Ok, so lets start by saying I like all 3 brands, this is not a brand bashing thread, or any type of bashing.. Just a real account of what to expect when buying these old thumper legends. It's also based purely on my experience and could be completely wrong.
We have all seen the gumtree adds for 80's / 90's thumper's around the R20-30K mark and boy are they tempting... Owning a Baja winning XR600 race bike or a legendary XT600 sure sounds good, and let me tell you when they run, they sure are good.
But, and this is a pretty big but ( lol ) you will almost certainly experience issues.
Let me start with a list.
Age: These bikes have typically been around for quite some time, in the case of my XT, 31 years... Think of anything in your house that's 31 years old and working like it should. In this period the bike was most probably owned by and serviced by many people with differing levels of skill and money. Meaning you will almost always be in the dark as to what the inside of the engine actually looks like.
Parts: Surprisingly I have not come into too much trouble getting parts for these bikes, although that is changing.. fast. Keep in mind that arb parts such as air boxes clutch cables etc might have to be improvised. Unlike modern bikes which can be found a plenty in salvage yards, these old classics very rarely come up as spares.
Working on it: These bikes are pretty easy to work on yourself, but finding a mechanic that knows what he is doing or any mechanic that is willing to work on it is amazingly difficult if you do not know one before-hand. 95% of times you will just be told they don't work on these bikes anymore because they cant get spares ( which is often a lie )
What to look for: As these bikes have mostly unknown histories you have no idea how they have been treated. My experience: "Farm Bike" usually means it has seen very little maintenance over the years apart from the odd oil change. Any bike without papers or a clear history has probably also been treated in the same fashion and can be a real pain to get on the road. And then you have to watch out for the "race bikes" especially in the case of the XR600... People thrash the shit out of these bikes and have very little problems... why? because the bike is used for 1 hour at a time covering little distance typically... as soon as you take the bike for a real ride all sort of troubles could arise.
Owning it: In short, be prepared to spend as much on the bike on maintenance as you did when buying it... sometimes more. Stuff WILL break! Usually shortly after buying it.
What is it like to live with: It's a love hate relationship... You love them when you are riding... you hate them every other time. Most are hard to start ( specifically a XR600 with high compression kit ) especially when hot or cold and you WILL lose some skin at some point. They are temperamental, the seats are hard and narrow, there is no wind protection, the suspension is harsh at high speed on road, they struggle on highways with top speed ( compared to modern bikes ) and did I mention they break down a lot?
In short, if you want to own one of theses bikes, it might be an attractive option when looking at the price... Keep in mind though that you will almost certainly spend double that amount within the first 2 years of owning it on repairs.
That being said... if you want one, buy it. You will always make a plan for the money. These bikes offer amazing freedom, access to some of the most beautiful parts of the world, amazing opportunities to admire the scenery ( usually while you are repairing broken bits along the side of the road ), opportunities to meet some amazing people ( to ask them for a lift to get your broken bike home ) and an experience like no other.
In short, there will be moments, where everything works, the world is beautifully flowing past you and your smile is bursting out of your helmet...And that, is priceless.
We have all seen the gumtree adds for 80's / 90's thumper's around the R20-30K mark and boy are they tempting... Owning a Baja winning XR600 race bike or a legendary XT600 sure sounds good, and let me tell you when they run, they sure are good.
But, and this is a pretty big but ( lol ) you will almost certainly experience issues.
Let me start with a list.
Age: These bikes have typically been around for quite some time, in the case of my XT, 31 years... Think of anything in your house that's 31 years old and working like it should. In this period the bike was most probably owned by and serviced by many people with differing levels of skill and money. Meaning you will almost always be in the dark as to what the inside of the engine actually looks like.
Parts: Surprisingly I have not come into too much trouble getting parts for these bikes, although that is changing.. fast. Keep in mind that arb parts such as air boxes clutch cables etc might have to be improvised. Unlike modern bikes which can be found a plenty in salvage yards, these old classics very rarely come up as spares.
Working on it: These bikes are pretty easy to work on yourself, but finding a mechanic that knows what he is doing or any mechanic that is willing to work on it is amazingly difficult if you do not know one before-hand. 95% of times you will just be told they don't work on these bikes anymore because they cant get spares ( which is often a lie )
What to look for: As these bikes have mostly unknown histories you have no idea how they have been treated. My experience: "Farm Bike" usually means it has seen very little maintenance over the years apart from the odd oil change. Any bike without papers or a clear history has probably also been treated in the same fashion and can be a real pain to get on the road. And then you have to watch out for the "race bikes" especially in the case of the XR600... People thrash the shit out of these bikes and have very little problems... why? because the bike is used for 1 hour at a time covering little distance typically... as soon as you take the bike for a real ride all sort of troubles could arise.
Owning it: In short, be prepared to spend as much on the bike on maintenance as you did when buying it... sometimes more. Stuff WILL break! Usually shortly after buying it.
What is it like to live with: It's a love hate relationship... You love them when you are riding... you hate them every other time. Most are hard to start ( specifically a XR600 with high compression kit ) especially when hot or cold and you WILL lose some skin at some point. They are temperamental, the seats are hard and narrow, there is no wind protection, the suspension is harsh at high speed on road, they struggle on highways with top speed ( compared to modern bikes ) and did I mention they break down a lot?
In short, if you want to own one of theses bikes, it might be an attractive option when looking at the price... Keep in mind though that you will almost certainly spend double that amount within the first 2 years of owning it on repairs.
That being said... if you want one, buy it. You will always make a plan for the money. These bikes offer amazing freedom, access to some of the most beautiful parts of the world, amazing opportunities to admire the scenery ( usually while you are repairing broken bits along the side of the road ), opportunities to meet some amazing people ( to ask them for a lift to get your broken bike home ) and an experience like no other.
In short, there will be moments, where everything works, the world is beautifully flowing past you and your smile is bursting out of your helmet...And that, is priceless.
