Bargain In A Basket
BARGAIN IN A BASKET
One man's mistake can be your good-as-new motorcycle.
Harv Howard
EVER CONSIDER buying a basketful of someone's problems? To many motorcyclists with more enthusiasm than cash, the technique can be a shortcut to ownership and fun.
If a guy says, “Hey, old buddy, I’ve a good 750 Honda for sale, $125 in baskets,” whatdoyado? One thing you don’t do is fall all over yourself pulling out the wallet. A basic rule for buying a disassembled cycle is, don’t be too anxious no matter how sweet the deal sounds. Keep a close check on the emotions that usually respond to such statements.
If the challenge of rebuilding a basketcase tweaks your fancy, ease into the situation one step at a time. By using a systematic, common-sense approach, the chances of being burnt can be greatly reduced. And you can emerge as the proud owner of a reconditioned machine at less than the market price of a mediocre one. That’s the beauty of a basketcase: A better cycle for less.
The first step isn’t looking for just any cycle. It’s knowing what you want. Make sure the type of cycle and, less important, the engine size, is suitable to your needs.
When you’ve found what you want, take the second step. This involves determining the street-ready value of the bike once repaired. Call a motorcycle dealer to obtain the going price for the bike, consult CYCLE WORLD (July 1976) for a list of used bike prices, or get yourself a copy of the National Automobile Dealers Association Appraisal Guide (N.A.D.A. Appraisal Guides, P.O. Box 1407, Covina, CA 91722). Subtract the cost of the basketcase from the street-ready price. The balance determines how much money can be put into repairs and parts before the total outlay for the basketcase equals the street-ready price.
The third step is the big one. It’s determining what the basketcase needs to get it on the road. Basically, this means looking for two things: what parts are in need of repair and replacement, and what parts are missing.
Don’t buy the parts potluck and take them home to sort. The appraisal must come before buying. When the owner points to several places in his garage and says, “Well, there she is,” don’t take his word for it. If it’s not all there, even if he honestly overlooked a part or two, you may later have to find and pay for the missing parts yourself.
The seller, anxious to make a deal on his mistakes, will expend a bit of effort scrounging up misplaced parts if called to his attention before the money crosses his palm. Return two weeks later begging for a missing piece, after hevs spent your money, and he may not care to poke around.
It’s important to know the cycle’s parts and, if possible, its likely weak points. Not an Einstein of the cycle set? Take a friend who might be. Regardless of supposed knowledge about the c.ycle, a shop manual for that particular machine is a must when inspecting it with the idea of buying.
When inquiring about the motorcycle the first time, ask the owner if he has a manual. If he doesn’t, borrow one. Can’t do that? Go look at the machine; if it looks promising, excuse yourself to buy a manual. A manual can always be sold if the final decision is against buying the cycle. The few bucks lost on a manual can save a lot more. It’s a good investment. If the motorcycle is bought the manual is going to be needed anyway.
So there you stand, manual in hand and surrounded by boxes of cycle parts. Next move? Rather than pawing through the parts, lay them out in systematic fashion. Depending on the complexity of the bike and the amount of disassembly, begin by laying the parts into basic groups: engine, frame and suspension, and accessories.
Next, break the groups into subgroups. For example, clutch components: discs, plates, rods, springs, bolts, etc., should be put in one place and arranged in order of assembly so they can be readily checked against the exploded diagrams in the manual. Only after all parts have been separated and checked can you begin to know what is missing and what is damaged.
Metric nuts, bolts, C-clips, washers, etc., are expensive. Placing them in their appropriate places, like popping sidecover bolts into their holes, can be a fast and accurate way of accounting for them all.
Make a written list of missing and damaged parts. Don’t try to keep it in your head. The list serves two functions. Most important, it is taken to a dealer to be fitted with prices. You should emerge with an accurate estimate of the cost to rebuild the cycle. And the list is a tangible bargaining lever in getting the asking price lowered.
The total cost of the parts list is subtracted from the difference obtained earlier between the basketcase cost and the street value. The figure that emerges tells whether the deal is worthwhile or not. There is no hard and fast rule for deciding. It depends upon the individual situation.
Don’t expect to pick up any used parts. Components that fail on one bike usually fail on others of the same kind. That makes for difficulty in finding used parts. Do all of the figuring on new-part prices. If the parts can be found used, so much the better. Always maximize expenses and discount luck in working with a basketcase. This is guaranteed to minimize disappointment— and it’s the only guarantee you’ll get.
In tallying the parts, quietly check to see what type of cycle-fixer the seller tried to be. Most frequently, evidence of the butcher can be found where Phillips heads of case bolts are destroyed. This individual’s handiwork can also be found as buggered threads on shaft ends and as case halves that have been violently pried apart. Run an inquiring finger around the mating surfaces of the case halves if the engine has been completely split. Any nicks or missing chunks? Virtually all shaft ends either have something that fits on them or that they fit into. Make sure they haven’t been damaged. Put the nuts, C-clips and parts on them to ensure that they are healthy. The damage caused by hammer blows to threads sometimes can be easily corrected, other times not. Know what will need work. Put these items on the list as “nuisance factors.” They may be minor and require no money, but they greatly increase the sweat and frustration of rebuilding.
