I am interested in buying an 86 200sx and I wanted to know the highs and lows of this machine as well as some mods I can do to it.

 

the good thing about them is they are built like a tank and it will run forever
there really are any bad things about them except theyre not power monsters
and arnt that fast but thats to be expected from a little 200

there really arent any mods for them i think cobra makes a pipe for them and you could get a k and n filter

but they are good for having fun on

 

Great engine. Chassis on those can be pretty beaten up at this stage in the game.

 

have there been any major problems with them? when i look at it before i buy it what should i look for?

 

look at the rear chain tighteners and the front sprocket area to see about thrown chains,

mine went through about 5 front and rear sprockets before i sold mine

very good bike though, keeps up with the lt230, bayou220 etc

 

They don't give you much room for chain adjustment so you either have to buy a good quality o-ring type chain (they don't stretch very much) or you will be constantly adjusting the chain and always wondering if you should take out a link. I don't know that they are, but they do seem to be hard on sprockets, r. axle bearings, and the weld nuts that hold the hub (the ones you have to loosen to adjust the chain) are often broken off, or stripped\corroded out. If that hub is not held tight, your chain tension and alignment is all off and your chain tension changes every time you speed up or slow down, if it isn't thrown off all together. The front ends are "kingpin" type and they tend to get loose and are a bad bad boy to take a apart because they are so corroded in. You will probably need a torch to get this apart. It doesn't seem to help much to put bushings and pins in either. If it has had a lot of hard use, the shocks might be done in too. Also check to make sure the swingarm is tight. On one that has seen severe use and poor maintainance, you are probably looking at all these things plus more, like frozen cables, brake shoes, etc. etc. If you find one some guys wife uses to get the mail, or an old timer uses to check his fences could be a good deal, If it's been through two kids worth of field approaches and power slides, and sad attempts at maintainance, it's probably not worth it.

 

what about the 250sx? i have seen some in my price range lately and they are shaft drive.

 

I dont know about the 250sx but my friend has a 200 that has been through heck, but it still runs.