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PineyPower
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The more you read now the more you can forget later!
Welcome
Thanks for the warm welcome. Awesome little community you guys got going on super excited to be apart of it!
Ain’t that the truth. Got the memory of a goldfish… Hopefully with some luck I don’t get a beater and the endless nights on the forums come a little later… We’ll see what the Yamaha Gods decide
Thank you! Anything to look out for when looking to buy one of these beasts?
PineyPower
Well-Known Member
Warriors are pretty solid, but at this point the newest ones are still 20 years old. The biggest thing to look for is signs if it's been cared for, neglected, or straight abused.
(Abused) Keep an eye out the frame is straight, the steering stem is straight, bars and levers aren't bent... that'll give you an idea if it's been crashed.
It will have had repairs done, no doubt. Look not just for new parts but check quality of workmanship. If you see self tapping screws and hanging wires with shitty butt connectors, and parts missing, probably not the best repairs were made elsewhere
(Neglected)
Give all the wheels and suspension points a shake... usually people are good at keeping machines running but dont give a crap about other wear items like bearings and bushings. These things aren't typically expensive but they will nickle and dime you to death and can act as a nice bartering point. Check that the shocks aren't blown and test drive it if you can.
(Cared for) a really good one you'll see some quality replacement parts, it won't look like it's been crashed, and nothing will jump out at you as an imminent failure. You can get a machine that was cared for but won't run, most likely from a gummed up carb or a dead battery, use your judgment. If the thing is in a garage parked next to the owners other toys it's probably good. If it's out in a field next to a pile of it's own parts it's probably gonna be a headache
(Abused) Keep an eye out the frame is straight, the steering stem is straight, bars and levers aren't bent... that'll give you an idea if it's been crashed.
It will have had repairs done, no doubt. Look not just for new parts but check quality of workmanship. If you see self tapping screws and hanging wires with shitty butt connectors, and parts missing, probably not the best repairs were made elsewhere
(Neglected)
Give all the wheels and suspension points a shake... usually people are good at keeping machines running but dont give a crap about other wear items like bearings and bushings. These things aren't typically expensive but they will nickle and dime you to death and can act as a nice bartering point. Check that the shocks aren't blown and test drive it if you can.
(Cared for) a really good one you'll see some quality replacement parts, it won't look like it's been crashed, and nothing will jump out at you as an imminent failure. You can get a machine that was cared for but won't run, most likely from a gummed up carb or a dead battery, use your judgment. If the thing is in a garage parked next to the owners other toys it's probably good. If it's out in a field next to a pile of it's own parts it's probably gonna be a headache
PineyPower
Well-Known Member
Honestly it's 60% machine, 40% vibe check on the owner. If the online listing is a single picture buried under pool supplies in a shed with the description "91 yamaha" and nothing else but a price odds are that person gave about as many fucks about the machine as they did the listing. If you see in the pictures the lawn isn't mowed and the car in the driveway is on jackstands they probably just didbt have enough time to get the quad running. "Just needs the carb cleaned" is either the dead ass truth or code word for "I fucked this thing up" depending on every clue around it.
Make sure there isn't hacked wiring. Most these days are old, well used and could use a full frame up rebuild.
I'm new here too. A very good explanation of what to look for when buying a used ATV. I bought myself a 1986 YFM225 that had an essay written in the listing description, with a video, 20 photos, and even a good portion of a maintenance log in the description. The owner of this 38-year-old beast had title in hand and had it registered with DCNR for state trail riding.
I've had zero issues with the thing; the guy really put his heart and soul into the machine, and it's evident when you drive it. Suspension is great, turning radius is great, it holds idle very well, it looks great (repainted from its original blue to a very nice Bed Armor Olive Green, and she even has LED head and taillights.
These are the two I’m looking at. The 04 has a red frame, not sure if thats factory or not. Family owned for the last 4 years. The 97 is the second owner, looks very well taken care of.
PineyPower
Well-Known Member
They both look good in pictures at least. Fwiw the 04 is on its original tires so that tells ya it hasn't been ridden much. That 97 is ****** minty though... nothing is offputting about either of them, pick the one you think is prettier and check that one out first
So, unfortunately the guy with the 97 never responded. I wen’t and checked out the 04, and it was pretty solid. Started right up, sounded good, rode good. Has some cosmetic damage here and there, tail light was busted, missing plastics screws in a couple spots, and the suspension was a little creaky. Compared to the 02, the shifter seemed a lot lower, maybe sagging, but not sure. Nothing that I could find besides that. Didn’t leak anything and it started right up and idled well. They had a couple of other REALLY nice toys in the garage, and you could tell this didn’t get ridden too much and maybe was for the kids or something. It had both Utah and California registration stickers from 2022 on it. Owned by a family in the air force who moved to Japan. I got them down to $2,000 for it. My buddy (who is more experienced than me but not super experienced he got his first bike a couple of months ago) really liked this one.
I found a really really clean 02 that had two owners. Had an exhaust on it, shock covers, new starter, and gasket maker on the left side of the engine (in photos). When he started it the first time, it died, then he started it and gave it some gas and then it idled fine completely after that. This bike was SPOTLESS. Very tasteful mods, and I mean you could eat off of it. Looked brand new. Suspension was silent, had good resistance. Front tires had slight dry rotting. It was sitting in a garage next to a bunch of Yamaha bikes, and I got him down to $2200. Not sure which one to get. What do you guys think?? Posted pictures of the 02. Not that this is my main concern, I prefer the color way on the 02 a lot more. My buddy didn’t like this one as much because of the gasket maker and you having to give it gas while starting to idle. I noticed It was on reserve, not sure if that could effect anything. I’m going to pick one of these up tomorrow and I need some people with more wisdom and experience to weigh in on it. Thanks guys!
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PineyPower
Well-Known Member
Could just be crappy gas from sitting, got the bit of rust of the chain to suggest as much. I wouldn't be upset by either of them
I always loved those 04se. I think if it's clean 2g is a good price.
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