If the cycle was a crash victim, it will need a slightly different assessment. Check the forks, handlebars and frame for alignment. Rotate the wheels (holding the axles by hand if disassembled), to check for bent rims. Look for flat spots and cuts on the tires.
It’s important to know exactly why a machine has been reduced to a pile of parts. A prospective buyer shouldn’t have to guess. Ask the owner. Not just once, but a couple of times. If his answers are inconsistent, push him for clarification and detail. Inspect the alleged trouble area. His story should jibe with the evidence. If a broken part made the machine inoperable, you can believe his story, at least that part of it.
If the machine was tom down for an overhaul job that was never finished, the trouble is harder to diagnose. For example, if for some reason the machine failed to get a proper nourishment of oil to its innards—a common malady—the piston, rings, and cylinder bore may be in a bad way and given as the reason for the teardown. Such damage is easily noted and allowed for on the list, but other damage, to rod and crank bearings and bearing surfaces, may have occurred to a lesser degree. These may only be detectable with a mechanic’s micrometer. Never be certain the seller is honest or knowledgeable.
If there is any doubt about what is really wrong with the engine, simply profess your ignorance of such matters and ask to take the engine to a shop for a professional opinion.
Even if only the head and cylinder are removed from the engine, in a few minutes a mechanic can check rod play and the piston and bore. If this can’t be arranged, and some doubt is had about the piston/bore condition or other parts, don’t hesitate to add the costs for these to your list.
If the case hasn’t been split, the transmission can be fairly well checked by handshifting it into all of the gears. This will be more difficult to do than when done normally, so if shifting comes a little hard don’t be too quick to suspect problems. The transmission should be shiftable into all gears, however. Rotate the cogs in each gear. No stoppages or unusual noises should be accepted without further inspection.
If you’re inclined to use Higher Guidance for help when buying a basketcase, direct your prayers specifically toward the electrical system. That’s where they’ll be needed most. Problems here are often difficult to detect when the machine is down.
If the battery (if it has a battery) is charged and the wiring and accessories are intact, fine. Twist the key and check the horn, lights, etc. If the battery doesn’t have a charge, and this is usually the case because basketcases seem to require several months of aging before they’re ripe for sale, have a pocketsized circuit tester with you. A headlight can easily cost $6-$ 12 to replace. A taillight bulb eats up the better part of a buck, and they don’t give away indicator bulbs. Check these little items out, and add them to the list if faulty.
Problems in the charging system will be harder for the novice to identify. However, you can operate by a general rule of thumb here. If the machine is down for a mechanical malfunction, it is unlikely that there were problems in the electrical system at the same time. But that doesn’t mean that rough handling hasn’t screwed up the alternator or magneto coils. If these parts have been kept loose in the same box with other parts, be careful. Check the varnish insulation on the coil windings for dents that could have happened after disassembly and which will cause shorting when the machine is operable again.
Check the frame wiring. Has it been hacked and changed? Melted insulation can indicate major trouble at some time in the past. Cycle wiring, as simple as it appears, can cause countless headaches, especially if an inexperienced person got at it first.
The smaller cycle batteries aren’t very hardy. Don’t automatically expect a discharged one will be all right once a charge is thrown into it.
Heavily scratched fenders and chrome, dented tanks and tom seat covers can easily be overlooked when assessing a machine suffering from a major mechanical malfunction. After all, such things don’t contribute to the running. However, once the machine is mechanically sound the cosmetic quality suddenly becomes important. It’s downright vexing to ride a cycle bearing the scars of another person’s spills. Look for these blemishes when checking for mechanical damage. If looks are important, enter these scars on your trusty list.
At some point in the transaction, before money changes hands, ask the owner about the title. Does he have it? Is it clear of any liens? Ask to check the numbers on the title with those on the machine.
Ascertaining the mechanical health and needs of a typical basketcase is impossible to do in an article. Don’t accept these words as gospel. All that’s been attempted is to provide some advice about the steps necessary to finding satisfaction with a motorcycle that someone else couldn’t or wouldn’t fix. The job of determining the state of a basketcase may be simpler or more complex than described. The less you know about the workings of motorcycles, the more chances you will be taking when considering a basketcase.
One other warning: Be wary of a motorcycle that someone wants to give you. Some would say “don’t look a gift motorcycle in the bore,” but a free motorcycle with several years on it, in need of major repair, can be a painfully expensive trap to fall into.
Through all these steps, always remember that the reason you’re doing this work is economic. You will be trading your time and effort for money. Rebuilding a basketcase isn’t an easy way to get a motorcycle. Instead, it’s a cheaper way.
Just because you don’t charge yourself for the time spent in the shop doesn’t mean your time is free. Rather, the time invested in the motorcycle is time you could have spent doing something else.
Thus, when you have the lists completed, when you know what the prospective bike needs and what the parts will cost and how much of the work you can do and how much must be fanned out to the machine shop or the professional mechanic, add up the costs and compare them against the price of a similar bike in sound condition.
Now compare the difference in cash with the time needed for the project. If the bike is worth it—to you, not to anybody else—buy the baskets. Good luck, and if you meet a guy with a 750 Honda for $125, call me.
