Help me be a smart shopper...

[Rango]

Okay, I'm looking to get a bike to commute (16 miles round trip) with and to have some fun with. I've had a few street bikes before:
CBR600F3
Road King
Buell X1
Plus a BUNCH of MX bikes over the years...

So a few months back, my Daughter is riding with me and asks "Daddy when are you going to get another Rumbly Motorcycle and take me to school on it!" She'd heard stories from her much older big brother of Dad taking him to school on the Road King. Mom's on board because my daughter has opened the door for me! She is my girl! LOL!!!

I was looking at the Monsters, but realized I never really cared the riding position on the Buell. I'm a dirt bike guy so the Hyper looks like "home" to me. Bike will do some double duty for me, one of which is the occasional ride to school for my daughter. Now for that, I need a Backrest of some sort. I'm just not comfortable with her on there without a "backstop"! I've see the parcel shelf bolt on and the bag designed to go on that, anybody using it care to comment on it as a back rest while two up? Seat looks like two up should be fine, more room and padding than the average seat on a Crotch Rocket.

I'm 6'4" and 230 any other guys my size here - how's the "fit". I haven't had a chance to ride one, don't even know where I could get a test ride....

I'm looking in California for USED Hyper, likely stick with a 2008. I've been checking Craig's List but any leads on a clean bike priced right would be welcome. I'm getting some "pressure" to get a cruiser , so I've got to buy it right so I can flip it if it doesn't work out.

So what should I watch out for when buying this model used? I did a search and found some comments but would like to know where the issues are.... I'm reading some stuff about front brakes grabbing, locking at low speed? Fuel tanks expanding and shearing off mounting tabs?

I'm in a remote part of the Cali Desert. I'm about an hour north of Willow Springs Race way. I WILL have to work on the bike myself. I've done lots of work on my dirt bikes, including 4 stroke top end rebuilds. How hard are these to maintain?

Thanks
Chris

[Hazzbin]

I'm an old tall big guy with a bad back and the seating position was one of the main reasons I bought a Hyper. That it's the most fun I've ever had on a bike in almost 40 years of riding just makes it even better.

As far as buying one, be patient. With the economy being what it is it's a great time to buying and a lousy time to selling anything, including bikes. Don't be afraid of looking out of your area either, so long as you can see the proper documentation to know it's been taken care of and can obtain permission to talk to the service department where it was bought. When checking out the bike, if you're not comfy doing a total checkout then hire someone whop can do it to go with you. Your due diligence is your responsibility. As far as widening your craigslist search, searchtempest.com is your friend.

Don't be afraid of working on it but be realistic about your abilities. If you've done successful top end rebuilds on 4 strokes I'd think you can do most everything necessary here. Lots of people fall into the whole mystique and black magic about desmo systems but it's just another mechanical system that with time, care and effort can be dealt with. Check out desmotimes.com for a useful maintenance manual along with the Hyper service manual. Also check youtube for helpful tutorials.

Your bike WILL run poorly at low rpm unless it's been modified. If you're going to keep the stock pipes/ECU, then spend $80 on a fatduc. They're effective. Many bikes out there have already had the exhaust and ECU replaced however.

Sometimes it seems that owning these bikes require more work than just another bike. Maybe that's true. I came off of a BMW which needed very little maintenance, but when something DID go wrong, I had no choice but to take it into the dealer and have them plug it into the computer and replace whatever module showed as defective. Nothing got fixed, just replaced. My Hyper is all old school stuff... an air cooled engine relatively unsophisticated by today's standards. The key is, i can work on it! For me the maintenance is not a downside... it's a reason to enjoy ownership. I enjoy my Sunday mornings at 6:30, bike on the stands, checking over everything before heading out for the day's ride. I'll be doing the 7500 mile service in 2 weeks and already have the weekend set aside.

Only you can know if a Hyper's right for you. If it is you'll love it, if it's not you won't... there's not really a middle ground. Even being far away from a dealership it might warrant your traveling to one for a test ride.

Good luck in your search and I wish you the best in your decision.

[Rango]

Thanks for the reply!

They look like a Hoot! My current MX race bike is a '09 YZ450 and I love that bike! Very comfortable....not that you get to sit much on an MX track! LOL!!! But it feels good sitting at the gate! I can only imagine double the HP, big sticky tires and huge brakes. PLUS ->to me the Hypermotard looks like sex on wheels. Pure Frosting!

I’m running Searchtempest on my laptop and Craigs Pro on my phone to keep an eye out in the greater California area. I’m not shy about driving a bit for the right deal. I figure the whole state is in play. I’m starting to see a trend in “asking” prices for the 2008’s – there are a couple of 4K mile bikes in the mid 8K range. Don't know if that's "fair" or not. One has been for sale for a few weeks. I’m guessing the market is VERY soft for high end toys. I’d love to find out what bikes have been SELLING for...any data would be appreciated.

Okay on spotting “S” or “Non-S” in the craigs list pic’s - is the “Tell” the carbon fork lowers? Funny but I’ve looked at two that I though were similar until I notices one may be an “S”. Unless they just put aftermarket lowers on. Only other visiable difference would be the Ohlin’s shock, right? Oh and the DLC coating on the fork lowers!?

Thanks for the tips on the basic mods. Every bike has some and now they are all screwed up “Jetting” wise because of emissions. Sounds like pretty easy fixes. My Buell had an off idle stubble at times. Some of the bikes seem to indicate they have these mods but I generally shop for STONE STOCK – just so nobody else has dorked it up! :lol: I see a lot of bikes with two into one, I just love the look of the twin tips out of the tail! I guess the weight savings is significant so it’s a trade off.

And I’m with you on “simple”, my Yamaha is the last of the Carb’d Mxer’s – just so I CAN TUNE IT. But for a Street bike FI is fine, my Buell was FI and that was never an Issue. I do enjoy keeping up my own stuff, part of the “bonding”.

I may try and wrangle a test ride but likely I’ll just buy a bike. Just from the spec’s, I don’t know how I could help but love it!

[Rango]

Bueller!? Bueller!? Bueller......!??

Anybody else with words of wisdom about buying a used Hyper?

Dang these bike must be fun, you're all out riding instead of playing on the internet!!!

[hooptygoo]

I'm actually trying (reluctantly) to sell mine. My wife and I are setting some new financial goals and selling the Hyper will help us get there. This is the ONLY reason I'm selling the bike. I absolutely love it and hope another is in my future some day. Until then, I'll be scooting around on her Monster 620.

I'm just about to create a new listing for it, but if you're interested, we should talk. It would be a nice excuse for a mini vacation to Santa Barbara