Buying an older R1

OK I got a history report on the bike, can be viewed here:

http://www.nnford.com/ngds-services...pacode=01200&lang=en#section-vehicle-glossary

I found that on lifehacker, if you just put your vin into the URL you can get free history reports for any vehicle.

Anyway, do any of you know how to interpret this? I'm assuming everywhere it says "TITLE" and has a new number that means it changed owners. I count 6 owners if that's true . Red flag for sure, but it's still pretty damn cheap and 6 guys could just as easily have taken good care of it as they could have thrashed it. Granted thrashing it is a little more likely, we'll just have to be that much more thorough in the mechanical inspection.

In doing more reading, the tranny is an almost foolproof way of determining if it was abused. If second gear behaves at all weird on the test ride I'm walking away from it. I'm still determining what abuse exactly causes it to begin. From what I gather the gear dogs get worn by fucking up when shifting and the tranny will slip a little and eventually they get worn enough to where it jumps out of second completely. At this point, second and sixth are essentially toast and need to be replaced as well as the shift fork.

If it comes to that, I'll offer him like 800 for it since it'll need a transmission rebuild. I'd rather not mess with it but for 800 bucks I could be convinced to

I also have my dad checking on what it would cost to insure, I'd definitely go liability only on this thing so it shouldn't be much. Full coverage currently I'd have bought the bike again in 4 years so it's not really worth it, and this bike would be worth even less than the ninja. As it sits now I can quadruple my engine size and make $1-2k on the sale

 

I'd find out about the lien. If someone put a lien against it, you don't want it unless the guy you're buying from financed it and that's it. Do some searching about that accident and I'd have it extensively checked for frame damage (check the welds on the frame and around the case for stress cracks).

 

It gives a police report number, is that public record that I could call them and ask about what happened?

I titled my Ninja in South Dakota and the process is kinda a joke, there was no inspection or anything. So it's possible that it got totalled in the wreck, they rebuilt it themselves, then retitled it to the next owner. I don't know what titling is like in Wisconsin but I'm sure it'd work in SD or anywhere without any kind of inspection.

 

Re-titling here is the same way with motorcycles, no inspection needed. If I laid down my bike, didn't report it to insurance and fixed it myself, it would still have a clean title.

The lien means money is owned on the bike somewhere so that could cause some legal issues in the title transfer. It's like financing your truck, you can't legally sell it until the lien is released by the person who gave you the loan to buy it. The lien holder needs to sign off on the title as well and release their lien.

I know the price is good but there are a lot of potential hiccups and unknowns and, the more you dig, the more you seem to find. I think it's time to walk away. If it were me, I would.

 

Yeah the people I bought the ninja from had a loan on it that they didn't bother to tell me about until I showed up with cash in hand. It was a pain in the ass cause they didn't have money to pay it off without my money so I had to pay them, get a bill of sale and take possession of the bike, then they got a lien release from the bank with my money and drove to the capitol to get the title in person the next day.

I'm not counting it out until the roomie can drive it and go through it all thoroughly. I'm more concerned with the mechanics of it and could care less about legal stuff. It looks to me like it's been titled 3 times since the last lien was reported on it, so I'm assuming the loan was all taken care of. The seller has a clean title in hand, and I don't know how that is possible if there is still an unpaid loan on it somewhere.

 

I got one picture of it just now, he said he'd send more tonight

 

Going from a 250 to a 1k is quite the jump. That R1 will feel and handle like it weighs a ton compared to your 250. If what you're looking for is more speed, even a V-twin 650 and any FI 600 will do that with no problem. With FI you can get a power commander and do some ecu tuning for even more speed, just like on a car/truck.

 

I realize this one isn't exactly ideal, but the price is right for it. I have no problem in dropping it and continuing my search for a more modern 600 if it doesn't work out but I figured I'd give this one a chance at least. It'd almost be kinda nice to have a little older bike that wasn't in pristine condition. It sits outside during the riding season so the finish is exposed to the elements all the time, and it wouldn't be such a huge loss if I went down on it and trashed it.

