03 Kawasaki Z1000, Need your opinions

[gilmorec61]

So long story short, somebody is offering to trade me their 03 Kawasaki Z1000 for my 08 Ninja 250.
Here are the facts:
-Has a rebuilt title(what does that exactly mean? good or bad thing?...)
-19,000 miles
-Said its his first bike and has way too much power for him
-Has a small dent in gas tank
-He said that previous owner had the bike rebuilt cosmetically(assuming thats the reason for the rebuilt title)
-No mechanical issues
-Needs new fork seals

Now dont go all on me saying i dont need a 1000 blah blah blah, ive heard alot already

What do you guys think of the deal? Thats what i wanna know. Hears a few pictures.

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[Jiggles]

Rebuilt as in salvaged? Pass

[gilmorec61]

Not exactly sure...and why would you do that?

[thurt88]

It means the bikes been totaled before.

Personally, I'd do it myself.

[Falcor]

If you want to take a hit on insurance go for it.

[gilmorec61]

Yeah, it looks like it MAY be a good deal, problem is he's 4 hours away... is it easy to sell vehicles/motorcylces with rebuilt titles?

Im thinking best case senario, it was laid over and messed up all cosmetics and insurance deemed that the repairs for cosmetics would be more than bike is worth so they totalled it.

worst case senario, the previous owner ****ed the sh** outa it...

The pics dont look too bad, however i wouldnt know for sure until i saw it in person...

And @Jiggles, if you were to buy your 2 fiddy back isnt that what you'd have to apply for; a rebuilt title?

[Jiggles]

Yep, and my insurance co said they would not insure it

[gilmorec61]

Because it would have a rebuilt title? Wtf, doesnt make sense...

[bob706]

9 year old sport bike < 4 year old awesome 250 imo. I would be concerned with what kind of maintenance that 1000 is due for. On the other hand, if you have gotten every last ounce of enjoyment outta your 250 and a rebuilt title doesn't bother you, go for it.

[gilmorec61]

So just found out that the bike would also need mirrors, should be able to get them for $20 off ebay. Are fork seals hard to replace? Ive been checking out the pictures in detail and honestly it looks like a pretty good deal. However, pictures CAN be deceiving so i wont really know until i tested it/saw it in person. I've looked on CL and found out that there are ALOTTTTT of bikes with refurbished titles, that seem to be selling so i dont think that that is an issue. Ive also been looking online at this particular year for reviews and the reviews on that bike are extremly high.

Im going to look into insurance and see how much more it is. Im thinking with the company i have, no more than 200 a year for the min, as im paying 40 a year for min on my 250 now. It gets anywhere from 30-40 mpg, not as great as the 250, but still pretty good. And its got an I-4

Only thing im not liking is the 4-5 hour round trip to meet him. Id be taking a chance... Dont know what i should do yet.

Here are some more pictures of the bike.

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[dk58]

You found a lot of bikes on Craigslist with rebuilt titles because the owners are normally asking a little lower than the price of a bike with a clean title, and nobody wants a bike that was admittedly wrecked. A general rule of thumb is that bikes with rebuilt or salvaged titles are realistically worth half of clean value, if not less. I wouldn't trust a person on Craigslist to be honest with me, so I would assume that the bike had major damage and he just wants to wash his hands of the bike. That's just my .02

[EthioKnight]

Love the blacked out headlights...wonder how much light they allow to go through though. I say if you've done the research and if your heart is in it, then go for it

[greenenvie]

Two of the guys I know have newer z1000's, I think 08's, and they are awesome bikes. It is a whole lot of bike though. But they are standards so insurance should not be near as bad as a ss bike. Plus they sit a lot like the 250.

[Klondike1020]

Just about every bike I have bought has been salvage title . If you are not afraid of taking a gamble and getting your hands dirty . Once you work the bugs out of a salvage bike they can be good as any . Some times it's big problems and a lotta determination other times easy fix makes a good bike.

Good luck just figure what you want and stick w it

[CZroe]

I think your bike would be considered "rebuilt" if the previous owner had reported to insurance (bent frame, even though it's just the tail). Is he really offering a straight trade?

