Take a buddy,he holds the bike upright(or the owner) grab the forks,check for play in the steering head bearing.Same with the wheels. (wheelies are hard on these parts)
Check for mismatched paint(its been down)
Start,pull clutch, put in gear,hold breaks on,let clutch out,it should stall it as soon as the clutch grabs. Or put in third or 4th,find a steep hill and crack it.(clutch check)
Check chain for rust and how tired it is by grabing the chain at the furthest point from the motor,(middle of rear sprocket)it should not pull very far off the sprocket.
Take a flashlite and look in the fuel tank for rust/debris.
Remove oil fill plug and have a sniff.(sometimes you can smell a burnt clutch.)
Rotors should be smooth,if not,(circular gouges)someone let the breaks go too long.(rotors toast)
On test ride,light to medium force on lever for at least a 100 feet. (plusing sensation thru lever? rotors warped)
Check break pads with yer flashlite,see if that little gap in the middle still exsists.
2 bolts to pop the seat off,stick a volt meter to it. 12 volt systems like the Busa actually have 13.2v in a batt if its good.(or close to)
Then start bike,give a little rev,voltage should climb,but not too high (stator/reg check)
Start bike,let warm up,about half way on the temp guage you should hear the fan come on.
Flashlite to the oil site glass. Is it low? To high? How dirty? Milky in color? Milky is bad.(blown head gasket,cracked head,etc.) Coolant is reaching the oil,or bike has sat a long time...condensation,can be hard on the tranny.
Exhaust...blue on start up,valve seals.Blue after warmed,rings. Black smoke,running rich. White smoke,head gasket etc.
A little cam chain noise is normal,but have a listen.Right side of motor.
Sit on bike,roll forward or rock and hammer front brake,clunking noises can mean fork innards are toast.Slow to rebound? Forks out of adjustment or springs are sacked,or there is binding.
Could go on,but dont want to bore you.LOL
But I have to mention the fun part. The intimidation factor. If yer a big mean looking dude,most guys will come up with an excuse not to sell it to you.Take some mean looking big bastids with you. Nobody talks to the seller but you.They imediately start looking the bike over.They nod or grunt at you and point things out.If they dont know what they are doing,then have them just stand around and smoke. LOL.Everybody ignore your cell phones,dont even twitch if they go off.Yer focused on the bike right now.
Now it gets even more fun. With an' excited squid like tone in your voice you ask,"How long can you wheelie,this mutha #*^*'er for." If he says "All day". Shop somewhere else. Ask "What have you had her up too?" "Is the rev limiter working good?" "I'll bet this thing kicks azz at the track?" "Does it do good burnout?" "I've heard these are too heavy to stunt,can you get a stoppie outa the thing." "Who's done the service and repairs?" Hope for an' answer that doesn't include "His Uncle Goober,who knows everything about bikes,especially harleys." If you can, show up with a pack of sportbikes only,and nothing under 600cc. Helmets,gloves,jeans and "wife-beaters" look the best. LOL.
Walk the walk,and talk the talk,but dont over do it. If yer not confident,let a buddy pretend to be the buyer. Pick the bike apart a little,but dont be a dik about it.
If he's asking 7 grand,phone him from someone elses number(in case you already made contact) tell him you only have 59 hundred,and ask if there is even any point in looking at it. If he hesitates,thats good. If he says,"No worries,come on over." Then you should be skeptical.
Never look excited,look almost bored. If its mint,buy it. If its not,and you still want it,leave and come back later. Once or twice, walk away out of ear shot and have a chit chat with buddies,look back at the bike a couple times. When you come back,let him say the first words.
I've had guys go in the house and come out with a lame excuse that its not forsale anymore.(they dont want you and the "Boyz in the Hood" returning it the next day because its a POS) This stratagy can sometimes back fire a bit with some bike owners.Some wont sell a Busa to a squid. No worries,send a different buddy to buy it later.
I should write a book on this shi7.
RSD.