Newbie Looking at an 85 en454 ltd

[jc]

Hi, I'm a newbie to the world of bigger bikes and I'm looking at buying this '85 en454 with just under 30K on the clock for £1,350.

was wondering if you you more experienced riders of the bike could tell me anything I should look out for when I go to take a look at the bike, are there any typical issues that tend to occur with this bike?

It looks well looked after in the pictures and has a good MOT history for the past few years, only selling because their wife apparently has lost their confidence in riding, need to ask about the frequency of riding and how long they've had it still.

Thanks for any advice I really like this one and it in my budget but it's the first bike I'm really considering seeing and I don't wanna rush in blind.

[pya977]

hi im in the uk aswell and own 3 en450, for that price it should be in very good condition.
there are some differences in the uk model and the years that they were produced.
my personel choice is the uk model 1989 or 1990. the wireing on these years are a lot simpler and no emmition pipe work.
uk bikes do not have the high backrest when new.
good luck on your choice

[jc]

What do you mean by emmition pipe work? Sorry I'm still learning a lot about bikes, is this an issue i should be concerned about?

Have you ever had any major issues with your bikes or things that have cropped up simply with use and wear? Or would you say these are reliable bikes that overall require little work because I'm not very mechanically inclined and I plan to ride the same bike for a very long time and ideally don't want to have to spend much more on it than i would for regular servicing and MOT.

It hasn't been ridden much in the last year, clocked about 400 miles on the MOT history but by the age of the owners i would assume that natural as it would've been for leisure rather than much travelling. 

Are these bikes that can clock a lot of miles with no worries?

Sorry for all the questions i just really want to get an idea of the reliability and any possible work I'd have to put into maintenance.

[pya977]

the emmition pipe work can easly be taken off, there are posts on here how to do it nothing to worry about.
yes they are reliable but you have to remember that they now are atleast 30 years old and realy in my opinion if its going to be your daily transport i would look elsewere, i only used mine for a quick blast or shows.
i also have a suzuki gs500 which is by far a better buy for day to day usage, cheap to buy and run and very reliable

[knoizy]

Jun 5, 2020 5:02:18 GMT -6 jc said:

I'm not very mechanically inclined and I plan to ride the same bike for a very long time and ideally don't want to have to spend much more on it than i would for regular servicing and MOT.

Hi there, I get the idea but it might be wishful thinking. If you have a garage I'd say put another £500 aside for parts and tools and if you're willing to learn that could work out well otherwise you'll have pay someone three times the amount and the bike remains a mystery. If you have a mechanic pal that's always handy but a lot of the things I've had to fix or replace on my 454 wouldn't show up in a service or MOT.