Buying a salvaged bike

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bipolarrhino

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I've looked at it and everything "seems" ok. The forks were bent low but the tripple tree is ok. The tire broke the radiator cover and that broke the radiator. Like I said, the neck on the frame doesn't seem to have bent, but I know that doesn't mean it didn't. Its 400 bucks and has less than 2500 miles on it. It's sat for a long time but the guy rebuilds bikes for his own joy and said he had another one that he sold, but used the parts off of it less than a year ago and guaranteed me that it ran smooth. He was in an accident 2 years ago and just doesn't want anything to do with bikes or fourwheelers anymore. Would this be a good buy or is it just gonna be a costly mistake?
 
I would buy it for parts only. Resell the parts and put that towards a bike that hasn't been wrecked. Unless you are a mechanic with a machine shop I would not plan on resurrecting* the bike for riding.
 
2wheelMax said:
I would buy it for parts only. Resell the parts and put that towards a bike that hasn't been wrecked. Unless you are a mechanic with a machine shop I would not plan on resurrecting* the bike for riding.
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I agree. It may be fine, but why invest the money and time only to find out it isn't. Also remember that the resale value of the bike will be significantly less than one that doesn't have a salvage title.
 
I agree with buying it and parting it out. A whole lotta people always need parts. And trust me, buying new parts is expensive!


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Totally agree! You will never get the money out of it when or if you sold it as a whole bike. Just that chance and unknown of what could be wrong may be a huge headache in the future. It's a gamble. Not a bad idea about parting it out if you have the time. You see how fast some parts go just on this site.
 
I don't know if you have the time, skills or inclination to part the bike out. You would certainly a profit. But one thing I do know is that there is no better way to get to know the motorcycle. Then, when you get another one, you'll know your motorcycle.
 
I will say this, apart from resale value, some do a great job at rebuilding salvage bikes. My bike is a rebuilt, and it appears to be a top quality rebuild. The only thing I spotted was some JB weld on the edge of the radiator and a slight handlebar dent on the tank. The bike rides straight and it appears every effort was made to bring it up to top quality.

Feels pretty good to have a 2001 with only 15,000 original miles. On the street, nobody knows my title's dirty little secret.:)

Disclamer: Some rebuilds are absolute junk and should not ever be put back on the street. It's on you to figure out if the how to rebuild a salvage bike,
 
Agreed, purely plastic damage CAN total a bike. Nothing wrong with It other then needing some bolt on pieces replaced. Those are the good ones to pick up.


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