It is a solid designed bike and it also tends to wear pretty similar to other dirt bikes.
I would put the bike on a stand and check the headset bearings and check the rear suspension linkage for play. Look for loose pivot bolts in the suspension. This is a sneaky way to hide bad bearings.
Maybe pull the ignition side cover and look for rust and smell for gas.
Kick the kickstarter several times. A known issue is slipping of the kickstart pinion gear. Not super expensive but it will run you between $60 and $120.
It may needs crank seals if they have never been changed.
Bent shift shaft.
If it has lots of miles on it look for loose elongated foot peg holes.
Sloppy kickstarter pivot.
Subframe cracks or bent.
Look in the oil sight window for milky oil. The waterpump seals can fail after a while.
Look for wet spots around the gas tank where the radiator shrouds are screwed in. Sometimes people use wood screws that are too long and create a leak.
I have a 2000 XC300 which is very similar and it has been AWESOME reliable!
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