Im limited on mechanic abilities

Some experience would go a long way toward making such a project viable. Without it, you're likely to be over your head. We can't judge your abilities from this vantage point.

 

My guess is that it's over your head. If you thought you could do it, you wouldn't be asking us.

 

Ok, I may have misrepresented myself. Im not a total Nu B on mechanics, but my experience is on humvees, 5-tons, and POVs, not bikes. I've changed belts, tires, etc...on my XB12x, but never rebuilt...so, the question is: From your experience (owning a wee, troubleshooting the problems, modding, etc....) what level of difficult is the bike to work on?? Is parts easily available?? What's the average rebuild difficulty? Is 1200 a reasonable price for a wrecked wee? I can buy a used one for 3-5000

Anyone here done a tear-down, defaced a wee, interchanged forks, bought spoke wheels, worked with ABS...?? I guess I shoulda been more precise with my request, eh? :yesnod:

 

I'd be too worried about the condition of the frame if it had Major frontal impact.

Spend a little more on a used one that isn't wrecked. That is a parts bike.

 

I'm not trying to discourage you if you want to give it a shot. Motorcycles aren't that hard to work on, but since it's been in a wreck, taking a very close look at the frame and associated parts would be a good idea for someone's eyes besides your own.

That said, by the time you get it back in shape, you may have spent more than you would on a good used one.

Spoked wheels are a big maybe. I haven't seen any so far.

 

You can't just buy spoked wheels for a V-Strom. Custom machining of axles and spacers to adapt a spoked wheel would be necessary at a minimum.

 

True. I read about one Vstrom that did it, but I can't find the post...and it was a lot of custom machining to make it work.

 

Not sure it would be worth it since you are asking. It won't save you that much (any?) money. Find a nice used Wee and if you really want to rebuild a MC get an old/classic/rare bike in bad condition that has lots of hard to find parts and a bad temperament. That sounds like fun and doesn't have to be done quickly.

But hey, if you really want to rebuild a Wee and think the frame, etc is viable, then I say go for it.

 

Also depends on what you want it for. If you buy and find you can't/wont go ahead, you can sell the parts and turn a profit. Either way i'd say "give it a go" it's a great start for the experience.

 

Title on Wee?????

I would not rebuild it......part it out or save up for a whole bike. Just my $0.02......

Situation: Friend has a wrecked K7 DL-650A (a for abs??). Title?? Salvage or clear??Parts needed including:
tank....guessing $200-$250 plus shipping for a used one from Ebay....with a dent or two??
1 fork tube.......$50-$100, ebay
front wheel/tire....not that easy to find......expect to pay $150-$200 for a straight wheel, plus a new tire.......another $75.
brake pedal....aftermarket......not hard to find.
all front plastics......stuff on ebay will probably have a scratch or two......maybe $150, I honestly don't know. If you need a windshield, brackets, gauges........add $$$, much $$$$.

and probably more stuff that I missed. It looked like a major front/minor right side crash. Asking price 1200....make sure the bracket welded to the fork tube is not boogered up.

I parted a 2005 Wee last year......I may have paid too much.....$1000, no title....won't do that again......doubt I made any profit after all said and done......motors don't sell for much, maybe $250-$350 depending on year/miles......no one really needs a frame (maybe a subframe from time to time......I can barely give mine away).....i didn't have gauges or front plastics to sell. My ZRX is a different story......I could sell almost every little piece on that bike.
Im limited on mechanic abilities, but would like the challenge. I'm not feeling very comfortable with riding a bike that I built:jawdrop: anyways, I'm open to opinions and advice. Btw, it would be groovy if I can change the wheels to spoke, but Im not wishing yet!

 

My $1.05: Go to the advrider.com forums and hang out in their beasts section. They have a steady stream of people doing things to crashed stroms, including a couple different wire wheel conversions. There is some crossover (some of the frankenstrom-builders from advrider also post here) but stromtroopers tends to be more about doing fun things with properly farkled bikes, where advrider bends more to the dark side. Both are great sites.

