Buying advice ZX12R

[Aahzap!]

Hey People

I was having a browse through bike sales and found a cheap 2006 zx12r for sale with low 4700ks and only 7995 + onroads..... The catch. It is listed as a repairable write-off

http://www.bikepoint.com.au/all-bikes/d ... &silo=1400

I actually went up for a look, the colours are wrong for a 2006, it has black rims with polished outters, the oil and clutch covers have been painted black, the fairings are also painted black with the grey zx12r stickers.

The paint job itself is ok, but there are a few blemishes, the oil and cluch covers have ripples and the top fairing just under the mirrors has cracks

now this is the repaired result.

Would it be fair to assume that if they did a 2nd rate job on the paint then what of it for the rest of the repairs?

The salesman, assured me that it was a low impact 'economical' write off

He started it up and it sounded fine, awesome infact, no rattles or anything.

whats to prove that it had 50000ks and they found a speedo from a written off 12 with 4500 - and stuck it on?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/KAWASAKI-ZX1 ... 3cbc2aab4c

Ran out of time for a test ride but am thinking of going up today

Any advice is appreciated.

cheers

[JPaddo]

I know something of this one. As well as what you mentioned:

One of the front mounting points for tank is snapped off / broken.
Clear plastic welding on front cowl near the mirrors - from where the mounting points beneath have actually pushed through the cowl, obviously from impact.
The salesman had no idea it was even written off in the first place, and has no clue about the impact.
Fuel tank is purple underneath - and has been cut/polished through the black, so it's from a completely different bike. (VIN says bike is an 06 black/gold)
Some idiot tried to superglue the tank protector sticker when it started peeling at some point, you can see the rough plastic near the top of the tank sticker.

It was written off in 2006, shortly after initial sale, and first registered in November 2008. Why so long between write-off and passing the WOVI? I doubt a small bingle would've resulted in the bike sitting idle for more than 2 years.

It'll cost you 700 bucks to respray the whole thing if you know a cheap pro as opposed to the usual ripoff merchants (which imo, it needs - too dodgy a job, just look at the masking around the decals on the tank RHS and look for all the orange peel etc. Check the vents near the radiator etc where the paint is coming away - the surface was never prepped properly either)

For another 2k you'll get a mint never dropped bike with similar genuine kms, not 5000 on a speedo that you have no idea about.

Given that it's actually only been on the road for 3 years of it's life I spose the kms could be genuine, but there's no way to tell given the rest of it.

I'd wager these guys are desperate to offload it so you could really screw them down on price a fair whack from what they are asking.

[Aahzap!]

I know something of this one. As well as what you mentioned:.

So are you talking about the same bike?

I went up for a test ride, I like the bike it seems to run fine, but we only went out for about 10-15mins, it seems to hammer like a zx12r should.

I asked a mate of mine what he thought, he seems to think that to pass a WOVI the person needs

Driver's Licence or Business CRN
Original Owner Purchase Receipt (in their name)
Safety Certificate (current QLD)
Original Parts Receipt itemising parts purchased and fitted to the vehicle
Original Overseas Parts Receipts, must have name, address, postcode & phone number of the person the parts were purchased from, must have accompanying official document from authority stating that the parts are not stolen or of interest to police or government authorities, this applies to motorcycles and engines
Letter from Insurance Company (if the customer has purchased the vehicle back)
Original Repair Receipts itemising all repairs conducted on the vehicle
Statutory Declaration QLD (original) (for unrepaired Hail/Water Damage or if the customer has repaired the vehicle or purchased the vehicle in a repaired state, this must be signed by a Justice of the Peace and must have the VIN, Make and Model of the vehicle listed and itemised with all parts purchased and replaced by themselves)
Authorisation Letter (if the customer is organising another person to deliver the vehicle, in this event the person delivering the vehicle will need to present their driver's licence) and a letter of authorization from the owner granting permission to drop off or pick up the vehicle.

Now can someone tell me if there is a little loop hole... as in if you are a motorcycle dealer, buy it at auction, have your own mechanics do the repairs, pass the road worth, sell it regoed....????

im guessing they bought it at auction for 3500-4500 bodged it up and have tried to sell it for 9k, and have just dropped it down to 8k

So after the test ride we sat down for a chat, he asked what price i was looking at.

I told him, the bike, with the receipts for repairs, all the proof, road worthy, stamp duty, 12 months warranty, 12 months rego and a venture rack for 8k

Little did he know i had 7800 in my pocket

we got stuck on 8595 for bike regoed for 6months, 12 month warrenty no rack

I walked away

[z900/zx9]

Havent seen the bike but i reckon its a good one to walk away from

[holdontight]

Now that you have walked away just keep walking.

[robracer]

Good advise from KSRC in spades

[JPaddo]

So are you talking about the same bike?

Same bike, 8k will get you much better, keep looking, I did, and I scored a mint example with 3000 km (and according to mechanic, genuine)

[Aahzap!]

So are you talking about the same bike?

Same bike, 8k will get you much better, keep looking, I did, and I scored a mint example with 3000 km (and according to mechanic, genuine)

i'm pretty sure this one has been on the market for a while

So you reckon I'd just be buying problems?

[JPaddo]

6 months+ it's been on the market. Initial price was 11000, quickly dropped to 10, then 9, now 8.

Over winter there were a tonne of low km 06 12's up for sale for around 9-10k. If there's not much at the moment they'll come up if you have a bit of patience and just keep your ear to the ground. Heck with the 14-"R" due out next year I bet you'll see a metric shit-tonne of 12's on the market.

For anywhere remotely in the region of 8000 walk away. It's a franken-bike imo.

[Aahzap!]

6 months+ it's been on the market. Initial price was 11000, quickly dropped to 10, then 9, now 8.

Over winter there were a tonne of low km 06 12's up for sale for around 9-10k. If there's not much at the moment they'll come up if you have a bit of patience and just keep your ear to the ground. Heck with the 14-"R" due out next year I bet you'll see a metric shit-tonne of 12's on the market.

For anywhere remotely in the region of 8000 walk away. It's a franken-bike imo. I also know that it's had a lot of owners, which is never a good sign. Even if the kms were genuine do you think the half a dozen owners followed the break-in procedure?

How do you know it has had half a dozen owners?

Funny you should mention the 9, i feel that is more punchie than the 12, how ever i have had it jetted, pipe and K&N filter, Vs franken-12 that is stock

[Enjoytheview]

Patience..... Find the right 12 and you wont want any other bike.....

[JPaddo]

I went from a 9 with full akra evo to a stock 12 and felt the same way.

Of course I've since rectified that.

Re how I know, I have it on good authority from Fair Trading's investigation department. Why do you think they are now advertising it as written off, when previously they weren't?

PS trust me franken-12 is down on power too imo. Just sayin.

[mick12]

just looked at the ebay cluster link seems to be missing about 60 ks of the top end of the dial

[Enjoytheview]

Paddo,

Im assuming you mean this particular 12 is down on power, not all 12's.....?

[JPaddo]

Paddo,
Im assuming you mean this particular 12 is down on power, not all 12's.....?

Down on power compared to my 12 when it was stock. Make of that what you will, older motor, harder life? *shrug*