FOAK: selling tat

Say you have a fairly tatty ZX-7R (for example), with a scrape race
fairing, dent in the tank, only one mirror, busted speedo cable. It's
largely road legal (needs a very friendly MOT station or a legal end-
can), but isn't taxed or MOTed or anything like that. It works, and
goes well for what it is, but you just don't want it any more.

What's the best disposal route:

a) tidy it up, get the dented tank fixed, the fairing sanded and
respray and source a decal kit, then get it MOTed and taxed and sell
as a road bike.

b) try and flog it entire as a track bike (obviously for less money
than a), but with no costs to get it ready to sell)

c) try and break it and sell it as spares

d) something else?

opinions gratefully received.

 

Option c on a truly knackered 7R with no substantial bodywork fetched
about 1600 quid less fees and P&P expenses (kept to a minimum by
recycling old boxes, etc.) and I still have the exhaust and tank in the
garage.

I reckon the margin from option a, the sale price from option b, and the
final take from option c, will all amount to about the same, but only
one requires no effort.

 

I would choose this route, but that's because I quite
like doing that kind of thing and have the space to
do it in and the contacts to get stuff I need sorted
for decent prices.

This could work but if I was looking for a trackbike
I would still want something that looked ok. To me
a trackbike is a road going bike with all the road
bits removed and some aftermarket fairing fitted rather
than something that has been down the road a few times
so looks a mess.

Is a good idea if you have the know-how to break it
into bits that people want, the space and tools to
do it as well as the patience to part things out over
a long period of time. You may end up with quite a lot
left over that nobody wants anyway.

Give it to me and I'll sort it for you. You can then
pay me a (negotiable) %age of the sale price.

 

Can you imagine Darsy going to the trouble of breaking it and running lots
of ebay auctions?

A single auction for the bike as it stands seems the sensible option.

 

Good observation, that.

 

hmm. 1600 quid is around what I have expected it to sell for as a).

What colour's your tank, BTW?

 

I can imagine myself doing the auctions, but other than:

wheels
frame
engine
plastic bits
seat

I'd be reluctant to know how to brake it down further

it's certainly the easiest option.

 

This one. No question. Involves a bit of work, mind. I reckon to
dispose of an entire bike, right down to the last washer, in three
weeks.

Week One - the stuff you *know* is in the want. That means the engine,
if it's a runner. You have to show it's a runner, so keep it in the
frame and plumbed in, explain that the winning bidder will be able to
see and hear it running, and can then help you remove it. Advertise it
as collection only - very important. Two people can hoick out almost
any bike lump in under an hour. Other stuff - clocks, brakes, exhaust,
seat, bodywork that gets easily busted, radiator and cooling fan
(which you'll be removing anyway when you get the engine out), etc
etc.

Week Two - Second Division stuff. Forks, rear shock and linkages,
bars, switchgear, electrickery like CDI and reg/rec, flasher unit,
wheels, mudguards, indicators, the dinged tank. Rear subframe, if it's
bolt-on.

Week Three - everything else. You'll now have a frame and logbook and
a pile of unsaleable crap like old nuts & bolts and odds & sods.
Advertise this as one lump, again on a buyer-collects basis, and start
it at 99p. Some likely lad will kindly relieve you of it all.

Job done.

 

if you're on for it, this is fine for me - I'm in no particular rush
to free up the cash, but I'd rather it was doing something other than
just cluttering up Ken's garage. What sort of % are you talking about?

It's not *that* bad to look at - everything from the tank backwards is
fine, IYSWIM. And there's nothing really broken about the fairing -
it's just a scuffed race fairing, supposed to be all black. The dent
in the tank is fairly small too.

 

[snip]

whilst this sounds fine in theory, I have neither the free time, the
expertise, and - most importantly - the inclination to get this done
in a reasonable time frame.

I've no idea how you take an engine out of a bike, for example.

 

Not much to be honest, say 20% as a guide.

I can get the plastics and paintwork done for virtually nothing.
Turning it back into a green ZX7 with a sticker kit wouldn't be a
bad thing either. I imagine that it would need a good tidy and
some cleaning and then you'd end up with something pretty desirable
rather than just a space filler in MCN Bikemart.

I'm over at Ken's tomorrow so will take a proper look at it
and see what needs doing.

 

The market being what it is, and with winter coming on, I think you'd
be lucky, and it will definitely cost a lot of money.

As (b) I could see it making a grand.

As a breaker, it might run to as much as two grand, depending on the
quality of the bits.

 

I think you're overly pessimistic for once: if it were sorted, it'd be
the same as this, but with significantly lower mileage:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1999-KAWASAKI...oryZ9807QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

then again, there's less choice up in porridgeland.

 

You just unbolt and remove anything that's close to the motor until all
that's left *is* the motor. Then you find the mounting bolts and undo 'em.
Like TOG said, about an hour if two people are going at it.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

OK, if you can get it to this standard, then yes. But it'll still cost
a lot to do it (that is an exceptionally nice one), which will eat
away at your return. The tank fix and the fairing repair and the
respray/decals could rush you up to £400 alone. Less, if you know a
good friendly body shop/sprayer, mind. Paging Beav?

 

good plan.

 

Well, fairy nuff. This way would get you the most money, though, for
sure. And as Beav says, it's not hard - you just need someone with you
to hold your hand, as it were. But if time is a constraint....

I see from your other post, now, that you can get the cosmetics sorted
for next to nowt. That changes things slightly.

 

Green, with the 'Ninja' logo on each side and an unsubtle dent in the
corner.

Want a stock exhaust system too, mister?

 

Taking a bike apart, aside from removing the engine, is a piece of piss.
If I can do it with the ropey set of tools in my garage, tangoman
certainly can.

 

I borrowed a special tool called a Bonwick.