Red/black bikes - few questions!

[Corners R Us]

Well I've found another TRX to have a look at, thankfully fairly locally to me. Its a 1998/R plater in red/black colour scheme but I've spotted a few oddities about its current finish that make me wonder about its history! Can someone confirm my suspicions please? (See picture below)

Front fairing: Don't all TRX's have the white TRX insignia on the side below the indicators? This one has no markings as such (fairing repainted?). It has the correct graphics on the front i.e. silver shading besides the headlight and black above it so that appears correct? If I recall correctly the inside of the fairing should be black and the black finish goes neatly along the inner edge too doesn't it i.e. overspray should be easy to spot unless the inners have been refinished in black too? Fairing/mudguard and bellypan look a slightly duller red to me, but it could be the light? Are the insignias under the laquer or are they stuck on on top i.e coudl they have been removed? I think from memory they are laquered over aren't they?

Front mudguard is red? Didn't they have a black mudguard?

Wheels are red and I know TRXs never had anything other than black or anthracite so they've been painted at some time and owner did mention the paints coming off the spokes in a few places.

The bikes done 17K with some history and the current owners had it for 2+ years so it looks genuine enough and free of too many aftermarket add ons thankfully, but I'm wondering about a chequered past! Other slight concern is 7 previous owners vs. 14K on clock when he bought it and occasional fun use since? Bit odd? Bike came with no mirrors and had aftermarket ones added, but the glass in the left one fell out so was removed and not replaced. Aside from the mini indicators its pretty stock although he has some race cans that were too loud for his liking and have no packing in that will come with the bike (and will be repacked adn fitted if I do buy it!). Since he's owned it he's had front/rear calipers overhauled, fairly recent c&S set, oil and filter changes and tyres - of which it'll need an new rear MEZ1 buying. Oh and road tax applying too.

Confirmation of the above anomalies appreciated in readiness for closer inspection tomorrow evening, and any other thoughts from the more knowledgable than I!!

Any thoughts on its ball park value given the above details would be appreciated to ensure I'm not going made with what I think its worth! I reckon I'd need to spend £200 putting a tyre on it, getting some replacement mirrors and stock indicators plus taxing it - sound realistic to end up with a nice largely stock bike?

Anyone know how much the TRX insignias are from Yamaha or does someone do them on eBay for a reasonable price?!! I'd like to return it to as near stock spec as possible - it'll nag away at me if I don't!!

Apologies for all the questions but I don't want to buy a wrong un and then have to throw a load of money at it!

Regards, Corners.

TRX to look at tomorrow.jpg

[phuk72]

Forget the pictures - too many variables. Go and have a good look around it, ask loads of questions and make sure you see it started from cold and give it a good test ride.

Chances are it has been crashed/dropped at some stage in it's 11 year life but if it's been repaired properly who cares.

BTW - the TRX decals were all lacquered in. The ones you are after are effing expensive (I know because I've got a set sat in my garage - might be for sale )

[G Beale]

corners mate, looks good to me (the colours) so as long as the bike is straight ? Been watchin this one on ebay, didn't meet reserve last week as I recall ? More bargaining powers for corners then.

[Corners R Us]

Thanks for your thoughts. I am indeed going to go and give it a good looking over tonight after work. Loads of questions will be asked but the sticking point is a test ride as such. I don't currently have a bike so I've no insurance I can ride off. Thankfully I've looked at enough cars and bikes in my life to spot a wrong un at 10 paces. I'll call on a couple of knowledgeable/local mates to swing a leg for me if I get that serious about buying this bike. Thankfully I'm in no rush and the buyers market is likely to improve over the next few months although I want to avoid the March/April pre-season peak if possible! I'll keep you posted (passes winter on the forums!)

Cheers, Corners

[trixynut]

Mate,

this is a standard Red/Black one...



..so mudguard probably been changed and maybe a fairing paint?

The solid red TRX's came with a red mudguard, so may have been swopped, not necessarily painted.

Wheels look nice in red, and that bellypan is worth £50-£60 and a set of cans is £100-ish.

You can get brand new mirrors on ebay still (as they fit some other Yams too) for about £30 a set.

All will become clear when you go see, like the Phuk-man says. Ask the seller if he's got the rear pillion pegs in his garage too!