Seller is bringing it to our house this afternoon/evening I believe for my roommate to inspect and ride it. Hopefully I'll have pics soon to share with you guys

 

My truck had a lien on it when I purchased it, and it was handled the same way. There shouldn't be any issue, as the bill of sale is a legally binding document. I can do some research if you want, but I believe if you as a purchaser of a good are sold something "out of trust" (ie with a lien on it), but you in good faith were not made aware of the lien, then the issue is between the lienholder and the seller, and not you. I don't think the bank can go after you as the purchaser in that situation. I know I was taught that in my training as a federal bank examiner.

 

Meh, my bikes sat out side from Spring to late Fall and it wasn't an issue. Just get a decent exterior cover to protect it. I bought a $50 Dowco cover, it has a strap that goes under the bike so it stays on even in high winds and it's lasted me almost 10 years now.

 

Nah, gotta let it sit out front with everyone else's to impress the ladies driving by even my ninja grabs their attention when it's parked, they don't know it's only a 250 haha

Patrick, I'm not too worried about a loan on this as the last lien was reported like 3-4 owners ago and the current owner has the title in hand.

 

Sounds like you're good to go then!

EDIT: So after looking at your bike you posted and Google Images of "2001 R1 Champions Edition"...it looks like a fake to me. Compare this pic to the bike you posted (this color scheme matched every photo I found).



The one you posted has a blue tail compared to white/silver, your front fender is blue compared to black on this bike, the stripe is wrong, and I don't see the black botom of the side fairings with "Champion" on them. This pic was identical to all the ones I found on Google. Anyway, that's a red flag for me, but you might look into it more at least...I think that bike has at minimum had some graphic/plastic/paint work done to it, and at worst is misrepresented as something it's not.

 

If you check the link to the history report on there the title on it says champions edition so assuming that site is reliable the numbers match for a champions edition

 

Ooooh... I'll bet all the plastics were replaced as a result of the crash. Champion Ed. plastics were probably huge money (or not able to be sourced) so they replaced them with standard plastics. Definitely pull the plastics off and check for damage.

 

I'm sure that's exactly what happened. Even so, if I'm buying a "Champion's Edition"...I damn sure want the proprietary stuff on there. I'd walk away from the bike because of this, but if you still like it, I definitely wouldn't pay full price. I mean, what's the whole point of having a special edition if none of the special edition stuff is there?

I looked real quick on bikebandit.com (used them before with good success for a Ninja 250), and it seems like the prices for R1 Champions Edition cowlings, fenders, etc., are the same as a regular R1, or close. Being a Devil's Advocate, it appears to me whoever repared it definitely went the cheap route.

 

The only reason I'm considering it is because it's way under priced anyway haha. Hee just sent me pics of it, I'll post tomorrow when I'm back at a real computer. It definitely needs new plastics again, they're cracked on both sides so it looks like it's been down at low speeds on either side. Definitely another turn off. I don't think I'd give 2 grand at this point

 

As long as you know what you're getting in to. I don't ride, so I have no idea on value or anything, but I've been around classic muscle cars enough to know people will try to label things as special editions because they're either (a) stupid and don't know any different, or (b) deceitful. Apparently there should be a plate on the handlebars designating it as a Champion's Edition, so maybe see if you can locate that in any of the pics. I can't help you at all in value...just trying to point out what I saw. Hope it works out for you!

 

Yeah it has the plate, it's number 555 of 1000 produced so I thought that was kinda cool. The fairings are rough looking and I'd probably wanna replace them. I'm leaning towards passing on it, the farther away pics made it look super clean

 

I wonder if it were in good shape mechanically, if you couldn't get it for $1000-$1500, put $1500 into it for new plastics/graphics, and have a super clean, clear title Champion's Edition that might bring you a nice profit?

Just a thought. Not trying to sway you either way.

 

It was my thought too. A dealer already offered him 1900 for it. So I'm not gonna get it for any less than that. I'm not really looking for a project currently, but I could potentially flip in within a few years after riding it in its current state for awhile. I need to look tomorrow to see what nice ones are worth