Looked at an 87, need opinions

[Thud300]

After many moons of searching Craigslist for a viable V-XII on a budget, the stars finally aligned and I took a trip to go see an 87 with about 40K miles that the ask was fairly low on. Speaking to the gentleman who has it, he said that it had the updated igniter box and starter chain due to a previous repair, has the receipt for it, has the inner bags for the side cases. So I made the trip to see it, and I would like some more experienced opinions on what I found and whether this bike would be worth the $800 ask as a project.
It's plenty dirty, and has its issues, not totally unexpected as it's a 30 year old bike. But as i went through making observations, here's what I found. The bike was last registered two years ago, presumably not rode since 2015.
-The right front rotor is coated in oily residue, either brake fluid or fork oil. Not sure which, the right fork seal does appear to be leaking.
-The front wheel and fender are misaligned, so that the right side of the tire is almost rubbing the fender in the rear.
-It needs tires, that would be a given anyway
-Although the fairing is in decent condition and the 'extensions' are all there, the chin fairing is missing.
-The clutch lever has zero resistance, so the fluid has likely drained out of the clutch master. An attempt to open the reservoir by the owner with an impact tool resulted in a stripped screw head.
-The radio is inoperative, lights up but no sound from any speaker. The radio mast is missing, the right rear speaker is separated from its mounts, and the lead was cut in two so the loose speaker could be removed from the bike.
-The owner stated the cruise is inoperative, as well as the radio.
-He also stated there was a fuel leak, and after he added a little fuel and put in the battery to start it, well he wasn't kidding. It started leaking fuel rapidly from what appeared to be above the carb rack dripping down onto it. Possibly a cracked fuel line or failed o-ring in the carb feed. The engine idled ok, but it wasn't run long.
-Removing the radiator cap, no coolant could be seen, but there was a heavy deposit of rust on the bottom of the cap.
-A broken amber lens on the left hard case. With this exception, all the lights worked.
-Both mirrors had the silvering delaminating from the glass, they would need to be replaced.
-The general appearance of the bike is somewhat weathered in the cockpit area, there are no markings on the handlebar audio controls, the handlebar weights look rusty and tarnished.
-The owner also made mention of handlebar shimmy, possibly on deceleration.
The bike does have the updated igniter box, a receipt for the starter chain replacement, Owners and Service Manuals, and the aforementioned liner bags.
My thought was, it's a few too many found issues just on first inspection, possibly more to be found later. I've already brought two older Kawis back to health with relatively minor TLC, but this one needs what might be significant investment to make it a rider.
Thoughts and opinions welcomed.

[cushman eagle]

It does sound like it could be brought back to life, but you would need to figure your labor pretty cheap to make it economical.If you can do it figuring your time at low value,go for it,but if your time has significant value to it,you could probably find a lower cost bike.When I restored my 1958 Cushman Eagle,I had to figure my time at 0 value to come anywhere close to the market value of the bike and I am still 35% above it's worth,but I would do it all over again,I enjoy it so much I did the Cushman at home in my garage in the evenings and Saturdays to be able to zero value my time.

[Jimvoyager01]

Dont know where you live or how far you want to travel,,,,,but there are quite a few 1200 Voyagers for sale on craigs list in the Minneapolis Minn. area..

[Thud300]

Minnesota would be a bit of a hike, I'm in the central Illinois area, where they are scarce. I don't recall ever seeing one on the streets here.

[triton28]

