purchased a 1986 Suzuki GS400 (GSX400 I now believe based on my research) with 14000 KM. After all was said and done including profit made from sale of something else. It worked out to be a $100 which to me is a great deal. I have a previous post which I don't think is in the appropriate section

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=213635

So my appologies.

Not knowing much about bikes I asked a friend to help me out. I was told by the previous owner that the bike just has to have the carbs cleaned and a new battery. Upon arival he greeted me and we started the bike up. He told me that the carbs needed cleaning as one of the exhaust pipes is not heating up.. which after reading this wonderful forum I believe? please clarify if that maybe an issue.

So the bike looked clean for it's age. I put down a deposit, came back the next day with a friend with a trailer who knew about bikes and has owned several GS bikes and drove 2 hours each way to grab the bike..

Fast forward to now..

My school load finally lightened up and I had a chance to take a look at the bike.. I noticed that the speedo has some glue residue around the needle. or what seems to be residue from superglue, like the whitish film.. and upon inspection I noticed that the speedo cable was kind of freyed at the bottom... and was further secured at the freyed part at the wheel with one of those screw type clamps used for holding hoses down..

The bike is also missing the back fender which I have now sourced and purchased..

the odometer reads 14,002 km.. I am really worried that I got screwed over here and got myself into something which is going to be very costly..(due to a higher km range and not knowing what's what). I was planning on doing some light touring on back country roads with the bike next year. Not sure how reliable it will be if the km are wrong..

everything else on the bike looks amazing, even the footpegs are in great condition and original.All paint is original and the gas tank interior has been coated red. Another thing I noticed was that all the wiring was kind of just hanging but attached under the headlight... so I took off the lens and tucked everything back in there...

I have emailed the previous owner last night and I have not heard anythign yet. I also got the used vehicle package since I'm in Ontario and have found the address of the last owner previous to them online.. I am goign to write them a letter and ask how many km the bike had when sold.. and hope to get a reply.

I am also the 8th owner of the bike..

looks like it changed ownership from original owner in, 92,93,94,97,00,06 and finally myself Sept 2013...

So from this I'm going ot guess that the bike was used for learning on.. as for me the current owner, I'm planning on keeping this bike. Being 5'6 and 155lb I can't see myself ever riding anything bigger or needing to.

So even tho the bike is clean, I am wondering about the speedo issue.. should I be concerned? that is pretty much my only worry.

I'm planning on doing valve adjustment, which I'm also somewhat worried about since I'm worried if the valve adjustments have never been done and if it has done damage...

Thank you for your time and for your input.

Here is an image of the bike. I didn't know how to attach it again as I had done it in another post. I will attach link to that image. thank you.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20674&d=1380679057

[azr]

The bike cost you $100 and you're worried about being screwed over?? You said the bike is in "amazing" shape so I doubt it is 114000kms but who knows. Is it pushing any blue smoke? Do a compression test, if the numbers are good you're good to go. And with these old bikes. you could have only 4000 kms on her but she's still and old bike that will need maintenance and new parts. Don't worry, you've got yourself a very dependable bike once you've done the 'usual' GS maintenance to get her road worthy. Congrats on the bike, she looks great and welcome to the site.

[Gorminrider]

I am wondering about the speedo issue.. should I be concerned? that is pretty much my only worry.

If that is your only worry,No, you should not be concerned.
27 years/8 owners=Stuff happens.

[Nessism]

I'd focus on getting all the maintenance up to date and making the bike reliable. Can't stress this enough. The bike is 30 years old and almost certainly has not been maintained properly though it's life. For example, you should tear down the brake system can clean out all the old brake fluid and change the rubber lines. Rebuild the carbs with fresh O-rings. Rewire the charging system before it craps out on you. Adjust the valves. More of course but think you get the idea. Only after performing all the maintenance can you judge how reliable the bike will be. I wouldn't focus on the mileage issue since it's secondary compared to you performing all the maintenance.

[Ghostgs1]

Just my opinion, but for a hundred bucks and it looks good? Fair deal. As Ed says, maintenance is the key here. Ray

[harley10]

if it runs good who cares , i wish i could find a bike for 100.oo doolerzz, lol

Ride it , Enjoy it , and ride safe

[londongs400]

well actually to clarify. The bike originally was $1000 CDN. But let me explain the $100 deal.. at the beginning of summer I purchased a 1975 Kawasaki 2 Stroke 100cc G3SSE with 3298 original miles, in mint shape for $100.. I cleaned it up and realised that I want something more practical and reliable for what I want to use it for.. which is general riding and trips. some long, some short.. So after 3 months of searching I found the GS on kijiji for $1000, I called the owner and said I woudl call back once her husband was home... I called back and they had jacked up the price to $1500 due to low km.. I told them that that's not fair and they said if I came and bought it they would give it to me for $1000 as that's what it was originally for.. and I was the first to call..

I bougt it and sold the Kawasaki for $1100.. so that's how the suzuki came to be $100.. either way it's a helluva good deal.

