Hi all,
I'm planning on buying a 1998 Blackbird - it has 12000 miles on it. I've never had a Blackbird before; currently ride a SV650S.
Any advice on what should I particularly check when buying a used Blackbird; from what limited advice I got from a couple of friends is that electrical problems can be trickly on Blackbird and need to be kept an eye out for (regulator/rectifier failure and some left diagnostic plug from Honda manufacturers). Any suggestions how to make sure that all electrical stuff is fine?

Thanks,
A total CBR1100 newbie.

If you like it have it checked out by your local dealer. I just recently purchased my 00 Bird and I love it. I think the plug your refering to is the one that the 99 & 00 have that causes the FI light to come on. I was having problems with mine as was the previous owner. I found the fix on this site and just cut the plug spliced all the wires and haven't had the light since. Hope this helps. I'm sure if you search here you can find out alot more about the 98 and it's qwerks.

Early welcome to Bird ownership ....................... 12000 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These low mileage Birds keep appearing in the States, snap it up!

As for the electricals, with a '98 you don't need to worry about the 'loom fix', the reg/rec is the 'weak point' on Carbies if it isn't a deeper large finned item I would change it as a precaution, the dealer should 'deal' with any other safety items but I would check the age of the tyres ........................ and then just knock up the miles.

FYI the electrical items you mention are 'big news' with Bird owners because generally there is nothing else to bitch about ............. these things are so reliable.

Go for it mate.
Ive got a 98 Blackbird & love it.
Give it a general check over like you would any other bike, then if it starts & stops ok, hand over the cash & rag the arse off it!

Seriously though, pretty much bullet proof machine, yes theres issues with the reg/rec like The Duck said, get it changed before it lets you down but thats not an issue solely related to Blackbirds. Early Fireblades were just the same.

When i changed the reg/rec on my Fireblade i ran an extra earth straight from the reg/rec to the battery & all was good after that mate.

I am not sure what you are paying for it but the general rule of thumb is buy the newest you can afford...there are lots of newer Birds for sale with low miles for not that much money.

Originally Posted by blackbirdfan

Hi all,
I'm planning on buying a 1998 Blackbird - it has 12000 miles on it. I've never had a Blackbird before...

do it my friend, you'll never look back the carbies are easier to work on but parts are slightly hard to come by (although not that hard). put it across a multimeter to check its charging corectly to diagnose the reg req fault. change the cct just as a precaution too, its cheap and easy to do.

mine has 40k on the clock and still going strong. these birds were built to last

Welcome to Bird Land. Use the search button for most of your questions, imho. If you do your own wrenching you'll be fine. Download the service manual from the site and just ask what you need to know if you can't find it on search. Of course this is written by a peep who doesn't own a tool kit and never uses the search button. Of course if you have deep pockets you can make her an even better bike. Good luck and enjoy your "Man's Bike". I encourage you to take a look at Jaws web site dedicated to Birds.

Good luck it doesnt mean you will have those problems either.

Price may be a consideration. I picked up an '03 with only 6200 miles last month for $4000 and it is pristine. There are two more "o3's on Craigslist now for around $4000. If you get the bird, you'll never miss the SV650S. TC

There are quite a few Birds for sale and they are all somewhat different in regards to mileage, extras, condition, etc. - it is a good time to be in the market for one. I would still recommend a 2001+ model since they have the latest updates.