im looking into buying a 2003 ninja 250...twin cam...7200 miles...has a few scratches....looks nice....muzzy pipe ....ASKING $900...the only think wrong is that is has a bent Valve...I don't really know a whole lot about bikes, so i need to know how serious a bent valve is...How much it cost to fix...can it be ridden without the valve being Fixed? Thanks
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Buying a Used Bike...HELP!?
- Thread starter Loriann
- Start date
It's That Guy
New member
Well you can't ride a bike with a bent valve. You need to take the head off and replace the valve, and perhaps some other goodies like the valve guide, maybe repair the valve seat.
But the thing is, without being able to start the engine, you don't know what else might be wrong. And it could be a lot! Valves don't just bend by themselves. Did the valve collide with the piston? If so maybe the timing chain is broken. Maybe the piston has a big hole in it. It might have done some real damage inside the engine, but the bent valve is just the most obvious thing, the thing that keeps you from discovering the other stuff.
I would want a real mechanic to take the bike apart and do an estimate. It might need a whole new engine.
But the thing is, without being able to start the engine, you don't know what else might be wrong. And it could be a lot! Valves don't just bend by themselves. Did the valve collide with the piston? If so maybe the timing chain is broken. Maybe the piston has a big hole in it. It might have done some real damage inside the engine, but the bent valve is just the most obvious thing, the thing that keeps you from discovering the other stuff.
I would want a real mechanic to take the bike apart and do an estimate. It might need a whole new engine.
As others have said, valves do not "just bend" by themselves. Either the person selling is guessing what is wrong, or it could well be a bent valve and serious issues. If a bent valve-you are looking at-at a minimum pulling the head off the engine-about 2 hours worth of work-then the valve itself about $25. plus seating the new valve another 30 minutes of work, reinstall the head and tune up 4 hours worth of work plus the parts, oils, etc. So 6-7 hours worth of work @70/hour plus parts AT A MINIMUM.
If when the valve got bent it damaged the piston, then you can add to the above-pulling the engine 10 hours and disassembly plus complete gasket kit $175.00 plus what ever other parts are found damaged. Plus an oil and filter change, then install the new parts or fix the various parts damaged and reinstall engine-another 8 hours.
Bottom line if the bike runs, chances are it is not a bent valve. If the bike is smoking out the exhaust on that side-it could be. or a poorly seated valve or a bad set of piston rings etc.
For $900 pass on this one.
For $1000 you can get yourself a decent running 250 ninja to go have a blast on.
And by the way, we need more women riders out there. Check into www.womenonwheels.org or www.motormaids.com to see if there are chapters in your area. Go talk to the women and see what they like about their bikes and what mods they have done to them to get them useable for that particular woman. Women riders are a different breed and frequently we need to be creative in our approach to modifying things on bikes to make them fit us.
If when the valve got bent it damaged the piston, then you can add to the above-pulling the engine 10 hours and disassembly plus complete gasket kit $175.00 plus what ever other parts are found damaged. Plus an oil and filter change, then install the new parts or fix the various parts damaged and reinstall engine-another 8 hours.
Bottom line if the bike runs, chances are it is not a bent valve. If the bike is smoking out the exhaust on that side-it could be. or a poorly seated valve or a bad set of piston rings etc.
For $900 pass on this one.
For $1000 you can get yourself a decent running 250 ninja to go have a blast on.
And by the way, we need more women riders out there. Check into www.womenonwheels.org or www.motormaids.com to see if there are chapters in your area. Go talk to the women and see what they like about their bikes and what mods they have done to them to get them useable for that particular woman. Women riders are a different breed and frequently we need to be creative in our approach to modifying things on bikes to make them fit us.