Advice needed- perhaps one for Steptoe

[Bomber]

I have been offered a 03 Adventure for £4500 , the bike has been damaged repaired in so much that I have been told it has had new fork legs and a new front wheel .The mileage is low 12 k and the condition is good, now the difficult bit I am told there was no frame damage and that these bikes dont suffer damage often on a medium front ender.
How can I check it out ?
Can I get it inspected and if so who by [ the bike is in the north of England ]
I know the bike will never realise its full value because of its history but I would intend keeping it probably for the rest of my life so that doesn't worry me however I want a bike that is right.
Is it a fair price at £4500 ?

Advice plese ASAP I need to make a decision !!!

Bomber

 

[hops]

RAC?

The AA or RAC do roadworthy checks as do what used to be called the vehicle inspecorate, now known as VOSA none of these will be free but they will provide piece of mind. The price is very good, if it is straight. You should get a fair idea if you are allowed to test ride it. I would say that unless you can do one or more of the above stay well away. The other option may be to ask your local dealer to cast an expert eye over it! If it has had a frontal impact the obvious things to check are the fork alignment, paralever wishbone and front damper for bending in the pushrod. if the paralever has been bent there may be tell-tale cracks in the paint finish. Just my 2p worth

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

If its any help i had an accident that involved breaking one of the forks in half, bending the front wheel like a banana and twisting the telelever.

I replaced all these parts and no worries - good as new.
Straightened the 'bars with a long bar.

Even if the front frame is bent - and i'd be doubtful if it is - its cheap and easy to replace its only a subframe.

A simple quick check- after eyeballing - is string the wheel rims front to back and measure the offset is even on both sides.

sounds like a bargain - but check its not an insurance write off - or classified on the books

 

[Steptoe]

very unusual to get the front headstock frame out of shape -

check the wheelbase measures the same as factory spec -

check what write of catagorie it was declared as - C and D, are allowed back on the road - A and B are to be used as spares only -

it's a good price - but is it to good ? just because it's cheap, don't let greed effect your judgement -

 

[sjwb]

Check that the lock-stops are still there.

 

[MikeP]

If you are able to physically check the bike, make a note of the VIN and engine numbers.

If a V5 is presented make a note of the Doc Ref number too, should be 11 figures, one group of four, one of three and one of four. The first four are the date the V5 was issued in Julian Calender format, it is easy to then check the date of the V5 against it. First figure is the year of the decade, next three are the date, i.e. 4010 is 10th day of '04 or 10th Jan 04.

All of these can be checked through HPI.

Don't get paranoid but remember that many stolen vehicles are passed off as damaged-repaired as an excuse for the low price to make a quick sale.

If it is on The Register, HPI should (not always though) show the Category.

Always look a Gift-Horse in the mouth!

 

[Bomber]

Thanks to everyone so far for the advice.
I will try and not let greed affect my judgement and I will also try and let the wife know what I am thinking of doing .
Of course I know I will have to get rid of the 2 Airheads if I decide to proceed !!
Unless I can find somewhere else to hide them !!!!

Bomber

 

[Bomber]

How can this be????

A mate of mine [ car dealer ] ran the registration of this bike through HPI comes back with ' Warning Cat B spares only ' .

If this is correct how come its taxed and on the road !!!

Bomber

 

[Howard]

Accident Damaged

Bomber,
I have just bought a stolen recovered 02 GSA with 5,000 miles on it for £4000, cost me about £800-£1000 to get it on the road,mainly bits missing. It's on a cat D, which is damaged repairable - insurance decided not to repair. If your one is cat B it should not be on the road - i.e. spares only. Maybe to good to be true? If the bike had tax left on it when it was damaged all could seem ok - until checked. If you phone DVLA in Swansea with the reg number they will give you the truth. Hope this helps.

 

[Steptoe]

Re: How can this be????

A mate of mine [ car dealer ] ran the registration of this bike through HPI comes back with ' Warning Cat B spares only ' .

If this is correct how come its taxed and on the road !!!

Bomber

just as i said in my 1st reply -


it been taxed and tested to sell -

it usually takes a few weeks for it to work it's way through the system , in the meantime it's sold on and the poor new owner gets the grief, and then they'll be around to collect it, or you'll have to break it - if it wasn't badly damaged before it was repaired, it may have been involved in a fatal accident.

Bikes sold as CAT A and B must be broken as spares - I'd imagine it sold for £500- £600 max -

Also tell the seller that you know it's a cat B, then he can't sell it in all innocence, by saying he didn't know, as you've now informed him

 

[Bomber]

I didn't think Cat B could be lifted ??

I followed Steptoe 's advice and informed the guy selling the bike that it was a Cat B ,he told me that he had bought the bike damaged, repaired it and taken it to Vehicle Licensing who have inspected the bike and issued him with a tax disc on the original reg.
He his now going to contact them to get the Cat B listing removed !!!!

I didn't think this was possible.
Thanks to everyone for their advice ,just goes to show ' You can't be too careful '

Thanks Bomber