Looked at an '82 LS today!

[Bob_Roller]

There was an '82 LS for sale on eBay this past weekend, and it is a local bike, went over to look at it , it's on consignment to a muscle car restoration shop.

It's a silver LS 43,000 miles, pretty clean, not a museum piece, but needs some cleaning up.

But no documentation can be provided about a transmission spline lube ever being done, or if the valve seat / valve issue has been taken care of.

No leakage on the bike, has 8 year old tires ( Metzeler ME33 and ME99) that look like they were barely ridden on, original brake lines ( hardened and starting to crack), seat is as hard as a rock, and when I sat on it , the covering tore.

Original flat black exhaust system that's still in good condition.

The exhaust nuts show that they have been removed at some time in the past.

After market remote reservoir rear shocks (didn't notice the manufacturer), telefix front fork stabilizer.

Owner is asking $3900 for the bike.

I told the shop owner, that if  the trans lube and valve seat work can be proved, that if the owner can work on the price to replace the tires, tubes ( about $300), seat re-work ( $200), and brake line replacement ($150), that I would be interested in the bike.

Anybody have a current price to have the valve seats and valves replaced for both heads ?

Possibily a bargaining tool in the price, if it hasn't been done.

Any comments about the bike?

[Justin B.]

My recent R100 valve job (two winters ago) ran me about $450...  That was new exhaust seats, all valves, springs, guides, etc.  All-in-all it seems kinda steep, but I'm a cheap ba$tard...

[Bob_Roller]

I called the local independent BMW shop that helped me on the transmission issue I had about a month ago, and inquired what the cost would be to replace all 4 seats, valves, springs, collets, guides and got a quote of around $800.

Seems a bit steep to me !!

[not-so-fast-ed]

R65's on Ebay have a hard time breaking $2000 recently.  Of course you have to factor in $600-$700 shipping if they're not within grabbing distance.
Just paid $3000 for a '87 monoshock with 35K in LA.  Pictures to follow when it arrives next week.
Probably replace all fluids & lube spline when It gets here.  Other write ups are pushrod seals and oil pan gasket "seeping slightly" according to local M/C shop I had look it over out there.
Back on two wheels at last!   8-)

[MrRiden]

Bob,
Dunno 'bout pricing the work for valve seats but just FYI this bike sounds just like the LS I picked up 'bout 3 years ago. mine was missing the front cowl in addition to ALL the defects you listed along with bad cables, carbs in need of a rebuild. I paid 2.7K and now realize it was too much. I'd hold out for a better price (which it souns like yr doin').
rich

[nhmaf]

$3900 is strong money for a bike that needs work and parts replaced.
I paid $2400 for mine that was running and on the street, with less than 15K original miles.   It has sucked up rather a bit of time and about $1300 in parts & paint since then
so far: rebuilt m/c, then replaced m/c, stainless steel brake lines, brake pads, all new cables (throttle, clutch, choke), new filters, oil, replaced clutch disk, rebuilt transmission, new fork springs and seals, new rear shocks, new rearview mirrors and grips, replaced headlight bulb, new shift linkage, new coil, spark cables and plugs, new rubber boots, steering head bearing clean and repack, wheel bearings clean and repack, new exhaust (still to be installed) and new seatcover (still to be installed), and many little nuts, bolts, screws, and E-clips... and new tires and tubes, though the 5 year old ones on the bike when I bought it were still very rideable and passed NH state inspections.
Prices for LS bikes vary widely around the country, and certain areas (San Fransisco in particular, I think) these command premium prices.  But, given what you know about this bike from your first examination, and what is likely lurking underneath that needs attention, if I was interested in the bike then I'd be offering them something that started with a
"2", not a "3", unless they could show documentation of how well and frequently it was serviced and replaced the seat cover, tires, brake cable and m/c, etc. to boot.

[Bob_Roller]

I told the restoration shop owner, that without any documentation of work being done, that $2500 was the most I would be willing to pay for the bike.

I've got about 35 pages of parts catalog prices, plus the prices that I have paid for the work done on my '81 R65 in the last year or two.

Most owners think that they have a piece of 'gold' sitting there in their 25 year old motorcycles, but oblivious to the costs of bringing the bike back to rideable condition.

They don't seem to understand that they got the 'cheap' miles out of the bike, now comes a significant out lay of money to replace the degraded and worn out parts , let alone the labor costs if you had a shop perform the work.