If you're considering buying a classic, whether your first or fiftieth, it pays to take your time.
Ideally, settle on a specific make, model and year. Specifications change, some bikes enjoying improvements with updates - but some can take a step backwards. That can be anything from awkward or unwelcome styling changes, to specification "adjustments".
Such "adjustments", which were often aimed at saving money, can mean inferior materials or corner-cutting engineering. Bikes with original metal components are often more desirable than slightly later versions with cost-saving plastic parts, for instance.
It can add up to unexpected disappointment or cost. So make sure you research your target bike make and model. And the best way to ensure you don't end up in a didn't-know-what-you-didn't-know situation (possibly involving an undesirable bike, or one which has reliability problems, or for which parts are nigh-on impossible to source) is to join a make- or model-specific club, chat to members, and ask them what they think of your potential choice.
Just about every bike ever made will have a quirk or weakness. Some will have had those issues sorted by previous owners (for instance, known unreliable parts replaced by identical-looking but better-made or -engineered versions of those parts. Many regularly-ridden classics will, where possible, have had things like upgraded brakes or electronic ignition fitted. Invisible, but make a massive difference to ease-of-use.
And while some bikes simply must be absolutely original (or at least original-looking), some bikes are more desirable if fitted with period modifications or accessories, for instance expansion chamber exhausts on some Japanese two-strokes. But not all…
My 1993 Honda CB1000 Super Four wears an aftermarket exhaust "can", because the original equipment can is hen's teeth. So it sits wrapped in sponge in my office at home.
Pricing and values are all over the place in the "affordable" section of the classic bike market, so there will undoubtedly be bargains - but, equally, some will follow the rule "if it looks like a deal too good to be true, then it probably is".
Research, talk to other owners, and when viewing a bike take along somebody who knows what they're looking at.
