I bought my first FT Ascot in un-running condition. The P/O told me that the old battery had died. He then bought one of those cheap Chinese batteries & it wouldn't charge. He thought that the generation system was bad. The bike only had a bit over 6K on it. I took the gamble & bought the bike even though it failed to start no matter what we tried.
Once I started looking into it, all the bike needed was a new "quality" battery. The new battery that was in the bike, came out of the box with a dead cell & couldn't hold enough charge to start the bike. Once I bought a "Made In The USA" AGM battery, the bike fired right up. That has been the only time that I've had to make any repairs to the bike. My FT Ascot is my "Go-To" bike, that I would most likely choose over the others for 90% of my riding. My FT has never let me down & performs excellently. I would rate it as an 8 or 9.
When buying a used Japanese bike, you should always try to locate & purchase a bike with 10K or less miles on it. A total of 3 previous owners, or less, is a good sign also.
Condition.... Condition.... Condition.... Is what you should be examining. How often has the bike been serviced? Does it show clean oil on the dipstick, or is it black? Carefully smell the oily dipstick to see if you can detect the smell of gasoline. The smell of gas is not a good sign. At the least, it could mean that the oil & the bike have set for a long time. At the worst, it could mean that you have leaky rings, valves, valve guides, etc. Check everything out & don't just let the owner tell you how cool the bike is. Remember that when buying an older bike, you should expect to spend some money after the sale. You might need to buy a new battery, or new tires, chain & sprockets, brakes, etc. At the very least, you should be ready to change out all the fluids/lubes/etc.
You also NEED to buy a SERVICE MANUAL!!!
Good luck
J.
