This is a dummy post and will be removed soon :D
The objective here is to own a motorcycle for free, or at least at a low price. One lesson I've learned from my experience with the Yamaha R15 is that the bike needs to be heavy and aerodynamic to have a comfortable ride on the motorway as it is too windy. Unlike many other countries, New Zealand doesn't have a great motorcycle range. Since the options are limited, I have to work with what I can find.
The skills I have:
- Know my way around motorcycle mechanics
- Have a reasonably good understanding of the market prices
- Have access to insurance auctions
- Own a car capable of towing trailers
What I don't have:
- Enough funds to buy a decent condition motorcycle
- Willingness to spend good money
Put those in perspective, my options are:
- If there is a good deal(which most likely happens in remote areas), I would be able to collect it.
- Buying a damaged bike and fixing it up over time. But then again, it wouldn't be free.
Here is what I did;
Combined both the options!. Purchased an excellent motorcycle from insurance auction as a stolen and recovered listing. It was cheap as it was de-registered. To put it in simple terms, getting it back on the road would require a lot of inspection and paperwork. Hence cheap.
Found a below-average condition bike that is about 2 hours away and got it back in a trailer and purchased a live(registered) frame from a wrecker the same day on the way back. Next step, swap all the stuff from the de-registered bike to the live motorcycle frame. Voila! We have a registered bike.
Just like MOT in the states, every motor vehicle needs to clear a safety inspection once a year in NZ(Its called a Warrant of Fitness or WOF). Both of mine didn't have one. So, swapped the good parts of the nice bike into the other one and got it warranted. After that, we repeated the same for the other motorcycle, and now we have two warranted bikes.
Sold the average bike at a very reasonable price citing all the issues, which still covered the amount spent purchasing both the bikes. Essentially making the good bike free!!
