Hi my name's Black Shuck. I'm from the uk and thinking of buying a K100 LT I've seen at a local garage. I love the style of these classic milemunchers, but don't know an awful lot about them and what I should look for when buying. Any help would gladly be recieved!. But for now, hello all.

Hi Black Shuck and welcome indeed.

On the home page here there is a section 'What to do if you just bought a K'. Have a read and come back to us with questions, everyone is very helpful.

Meantime you will be getting pointers here on what to look for.

They are real milemunchers for sure and you wont regret it. Like all things old they have their ways but the collective on the forum have them all worked out.

Any info or links to the one you are looking at?

Black Shuck wrote:Hi my name's Black Shuck. I'm from the uk and thinking of buying a K100 LT I've seen at a local garage. I love the style of these classic milemunchers, but don't know an awful lot about them and what I should look for when buying. Any help would gladly be recieved!. But for now, hello all.

Hi Black Shuck and welcome.

Since buying my first LT just 3 years ago, I have developed a great liking for them and love riding whether it is commuting or touring and in all weathers that the UK can throw at me. My collecKtion is growing slowly!

If you've got a web ad for the bike, you could post it up on the forum so people can get in quickly and buy it before you comment on apparent condition and price etc.

What to look for? - now there's an open ended question.

• Price - generally you get what you pay for, but from a dealer you will be paying his mark up. Clean and tidy, lower mileage bikes with everything working and a service history obviously command a higher price. Price range £900 - 1500 seems to be the norm (the lower end being for private sales). Much cheaper and you are either very lucky or there are some significant issues that will need sorting.
  
• A long MoT is always nice to have.
  
• Tyres - should be less than 3 years old (to be useable) and have good tread. Not a deal breaker, but it will cost you about £200 - 250 to renew front and rear, so use that as a bargaining point, if they look old, cracked or worn. Any wear should be even - unusual wear patterns suggest something is wrong.
  
• Steering - handlebars should turn easily across the full range - stiffness, grittiness or notchiness all point to head bearing issues.
  
• Electrics/Indications - should all work. If the instrument cluster is fogged up, then beware. Obviously, it is not reasonable to go stripping the bike down to look at the electrics under the tank etc., but if things work, that does give confidence that the out of sight stuff is still good.
  
• Brakes - Front and rear reservoirs should show working level of fluid, which should be clear and not too dark. ABS should work properly. Look at front and rear brake discs - it will be obvious if they are worn or scored. 
  
• Oil - with the bike on the centre stand and on level ground, you should have an oil level in the sight glass (RHS of engine) - it will be black, but we wary if the sight glass has become opaque and makes it hard to see the level.
  
• Clutch and brake levers should operate smoothly.
  
• Suspension - there shouldn't be any leaks evident on either the front forks or rear strut. 
  
• You should be able to move up and down fairly smoothly through the gears - check the LCD indication.
  
• Corrosion - they are old bikes and do have some rust. Pay particular attention to the centre stand (especially if it is the tubular model) - they have been known to fail catastrophically.
  
• Engine - some vibration is normal, if it feels excessive then be wary. The engine should idle at ~950rpm and should rev/accelerate smoothly. You may get some white smoke on start up, but this should not be excessive.
  
• The fairing should be secure and not rattling
  

The list goes on and on, remember you will not get a perfect bike no matter how hard you look - even the odd zero mile models that appear on eBay now and again will have issues (rubber bits perish over time and will affect performance - especially if not used) and will need to do some work at some point to fix the odd niggle. A lot of things won't be found until you get stuck into a bit of maintenance. Rest assured, most of the problems you may encounter will have been seen by forum members before and help is just a question away.

Black Shuck... It's been a loooonnnng time since I heard that story! Welcome and come in.

Welcome hope you get one even if its not that one.