Would you buy a Cat D bike??

[DaveB]

Seen a bike (Street Triple) I like the look of at a local indepentant dealer, but it's on a CAT D as stolen recovered (needed ignition barrel) evidentally. Looks wise it looks as good as new (2010, 5000 miles). I've actually arranged a test ride at another dealer (Triumph) as they have a similar spec one for 1k more, so 1k off for being CAT D is about the long and short of it. As it's my first big bike my plan is to keep whatever I get for a few years rather than keep chopping and changing so half thinking the saving on the CAT D bike wont really be a problem...But would apprciate any thoughts.

Cheers

Dave

[P.]

Cat D or C I would buy.

Ignition though... will need keys, possibly an ECU, could be getting into the £500+ range by the time you've got it/

[olionel]

i bought my africa twin as a cat d. It was basically a stolen recovery, found in a container in the docs and police found it. The guy who "stole it" was the actual owner who got an insurance payout and was selling it to someone abroad, hence it was a the cat d write off as the payout happened. The bike is like new, it was a 10 year old bike with 12k miles on it. (I traced the MOT's etc and it all seemed to match up)
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[Nai]

Post theft on my bike, only things that were actual theft damage and not where they dropped it just needed 2 new fuses and a new ignition. Total cost about £35.

[Nai]

Also, ECU's for a triple are about £300'ish, did they say if theres any damage to it?

https://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=ECU+steet+triple&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gl=uk#q=ECU+street+triple&hl=en&client=ubuntu&hs=H2S&pwst=1&channel=fs&gl=uk&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=shop&ei=QuerTpPKIIWx8gOemMC3Cw&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=6&ved=0CBMQ_AUoBQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=b1cec9a478ad28a9&biw=1058&bih=931

[P.]

[T0MMY]

I bought a cat D ZX6R for £850 and have thrashed the hell out of it on 8 trackdays with no issues at all beyond a leaking fork seal. If you're not fussed about cosmetics it's the way to go.
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[Paris2]

Remember though that the resale value will forever be affected
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[P.]

[jimbothe]

Have done and as above no major problems. Got to be cheap though as not everyone follows the same way of thinking as us and a lot would rather pay much higher for a bike they know (or think they know) has not been a write off of some description.

Can be hard to sell on unless you find someone similar minded.


at Nai with the 3 mile long link. My screen is spread over two pages.
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[neil.]

I would - Cat D is when the insurance company doesn't think it's worth it financially to repair the bike, and the damage is generally cosmetic and not significant enough to make it unsafe (like frame/engine damage). Worth bearing in mind that a bike could even become a Cat D if fairings are scratched in a crash and they are the only things that are damaged.

[DaveB]

Cheers guys, I'll see how my test ride goes on Monday then may take another look at the CAT D bike then. Just to clarify, the ignition barrel has been replaced already so I wouldn't have to spend any money on it.

Only concern is if it was only ignition barrel replaced and the insurance co has paid out there bike could have been ragged about by some scrote for some time before it was recovered...On the flip side bike is less than 2 years old so should still have some warranty left.

Dave

[Paulington]

My Gilera SC125 was Cat C when I bought it and I paid £1450 for it and it was only a year old, I sold it when I passed my test a year later (declared it was Cat C to the buyer) for £1650, so I made a net profit on the bike itself.

To be honest insurance companies drastically overvalue as they always (in my experience) value at OEM prices when realistically you can repair for a quarter of that, or even less.

Happy to buy a Cat D bike. .
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[DaveB]

Just had another thought guys if anyone has any input...

Is there anyway to check what parts have actually been replaced or how much the repairs were to the bike (HPi check or something). Apart from what the dealer is saying of course.

Basically it could have been a stolen/recovered where it wasn't recovered for some time (hence the insurance payout)

Could have had more damage than there letting on...Igniton barrel seems a bit silly to write it off, could have had other repairs there not letting on about OR don't know about.

I test rode one today and really quite liked it so quite tempted as the dealer who had the other one sold it last week DOH lol

Dave
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[lilredmachine]

[h00dwink]

I was thinking that too, there's no way an insurer would write off a near new bike over something like the ignition. Would be more like nearly everything cosmetic needing replacing. Triumph wouldn't quote >£8000 to replace an ignition and ecu.
However go have a look at it with a mate that has no interest in it. Get him to look over it all, he wont have rose tinted glasses on and may well spot something you don't.
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