I think the other side of that is what are your skills? One of the biggest problems is going to be getting and replacing the small parts. Have you talked to the shop owner about what he might want for it? Plain fact is that there is no doubt a lot of good parts in that bike that you could strip out and sell on ebay. Thats a hassel but it can net you a good profit IF you get the wreck under $500. The other issue is if the dealer got a title with it. If its beens sitting for as long as it seems, that may be a big issue if you want to restore and ride it.
Now I think about anyone on this forum would jump on that bike for under $500. A lot of us would restore it and get it back on the road. That said, from a cost point of view, as you have no v-max experience and unlike a lot on here have no spare parts, The cost of restoring the bike will be high enough that I don't believe you will be able to sell it for more then you put in it. You can have a hell of a ride if you restore it to ride (assuming the title is not an issue). The big difference in riding and selling is that you have a great ride that looks kind of ratty.
The V-Max is not all that hard to work on. If you have worked on cars or other motorcycles, you can get your way thru it. If I could get it for $500, I would tear the whole thing down, then build it back up replacing parts, repainting, polishing as I went. You get it down and pull the heads and find a real mess, then you start selling parts.[/QUOTE]
Yep, pretty-much what I was saying earlier. If you have a place to work on it, and the skills, you may have a diamond in the rough, seems like so-far the "rough" thing is the only part we know!
My post about water in the engine, and how intact it is, and the possibility about it being nothing-more than a parts-bike, is still awaiting additional info. Even if it's incomplete, and depending on what it's missing, and how-much effort you want to put into it, you could make money most likely, even if it is only for parts. Or, if you luck-out, and it's complete, the engine isn't seized, and the electrics are intact, along w/the carbs, then you can at least get it to run, and see whether or not it is a sponge for your time and $$. I wouldn't buy this as a bike you are going to easily return to the road and to sell at a profit. Needing several expensive items, such as the CDI box, the crank position sensor, a good set of carbs, new downtubes, and rubber boots for the carbs, well, at new stock prices, your talking several thousand dollars! Used is available, and is what I would recommend, but until you get it and see what's what, it's all b.s., conjecture, and W.A.G's. (wild-assed-guesses).
I'd say, buy that sucker for as-little as-possible, and then post a request for some guys on-here to come-see what you have. A case of beer and some sandwiches should get you an answer to, "is it a princess, or a pig?" Then you can either part it out, or embark on your journey. If you choose the latter, take pics, lots of pics. I suggest a cheap digital camera on a tripod you leave set-up, and document your disassembly, step-by-step. It makes it easier on reassembly, and we can see when you post 'em, what's OK and what's not OK.
Even if you part-out the bike, you may decide to buy one in better shape. I'd say that a $2500 investment should get you into a solid VMax w/a fair #/miles on it that you can replace what's needed, and maybe some of the stuff you don't sell can serve as either cores or exchange for better ones from someone like Patmax for powdercoated stuf; Kyle, who always sniffs-out used parts bikes, who has a lot of used parts to keep or get us running; or Sean Morley, who will be happy to hold your hand as you build a screaming performance machine, or poof-it-up w/eye-candy aftermarket or refurbished parts.
But, we are patiently waiting to see some pics, and,
what's the &^%$&^%!** VIN number??!!???:rofl_200:
Inquiring minds want to know.
unk:
