i live in calgary there is no other zilla for sale in alberta and i ran across a 87 zilla 500 for sale it has a new piston new clutch new tires new front a-arms swing-arm and piston liner we are going to go look at this machine tomorrow and is there anything should we check on it. hes asking 3900 and we well try 3500 and he says its in excellent shape just needs body... should i take it or leave it

 

That price is pretty steep! However, if there aren't many around your area, you may have to suck it up and pay if you must have a zilla and that one is decent. By "body" do you mean plastic? I would be thinking even 3K was high for bad plastic.

 

the zilla is super rare up here and it needs a front and rear plastic the hood is fine and the seat looks good. because of their reputation most are around 5-6 grand!
gonna go look at it tomorrow so i well fined out then

thanks for the input

 

Look it over really good. Make sure there is fluid in the radiator, check if it runs, run through all the gears, check for cracks in the case and frame, make sure there is no saw dust in the crank case (old trick to cushin the piston so you cant hear knocks), and shake the front a-arms as hard as you can to see if the bearings are loose. Don't just go by what the guy says. Make sure you check it out real good. If he says there was engine work, ask if he has a receipt or sumthing. And if your gut is telling you its fishy but you want it so bad you want to buy it anyway....DONT. I was shafted with my last quad and if I had checked the things I just listed I would have never baught it. Just remember, there will always be another deal coming around the corner. So even if this one doesnt fly, I'm sure another one will pop up somewhere.

 

thanks for all the input we are going to check it out as best we can
thanks again

(please list if there is anything else to check)
thanks

 

Look at the first picture of my Lt250r. Thats what it looked like when i bought it. It looks nice from the outside and it ran, but there are so many hidden problems. I am doing a full restoration currently because I have to. And as I'm taking it apart I keep finding problem after problem. I dont mean to sound demanding or anything, but I dont want you to get screwed like I did, especially because of the amount of money your going to give this guy.

 

i have three quads and i want the zilla because well its a zilla

thanks for all the info we are going to be very cautious and prepared to walk away

 

Frame problems seemed to plague all the quadracers. Nothing major as long as you catch it. Just tip her up and check over the underside real well, the shock mounts, and the footpeg area. If you know anyone with some decent welding skills all this stuff can be repaired usually. The other big thing with the '87, they tend to have head/headgasket problems. IIRC they added a bolt to later years keep everything in check, but that wouldn't stop me from buying a clean '87.

 

very nice

 

it was total crap no go on this one