I see so many sport bikes with salvage titles. Why is that?

 

Hi Dave,

A lot of reasons. Bike could have been stolen and stripped and then recovered. Nothing wrong with the bike mechanically but the insurance company knows how much it costs to replace everything so they salvage it.

Another reason is that the bike has been down hard. Insurance company settled with the owner then auctioned the bike off. The new owner repaired the bike but it will still have a salvage title.

IMHO, I would never buy salvage because you can't trust the seller about why it was salvaged. I could have gone down hard, bent the forks, the frame, the subframe and told you that it was stolen. There is no designation why it is salvage title.

Once a bike has been down hard enough to warrant a salvaged title, IMHO, it will never ride the same. Others may feel differently but if you are looking for a bike, I suggest pass on the salvage title and wait for the deal that you'll eventually find.

Besides all that advice, some insurance companies will not insure a salvaged bike. Hope I helped-

Cat

 

Cat, thanks for the reply. I have had a list of bikes I have been watching and there was just so many with salvage titles. I agree with you, on the idea of a salvage bike. It can be away to save money, but when you go to sell it, it has to reflect it. I did, just pick up a CBR F4 this afternoon. Time to roll up the sleeves and see what is under the covers.

 

Dave,

I too was tempted to save a few bucks by buying salvage but could you imagine if something went wrong? Congrats on your bike! I ride a 2000F4 but have an opportunity to trade. We'll see. Glad you didn't go salvage though. Being safe is worth everything!

 

i had a salvaged 954.. because of a dent in the frame where the clip on hit it, not a big deal, needed plastics and a subframe and a mirror stay and things like that but after i got done fixing it it rode perfect, put 10k miles on it.. and had it up to 180mph... rode wheelis, never gave me any problems, but yes i know what u guys are saying u can never know the true story really and they suck on resale value.. but nice if u want to mod it out, i got it for 3k.. with 3100 miles on it and fixed it for cheap and had alot of room to mod it out, i liked it. bikes are so expensive for parts - dealer prices and people go down on them so often ..

 

also if you buy a bike or car for that matter from the auction i believe that it automatically recieves a salvaged title. but valleycat basically covered it all and you gotta love how she threw in the insurance fact too

 

Lots of salvage bikes out there for the reasons mentioned but mainly you must remember the cost of new parts and ever increasing workshop costs. Therefore quite a minor off can cause a bike to be beyond economic repair (cost more than the bikes worth) at a workshop but which a dedicated DIYer could get back on the road safely. Likewise if you can live with some scuffed original plastics. Personally i would want to check forks frames and wheels (and electrics because they are a black art) .