I have a big dilemma.

[TOOLS1]

This dilemma has been brought about by the ONLY sport bike I have any desire to own. A 1985 Yamaha FZ 750. A friend/customer of mine has one. It is in pretty decent shape, especially for being a race bike at one time (every part on the bike is safety wired). He does not/has not rode the bike much in the last two years, to the point that the tank/carbs now need cleaned. He has called me a few times in the last year offering to sell me the bike at an extremely cheap price. He even offered to bring it to me, and said I could pay him when I could. He knows that I would take care of it, and wants me to have it. I told him I would not feel right doing that, you never know what could happen, and the only way I would do it, is if I had the cash to buy it. He called me again to day, and said if I would repair a 99 Ninja 250 that has a seized engine for his son, he would give me the FZ 750. He also said that if the cost of repairs exceeded our agreed upon price, he would pay the difference.
I have been researching the cost of parts to rebuild the engine in the bike, and they are expensive, like to the tune of $359.00 for a gasket set. So it seems like the best thing to do would be to replace the engine with a good used one, but the early engines are hard to find. It might take some time to find one, and I hate be in limbo finishing the deal.  
What would you guys do?
TOOLS

[Apollo]

Tough/fun position. The working bee usually ends up paying an arm and a leg for a dream (bike) that could turn out to be a nightmare. The way to preserve good feelings and relationships is to keep these two deals separate. Communicate with a "witness present" if convenient the monetary details, .. you know in these old bikes pretty much you have to touch them everywhere. Carbs, steering bearings, fork seals, carbs, etc etc. Asking him for a "budget". If you don't find it feasible including your labor I wouldn't touch it. In my case my gut feeling serves me well and I listen to it (usually :-) good luck.

[Re-run]

That much for a gasket kit for a 99 is insane. It is a kawi 250 though, so who knows. I would think an engine wouldn't be too hard to find though, but since they are usually beginner bikes, I supposed a slagged engine would be easy to find, but not a good one.

If they are dead set on the ninjette, then let him know about the prices you have found so far and how it could easily become expensive. You could tell them also that a nighthawk 250 would have fairly easy to find and cheap parts. Just a thought.

[Truck]

Just an idea - write out an agreement for cost of parts and the FZ as payment for the labor.

[shinyribs]

Re-run wrote

 You could tell them also that a nighthawk 250 would have fairly easy to find and cheap parts. Just a thought.

Honda pusher.  

[Re-run]

No no no, it is all completely logical! There are tons of honda 250 engines out there that parts are cheap and easy to find!

And, yes I am!

[LukeM]

I'd rather not see you getting upside-down repairing the Ninja.  Depending on what's broken, it could more than cover the agreed-to purchase price on the FZ750.  

As you well know, the term "seized" could mean a great many things.  How possible is it to get a used Ninja 250 engine and swap it out?  You could also teach the owner how to do this type of maintenance to help negotiate the cost of repair.

Good luck, and I hope this helps.
Luke M

[TOOLS1]

I want to thank you guys for your thoughts on this. You brought up points that I had not even thought of. I have in my search for a replacement engine for the Ninja 250 have found out why there are so few of them, and why they are so expensive. It seems that there is now a very popular racing class for these bikes, and it is driving the prices up on them.
Again Thanks. TOOLS

[shinyribs]

Ah ha, that explains it. I was thinking those prices looked kinda crazy. Well, I still have a couple feelers out. Will holler if I get any bites.

[Re-run]

And here I figured it was cause so many get crashed.