Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

i trotted down to Fowles Auctions today with my eye on an orange ZX10R that had had a huge high side.

Stoved in tank.
Bent subframe
subframe lug busted off frame
smashed up faring
ram duct busted
some electrics missing
brake lines removed

oh and bald front tyre, very enthusiastic rider

Dash and headlight assembly undamaged, $2000 worth just there.

I was keen, got me bidders number, sorted out me deposit, bidding started at $2,000 and two blokes competed till one scored it for $3,500.

I prolly could have paid that kind of money if i'd just sorted my shit out in time and got my costing done. But i really just wanted a trackie, and if i brought that one i would have felt compelled to register it for road use.

varden wrote: and if i brought that one i would have felt compelled to register it for road use.

If ya gunna do that its not worth the time and money.
You will find bugger all parts at the wreckers and once you have done all the chasing for cheap parts ya got a bike that will always be listed as having been a write off.
Do a few hours overtime at work,save your bucks and buy a good second hand one, ya will be better off.

Stu

Hammer wrote:

If ya gunna do that its not worth the time and money.
You will find bugger all parts at the wreckers and once you have done all the chasing for cheap parts ya got a bike that will always be listed as having been a write off.
Do a few hours overtime at work,save your bucks and buy a good second hand one, ya will be better off.

Well having been down the rebuild of the written off bike path once already I'm not going to rush in and buy a bike without seeing what parts avalability is like. Hence the reason i didn't bid for the ZX10R.

I brought a wrecked 04 ZX6R with logbooks and 1600km on it in june without doing my homework and its back on the road for an all up cost of $8200 inc RWC and 12 months rego. Finding parts for it was a chore, and the cost did blow out cos i had to buy $1532 worth of new parts off kawasaki.

I had a mint condition ZX9R which i just recently sold, cos binning it on the track would have slashed its percieved value in half, i'm after a 1000cc track toy with the convenience of being road registered if i can swing it. I don't have any dramas about owning a repaired write off.

If its been binned already the shine has gone off it, i get it on the road for half what a tidy one is worth and then i can bin it myself a few more times and not loose much money on the whole deal.

Ya can't fully enjoy your toys if your concerned about ruining the resale value!!

Hey mate, although its a fairly new bike, I'd be surprised if there's not some spares available for the 10 by now, people seemed to be crashing them like it was going out of fashion for a while.

I used to go to those fowles auctions thinking of making up a registerable track bike (rs250 etc), just never got around to it. If you can justify it in your own mind (cheap bike vs 'clean' bike) and you are willing to put in the time and effort to make it cheap, I'd get amongst it. But it sounds like you know what you are doing! Unfortunately I don't have enough time for those projects these days though I'd still like to one day.

I have done about 4 rebuilds on writeoffs and the best I have ever done is cut even or make maybe a little.
But hey its your money and time so enjoy it how ya like.

varden wrote:[
Ya can't fully enjoy your toys if your concerned about ruining the resale value!!

Yeah I have done a few over the years too. When I did it there was no such thing as a registered Right-off. But I always repaired them the right way so no dramas. I always made a quid out of the ones I did, but I also was careful in my selections. And usually bought stuff that I may have some common parts for. Couldn't be bothered any more, as the time doesnt justify the meagre margin you can make. I would still do it for the same reasons as you though, and that is to make a racer outta it.

I agree with what you say about no being able to fully exploit the capabilities of a bike if you are woried about scratching it.

I have an 05 636, that I take very conservatively around a racetrack. I always ride it with a few tenths in reserve on track, whereas my racer, I just keep getting faster till I fall off.

I would love to ba able to afford both a late model roadie and a late model racer, but the nI would have to sell my two dirt bikes, and maybe my racing go-kart. But hey, If any one wants a KDX200 or a KLX400, i may talk.

Streetfighter it.

Don't have to pay for the expensive plastics and such then. You could sell the dash and do the conversion just on that.

And you'd have the latest and greatest streetfighter around.

Check out here

http://www.streetfighters.com.au

hammer wrote:

I have done about 4 rebuilds on writeoffs and the best I have ever done is cut even or make maybe a little.
But hey its your money and time so enjoy it how ya like.

I hear ya mate, i did have lofty ambitions about making a profit on the 6R, but now i reckon if i tidied it up for sale I'd prolly break even at best. Mainly cos it would still show the tell tale signs of being crashed, no matter how bling it looked.

The people making money on write offs were at the auction yesterday, one bloke who runs an outfit at Nerang and a family that run a business on moss st slacks creek, they were there bidding up on assorted bikes. I guess if you have the kind of market exposure and employed expertise these guys do, selling for a profit would be simple.

I am with vardon and wouldnt try to restore a wreck to showroom condition but rather strip off the crook bits and add raceglass.

Theres no way i can ride at pace oround the track unless i am prepared to have the bike do a barrel roll with pike and halftwist at some stage and i dont even want go inear a gravel trap with my road gear on.

better to get a wreck and intall sundry bits i know about and if it already has roadrash on it thats even better cause i wont feel to bad about trashing it.

varden wrote: family that run a business on moss st slacks creek

That would be allbikes that do half arsed repairs that put ppls lives at risk. There is a certain member here that enjoyed a car bonnet thanks to those guys