Project or buy a bike?

[grant965]

Hi, got just over a year till I can go unrestricted and so have started thinking about saving up for a new bike. Kinda like the idea of doing up an old bike to make it my own. Is it really worth it? How difficult is it? I think i could manage to take apart a bike, check for damage etc and replace, but I don't fully understand how everything works and the implications of making small modifications.
So would it be worth, with the help of a haynes manual and bike forums, saving myself money by rebuilding an old bike.
Or, should i take the risk by paying extra for something I may not be entirely happy with (i.e. not personalised) and may have a hidden past, but without having to spend hours stressing over it ?
thaks, Grant
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Ex bikes: 05 Suzuki En 125, '98 Yamaha Thundercat, '08 Honda cbr125, '05 Kawasaki z750, '03 Triumph Daytona 600, '91 Kawasaki ex250, '03 Hyosung Comet 125
Current Bike: '02 Suzuki TL1000R

[G]

It's rarely economically sensible to buy a bike which needs decent work done to it.

Bikes with minor damage often do make for good value, especially if you're happy to use gaffa tape to 'fix' it .

[anthony_r6]

I'm far from an expert, but if you're going to buy a project and 'personalise' it - you may very well end up paying more than you would for a good conditioned bike. It depends on your capabilities, I would imagine you have to be dedicated and be willing to invest in it, even when things don't go right the first time.

Maybe buy a working, ridable bike and change what you don't like, adding what you do like, over time?

Out of curiosity, what are you looking at getting? Any idea?
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Ted : "Maybe he's agoraphobic."
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[grant965]

[G]

It's the early TL-S that's considered "a bit of animal", not sure the TL-R is really?

[pepperami]

What can I say but how I`ve found things when trying to buy a project bike!

Dont go down the 250 route , I`ve been trying to buy a project 250 for about 9 months now!
The one`s in my price range have all been real bags of shite!
All the bike that are "fixable" are priced well over thier worth .

It might take you a little longer than you think to find the right project bike if your experiance is anything like mine has been.
I`ve been looking for a two-smoke twin but am beginning to think that I am to tight fisted to pay the prices people want for thier junk.
There seems to be no middle ground in that people are either selling show standard restorations at silly money, or piles of junk at silly money for what it is.

I`ve only found a couple of good deals but sadly they were a bit to technical for me
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I am the sum total of my own existence, what went before makes me who I am now!

[Ayrton]

I thought about doing this. Realised that it would restrict what bike i could choose, and would be a big hastle finding one that isnt in such a state that it would take ages to restore.
I also realised that i wouldnt have the mechanical skill to fix some larger problems if they arised.

Just wanted to say what i thought about this idea

[grant965]

Thanks for your thoughts. What about a crash damaged bike? Sometimes bikes go cheap when they have been down the road and cracked their fairings etc, I can fix fairings as long they are not completely smashed into pieces. If not I can always streetfighter. One of the main reasons id want a project is because it would allow me to keep my thundercat as id otherwise need to sell it to fund a new bike
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Ex bikes: 05 Suzuki En 125, '98 Yamaha Thundercat, '08 Honda cbr125, '05 Kawasaki z750, '03 Triumph Daytona 600, '91 Kawasaki ex250, '03 Hyosung Comet 125
Current Bike: '02 Suzuki TL1000R

[LongJohn22]

As has been said previously, junky bikes are going for silly money recently, a 'project' is very often someone else's complete and utter failure and can, and often does come with all sorts of hidden problems that the previous owner has created. Having said that, I do prefer the projects to a runner, mainly because I enjoy putting an old bike back on the road, and, to a certain extent, I have a little disposable income to throw at such projects and have the basic skills and equipment to cope with the various challenges that inevitably occur.

[Ayrton]

[wilz1234]

Like you said, you dont know loads about them. It depends on whether you want to spend the extra money for the experience of getting to know your bike inside out. No doubt a project will cost you more!
But if you dont know huge amounts about bikes now, and you want to know how to work on your own bike rather than take it to a gararge, then get a project bike and stick with it

[grant965]

[poole122]

i bought a 98 hornet for my first bike, and ive spent the last 2 years doing it up and personalizing it to my style. as ive done all the work myself and hunted for bargains its cost me less than 2k (inc the original bike) to get my bike to how it currently is. and best off all ive never seen another bike like mine, which in my opinion is the best feeling, having summet different

[Teflon-Mike]

Being pedantic; you have to buy a bike either way.
Meanwhile a 'Project' is whatever you want it to be.

So; options are:-

a) Buy a 'Rider'; a bike that is sound, serviceable and street-legal you can use 'as is'; adapt and customise the way you want as you go along.

b) Buy a 'Junker'; a bike that is, for some reason, not road-worthy and ready to ride, that needs remedial 'work' to make it street-able; adapt and customise the way you want as you go along.

Junkers come in many forms; 'Damaged Repairable' are one; but same rules and cautions apply; if a bike was worth anything in a road-able condition, and it COULD easily and reasonably cheaply be made so... some-one would do it rather than flog the thing 'as is'.

If a bike is offered for sale, without tax and test, or declared faults; pretty sure bet, its more likely to be 'Beyond Ecconomical Repair' than it is a quick & easy fix!

EVERY Dog and his Dick, has the idea they will buy a bike that has been 'Dropped' and street-fighter it; to get a cheap ride. Almost as many have the idea that they can pick up a non runner 'cheap' and get it working, doing no more than clean the carbs and changing the spark-plugs; or get an MOT fail through test for the sake of a pair of £5 fork seals and £10 gaiters!

An awful lot of people are dissapointed; an awful lot more have bikes sitting in thier sheds/garages/back gardens, that 'only need', but never get; an awful lot have bikes they have managed to get to 'road' who may, or more likely NOT admit that it actually cost them a heck of a lot more money than it was worth, as well as hassle, time and effort they never expected; a very VERY fortunate few, actually end up with a bike that has cost THEM less in hard currency than they could have bought similar for; or has given them a 'better' bike for thier money; Even FEWER ever turn scrap into something they actually make a cash-profit on; and even fewer STILL, make such profit that would value the time & expertise they have put in at even close to NMW.

Buy a tidy, show-room standard bike; add accessories to your taste, and like as not, they will actually instantly reduce the resale value, not increase it.

Muggering about doing bikes up, is rarely profitable.

Starying with somethig 'less valuable' to consume your cash, occupy your creative urges, and satisfy your ideas of what a bike ought to be, CAN mean you LOOSE less money... BUT...

Work expands to fill time available
Clutter expands to fill the space available

HOBBIES, expand to fill time, AND space, AND not just all MONEY available... the over-draft; credit card; and anywhere else funds can be found to procure that next 'Must-Have' item.

With this in mind, its entirely up to you.

Fixer-upper, offers more scope for less outlay to do something more to your taste; but more risk it wont work, or work out as good value.

Rider; less scope for what you might do; keeping it rideable; but you are starting from a known base line, of something that works, so you dont have to sort faults first, and you have a comparison for whether any mods you make along the way have made it 'better' or not.

So what would you like us to tell you? There's no short-cuts or cheap tricks to get a cheap bike, we put in money, or effort, or both, and hoe what we get at the end of it does what we want, and provides 'value'.
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