Needs some advice buying a bike

[Smokescreen]

I'm looking at a 1974 Honda CB550 on eBay right now, and since a few of you have bike, I decided to seek your counsel. It's got 14,000 miles on it and is in good condition for a 34 year old bike. The current bid is at $610, but my dad says that's a bit much, but for as nice as it is, it seems like a great deal. It would be my first bike, so the smaller size of it seems nice to me. I really like the look of it; very original, vintage look with the factory orange and black paint scheme. It's only about an hour from home, so shipping isn't a factor. Also, he's selling a sissy bar, windshield and set of highway bars with it that I plan on selling off, which I hope to be worth between $50 and $100.

Should I go for it?

[Matra et Alpine]

14K miles on a Honda is nothing
Just watch out in case it's sat for the last 10 years doign nothing .. risk of wear higher.
But if it's not smoking then it's worth it.
Presumably you don't even have to think about rust ? Over here we'd be chekcing the frame VERY closely.

However, don't expect a 30 year old biek to ride as well as a modern.
Braking will be VERY iffy, expect the chassis to twist badly and affect the handling, high speed stability and cornering.
Also, skinny tyres

But, ride it "as a classsic" and it'll do well

[Smokescreen]

The seller says it's a daily rider, so it hasn't been sitting. He also says he has no doubt in the bike's "structural integrity."

[Matra et Alpine]

Interesting ... an honest eBay seller --- how original

Be careful !!!!
Make sure he accepts that the condition NOW becomes part of the deal and if it has any rust/damage etc then you can reject the deal with no costs or negative feedback.

Can you get a chance to ride it before ? Sersiuoy the hadnlin/braking will be poor compared to modern gear !!

[BOBSKAT]

technologically speaking that thing is a dinosaur, especially for a first bike, get the newest bike you can afford!!!!

[Matra et Alpine]

A $600 modern bike will be rattling bag of worn out bolts !!

[ozzycarnut]

as a rule, honda's are bullet proof, i have owned a couple, mainly trail and motocross bikes. the old cb's are reknowned here for just being a rough never say die type of bike. one memory springs to mind when i was a young fella, about 15, ..... caining the rings out of a cb250, approx 1980, across a neighbours paddock several times a week after school. we abused that poor bike to no end, and i dont think that a cb has ever seen so much air as that one! motocross jumps on a roadbike?! no prob providing your not planning on ever riding it on the road again lol. the thing was, this thing just would not die. the kick start went, so we had to roll start it, which was a pain, but it kept going and going. we just put fuel in it and away we went. *word of warning if one is considering riding road bikes on grass or offroad, change the tyres to knobbies!* ours had standard road tyres and was v slippery! good fun but!

[kingofthering]

So...in a related note, I'll be going off to college/university soon, and I was thinking about getting a motor scooter (preferably a yellow Vespa) instead of a car. Why? Because people will try to get free rides and stuff and it'll be cheaper. Would that be a good idea?


But I'm still looking for a 1st gen Legacy turbo for when that day comes...

[Matra et Alpine]

The problem with scooters is the false sense of "security" and riding aroudn without leathers. Gravel rash makes a mess whether you're on a bike or a scooter. No matter how good a rider YOU are, it's the blind bad cage driver who may hit you that'll do the damage.

Beyond that, they're fine, but expect the small engine ones to have been caned and watch out for smoke and oil consumption.
Fortunately everything's easy to fix and/or replace

[Smokescreen]

I'm not looking for a performance bike, just something to ride around on. There's a chance that someday I'd do some mods and give it a cafe racer vibe, but I'm not looking to make it any sort of speed machine. Like I said it's my first bike and I'm more interested in just getting something to ride around on. I find the bike quite attractive and the "dinosaur" aspect is pretty appealing.

Matra, how possible is a brake swap, just out of curiosity?

[Matra et Alpine]

Rear drums so pretty difficult to uprate that
Front's ... anything is possible, but custom mount for modern calipers woudl be prohibitive. Best to just ride it well within it's capabilities, so leave an extra 10 feet