Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hey, folks. Thanks for your help so far-- I posted for the first time yesterday, and got a ton of feedback about whether an '83 Sabre could be a good beginner's bike for a large-framed quick-learning guy like me.

The bike is on eBay motors at this link. I have some details on the bike from someone who has looked at it. I haven't seen it yet, and I am not (yet) motorcycle savvy, so I would not pick up on all of these details by myself. And its possible the guy is trying to discourage me so that he can get it himself for less. Anyways, I've heard that the '83 Sabre with 17k miles has these issues/maintenance needs. along with the estimated price the guy told me:

1. Replace front fork seals ($200)
2. Front brake pads ($80 – shop; $30 – self)
3. New brake seals & piston overhaul (Pistons gunked & rusty)
4. Shaft drive was overfilled with oil (The guy said this could be done intentionally to cancel case noise?)
5. Some rust (not bad) under the tank, exhaust, swingarm, etc

Does this just sound like expected maintenance on a 23 year old motorcycle, or from your collective experience should this raise red flags?

The bike is starting at $1000, which I think would be a steal if it were in mint condition. Since I am going into this knowing it is not, I am still willing to spend up to a total of around $2000 on buying it and fixing it up in the next six months. I've been eyeing up other bikes in the local trader rags and online, and think that if i can come out with a reliable Honda 750cc bike for around $2000 or so, I'm still doing alright, and so I am not yet scared off of this '83 Sabre.

Am I being too optimistic?

Thanks in advance for your help-- this forum is incredible, because of all the folks like you who contribute.

Sounds like it's not too too bad, but that's a fair bit of work to be done. If you can do most of it yourself, I say go for it.

I think on a bike that old you're going to see rust in those places 90% of the time. If it's light you're golden. Most of the time you can get a $5 can of neverdull at walmart and rub the surface rust right off. Other times you have to use grade 0000 steel wool or aluminum foil with soap and water to scrub the rust off.

If you get a repair manual for your bike, have a set of metric tools (or buy a $15 one at walmart- it's not craftsman/snap on but it gets the job done) and a bit of mechanical talent (you can not only take the VCR apart, you can put it back together) then you can do everything you listed yourself for alot less than a shop will charge you.

Fork seals go bad with age, I always replace the brake pads, lines and fluid when I buy an old bike and will often rebuild the calipers and master cylinders. I haven't heard that about the shaft drive. My only shafy is a Yamaha XZ 550 and you literally fill that puppy up to the fill bolt so I have no experience on overfilling it.

Often times, what makes an older bike a good deal depends a lot on the buyer. None of the items you mentioned are very difficult as far as maintenance goes (assuming you have a basic set of tools and a shop manual). If you are mechanically competent, then an old bike like this can be a good deal. On the other hand, if you are going to drop the bike off at a shop and tell 'em, "fix it". You probably won't be happy with the final cost.

The key to buying a 23 year old bike is maintenance. If you can do it yourself, you can make out great. If you're going to be paying someone else, then the labor hours are going to add up very quickly. Most shops won't even touch a bike that old and the ones that will, do so because there are a lot of billable hours in tired old bikes.

I have a lot of friends that ask my opinion about buying 20-plus year old bikes. I steer them away unless they are mechanically inclined. If they're not, it's often cheaper for them to buy newer bike without any of the typical age related problems.

what flynrider said.

if you are mechanically inclined and feel comfortable doing the work yourself then go for it.

if not, you can get a much newer bike than that for 2 grand