I had both my bikes stored up in the condo on the 17th floor, but someone complained after they saw it one day when my door was open.. so I moved it downstairs in the garage.. it's somewhat hard to work on a bike when it's in a cold garage come winter lol..

But I will get it done..

Sofar I am planning on doing:

Carb cleaning (first time ever by me, very nervous so expect questions in future)

Adjusting valves (after getting the haynes manual for gsx400 in mail I am relieved that valve adjustments can be done via the nut and screw type method.. which to me seems much much less complicated and easier)

There is no oil in the case right now and It smells like gas, I'm planning on emptying everyting, then filling it up.. starting the bike up and then emptying it again to make sure everyting old is out..

I also have on my list to change brake fluid and spark plugs.

Is there anything else which I should do?

I also have to get new tires back and rear and would prefer them to be matching. Any recomendations I would prefer a matched set.., just personal preferance.. Also the air filter seems really old and is the thin foam type. Possibly make a new one..

Another small project will be fixing one of the broken tabs on a sidecover following the instructions on this website

http://www.pizzagoni.com/hobbies/motorcycling/sidecoverrepair.html

Once all is said and done I also want to change the stator and voltage regulator to make it more reliable.. I will keep old ones as backup,even tho they are not dead yet I don't want to risk anything being far away from any parts source is no fun.. I have been reading the ones from electro.... are supposed to be good.. anyone know anyting about the ricks powersports (I think that' what it's called) electrics?

Thanks again and sorry for the long posts.. I like to be detailed.

[Tamara]

To give you some perspective, I'm an original owner of my 450 and have always kept my bike well maintained. For a number of years, I had to store the bike (work, life, etc). This spring I got it back out. Even though, mine is fairly low miles, I still had to rebuild the carbs, brakes, replace tires, fix a few bad connections in the wiring, etc.

[cowboyup3371]

Welcome to the world of Previous Owners (POs). How about some pictures?

[eil]

When I bought my bike, the odometer said 17k miles. But I found out on the second test ride that the speedometer input shaft bearing was gone when the needle broke. I had no illusions that 17k was the real mileage but when I took off the speedo to replace it, I found out that there was no way it was the original because someone had cut a hole for the speed sensor by hand. (The speed sensor is a reed switch going back to the turn signal control unit.) So I have no idea how many miles are on my bike... My best guess is somewhere between 20,000 and 80,000!

Moral of the story: On vintage bikes, odometers lie. In most cases, a careful visual inspection of the exterior of the bike will tell you all you need to know about its history.

[Brendan W]

Many moons ago a used car dealer told me a yarn about a very clean BMW 320 with 70k on the clock. He took the clock out to wind off a few miles only to find a sticker on the back saying ' Oh no! Not again'.
Controls are the giveaway for me. Peg rubbers, throttle grip wear, brake lever polished and so on.
Maybe we could pool pics of peg wear at 10k intervals like an ASME comparison chart for buyers

[tkent02]

Controls are the giveaway for me. Peg rubbers, throttle grip wear, brake lever polished and so on.

I look at frame paint where the rider's boots rub on it, the thickness of the grunge under the engine, wear on the sidestand and centerstand feet and springs, how flattened the seat foam is. You can definitely tell a 100,000 mile plus bike from a 10,000 one. Some folks may replace one or two of these things, but never all of thm.

[850 Combat]

Its fairly common for the speedometer and tachometer cables to come undone at the threaded collar at either end. I have had the inner cable slide out of the sheath and disappear, and even slide out and drag on the ground but not be lost.

It is also common for speedometers to need repair. The condition of a motorcycle is not all that dependent on mileage or age. Its all about how it was used, cared for, and how it was stored. Good condition "for the year" is meaningless. The condition is the condition regardless of the year. Its possible that someone tried to change the mileage on the bike, but why?

I'm proud of the 55,000 miles on my red GS1000G



I was having trouble with the turn signals, and now it has a speedometer that only reads 50,000 miles. Who knows what happened with your bike over 30 years. Why fret over it?

[londongs400]

Update:

I spoke the the PO and he told me that he had questioned the previous owner before him in regards to the residue and was told that they attempted to spray lubricant to lubricate the cable.. and it must have traveled up to the speedo. I am not too worried about the km. to me it's just a matter of reliability. One would think that a 20,000km bike would have less worn parts than a 88,000km one no? Anyways I'm going to go with what he said since I already bought the bike. I will just do maintenance and go from there.

My plan is to eventually start traveling with this bike as I am fairly big into traveling and exploring, that's why I want a reliable bike. I don't want it to break down on me in the middle of nowhere... or I would like to minimize that as much as possible.

[duaneage]

Whether the bike is reliable depends on you. Follow recommendation on this forum for preventative maintenance and spend time on learning how to wrench on the bike and you'll be surprised how reliable they are.
Yours is a model we didn't get in the US so there are not as many experts on that particular model here but underneath it's the same as other GS bikes. The main difference mechanically is the 4 valve per cylinder head on the smaller motor and cosmetically the bodywork is a little unique.