#What to do with the broken bike?

[McJamweasel]

So, as you may know my ZX-6R frame has cracked, leaving me with a couple of options. I'm not /that/ bothered as I got it very cheap anyway so I shouldn't lose too much money on it. The frame was dented (not linked to this crack) when I got it, and the plastics are not in great condition. It's also high mileage (c.37k) so even without the frame damage it won't be worth loads.

The choices I have are:
Sell it as is. I may get £1500 if I'm lucky.
Try and get it welded up so it's safe and then sell it. I may be able to break even with some luck. If i do lose out then it shouldn't be too badly.
Spend £600 or so on a new frame then flog it, hopefully it would raise the value enough over what I paid in the first place so that I don't lose out.

What do you reckon?
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[nick.h]

Why does it always end in you selling it, unless you had already planned in selling it?

Nick
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[McJamweasel]

I think is as good a reason to sell as any other. I was going to wait until next year, but I think it's time to cut my losses and move on anyway.
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[JO5H]

McJamweasel you got a pic of your bike mate.
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[amnesia]

Sounds like a similar position to me with my car. It was going to cost me £500 to fix it, so I part-ex'd it first...for £500 as my confidence in it was trashed.

If I didnt have the money to spend on a new car I would have fixed it though. Now I got some grief for this idea from some of the guys at work, who thought that spending £500 to fix a '96 Brava was a worse financial option than spending £5k on a new motor which DID NOT guarrentee problem free running anyway. Luckily I had the money so I ditched it...

Colin before you make a decision I think you need the answers to a few questions...

Have you worked out its value if you break it?

How much will it cost to repair?

How much did you say that Triumph was?

If its purely a financial decision then the right answer will drop out of a bit of number crunching. Fire up XL and go for it...
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[McJamweasel]

[Sparks!]

ZX6R's are very cheap bikes, you'd be lucky to get £1500 for a broke one IMO when you can easily get a J model for around £2000 if you look around. I've seen loads of them for £2k or less.
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[tonyyzf]

Whereabouts is the frame cracked? Early Kawasakis were bad for it but haven't heard of it for a while.
It shouldn't be too dear to get it welded, is there a frame straigthener/designer anywhere near you? I certainly wouldn't go to the expense or hassle of fitting a new frame, after all they are just pieces of metal welded together, another one won't hurt.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Personally I suspect you would get more for breaking it than selling as is, and that would be about £1k or so.

Personally, buy the frame and fix it.

All the best

Keith
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[Josh|RD125LC]

Try getting it welded. Always worth a try. My dad is a great welder, and if I had had that bike, I expect he would have welded it for me.
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[bish777]

Yeah, a professional welder can work miracles on ally. My mate ross is a professional welder, did a great job of bracing up a friends GSXR750F frame prior to becoming a 7/11.
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[ZRX61]

[ZRX61]

[kb-zxr]

Personally I wouldn't feel comforatble riding a bike that had been repaired like that (the welding option), and wouldnt like to risk someone else by that (even if it is safe)

I would get a new frame.

Thats just how I feel though, and I have no idea what the crack is like, or the rest of the bike etc.

[Phoenix]

ZRX61, it may not mechanically be high mileage for the engine if it's been serviced properly (debatable on this one). But if you ask most ppl what they think high mileage is the vast majority will consider over 30K high mileage and so the value plumets. If you think about it, you don't see a lot of "high mileage" bikes for sale, have to wonder why. Maybe because they're worth more in bits after they hit so many miles, or maybe because most bikes are ragged and not serviced for 30K and then go bang.

[ZRX61]

[Wave2k]

get it welded, get it sold
money is money and money is good
good luck on finding a new bike, and this time dont go kawasaki
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[Phoenix]

You've bypassed the point, I'm well aware bikes can achieve high mileages, I've known several 100K+ milers from Blades to FZR1000s. Many cars are capable of reaching over 200,000miles, but this again is extremes, and it doesn't mean all other cars will reach that mileage before they go bang. The point is, that most vehicles aren't maintained and treated with the care that most "high milers" are and so will never last as long and you have to draw a line somewhere on how much longer the engine is likely to go on during ownership of the average person, with average attention to maintenance. When biketrader starts filling up with bikes that've got 50K miles on the clock then maybe the cutoff will raise.

Also bear in mind that as mileage increases, jobs such as camchain replacement, valve replacement and so on are extemely expensive, and nobody wants to buy a bike which is due hundreds of pounds worth of work, its economical if you've had the bike from new. But not if you've just bought it.

[McJamweasel]

Pictures:

That isn't getting welded without a stip down, so it looks like time for a new frame. Luckily theres one on ebay for £420. Could be worse (like the £575 + VAT that Kawasaki want).
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[Ste]

What caused it?

I'd probably look around for second hand frames with V5's etc, that frame would sell for £200-3 I reckon (if not more) despite needing welding.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Well to be honest I suspect that could be welded easily. Suspect that crack has been cause by the force on the footrest when the bike has been dropped on that side in the past.

I know that in some areas on aircraft they prevent cracks from spreading by drilling a small whole at the end of the crack. ZRX can probably comment on this.

Welding is possible but just draws attention to it. And few people would want to buy the bike if they saw that. Worthwhile if you want to keep the bike and run it into the ground, not worthwhile if you want to sell it in the near future.

If that is £420 for that new frame then go for it. Not sure I would want to spend that close to the price of a new frame for a 2nd hand crashed frame.

All the best

Keith
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[McJamweasel]

It is a new frame for £420. The problem with welding is that its hard to get to the other side of it, the frame at that point is not a square shape, but indented. If I did replace the frame I wouldn't be able to sell the buggered one as it would still be registered on the bike. A new frame would have the same number stamped on it.
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[Bendy]

Given the custom coin holder / ashtray we know the frame already features, replacement seems like the better option.

[Kickstart]

[McJamweasel]