replace or repaint?

[Kaneda80]

Hi all,

so some of you may remember me crying about the fact my bike toppled on squishy tarmac during the heatwave a few days ago.
Its a 2014 CBR500RAE.

Most of it i can fix myself such as replacing the stock levers, mirrors and footpegs, but the fairings and tail i wouldn't be comfortable removing. Im going to have to pay someone professional to do this.

so... I just got her back from Honda, they gave her a safety check and confirmed there's no major damage like a bent frame or forks, still safe to ride, and they quoted me about £550 to replace the scratched up plastics.

I want to sell the bike at the end of teh year and put teh money towards a street triple RX, I was wondering if it might be worth instead of trying to return the bike to as close to stock as possible, perhaps tricking her out instead? would that devalue the bike or add value?
Shes no beast but depending on taste the CBR500R is quite a good looking bike and with a few mods could look great.

The scrapes on the fairing aren't too deep, i think a sanding down and respray could probably work, maybe finish off in matte black with gold graphics, powder coat the aluminium heat shield and akra slip on black and powder coat the wheels and brakes gold.

anyone into customized bikes? maybe know where i might find someone capable of doing that sort of work and how much its likely to cost? or is it just a waste of time/money altogether?

thanks
Ellz
____________________
I like turtles

[bamt]

A decent custom job will cost you more than Honda are charging for new plastics - and reduce the resale value as you are appealing to a much smaller audience (beauty is in the eye of the beholder - someone must have exactly your taste in order to want to buy it).

Whilst scratches may reduce the value, depending upon how bad they are it may cost you more to fix than you'd lose on trade-in - especially if you are paying main dealer pricing. I'd be tempted to live with it - then if necessary tart it up just before sale (otherwise you risk dropping it again on the nice new plastics).

[Ste]

Spending £550 on a set of new fairings won't add £550 to the value of your bike.

By all means sand it down and respray it, add gold graphics, powder coat the aluminium heat shield and akra slip in black and powder coat the wheels and brakes gold but don't expect to get your money back when selling it.

If it's just some scratches and scraps then IMO sell it as it is.

[stinkwheel]

Or take it to one of those scratch/ding repair companies who fix up peoples scraped bumpers and stone chips.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Matt B]

Pics of said damage? I bet it's not as bad as you think. Looks worse to you because it's (or was) your lovely shiny bike.

Did you post pics before when you were bawwing about dropping it?
____________________
stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[Kaneda80]

here is the scratched up plastics and tail, i'm sure i am being Anal about it, its just i have been so careful with this bike, i wash and wax it regularly and it beats me up inside to see my poor darling bike with a ding

I've had the bike since the end of November, its got 12,000 miles on it already so you can see i put a lot of miles on, I reckon ill be close to 20,000 miles by the time it comes to sell, so i want to maximize the resale/part ex value

its my first bike so im completely new to the whole buying and selling thing
____________________
I like turtles

[Matt B]

Hmmm. Tail section is pretty scuffed. I think your best bet would be either live with it and take the hit at resale or go with stinkwheel's suggestion. Just remember a CBR500R with 20K+ on it is worth about £3200 - 3500 so weigh up the cost/benefit.

Those mobile guys that do bumper repairs are all set up for small areas like that. They can flat it and blow it in as long as they can match the bike paint. Would probably be the most cost effective option for repair.
____________________
stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[Ste]

Or, if wanting to fix it rather than ignoring it, buying a second hand fairing from eBay or a breakers is an option.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Motorcycle-Parts-/10063/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=CBR500%20fairings&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=1&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

Put the details of what you want into one of the many part finder websites (Google knows) and see what the breakers say.

[kramdra]

Buy some touch up paint, couple of quid, its not going to be noticeable unless your looking for it, and with some care, DIY can do a very good job.

No point in spending lots of money on plastics, and its only a cbr500, I doubt it will be worth anything near what you think it is

[monkeybiker]

You will not profit by modding a bike. General rule with a modded bike is to put bike back to standard and sell the mods separate.

So no I don't think it would make sense to mod the bike before sale.

[Kaneda80]

[stevo as b4]

As Ste said there's two options:

1, ride as is, and keep the bike mechanically in tip top condition until your ready to sell and buy Triumph. Then you will sell the bike at maybe a few £100 less than a cosmetically mint example, but you'll be quickly shot of it and have money ready for deal on Triumph etc.

You'll save the cost of the repair, and also might generate more interest in the bike, as plenty of people like to buy an easy fixer up project who have the time and skill to do it, while saving money on a mechanically tip top bike for the year.

Many learner/new rider's won't mind the scuffs as they will probably drop it 2-3times more over the next year or so, but a bit off the used market value will turn them on more. And also proper long term bikers that know their stuff and are looking for a solid mechanically second bike as an all year round rider or second bike won't care about the damage either.

2, Take off the fairing and tail unit and take to a plastics repair company for sanding, filling and re-painting. This should easily be well under the cost that Honda want to charge you for a new set of plastics. A firm like the Plastics Surgery for example could sort that out and make it look like std and new again for a couple of £££.

You could following some BCF and other expert advice sort that damage yourself, but bear in mind the time, costs of tools and materials if you don't have any of them, and the confidence and practice you'll need to do a nice job of it.

Oh and just no to the black/gold special with flash graphics and shiny bolt on's and Akrapovic IMO. yes fine for a special, one off or custom job on your dream bike, but this doesn't sound it!
Stepping stone to your Street3 is all you should be thinking about now, and if you want to go crazy with what you see as your ideal bike, then the Triumph is the place to spunk your cash and tarty/flashy parts, and finishes on.

[paintpot]

is it a solid black or metallic black,are you close to cambridge
____________________
paintpot

[chickenstrip]

I'd leave it and just keep the rest of the bike as good as you can. If you'll be trading it in at a dealer, it's cheaper and easier for them to do the tidying than it is for you, so they're not likely to be put off by it if everything else is sound. And why spend money on tarting it up to your own taste, if you already know it's not a keeper?
____________________
Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[Kaneda80]

[Kaneda80]

[Kaneda80]

[Vincent]

[paintpot]

[Kaneda80]

look at my posts paintpot ,you tell me[/quote]

I'm such a muppet, I didn't realise you were offering your services, I thought you were implying Cambridge has a lot of black and gold vehicles.

*facepalm*
____________________
I like turtles

[Vincent]