used bike

hey guys, still a beginner here , and i think i found a good bike to suit the bill. so i wanted some advice on things to look for , whats good , bad , etc. anyways , its a 97 yamaha yzf600r , dont know how many miles , but its been dropped numerous times , scrathces all over the pipe , wind screen taped on , and a small dent in the frame and gas tank in the same spot (no leaks in the gas tank , not even a the paint is chipped , just a small dent , less then 1 inch). why would i want such a trashed bike? cuz odds are im gonan drop it myself learning , and i think i might be able to get a hold of it for something like 1500 , i just wanna ride around , i dont give a crap if it looks like hell , just wanna ride ,
any help would be greatly appreciated guys , love AF here , thanks again

Here is a GREAT link for what you should look for... VERY comprehensive:

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html

There's plenty of decent $1500 bikes out there that haven't been thrown down the road numerous times. Buy something older and be proud of what you're riding. If you happen to drop it, it's still only a $1500 bike, right? Who know's, maybe you won't trash it like the yo-yo with the yzf and you'll have a decent bike to sell when you're ready to move up. JMO, YMMV ;o)

yeah man don't buy a piece of shit...make sure that you buy something with quality and something that when you wash it will shine...look around a little harder, i'm sure you can find a better bike...

A 97 YZF 600, unless really damaged, should go for a lot more than $1500 unless something is really wrong with it. It probably has a salvage title due to the scratched frame, no fairing and scratches all over the tank, exhaust... etc. Sounds like a great beginner bike if that's the case! Make sure you get the exact mileage on the bike though. Sport Bikes need a rebuild after about 85k miles.

yeah man don't buy a piece of shit...make sure that you buy something with quality and something that when you wash it will shine...look around a little harder, i'm sure you can find a better bike...

Put me down for the exact opposite of this.

well you can't buy something that will break something every time you ride....i'm not saying get some brand new bike...but buy something that you can be somewhat proud of..

i'd say skip this deal. when a bike is dropped hard there are a number of things that could happen to the bike. also if its been dropped alot and hard enough the frame could be bent or weak. i had a friend that got a "killer deal" on an R6 that was droped once, but after he bought it it needed to be inspected and the frame was out (forget the amount, but wasn't very much) and now he's got a paper weight that can't be insured. so buyer beware