Things to look for in a "project bike"

[Flippacase]

Hey guys, not sure if this is the right section but whatever, move it if you need to.

I'm currently looking at some winter projects online and I found some potential in a 98 zx6e. It's sitting in the storage of a diesel truck dealership (some guy just trying to flip a crashed bike I imagine) so it hasn't been worked on at all. From what I can tell by the pictures, the bike is all there, but has definitely been down. Its right side is all rashed and the clip on is snapped off at its base. When I talked to the guy selling it he said he really doesn't know anything about bikes and that it "probably runs" . I think I could get the bike for around 400 bucks but I really have no idea what I'm getting. I learned a lot about bikes with my kat so if the this bike isn't horrible, I shoukld actually have the mechanical ability to get her going lol.

What are all of your wise thoughts on this, ol' great and powerful katriders? Would you take the chance on a bike that you haven't heard run from somebody who admittedly knows nothing about motorcycles? For what price would you take a leap of faith? Thanks for reading!

[shpielers]

Depends in how much work you're willing to do and what the final goal is. If you're aim is to fix and flip it - probably risky. If it runs, much less so. If the goal is to fix and ride it, worst case scenario you can part it out and make the $400 back plus some. So if it doesn't run, I'd prioritize that 1st. A running engine (even poorly running) would sell for more than a non runner. So worst case scenario you find yourself in over your head, break the bike down and snuggle up to ebay. Spend the $ you earn back on a bike more in your comfort knowledge zone.

[subforry]

I think it is very hard to take any "ran when parked" motorcycle and turn a profit.

But if you are looking for a project for fun and to keep yourself busy then dive in. My only warning is title and DMV fees. Here in CA many project bikes are worthless because they have $300-600 in DMV fees.

It would be very frustrating to find that after all your work it can't be or cost too much to register.

[Flippacase]

Depends in how much work you're willing to do and what the final goal is. If you're aim is to fix and flip it - probably risky. If it runs, much less so. If the goal is to fix and ride it, worst case scenario you can part it out and make the $400 back plus some. So if it doesn't run, I'd prioritize that 1st. A running engine (even poorly running) would sell for more than a non runner. So worst case scenario you find yourself in over your head, break the bike down and snuggle up to ebay. Spend the $ you earn back on a bike more in your comfort knowledge zone.

Yeah the plan is pretty much to find a bike on the cheap end to put a little bit of money into over the winter and ride for the summer. The bike only has like 9,000 miles or something like that, which isn't a lot (assuming it was properly maintained prior to being layed down) so I would assume that the majority of damage is on the outside of the bike. I know that when a bike goes down engine and clutch and stator covers and things like that can crack causing leaks that can cause some internal problems, but what else can would make it hypothetically not run as a direct result of being in a crash?

[shpielers]

Float could get knocked open and the crankcase fills with fuel. That's all I can think of off the top of my head

But engine aside it could have a bent frame, forks, rims, or swing arm. Those are a bit pricier to replace. If you were able to take it for a test spin, it would be fairly obvious, but without that, not necessarily so much.

[alpine]

I agree with what been said by others

But another point i´d put is do you want a ZX6 i say this as if you don´t you could easily loss interest in the build

I had 3 choices when looking for my project bike a early gsxr bandit 6 and a kat
The kat i got was a stolen recovered bike over here that made it a cat c which is to much to repair
If i was to put the bike back on the road as standard it would of been just a couple of hundred

So my point is choose something you want
But if you go for this bike hope it a good one

[subforry]

I agree with what been said by others

But another point i´d put is do you want a ZX6 i say this as if you don´t you could easily loss interest in the build

I had 3 choices when looking for my project bike a early gsxr bandit 6 and a kat
The kat i got was a stolen recovered bike over here that made it a cat c which is to much to repair
If i was to put the bike back on the road as standard it would of been just a couple of hundred

So my point is choose something you want
But if you go for this bike hope it a good one

+1. Well said.

[RobertTravis]

Personally...I'd find something that was running, that you could test drive. That pretty much means that most, if not all, of the parts belonging to the bike are there. It also means that you can tell if you are going to even like the bike after you pour your time & money into it. Plus it avoids ALL KINDS of sad stories like 'it ran when it was parked' and things like that.

A decent used bike isn't that much money. I would rather save until I could get something 'good enough' to work on. There are PLENTY of things to do/restore/upgrade/farkle on a used bike. My 1100 was running & driving, but it needs brakes, tires, bearings and the valve cover sealed & carbs gone through from sitting. That's plenty of stuff to do...and when it is all done, it will be something I know is right & reliable enough to take anywhere.

Everybody's different...but my feeling is that if you never saw the thing run or rode it, it isn't hard to get depressed about it when there is a whole bunch of parts laying around....especially if you have never restored one before or fixed one up to be safe to ride.

[Tippon]

I bought my GSX600F as a project. The guy who sold it left it parked in his garden in the UK with no cover for about five years (lots of rain, wind & snow).

It was running when he parked it, so I bought it for £200 (about $315). Cosmetically it's not great, but it didn't take much work to get going.

As I didn't know if I'd like the bike, I bought part worn tyres to save some money, then put it through an MOT to find out if there were any other problems. In total I spent about £650 to £700 on the bike ($1025 to $1100), and they sell for around £1,500 ($2400) so I thought it was worth the risk. It turned out that I liked the bike so I've kept it for the last three years and ride it regularly.

If you've got the time and patience to do it, check out the potential costs and give it a go