[gilmorec61]

I think your bike would be considered "rebuilt" if the previous owner had reported to insurance (bent frame, even though it's just the tail). Is he really offering a straight trade?

I agree. And yeah he sure is, and hes willing to drive halfway if not more to see it. So i think he wants it, time will tell however.

Thanks for the responses guys. Still talking to the guy and doing research, not set on anything at the moment.

If i looked at it, whats the MAIN thing i should look at considering it has a rebuilt title?

As i said earlier, he said the valves were adjusted around 500 miles ago, and mechanically its prefect. Its got a small dent in the gas tank.

[Reswob]

The thing about a salvage title is, unless you get an accident or insurance report of some kind (or trust the seller to tell you everything), you won't really know why it was totaled. Hell, if I had comprehensive coverage and had gone through an insurance company, my bike would be "totaled" because the cost of a new set of fairings is more than 50% the appraised value of the bike. Nothing mechanically wrong with it, but it would be on a salvage title.

On the other hand, that bike's frame could be so ****ed up that the bike will never be right again. It's hard to tell.

[choneofakind]

Some shops (like the one I go to) have frame straightening machines that are certified and most insurance companies are cool with, but that costs $$$

for reference to what I was talking about: http://www.mphohio.com/megamax.htm

[Jono]

Originally Posted by gilmorec61

-Needs new fork seals

Maybe he sucks at wheelies and blew the fork seals.

I wouldn't trade for that bike but that's just me. Insurance is going to be quite high. It probably hasn't been very well maintained if he hasn't even changed fork seals.

[choneofakind]

not to mention tires alone cost like double or triple what ninjette-sized tires cost, and only last 5k (<-- correct me here) miles. yuck.

[gilmorec61]

Yeah tires would be alot more expensive, and oil changes would be too. And @choneofakind im pretty sure your right about them lasting around 5000, im sure a big part of it goes into how you ride.

Insurance shouldnt be too terribly high, its not a supersport, plus it will be under my moms name.

I would be taking a chance, but i think with my bike i wouldnt be losing anything if i did it.

The guy is in college and bought the bike from a trusted friend, (could be complete BS, just going by what he told me) and said that he repaired it. He hasnt had it but a little while so i suppose the seals were bad when he bought it.

Maybe he sucks at wheelies and blew the fork seals.

I wouldn't trade for that bike but that's just me. Insurance is going to be quite high. It probably hasn't been very well maintained if he hasn't even changed fork seals.

Thats exactly what i was thinking. Who knows, ive been doing wheelies on mine recently too Really need to stop though...

He said the maintenance has been done very well (again could be BS, wont know till i look at it.)


Again what are some things i should look at if i look at it?

[k-os]

Check that the VIN on the frame matches the title, as well as checking as much of the frame as you can for any noticeable scratches/bends. Also make sure to check if there's any kind of lien on the bike (don't think you mentioned anything in your earlier posts).

If it was indeed crashed check the forks to see if they're tweaked at all. If he has a front stand check the front wheel bearings as well. Check the current oil level and brake pad life. Those two should help you try to figure out what kind of owner he is (if he takes care of it well).

All I can think of now.

[pjed]

Hope everything checks out fine with the bike. I've owned two 2003 Z1000s and loved them. Awesome bikes...definitely will own one in the future.

[Jono]

Yeah look at all the fluids. Brake fluid, coolant, oil, blinker fluid. You know the usual stuff.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by Reswob

The thing about a salvage title is, unless you get an accident or insurance report of some kind (or trust the seller to tell you everything), you won't really know why it was totaled. Hell, if I had comprehensive coverage and had gone through an insurance company, my bike would be "totaled" because the cost of a new set of fairings is more than 50% the appraised value of the bike. Nothing mechanically wrong with it, but it would be on a salvage title.

On the other hand, that bike's frame could be so ****ed up that the bike will never be right again. It's hard to tell.