Personally, I would not pay $1200 for the bike as you describe it. Maybe if I already had one in ridable condition. I have a hard time paying more than a few hundred dollars for any common (non-vintage/special purpose) vehicle when it can't safely move under its own power.

I recently had a little oopsie with my '09 wee, leaving it pretty beat up. I rode it to a dealership though, so we're talking about a mostly-working bike with no suspension or drive issues. The insurance company was willing to sell it back to me for $1500. To me that says they expected to get less than $1500 when they auctioned the bike off.

In that case I decided to go ahead and replace the bike (the dealer should have my replacement wee ready tomorrow) and pay the $1500 on the theory that I (fairly mechanically inclined, including experience fabricating parts for airplanes) can make the scrap into a light(er)weight and more adventure oriented dirty bike. Which is to say I think it would be fun to rebuild a wee to make it more what I wanted. If it would be fun for you, that's a factor, but I'd get something that can be ridden if at all possible.

 

I wouldn't buy it.

The amount of parts you'd probably end up needing would shock you - and your wallet. Dealerships don't make money on bikes, they make money on Parts, and accessories. Back in the 80's when I worked as a cranky surly Parts guy at the local motorcycle dealership, just for kicks I added up every single part for a 1988 CR250. The tally came to over $12000! And that was for a bike that only cost $4000 or so!

What might appear to be an inexpensive foot in the door, could turn into money pit! Buy a used, rideable Wee....

 

The tally came to over $12000! And that was for a bike that only cost $4000 or so!

Another example of how that plays out:

I got two estimates on that wee I mentioned a post or so ago... one was about $700 to fix the critical damage (throttle assembly and similar) so I could ride it home, the other was the insurance estimate of "we stopped counting when it went over $9500...."

The question is, do you need to buy brand new parts for everything? Or can you live with some scratches, some repaired plastics, repainted instead of replaced parts, and so on? If you are even thinking of buying OEM replacement parts from a dealer parts counter outside of when it is absolutely-no-other-choice necessary, that $1200 could turn into $12000 before you have a "fixed" bike.

 

All very good ideas. Just the kind of brainstorming I needed... My situation, is not unique though. I recently sold my xb12x, but when I had it I realized what bike would suit me better and the style of riding I enjoyed. I found myself taking dirt roads rather than tarmac, wanting to ride down firelanes on the way to destinations...etc.. The Buell was heavy to pick up and balance on some challenging terrian but that is what I enjoyed...so, the search continues for a lite duty all-around bike for reasonable price. The person who has it, told me that "money can come later" if I wanted the bike...eh....which "sweetens" the deal a bit..but I want to pay before I move..... Maybe I should take pics tomorrow and post them.....

thanks again for all comments...the verdict is out though...maybe I will offer him less after a thorough lookover. :yesnod:

 

1976born

I suggest that you get in touch with a member here called Glitch_Oz.
Glitch has rebuilt 3 Stroms now from wrecks and is about to embark on project number 4 using a wrecked 2009 Wee. He will be able to give you more information about rebuilding Stroms than anybody else on this forum.

Start by reading this thread.

 

yep, the legend... I've BTDT. Glitch is a master builder...love the thinstrom :thumbup:

 

I'd haggle a bit on price, but that seems like a pretty good deal, considering you're getting a whole bunch of spare parts for your bike.

 

I wouldn't want a salvage title bike because you'll have a real hard time selling it and not for much money, even if it looks/runs like new. Potential buyers will be hesitant/suspicious even if it's in perfect shape so if you do this, plan to keep it forever or part it out later.

I'd price all the parts you know you'll need and add it all up, and if it was over about $2500 or so, part it out and buy a used bike. Maybe others can suggest what they think the max value of a good condition salvage bike is?

If you decide to go ahead with this, I hope you'll post photo's and keep a running total of what it costs...interesting project. Good luck!!