Hello... February 2012
By: Web Editor
Buyer beware. That’s the lesson we’ve seen this month. I know of a chap who recently spent over £3000 on an RG500 engine for his project bike only to discover it’s really only any use as a doorstop or ship’s anchor. So bad was the corrosion, from standing for multiple years without running, that pretty much the only parts salvageable were the cases, heads and barrels. The rest was so severely corroded it was only fit for the bin.
While online auction sites such as eBay have allowed us to find parts which we would never have known of or found, it can be ever so easy to buy a dud. Talk to the seller and ask them plenty of questions about your prospective purchase to make sure the item you’re bidding on is what you think it is – even better, go and see the item of your desire. Cash on collection is one way to make sure you don’t pay a lot of money without even seeing the parts.
I fell into the trap a few years ago, buying a bike that looked all right in the pictures only to find most of the moving parts needed replacing and the wheels were about to collapse.
Just because we’re enthusiasts doesn’t mean we should lose sight of common sense. Let someone else make those poor purchase decisions.
Ben Wilkins,
Editor
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Current Issue: June 2012
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