Buying an 83...what do you think?

[Dave A. Chakrabarti]

Hi all,

I'm considering buying an 83. It's my first bike in the US (I have an 82 enfield bullet back home in India, lots of character, many quirks) and it's on sale for $1200. Is this a good price?

Paint is in absolutely excellent condition. The guy who's selling it says the carbs might need a little work, and the main problem with the bike is the petcock leaks a LOT...he's running it on a lawnmower tank backup right now. So at the very least, I would need to get the petcock rebuilt/replaced to get the main tank working...how much is a new petcock assembly? He said it's just a matter of bolting it on once I've got it, if I can find one. He also said a rebuild kit would be cheaper than trying to get the original from Yamaha...any comments on the price difference, or places I could get one?

How hard is it to check the carbs? He said he's cleaned them already, so there's no junk in them from the winter. Other than that, he says the bike's more or less fine...he estimated top speed at around 110, and said it would hold highway speeds for longer rides easily. Is this a reasonable estimate?

The bike has about 26,000 miles on it...is this a lot? How long can i expect the engine to go?

What do you think of his asking price...he seems to be honest and up front about his bikes. Is $1200 too high, a good deal, or a great deal?

Where could i find a complete take-apart or maintenance manual for this bike...is one available online, or is this something I'd have to buy?

Sorry for the barrage of questions on my first post, but this seemed like the best place to post and most knowledgeable crowd...I think I'm going to spend a lot of time reading old posts here, if I get this bike.

  Thanks!

    Dave.

[Superfly]

Welcome Dave,

First off, check the blue book value of this bike. ?If I remember correctly, an 83 with low miles is blue booking at $860 +/-.

Carbs are very straightforward after you get the hang of it. ?Check out Lucky's Excellent site : //www.xz550.com
and that would answer the rest of your questions!

I will say that I do enjoy this bike, but it does require maintenence!

[Lucky]

First, let me say, the 83 is Very rare. Yamaha only offered the bike in 82 (no fairing) and 83 (with fairing.)
they offered the bike in Europe 'till 86, and a 400 version in Asia.

Personnaly, i believe $1200 is a fair price for an 83 in good condition. keep in mind though that any 23+ year old bike will need some TLC.

As for the petcock, the owner is correct, they are Extreemly hard to find, and there are no rebuild kits for 83's (there are for 82's though.) the 83's have a dual diaphram petcock, the 82's have a single.

I have been told, but do not know first hand, that you can simply use two diaphrams from 82' kits to make one 83. (the 83 diaphram is one piece) i'd be very interested to know if this works, as i have the 83 petcock also.

there are several other common re-occuring problems on the bike, but we have a perminant fix for all of them.

that said, the bike is a JOY to ride!! you'll never find another one quite like it. it's very unique, and although it was advertised as a sport-tourer, it'll carve up the twisties like a tender thanksgiving turkey!!

We swap lots of parts here, & if you need something, it'll eventually show up here or on Ebay (we tend to watch it like a hawk)  ask us all the questions you need to, we're hhere to help, & you'll usually get an answer within several hours.

--Lucky

[kiawrench]

if the bike still has the fairing on it , and it runs,,, i am sure we can find a petcock for it , with all of the members we have here,,, someone is bound to have an extra ,or one will come up on e-bay .
 ? i have been told the same as lucky, use two 82 kits to rebuild the 83 ,, as for luck,, check with david stubbs, he may have petcock or two still for sale, he is still parting out his old 83 ,,,, may get a deal there !! ( see posting for david stubbs in swap listings )
check swap shop,,, david stubbs  or interloper , both show bikes being parted out, may be a petcock or two in those bikes,

[harry_angel69]

I have had both petcocks open side by side and there is no way that can work.  The diaphrams are completly different sizes.  I will dig out my scraps and snap some pics one day.

[Brian Moffet]

First, let me say, the 83 is Very rare. Yamaha only offered the bike in 82 (no fairing) and 83 (with fairing.)

Just to clarify this a little.  Yamaha did sell a 1982 late year with fairing.  My mother owned one.

Brian

[Superfly]

My Bad, I was looking at trade-in value..
I do feel better now though!

[Lucky]

Harry, did you actually try it? is it possable that with some modification the 82 diaphrams would fit? i'm thinking trimmed to fit, & poss sealed together?

[harry_angel69]

The 83 diaphrams are about 3/16 inch bigger all the way around.  The 82's will completly miss the clamping force of the screws.  I will get you some pics in a few days.

[QBS]

Vs' will cruise all day at 90+mph with no harm.  Properly maintained Vs' will last at least 80k miles but a more realistic figure is more like 100K+.  At 26K miles, if it hasn't already been addressed, your bike will absolutely need to have its' starter clutch reattached and its' starter motor oil seal replaced.  There are several other more minor items that will in all probability need to be done.  But, all in all, if you can live with a Bullet you'll find the V to no challenge at all.

Have you heard the bike run?  If so, does it make any bad sounding knocking sounds from idle to 2500 rpm that go away at higher engine speeds?  Cheers.

FYI, my '83 has approx. 85k miles on it, will happily cruise all day at 90+mph, red line 5th gear(114mph), the heads have never been off, primary maintenace has been Castrol GTX 20w50 changed along with the filter about every 3 to 4 thousand miles.

[dchakrab]

Thanks! It's nice to know this bike was a better investment than originally planned.

The bike's currently sitting in my parking lot. I need to get plates, registration, etc done, and hopefully by then I'll have the manuals and an idea on how to fix the petcock. Oh yeah, and then I can get licensed, though in the US that seems like a simple process.

  -Dave.