98 Blade with a knock - would you?

[Angry Painter]

My bro's been offered a 98 Blade with a knock between 2nd & 3rd gear. It's okay, but been sat for a while so would need a proper service. Plus, it sounds like the gearbox will need to be rebuilt - which also means a new clutch kit and associated parts. The bodywork is straight, but in a shit colour (yellow & white) so, he's naturally earmarked me to do that for him

But, it's only £850.00, so my question is - is it worth it?

[Weeksy]

Not for that money no.

I'd have it for free. But you can pick up a better condition shitter of a blade than that for not much more money.

[maccecht]

No. Agree with weeksy you can get a decent early blade for not much more than a grand. Why buy a semi knackered one.

[a_morti]

They used to be well known for doing that, and lots of folk got the gearboxes "undercut" whatever that means. No clue how big a job it is, but engine assys whole are still favoured by kit car builders, so harder/more money to get hold of than you might think for a £1500 bike.

[redorzed]

Originally Posted by a_morti

They used to be well known for doing that, and lots of folk got the gearboxes "undercut" whatever that means. No clue how big a job it is, but engine assys whole are still favoured by kit car builders, so harder/more money to get hold of than you might think for a £1500 bike.

you can still buy the gears from Honda though. It'd have to be a bit cheaper than that, although it's not a bad price if your bro's got some spanners and time...

[Tomcat]

Originally Posted by a_morti

They used to be well known for doing that, and lots of folk got the gearboxes "undercut" whatever that means. No clue how big a job it is, but engine assys whole are still favoured by kit car builders, so harder/more money to get hold of than you might think for a £1500 bike.

For info, the "dogs" are the 6 projections on the side face of this typical gear. They engage with slots cut in the face of the gear next to it so the two lock together when you change gear (there will be various combinations of free and locked gear pairs across the gearbox for any given gear you're in). What happens with age, especially if the owner is a bit lead-footed or thinks just because he can change clutchless he's doing no damage, is the dogs and the slots get rounded edges, eventually wearing tapered so when load goes on the gear the tapered dogs/slots ride apart and the bike jumps out of gear (probably bending the selector forks as it does so).

When they are new, dogs and slots usually have parallel sides because that's cheaper to make. However, race boxes and some top of the market bikes have tapered dogs and slots so the dogs fit in positively like dovetails That way it's much harder to damage them and they tend not to slide out even if they are worn. The disadvantage is cost of course, and it can make boxes feel notchy if the change isn't done smoothly.



AP's Blade probably has a missing gear tooth due to shock loading (again, probably due to one too many botched high-power shifts) and that can only get worse. It may be a decent bike for a home mechanic's project but with low priced secondhand engines around few people will bother.

[Angry Painter]

Cheers for that TC, that was really very useful - thank you.
I think I'm going to try and convince him to steer away from it. He's not the world's richest man and every penny counts, so I think it's going to be out of budget before he even begins.

I reckon a bike that's mechanically sound, but in need of some cosmetic TLC would be best for him.

Thank you for all the advice and helpful replies, especially TC, thanks mate.