Being slightly heavier than your average rider (sorry, not callin you fat or anything)...I think a 750 wouldnt be BAD for you.

I know a lot of riders that have been riding for a long time are gonna bash me in this thread for supporting your 750cc decision over a 600. But since you are bigger, and seem to know how to ride alittle already...I say fuck it...get a 750. And if you fuck up on it and wreck, so be it. Live and learn right?

As far as what to look for in a used bike...

For a 2000 year bike, I would not get one with more than 20k miles. Also, the closer to STOCK the bike is when you go to buy it, the better. More than likely (but not always), a hooked up bike means the guy probably rode the bike hard. Thats not to say a stock bike couldnt have been beat up on, but a hooked up bike (I think) is more prone to rough riding.

Other than milage...you probably dont want a bike that has been crashed. A low speed drop probably is not that bad. Like a parking lot drop, or driveway drop is probably okay too.

You want to look at the chain and rear sproket. If the chain is dry or dirty or really loose, it means the rider did not take good care of his chain and more than likey did not take good care of his bike in general. The rear sproket: if it has really really sharp teeth, this is bad...and means you will have to replace it soon. The teeth will be slightly rounded on the tip and not sharp if it is in good condition.

The tires. Tires can be costly. Up to about $300 for a set of new front and rear tires. If the tires are shot, you can expect to put about $300 bucks into the bike immediately. Personally, I do not feel comfortable on a bike with old or bad tires. Good tires can mean the difference between life and death on a bike...especially if your doing 150+ or draggin a knee at 90+.

When you test drive it...
Be very attentive to 2nd gear. A lot of bikes (my 3rd bike: 2002 R6) get beat up on in 2nd gear, and it is the first gear to go bad. 2nd gear is a popular gear because it produces a good amount of torque for wheelies, and is not overly torque like 1st gear. So a lot of people like to punch it into 2nd hard, or wheelie in 2nd...resulting in slipage. Slipage will feel like the bike is having hesitation problems.....like the injectors are sputtering...but its not the injectors, it the clutch slipping because the gears are all fucked up. The bike will "buck" or jerk back and forth when you punch it if there is a problem with the gear. You may want to look out for this feeling in 3rd gear as well.

When you finish the test drive, let it sit to examine any leaking fluids under the bike.

The biggest thing to look out for is that 2nd gear tranny problem. Its the biggest pain in the ass to deal with, and its costly to fix.

 

Dawg, read your post again. Your numbers say the difference in HP is 5 and the TQ difference is 1.5(rounding off the #'s of course). On paper they seem to be about the same bike with the 600 reaching its peaks sooner means its quicker to shift with less time waiting to rev. The most important thing for this rider will be the tq as he is on the big side of riders. So the sooner he is into the tq of the bike and the smoother and longer the tq last the faster the bike will feel to him.
Now we all know these are not the same bikes but i was just bored, drinking a little on my meds, and wanted to play the devil's advocate--that's all. I could care less either way and one could magazine/stat race all day but it comes down to want one feels better on. Good lookin out for the kid though. I'm done stiring the shit up for now, carry on.

 

Woops...sorry i posted a typo.
I meant the 2001 GSXR600. The second bike down is the newer 600...not 750. Ive fixed it. Thanks for catchin that.

 

Damn ricer, why don't you just tell him to get a busa for Christ' sake.

 

When he says sharp he means the ends of the teeth coming to a point. If the sproket teeth's edges are sharp but have a squared look to the top on them them that is ok. What you are trying to avoid is the chance that the chain will slip/skip/break the teeth on the sproket, and the rounding(coming to a point) leads to and is the result from poor maintanance and overly agressive riding.

Also look for scuffs or scratches on the brake/clutch levers, bar ends(the little caps on the ends of the handles-if they do not look stock chances are the bike has been down-unless the rider has the originals for inspection), the rear sets(where the driver rest his or her feet while riding) and pegs. Basically you want to look at every single thing that could make contact with the groun if the bike were sliding down the road on its side.

Look at the chrome looking part of the fork tubes and rear shock. You should be able to see if there is anything unusual about them. They should be debris free without any appearant smudging--as if one was trying to wipe down the shafts. This will tell you if there are any seals that may be leaking and for a newer bike this will more than likely mean a hard crash or jolt to the suspention.

Look for any screws or bolts that look to be out of place. Most bikes are symmetrical which means if you see something on one side it will most of the time look the same on the other side. If there is something out of place ask if the plastic hs been replaced. Chances are that it has. If you are serious about one particular bike to purchase i would have the mid and lower plastics of to look for plastic welding on the back of the panels.

With the farings off you should give the motor and tranny a good once or twice over. Look for grim that is 'not dry'. Look at all points were there are seams(places were the head bolts to the block,etc.) and look for signs of leakage--can be wet or dry...and dry white stains means you will be replaceing the head gasket which is very costly. Check the radiator back and front for smashed or bent vanes, a few are ok but you will be able to see if the front tire bumped into the rad.-not supposed to.

If you check closely on the bolt heads holding on the clutch and stator covers you may be able to see if the heads of the bolts are marred in any way. If they do not look perfect chances are high that the bike was down in an accident and the cover has been replaced.

Those are just a few things to think about. Remember, when looking for this stuff-if you find a blem or 2 or 3 its still ok. As long as the seller was upfront about them before hand. You want to let the seller tell you all the good about their bike and give them a chance to tell you the not so good by asking questions like has it been down etc before you really nit pick at the bike. If you are serious about the bike and go looking very closely at it you will have given the seller enough time to be honest about their bike, thus when you start to find things they didn't tell you you have to make a choice. Is the bike still in good enough shape to proceed with a transaction? Or is there hidden things on the bike that the seller didn't tell you about that will manifest itself later in having to repair the bike. We can't find everything so use your gut instinct to help you make the final call. Besides finding things the seller didn't tell you, as long as they are not detrimental to the safe operation of the bike, could help you get a few extra hundred dollars off the bike.

 

I always wonder the same..

 

(I like the looks of the 2000 gixxer600 and the older gixxer 750's bc they arent as sharp framed... more of a smooth bubble look.. but he is right that the newer ones are faster and lighter... it depends on what you want...

 

WOW Lots of good info there! Thanx guys this is really helping me decide my pick of which bike to go for.Now as for top speeds as someone posted the 600 would have less then the 750 correct but what are there top speeds anyways? Not like I will be there I am just wanting to kno.

 

I've had my old gixxer 600 upto 163 or so... still had more to go.. the 750 is somewhere around 175 I guess...

 

damn! lol Well this guy on tr with a 96 750gsxr he is selling seems to be a nice bike has anyone seen it? he wants 4700 for it : /