Buying a sv650 with a slight problem

[HighRisk]

Hey guys. I went and looked at a 2001 sv650 today. It's got around 4k on it with a salvage title, motor was rebuilt at 3k and seemed to have been broken in well. The problem with it is it made a valve ticking noise. The guy told me it started about a thousand miles or so after a new yosh rs3 pipe was installed. The bike was not rejetted though. So I assume it was from the lean mixture. He said he was riding and he heard it backfire then he started to hear a valve tick, he shut it off immediately and got it home where a knowledgeable friend declared it was a floated valve. He was asking $2100 for it but dropped the price to $1300 for me. He doesn't seem like he is hiding anything about the bike. I put a downpayment of $40 on it and I'd like to know what you guys think of this problem. Would it be just a better idea to buy a new head or to take this one off and try to fix it. Thanks a lot I'm sorry that was long.

[johnnyrod]

What the ! is a floated valve? Sounds more like a cam chain to me (or tensioner)

[yorkie_chris]

A new head is way easier and cheap enough.

[HighRisk]

I was thinking along the lines of a new head also. Just out of curiosity what would it take to change/fix a bad valve seat. I believe it may involve machining the head but I am not sure.

[Biker Biggles]

Id say budget for a replacement engine.If it needed rebuilding at 3k and blew up again at 4k it is a lemon.I assume you are USA based so I dont know the prices,but over here a 2001 SV with a dicky engine would be cheaper than that.Not sure what you mean by "salvage title" either.Is it damaged or been written off by insurance?If so it would be cheaper still here.

[HighRisk]

I'm pretty sure its not a lemon, he had a pipe on it and also a k&n filter. This would lean out the mixture and I believe it would burn hotter maybe damaging the valve seat. I think a new motor is unnecessary, I don't want to put that much money in it. Salvage title means it was damaged in the past, the insurance company sold it, the bike was fixed and the title was rebuilt so it could be put on the road again. I found a head with 5700mi on it for $130 shipped on ebay so I think I'll just order that.

[yorkie_chris]

Regrind the valve seats. PITA and more money than a spare head. Over here anyway.

If they've put a full system and filter on and not rejetted then they're nuggets.

How did they blow it up at 3k anyway? It's not really economical to rebuild SV motors..

[HighRisk]

I guess the motor was rebuilt because when they got it they didn't know what kind of shape it was in and wanted to redo it. It was not jetted because the guy didn't have the money to do it at the time and the dealer wanted too much to do it. Does $1300 seem like a nice price for this thing, its got like 4k, salvage title, some scratches on the frame and a dent in the tank. The whole bike looks to be straight though and has a brand new yosh pipe.

[yorkie_chris]

I wouldn't give more than £500 for similar. But prices of bikes vary between countries.