I'm back folks. More on the trip later but here's some interesting news...
I finally decided to sell the Busa and start down the road toward a new (or new to me) one. I couldn't muster the energy or justify the money going into fixing it even with the gracious offer of help from SuzukiRay (still going to buy a Newcastle for him for offering). So last Saturday, May 9, we parted company. It was a good 80,000 miles but it was about time. I ended up selling for $2500. Now before you guys flame about the price I figured that there was absolutely no way anyone other than a mechanic would have the time, patience, or knowledge to get it up and running again. And calculating the time, parts and labor... at least another 2 grand.
I was checking Craigslist this evening and boy was I surprised:
I HOPE this guy is a mechanic sent from God above with abilities far beyond those of mortal men (or Ed at Southland or Suzuki corporate) and was able to tear the engine down, replace the wiring harness, find the short in the ECU. I would be more than impressed. I'd be freakin' happy, not upset at all. Hell, I even told the guy that if he did sort out the problem please ride it by and let me know. I'd probably end up taking my next bike to HIM for service. I sold it in good faith with all the problems and mileage shown.
That really got me to thinking.
Now, he could have found the short near the ECU, charged the battery, and replaced the wiring harness in a day, but sounds kind of suspect, because if he would lie about the mileage I'm pretty sure he would lie about everything else.
What this tool doesn't understand (or maybe he's figured it out) is that the bike will run great... at idle, a good 20 minutes at speed, but when it gets up to running temp it will shut down without any warning.
I contacted him through a new gmail account and said I was very interested in the bike and wanted to come by and take a look.
He sent me some pics and my Dragon sticker was removed. It is (was) my bike.
But 4200 miles? I'd like to know how he did that.
(By the way: the guy's name is Thanh Truong not tommy garcia)
How lame is this guy. He didn't think I'd recognize my own bike?
I don't begrudge anyone for making a profit on a bike but lying about it is not just criminal (felony in Cali. 2 Years) but in this particular case - dangerous. If the problem isn't fixed it could get the rider killed. Nothing like flying down the 605 Freeway in Wednesday morning traffic at 85 and have your bike DIE! It has happened to me and it is not desirable. If you don't know what you're doing you will go down and squashed.
Going to the police tomorrow morning (I know more than my fair share of Garden Grove's finest from time spent at Starbucks) and then to the DMV to get a liability release in hand and double-check that the mileage is correct on the paperwork.
Again, making a profit is one thing. The guy that was going to buy it from me last year told me that's what he'd probably end up doing. I was cool with it. That's what you're supposed to do if you have the know-how.
But profit based on lies and unsafe equipment is flat-out wrong.
I finally decided to sell the Busa and start down the road toward a new (or new to me) one. I couldn't muster the energy or justify the money going into fixing it even with the gracious offer of help from SuzukiRay (still going to buy a Newcastle for him for offering). So last Saturday, May 9, we parted company. It was a good 80,000 miles but it was about time. I ended up selling for $2500. Now before you guys flame about the price I figured that there was absolutely no way anyone other than a mechanic would have the time, patience, or knowledge to get it up and running again. And calculating the time, parts and labor... at least another 2 grand.
I was checking Craigslist this evening and boy was I surprised:
I HOPE this guy is a mechanic sent from God above with abilities far beyond those of mortal men (or Ed at Southland or Suzuki corporate) and was able to tear the engine down, replace the wiring harness, find the short in the ECU. I would be more than impressed. I'd be freakin' happy, not upset at all. Hell, I even told the guy that if he did sort out the problem please ride it by and let me know. I'd probably end up taking my next bike to HIM for service. I sold it in good faith with all the problems and mileage shown.
i tried to removed a sticker that was placed on the rear tail and kinda missed the paint up a little.
Now, he could have found the short near the ECU, charged the battery, and replaced the wiring harness in a day, but sounds kind of suspect, because if he would lie about the mileage I'm pretty sure he would lie about everything else.
What this tool doesn't understand (or maybe he's figured it out) is that the bike will run great... at idle, a good 20 minutes at speed, but when it gets up to running temp it will shut down without any warning.
I contacted him through a new gmail account and said I was very interested in the bike and wanted to come by and take a look.
He sent me some pics and my Dragon sticker was removed. It is (was) my bike.
But 4200 miles? I'd like to know how he did that.
(By the way: the guy's name is Thanh Truong not tommy garcia)
How lame is this guy. He didn't think I'd recognize my own bike?
I don't begrudge anyone for making a profit on a bike but lying about it is not just criminal (felony in Cali. 2 Years) but in this particular case - dangerous. If the problem isn't fixed it could get the rider killed. Nothing like flying down the 605 Freeway in Wednesday morning traffic at 85 and have your bike DIE! It has happened to me and it is not desirable. If you don't know what you're doing you will go down and squashed.
Going to the police tomorrow morning (I know more than my fair share of Garden Grove's finest from time spent at Starbucks) and then to the DMV to get a liability release in hand and double-check that the mileage is correct on the paperwork.
Again, making a profit is one thing. The guy that was going to buy it from me last year told me that's what he'd probably end up doing. I was cool with it. That's what you're supposed to do if you have the know-how.
But profit based on lies and unsafe equipment is flat-out wrong.
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