Alan,
Yeah, the guy was thrilled to get it, he even has dreams of building his own and asked if I would maybe answer some questions when the time came. Would I!! I live for that!!
And Momentum, boy are you opening a can of worms!
My SIL has his car dealer license, as such, I get to bid at wholesale auctions and at insurance wreck lots.
I have bought, repaired, retitled, and sold for profit (up to 500%) a bunch of Jeeps and pop up trailers.
When I was inspecting a wrecked Jeep TJ, I saw a light damage Kawasaki 900, a cruiser sort of bike. I had ridden motorcycles for nearly half my life, with a recent 15 year gap. I thought I would try to get the Kawi, and ride it to see if I still liked riding. Well, I guess I never stopped loving to ride, but the bike wasn't all that I was looking for, it was heavy, clumsy and the seating position wasn't comfortable for me. So I planned to sell it, after having ridden it for nearly 2 years.
Wouldn't you know, I saw another bike at the insurance wreck lot, again while I was inspecting another potential Jeep buy. This one was a 2010 Triumph Bonneville, Special Edition. It had a big ID tag that said "Doesn't start, doesn't run"...that's the kiss of death to 95% of the internet bidders (the guys that never inspect a vehicle in person). Well, it had a key, so I turned it on and it did have a live battery. I touched the starter, and nothing. Then I wondered, maybe it has a clutch interlock, so I pulled in the clutch (tricky because the lever was broken off pretty short) and still nothing. Then I said to myself "self, maybe it has a neutral safety switch". It was tricky again to shift into neutral because the shift lever was broken. Well I did get it into neutral, pulled in the clutch and spun the engine!! Partial success, but not even a sputter. Hmmm...I knew it had fuel injection, I could hear the fuel pump...so I fumbled around and found a choke lever. OK, I pulled out the choke, pulled in the clutch and vrooom, the thing roared to life. I quickly shut it down in case anyone from the auction noticed.
I went home, researched the value, estimated the effort and cost to repair, and successfully bid $2,300 for it!! That was 2 years ago and I'm not selling this one.
So finally on the the Harley (I told you it was a can of worms)
It was a 2004 Soft tail heritage classic, hit in the rear and then dropped. Bad rear fender, bad rear wheel, twisted forks, bent handlebars and so on.
I found a bunch of OEM parts cheap (Harley guys are forever "upgrading" components and stock parts are plentiful and cheap.
I got an OEM tank, brand new satin black. Bought a new take off rear fender with all lights and trim from Ebay, had the front fender repaired and both fenders paonted satin blck to match the tank. I have just a few odds and ends to finish up before I take it for a retitle inspection. Then I'll sell it for profit. I don't know if you are a fan or not, but I never cared for the brand. Old design, very heavy, very slow, lots of metal, but surprisingly weak frames. Anyway, that's what I do when I'm not working 55 hours per week, or taking care of our 27 rental units, or building boats...I tinker with motorcycles and Jeeps, sometimes to keep, usually to pass on and make a few more $$.
I'll stick some photos of before and after (or during) of the bikes...
Light hit Kawi 900 the day I trailer it home
All fixed and just a day before it sold
Wrecked Bonnie
Finished Bonnie
Wrecked Harley soft tail
Replacement fenders not painted yet
I apologize if I took too long to tell the story, but the tale needed to be complete.
Yeah, the guy was thrilled to get it, he even has dreams of building his own and asked if I would maybe answer some questions when the time came. Would I!! I live for that!!
And Momentum, boy are you opening a can of worms!
My SIL has his car dealer license, as such, I get to bid at wholesale auctions and at insurance wreck lots.
I have bought, repaired, retitled, and sold for profit (up to 500%) a bunch of Jeeps and pop up trailers.
When I was inspecting a wrecked Jeep TJ, I saw a light damage Kawasaki 900, a cruiser sort of bike. I had ridden motorcycles for nearly half my life, with a recent 15 year gap. I thought I would try to get the Kawi, and ride it to see if I still liked riding. Well, I guess I never stopped loving to ride, but the bike wasn't all that I was looking for, it was heavy, clumsy and the seating position wasn't comfortable for me. So I planned to sell it, after having ridden it for nearly 2 years.
Wouldn't you know, I saw another bike at the insurance wreck lot, again while I was inspecting another potential Jeep buy. This one was a 2010 Triumph Bonneville, Special Edition. It had a big ID tag that said "Doesn't start, doesn't run"...that's the kiss of death to 95% of the internet bidders (the guys that never inspect a vehicle in person). Well, it had a key, so I turned it on and it did have a live battery. I touched the starter, and nothing. Then I wondered, maybe it has a clutch interlock, so I pulled in the clutch (tricky because the lever was broken off pretty short) and still nothing. Then I said to myself "self, maybe it has a neutral safety switch". It was tricky again to shift into neutral because the shift lever was broken. Well I did get it into neutral, pulled in the clutch and spun the engine!! Partial success, but not even a sputter. Hmmm...I knew it had fuel injection, I could hear the fuel pump...so I fumbled around and found a choke lever. OK, I pulled out the choke, pulled in the clutch and vrooom, the thing roared to life. I quickly shut it down in case anyone from the auction noticed.
I went home, researched the value, estimated the effort and cost to repair, and successfully bid $2,300 for it!! That was 2 years ago and I'm not selling this one.
So finally on the the Harley (I told you it was a can of worms)
It was a 2004 Soft tail heritage classic, hit in the rear and then dropped. Bad rear fender, bad rear wheel, twisted forks, bent handlebars and so on.
I found a bunch of OEM parts cheap (Harley guys are forever "upgrading" components and stock parts are plentiful and cheap.
I got an OEM tank, brand new satin black. Bought a new take off rear fender with all lights and trim from Ebay, had the front fender repaired and both fenders paonted satin blck to match the tank. I have just a few odds and ends to finish up before I take it for a retitle inspection. Then I'll sell it for profit. I don't know if you are a fan or not, but I never cared for the brand. Old design, very heavy, very slow, lots of metal, but surprisingly weak frames. Anyway, that's what I do when I'm not working 55 hours per week, or taking care of our 27 rental units, or building boats...I tinker with motorcycles and Jeeps, sometimes to keep, usually to pass on and make a few more $$.
I'll stick some photos of before and after (or during) of the bikes...
Light hit Kawi 900 the day I trailer it home
All fixed and just a day before it sold
Wrecked Bonnie
Finished Bonnie
Wrecked Harley soft tail
Replacement fenders not painted yet
I apologize if I took too long to tell the story, but the tale needed to be complete.
I'm a rider too, and love all things on two wheels...except maybe scooters, and those ebike things. Not so much for the type of bike they are, but more for the careless attitude with which people have toward them. Many times have I seen young women with mini skirts and flip flops on them carefree traveling on the same roads as the trucks and cars that pass them. Not good. I cringe every time.