Price? in this market? anyones guess, but the nearer it is to a grand, the better: £1,000 to £1,300 maybe?? Very low mileage if its genuine.

Dave

[Corners R Us]

Thanks for pointers. I'll know more in a couple of hours.

BTW: The rear pegs are there just folded down! You can see them in another picture online.

I notice the bikes advertised in MCN online for £1495 (from 5/12/08). I've already got it down to £1200ish on the phone and before looking at it. Its got MEZ1s on and needs a rear one but I don't think Metzler make them anymore so I might have to buy a pair of tyres (£160+ fitted?), plus tax it, plus mirrors (£30) so there's £200+ before I've turned a wheel in anger. Hmmm starting to look a dear bike if its not a genuine nice one.....

No harm in looking though and it passes an evening!

Corners

[slow codger]

If you buy it and dont want the belly pan can be first in line. Looking at it it doesnt seem to have too many mods, but I'm sure you will sort that out.
Dont get the standard TRX mirrors as you cant see anything out of them.

Dave E

[Corners R Us]

You're the second person after the pan! One our our Australian cousins PM'd me about it...is there a market niche waiting to be exploited here!! Must admit I've seen few pans I like on naked bikes. Likely to retain it IF I buy the bike, mainly to avoid having to buff the downpipes endlessly!!! But if I do decide to reduce weight I'll let you know....

Corners

[Corners R Us]

The search continues....

Best summed up as mechanically sound, cosmetically challenged. For all its 17K, some of them were hard miles and not all of them were shiny side up!! Tell tale scuffs on fork leg and engine cases as well as blue paint peeking through the red paint on the fairing. Wheels wanted refurbing too as the paint was peeling off in places - as stated by the owner.

Now if I'd have wanted a track bike I'd have offered £800 for it, thrown some track bodywork and snotty rubber on it and come home and booked some fun! Sadly I'm after a nice, genuine road bike!

Ah well I didn't travel far and thats three I've looked at so far so by the law of averages I'll strike lucky soon....

Corners

[phuk72]

As I said, there is no substitute for a good look around!

Something will come up!

[Corners R Us]

Indeed!

Do I recall reading a few days ago that you bagged a bargain SV650 for your missile?

How do they compare to the TRX as a riding experience? I'm only 11st dripping wet and a vertically challenged 5ft 8+ and have often pondered an SV but its not got quite the shunt of a TRX or the top end either. I recall have a good battle with one on my Hornet at Rockingham a while back. Finally outballsed him through one of the faster more open bends but there wasn't much in it in the nadgery stuff.

I'd appreciate your views having ridden both m8. Don't think the SV finish is as good as the TRX is it? They seem to suffer badly with fork leg corrosion - unless like yours its had a Gixa transplant! Mutter mutter lucky sod!!

I've always had a soft spot for ZX7-Rs too but they seem to get molested excessively by their owners so finding a standard one to bling to my personal tastes is difficult and I believe the headers/downpipes rot at the nearest suggestion of moisture!

Corners

[phuk72]

As you started the thread I guess you can hijack it

I blagged a cheap SV but it is the only one I have ever seen go for less than around £1200 (unless it has got fairly big accident damage). The simply ain't cheap due to the 'first proper bike' reputation.

I found riding it fairly bland - it goes well enough, handles well enough etc but that's it. No character IMHO but it is smooter to ride than the TRX. Build quality looks good and at least as good as the TRX.

IMHO, a TRX is a better buy because of:

- price (TRXs are cheaper)
- character (you get some!)
- previous owners (SV likley to be owned by a DAS newbie who knows feck all about bikes and bought this because it was recommended to him whereas TRX owners tend to want TRXs and look after them accordingly)
- more power

As for any £1000 or so bikes, there are plenty out there (I considered a couple of early 90's ZXRs and GSXRs etc) but most need a good amount of work.

If you really want a bargain alternative, have a look at the SRAD 600s and 750s (750s seem tobe cheaper!)- I went to look at a couple for the Mrs but she didn't like the bum up riding position (which is a shame cos I quite fancied one of them ). She is about the same height as you so it will be OK but they are fairly bike bikes. And insurance will be more than on a TRX.