As cushman eagle says, you probably could bring this one back to life but it would be a labour of love not to mention the time and money involved.
Myself I almost always choose complete, running drivers when I am going to project a bike. My first '87 was a complete running driver when I bought it and I spent the first winter completely redoing the bike, total disassembly and rebuild except for the long block engine unit, every single system and component was taken to the beginning and gone over and refurbished.
Having been a service technician/manager at a motorcycle shop for years helped, as well as being retired with time to fill, and a good workshop to work in also helps. But it still was a lot of work. However, that having been said, I now have a bike I know inside out, is
one I trust to go anywhere at a moments notice, an most importantly in my opinion is one of the nicest touring bikes I have had the pleasure to drive.
Unfortunately the bike you describe sounds as though it may have been driven into something larger than itself due to the tire rub, and that can get expensive let alone time consuming. This bike has been neglected and abused for a long time.
I understand you are on a budget but I would say this one should head to the breakers for salvaging any good items left on it, BUT, then again if this is the only way to get on a XII, the bike may be worth the time and effort for you.
Would I do it again? I was so impressed with the smooth power, ease of maintenance, and comfortable ride of my first '87 that I bought 2 more XIIs, a driver '87 and a sitting outdoors for 4 years partially disassembled '90. These are both going through the same process of rebuild as the first '87. But now I have time on my side as my main ride is complete and needs nothing so I am not without wheels to ride; a big plus.
These 2 later bikes are my hobby. For example, why would I spend 40 plus hours wet sanding with 320 grit and then 400 grit the 27 plastic coloured pieces for repainting if I wasn't enamored with what the finished product would be. It doesn't make cost effective sense, but I just did it and I am on the last piece to be 400'ed, the LH rear speaker bottom half.
Back to your question, you have to decide "Do I want to spend my effort, time, and money on this bike?" Regardless if you go the whole route like I have, or just enough to get it safely and reliably on the road, it is a lot of work and will take a lot of time and money. More of each than you probably have allocated in your figuring. But my, they are lovely motorcycles!
Good luck with whichever way you go,
Dave
I just counted the pieces and there are in fact 29 painted parts.

[cranky]

My thought was, it's a few too many found issues just on first inspection, possibly more to be found later. I've already brought two older Kawis back to health with relatively minor TLC, but this one needs what might be significant investment to make it a rider.
Thoughts and opinions welcomed.

... depends on if Ya want to work on a scoot, or ride it... I'd guess a better running
scoot is out there... take a nation wide look on Craigslist and Cycle trader... best to Ya!!!!!

[Thud300]

Thanks all, looks like I made a good call to walk away. Meanwhile, a 91 has appeared on the CL radar not far away at all, owner says he's had it only a few months, missing a case lid and fuel gauge inop, was hoping to see it today but maybe tomorrow night...

""youre killin me Smalls!!"

been looking for a while, guess another day wont kill me

[Lucasind]

...If you have a ton of spare time and money ....go for it ! if not pass on it ! There are more fish in the sea , you can find a running XII that you can ride today for LESS than it sounds like you will have into this one described ! by the time you get this one road worthy .....you could have been already riding a different one ! biggest factor as mentioned is a shop full of tools and equipment , and years of experience dont hurt to have either ! .......just my 2 cents .........

[Thud300]

That's the story, time and money, in the summers i get more time and a little less money to play with.

Hoping the 91 pans out. A fuel gauge I can deal with, pics show bungees holding down the rear speakers, might have a unique fix for that...

The missing lid could be an issue but not a deal breaker, I searched and was unable to find a left side lid from anything except a 1300. Looks like it will be kind of spendy to replace and paint, if there is one to be had out there.

[krasmu]

in my opinion, you can do better and be riding rather than wrenching. I live in Northern Illinois. I do see these bikes every now and again in my area. I picked up my 90 xii 2 1/2 years ago with only 24k on the clock. The bike really looks clean. the only things that did not work were the cruise, the odometer reset and the turn signal cancel system. All were in expensive to fix. Picked it up for $2000.

[cranky]

... nice scoot in Homer Glen, Il on Cycletrader!!!

http://tinyurl.com/ya7txnh9

[ghostler]

Hoping the 91 pans out. A fuel gauge I can deal with, pics show bungees holding down the rear speakers, might have a unique fix for that... The missing lid could be an issue but not a deal breaker.

Rear speakers have rubber shock mounts that can be easily broken, especially if rear package shelf has something on ti that presses hard enough on the speakers. Replacements are still available. In the tips and tricks section is a post on how you can fix the mount so it stays together. Lids come up occasionally on E-Bay. I wouldn't worry so much about a slight mismatch in color, that can always be fixed down the road. Some have installed a lanyard system so that if lid pops off (I keep mine locked all the time, still possible to lose, but harder for latches to pop loose), it doesn't separate from the bike.