Rusty ninja HELP!!!

[7oxSin]

ok, so i need some help. i went to buy a 04 ninja 250 for my little brother the other day for 1000$ it has like 5k miles on it, body is in great condition excluding 1 crack and a shattered front wheel cowl. i needs a battery and i have a spare one. so i went out with my battery hocked it up opened the gas tank to check if there was gas, and the tank was filled with rust. so much so that it looked like wet sand. i let the woman know that was selling it and she said she would take it to a shop to get it fixed then sell it to me. it has been 2 weeks and she just contacted me saying "hey i havnt had a chance to take the ninja to a shop, would you want to fix it if i sold it to you at a lower price?"

So here are my questions

1. what all would i need to do to fix this problem
2. how much would it cost if i fixed it
3. how much do you think it would cost for a shop to fix it
4. how much should i ask off of the original price of $1000
5. is it going to be worth the hassle?
6. how long would this fix take

My little brother needs a bike very badly, his step dad had him pay $2000 for a pos lemon 70 something malibu that has the spark plugs jb welded to the head and now he only has 12-1300 to spend on transportation. he works 50-60 hours a week with me but on night shift and he is on his last year of college for fine arts. so we need something for him before August 15th when school starts back for him.

[Zola]

The primary question is,"Fix what?"

Given that you're unable to test ride the bike, tank rust may not be the only problem needing resolution. Clearly, the tank needs to be cleaned and sealed and it's likely the entire fuel system will need attention before any further diagnosis can be performed - other than a visual inspection of chain, sprocket, hoses, tires, air filter...by someone who fully knows what they're doing.

You'll have no problem spending $300 at a shop for the tank and fuel system work.

You appear to need a bike that runs - runs now and reliably, not a project bike.

Keep looking or you might be settling for a matching pos motorcycle to park next to a pos Malibu.

In the alternative, depending on a visual inspection, I might offer $300 - 350 to get this out of her garage and take my chances.

[alex.s]

if you are looking for a bike that most likely isn't going to require lots of work, look somewhere else.

the tank would need to be stripped and relined or just replaced (probably cheaper)... $100 maybe? of course the carbs will be filled with **** so a carb clean would be needed ($100 at a shop?) the fact that the gas tank is rusted means most likely the headers are going to be rusted as well as all the pivot points on the frame. the fact that the gas tank got to that state means the bike has been neglected for years. it will need full service (valve adjust, oil change, coolant flush, fork oil change, new plugs) and don't be surprised when the wiring suddenly cuts out because theres a dead rat somewhere that was living off the nice tastey wiring

find a good mechanic. become friends. get him to help you with your lemon

[7oxSin]

Originally Posted by alex.s

if you are looking for a bike that most likely isn't going to require lots of work, look somewhere else.

the tank would need to be stripped and relined or just replaced (probably cheaper)... $100 maybe? of course the carbs will be filled with **** so a carb clean would be needed ($100 at a shop?) the fact that the gas tank is rusted means most likely the headers are going to be rusted as well as all the pivot points on the frame. the fact that the gas tank got to that state means the bike has been neglected for years. it will need full service (valve adjust, oil change, coolant flush, fork oil change, new plugs) and don't be surprised when the wiring suddenly cuts out because theres a dead rat somewhere that was living off the nice tastey wiring

find a good mechanic. become friends. get him to help you with your lemon

lol on the rat. i checked the rest of the bike over very thoroughly and the only rust any where was in the tank, the bike was garage kept by her since she bought it and it has sat for a year and a half. her 12 year old son told me when she was out of the garage that the last time she rode it he was 11 or 10 cuz he was following her on the back of his grandpas bike when they slid and broke his thumb. and that was the last time the mom rode.

so with that info what do you think?

[alex.s]

if the rest of the bike looks good then its probably less than $500 get it in good shape

[greg737]

Something to look for, a lot of the old-gen EX-250s that have rusty gas tanks also have punctured gas tanks. The rust has to have a starting point and that is quite often the source.

This happens because several year-models of the old-gen EX-250 were delivered with fairing bolts that were long on the lower fairing connections and short on the fairing to fuel tank connections. People often mixed these bolts up when re-installing the fairings and the too-long fairing bolts will bust through the fuel tank wall as you're trying to tighten up the fairing.

If this has happened tothe bike you're looking at I'd simply replace the tank rather than try to fix it.

[Alex]

Agree with @greg737. I thought kawi had a recall for a few of those years for this problem as well, might be worth entering the vin of the bike here on kawi's site. I don't think the recall covered all years, but if it was in the range, might be a cheap (or even free) way to get a new tank.

[lgk]

how do you force a dude to buy a lemon for $2000.

surely your brother knew it was a project car...

[7oxSin]

Originally Posted by lgk

how do you force a dude to buy a lemon for $2000.

surely your brother knew it was a project car...

no the step dad lied to him saying the car was in great shape, guy wanted 4k step dad payed the whole thing and was like u said u wanted it so give me 2k. so then when he gave him all the money he saved up the car ran for about 4 days and then everything went crazy. his step dad is an ass hat. and now wants him to sell the car to the step dad for 200$. i think he scammed my lil bro from the start. i wanted to fight him over it, but he is a midget so it makes me feel uncomfortable, like hitting a kid.

Edit* oh and the step dad owns the house and all the cars, so he was like if you dont buy this one you wont be driving any of mine and you can find a new place to live if you dont want to take this step to "better yourself".

[lgk]

thats terrible, whats your mom saying about this?

[7oxSin]

Originally Posted by lgk

thats terrible, whats your mom saying about this?

different moms, same dead beat dad. so the only link we have is each other. you would never guess we are brothers, im half irish half mexican and he is half black and half mexican.

here is a pic of me and him infront of a pay mural we had just finished.

[greg737]

The theme of that mural doesn't bode well with regard to getting anything figured out or straightend out in life. I would hope and wish for better for anybody here on the forum.

[7oxSin]

Originally Posted by greg737

The theme of that mural doesn't bode well with regard to getting anything figured out or straightend out in life. I would hope and wish for better for anybody here on the forum.

ROFL, nither one of us smoke, the shop that payed us to do it was a head shop, they sold bongs etc... they asked for that, i myself have 2 kids work 50 -60 hours a week and im saving up for a house. my brother is in his last year for his bachelors in fine arts and is going to get his masters in digital art after that.

[lgk]

sounds like you just need to disown the step dad.

does the car run?
if its does, just craigslist it.

then use the money on a better condition ninja.

[Monkeytofu]

Link to original page on YouTube.

Straight forward and simple.

[7oxSin]

thanks monkey, and thanks to every one! i sent her a text offering to buy the bike for 500, ill keep yall posted if she sells it to me. if any one is around the nashville TN area and has a running pregen for sale and wants less then $1300 for it let me know, my lil bro also does professional airbrushing so he could do a helmet or gastank to compensate for the price.

[lgk]

Originally Posted by Monkeytofu

Link to original page on YouTube.

Straight forward and simple.

thats a quick way of doing it using abrasive action.

last time i removed a lot of rust, i used electrolytic methods.
if done right, it is environmentally friendly, and removes rust oxides at the molecular level.

[Monkeytofu]

Originally Posted by lgk

thats a quick way of doing it using abrasive action.

last time i removed a lot of rust, i used electrolytic methods.
if done right, it is environmentally friendly, and removes rust oxides at the molecular level.

You can do this too. mrmaxstorey (the guy who made the video I linked) has a video on that too if anyone wants to try it.