[Corners R Us]

Thanks for the insights - thought provoking. I must admit when my eye wanders elsewhere it always seems to come back to the good old TRX! Spookily I'd considered 750 SRADs but I loathe white wheels so it'd have to be a black/silver or black/red/silver version and they rarely seem to come up. I've also been considering Blades too as an alternative. The longer I search the more dosh I have and plan B after Xmas might be 929cc 2001 Blade via a mate that will come for £2K if I speak nicely to him! Only done 12K, with FSH but recorded (Cat D) as its had a very gentle slide down the road, merely breaking the crash bung, end off the clutch lever and holing the engine case. Repairs were nominal and aside from a couple of almost unoticeable scuffs on fairing edge - a minter!!

Still think the TRX has more sole and is for me but if I can't find a nice genuine one around the £1K - £1.5K mark I might have to move upwards!

Thanks again.

Corners

[idl1975]

Thanks for the insights - thought provoking. I must admit when my eye wanders elsewhere it always seems to come back to the good old TRX! Spookily I'd considered 750 SRADs but I loathe white wheels so it'd have to be a black/silver or black/red/silver version and they rarely seem to come up. I've also been considering Blades too as an alternative. The longer I search the more dosh I have and plan B after Xmas might be 929cc 2001 Blade via a mate that will come for £2K if I speak nicely to him! Only done 12K, with FSH but recorded (Cat D) as its had a very gentle slide down the road, merely breaking the crash bung, end off the clutch lever and holing the engine case. Repairs were nominal and aside from a couple of almost unoticeable scuffs on fairing edge - a minter!!

Still think the TRX has more sole and is for me but if I can't find a nice genuine one around the £1K - £1.5K mark I might have to move upwards!

Thanks again.

Corners

One thing I'd note about SVs - a friend of a friend rode one all year for a while and apparently had electrical/ignition problems arising from the front cylinder being blasted with road shite. He couldn't solve the problem permanently and ended up selling the bike. Something to consider if you don't just ride on sunny summer days.

I have to say, if you do a lot of track days and like to be competitive (i.e. not always being passed down the straights), I would be looking for a '96 - '00 GSX-R-750. I had a US spec carby WV in red and black and wish I hadn't sold it. Bonus points for having perhaps the horniest induction & exhaust noise of any bike as stock! Better, in fact, than the rorty Akra full system I stuck on it later. Nowt wrong with it on the road, and aside from feeling very slightly heavier and slower steering than brand new fours, it will do absolutely anything you ask of it on a track. Unbreakable engine (aside from minor issues with '96 models), brillant Suzuki gear box, and it's designed to be fairly easy to work on (well, for an inline four sportsbike), plus enormous amounts of spares and racy bits going cheap on e-bay. What's not to like?

The later, pointy-nosed ones, aside from being much pricier, apparently had (this from some club racers I used to ride with) weaker frames that tended to bend around the headstock at the slightest provocation when stacked.

The TRX is more economical and cheaper to insure, but if I wasn't attached to mine (had it since new in '97), I'd probably be looking for a good used GSX-R...

I owned a '954 a couple of years ago. IMHO, the 929 and 954 are great handling bikes and brilliant track bikes (they need absolutely nothing except good tyres and occasionally new brake pads), but so fast on the road as to be a pain in the arse. Open the throttle more than 0.1 mm and you're breaking the speed limit, and aside from the sheer speed they feel rather bland and boring on the road. Also a pain in the arse to work on, and the finish isn't as good as other Hondas.

BTW, (pedant alert), it's a GSX-R 750. SRAD is the acronym for the ram air system. You wouldn't go around telling people how you spent your Sunday morning scrubbing your big, shiny SACS, or the Full Floater you left outside the office, or the enormous red A.S.S. you rode this morning, would you? Well, on the other hand perhaps you might!

[phuk72]

BTW, (pedant alert), it's a GSX-R 750. SRAD is the acronym for the ram air system. You wouldn't go around telling people how you spent your Sunday morning scrubbing your big, shiny SACS, or the Full Floater you left outside the office, or the enormous red A.S.S. you rode this morning, would you? Well, on the other hand perhaps you might!

Yeah, I know but it is the easiest and commonly accepted way of describing them (as is slightly kinder than saying the fatarse model )