Considering how nicely it was fixed up in the pictures, my assumption would be that it was well cared for and likely wasn't that serious or else it wouldn't have been worth all that effort.

Originally Posted by Jono

Maybe he sucks at wheelies and blew the fork seals.

I wouldn't trade for that bike but that's just me. Insurance is going to be quite high. It probably hasn't been very well maintained if he hasn't even changed fork seals.

Probably has more to do with the forks being exposed after losing some of the factory fairings.

[Jono]

Originally Posted by CZroe

Probably has more to do with the forks being exposed after losing some of the factory fairings.

It looks like the front fender covers up the fork tube. So I don't think that is it.

[gilmorec61]

Hope everything checks out fine with the bike. I've owned two 2003 Z1000s and loved them. Awesome bikes...definitely will own one in the future.

How many miles did they last you, or why did you get rid of them? Any downsides?

[pjed]

Originally Posted by gilmorec61

How many miles did they last you, or why did you get rid of them? Any downsides?

Can't remember exact mileage but I think both were 10,000-12,000. A good buddy of mine had one with over 20,000 miles and he had no issues. I think if properly maintained, Japanese bike motors will run a very long time.

Sold both of them because I needed cash at the time. Always regretted it.

Don't think they had any major bad points. Some buzziness at the bars but I never took very long trips with it. Overall, a very fun and comfortable bike.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by Jono

It looks like the front fender covers up the fork tube. So I don't think that is it.

I see. Still, it may have been replaced and could have been ridden plenty in the mean time. We can be pretty sure that at least one side of the bike had fairings replaced, so the fender was just as likely.

[namdamyo]

Originally Posted by Jono

Yeah look at all the fluids. Brake fluid, coolant, oil, blinker fluid. You know the usual stuff.

Blinker fluid...

Z1000s seem like really nice bikes! I don't know much about rebuilt titles, but I did read some sound advice from everyone who posted! Keep us posted for what you end up deciding to do

[gilmorec61]

Yeah will do. And thats good to hear that they hold up. I was looking at a Z1000 forum and alot of the guys on there had there bikes that had +50,000 miles on them.

Will let you guys know what happens.

[SafetyPaws]

I'm not sure what a rebuilt title, I do not think it is an official secretary of state/dmv term. Salvaged title is when the bike was previously totaled, totaled is when the price of repairs costs more than the value of the vehicle based on the insurance policy. Most insurance companies cover the vehicles as ACV (actual cash value) aka the depreciated value based on NADA.org (not KBB), unless your policy has Total Loss coverage which is usually offered to new vehicles or vehicles with model years up to 4 past years, (well 3, 3rd full year and 4th year is completed). As far to my knowledge only all state and progressive offer TL coverage, at least in MI. TL is basically they cover MSRP price, not depreciated value but does not cover dealer fees and plates/reg.

well anyways for the salvaged title, you cannot get full coverage insurance unless you can prove with documentation that the damage was repaired. All the insurance companies share 3 databases that have yours and the bikes information if ever you or the bike were ever on an policy before.. Its basically an insurance issue, but go to NAdA.org and look up the bike and features to get a worth for the z1000 and 250.

[gilmorec61]

Sooooo guys, its been a while, but ive been recovering from my accident, and all is going well. So im thinking about getting a z1000 for my next bike! Found a really sick 04 with 20000 miles on it for 3500, and i might go for it. Heres a link to check it out:

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/mcy/3130639470.html

What do yall think?

[Vergil]

Love love love z1000s, hate that color though.

[gilmorec61]

I <3 that color, sexy as hell.

[Vergil]

I'm really weird about making sure my gear matches my bikes color, or at least works well with it

[gilmorec61]

true, true.

[ninja_thresh_hold]

i know he says that hes trading because its too much for him, but it sounds a little fishy, before i did trade, id have a mechanic make sure it isnt going to blow up, and have them do an ultra sound on the frame to make sure the integrady is good on the frame, and to answer your question, a rebuilt title is a title that was once a salvaged title, and was reconstructed and approved by the DOT, but they do not check the frame for imperfections.