Hey everyone, just saying what's up. I'm a n00b here to the forum. I just bought my 98 VTR a few weeks ago. Gotta say I love the bike with all it's torque Well the only bad thing it's used and I can't really tell if was abused. What are some signs to look for that would tell me the bike has been punished. Only four times riding it and I have already ended up replacing the valve cover gaskets. It has 14k miles on it so I just changed the oil also. From what I see the brakes still look pretty good. Other than that the bike seems strong. What all is needed for 16k service, syncing carbs, new plugs. Like I said I'm a n00b just looking for some direction. THanks

 

if you start to hear a ticking from inside the engine get the cam tensoners cheaked. they seem to go ont on these. I got mine changed for 250 parts alone was 150. but I got my 99 used april of 05 and thats the only major thing I've had to do everything else wa just for fun :P

 

What to look for? There should be no wear on the stock chain and sprockets. If there is, he prolly didn't take care of it which is a bad sign.

What color is the oil?

Is the bike bone stock??

I don't know why the valve covers would be leaking. They're pretty nice gaskets.

Check the air filter.

 

Thanks for the replies

The air filter looks to be a K&N, should I change it back to original?

The oil was really dark when I changed it, I used the Honda synth-blend in the gold bottle when I changed it.

The only mods I could tell are the K&N air filter and Two Bro's Exhaust

The chain and sprocket seem okay

Yeah, about the gaskets, when they blew out that made me start to think maybe it wasn't taken care of. But the guy said it wasn't ridden much, and was the second owner. He only put about 3k miles on it in 2 years of owning it.

The only gripe I have now is the clunck I get when shifting from first to second gear.

 

Sitting for a long time is the worst thing for seals and the clunk may be normal. There're fixes for it, do a search.