hello, have a 996, but maybe going to look a st4 in mind of buying for some local 2 up riding with me and my wife, any buying advice apart from recent belts changed , ta kev
If its a gold frame model, check for good starting, the old one's were bad starters in the cold. Check the engine for flaking paint, some suffer with corrosion badly on the engine. Check the swingarm for rust. Check the LCD display if all works okay.
I have one - a 1999, gold frame, blue paint...Check the wheel bearings - they wear out quickly ( but are easy / cheap to change )Check the clutch slave cylinder - they leak clutch fluid on to the chainCheck the radiator and oil cooler fins are clean and that the fan cuts in - the cooling is very marginal, especially if the radiator is blocked up with crud.Other things to note...Alarm / imobilisers tend to trash the batteryThe OEM regulator / rectifier is sometimes unreliable ( aftermarket ones are available from E-Bay )The big multi-pin plug in the wiring loom to the left of the headstock is a nightmare - the plastic boot fills up with water and trashes the connectors. This can give all sorts of strange electrical faults. I took mine out completely and soldered the wires together.Still a great bike though !
