First Big Bike

[pusycatz 0]

Hi All,
Haven't been on for a while as we have been pretty busy (mainly getting 2 Yamaha SR125's ready to sell) working up to me buying my first big bike.....preferred choice = Bandit 600 as everybody says that you can't really go wrong with a bandit engine they are bullet proof!

So yesterday after selling 2 SR125's I took the plunge and bought a bandit on Ebay....by auction = £875
Went and picked it up from the other side of Birmingham in the van (Thanks Cab)......was absolutely chuffed to bits all afternoon, took the dogs for a walk in the evening and then decided to go back in our garage for a closer inspection of my purchase.......as we are looking around it, Sophie says to me....."why are there cuts in the engine casing?".....I looked and sure enough there were angle grinder cuts in the casing......oh .....did a text check on the reg and it came back a Cat C.....By this time I am absolutely sick to the gut, I bought a pup!!

Unfortunately in my hast to get a big bike:-
1) Didn't ask for the reg to do a check
2) Didn't check over the bike thoroughly before parting with best part of £900
3) Didn't pay through Paypal so they wont help
4) Didn't check the paperwork thoroughly enough.

Because of that....Trading standards probably wont help.....I'm gutted

I am going to try and phone the lady owner today and appeal to her better nature in the hope she might give me some money back but to be honest she looked the type to say "It's your problem now.....deal with it"

Any advice would be greatly received.....but I think I'm basically stuck with it.

Thanks,

Tamzin.

[Bus Driver 0]

Just been down this road myself. What was the discription when sold ? did it say Cat C if not might have a case with small claims court

[fr499y 0]

How bad is the damage? i bought a cat C bandit a while back, had fire damage and a bit more. New cases/panels/tank and it was up and running, sold it later to a dealer ( who knew it was a cat c ) for £1500. So as long as you can repair it and the engine is good for not much money, try not to get too down over it being a cat C! at the end of the day, its only letters they give depending on how much they want to pay out and how much it will cost to repair IF you bought parts from dealers. Are they deffo cuts in the casing or just where its been launched down the road? another thing that might be worth taking into consideration. Either way, hope you get it sorted and are happy with the outcome

[Chadatious 0]

my bandit was a cat c, but i knew that and i repaired it to mint, when id take it further if not stated then they lied,

[pusycatz 0]

@Bus Driver wrote:

Just been down this road myself. What was the discription when sold ? did it say Cat C if not might have a case with small claims court

Thanks for the quick response.
NO....There was absolutely no mention of the Cat C on the listing so I am also now wondering if the previous lady owner knew.

@fr499y wrote:

How bad is the damage? i bought a cat C bandit a while back, had fire damage and a bit more. New cases/panels/tank and it was up and running, sold it later to a dealer ( who knew it was a cat c ) for £1500. So as long as you can repair it and the engine is good for not much money, try not to get too down over it being a cat C! at the end of the day, its only letters they give depending on how much they want to pay out and how much it will cost to repair IF you bought parts from dealers. Are they deffo cuts in the casing or just where its been launched down the road? another thing that might be worth taking into consideration. Either way, hope you get it sorted and are happy with the outcome

Thanks for the quick response.
You have made me feel a little better about the situation
Yes they are definite angle grinder cuts (probably where they have cut the engine out of another write off) I could buy another engine casing and no-one would be the wiser......just that we think the engine is a possible 1996 and the frame is a 1999.....so we are a bit unsure as to the engine wear, It says 23,000 on the clock but it might have done 70,000 for all we know, other than that it is a pretty sound bike with no other damage

[pusycatz 0]

@Chadatious wrote:

my bandit was a cat c, but i knew that and i repaired it to mint, when id take it further if not stated then they lied,

Thanks Chad,

There seem to be a lot of liars and scammers on Ebay......sign of the times I think.

I'll have to look into possible small claims if she doesn't cough up a bit of refund money, but I know from experience how utterly TOOTHLESS some of these organisations are.

[fr499y 0]

does the engine run? if it sounds pretty spot on and not loud with any knocks then i wouldn't be too concerned they do go on for ever if there looked after.

[Chadatious 0]

They sure are. I've gone off write offs now, my car before the pug wasn't straight, so put me off. My sv I got checked and its all clear, and next bike should be new. When, I think it does pay off to do your research, this day and age.

Before i got my Peugeot 306 I crowed 3 others. All said good cars, first was tatty, second had head gasket gone, and third I suspected stolen, wrong name and address on log book. But 4th was mine nice woman, who was genuine.

[mdhillug03 0]

Just because you did'nt check the HPI/insurance write off status is no excuse. You have been sold an item that was not as advertised (if it did not say Cat c write off) I would.

1. Contact the lady to resolved between yourselves (|Part refund or full refund, its up to you).

2. Contact ebay and report the case.

3.Contact CAB

4. Contact trading standards

Or cut your loss's and notch it up as experience and fix it up to a standard you are happy with and enjoy it.


Good luck Mark.

[dick65 0]

sorry to hear this but easily done when you get a first bike and i agree with all the above advice,as regards the bike id get the tank and panels off and see if all is as it should be,ie is the frame straight does everything line up?and has anything been butchred,also check the forks for straightness etc, whatever you decide i hope it all works out and keep us updated

[pusycatz 0]

@mdhillug03 wrote:

Just because you did'nt check the HPI/insurance write off status is no excuse. You have been sold an item that was not as advertised (if it did not say Cat c write off) I would.

1. Contact the lady to resolved between yourselves (|Part refund or full refund, its up to you).

2. Contact ebay and report the case.

3.Contact CAB

4. Contact trading standards

Or cut your loss's and notch it up as experience and fix it up to a standard you are happy with and enjoy it.


Good luck Mark.

Hi Mark,

after reading all the comments including yours.......I think I've come to the decision that It's going to be a waste of time and more stress than I can be bothered with to try and get a refund.

I'll put it down to experience and do the proper checks in future.

Get the bike done up and go for a ride while there is still some

[stantheman 0]

check that engine number and frame number are correct

[pusycatz 0]

@stantheman wrote:

check that engine number and frame number are correct

Hi Stan,
Frame and engine numbers are both different, hence the cuts in the engine casing.

[stantheman 0]

yes theyre different but you need to check them on the logbook

[pusycatz 0]

@stantheman wrote:

yes theyre different but you need to check them on the logbook

The log book unfortunately is with the previous owner to send off to the DVLA.


I'm going to phone her this evening to see if she still has it and if she can give me the numbers from it, if it's gone in the post yesterday....I'm a bit stuffed

[lee1 1]

As long as the bike is in fairly decent nick then I wouldn't be put off by a cat c

lets face it £800 or so for your first big bike aint bad theres not much else about for that money

as long as all the paper work is ok ect ect then make it your own hope you sort it out

[mdhillug03 0]

Never mind! I'm sure everyone on here will help out as much as they can with advice etc when you are doing it up to whatever standard you are happy with.

[Stue11 0]

Cant really add much as to whats allready been said apart from put it down to experiance for the future

[madsod 0]

@lee wrote:

As long as the bike is in fairly decent nick then I wouldn't be put off by a cat c

lets face it £800 or so for your first big bike aint bad theres not much else about for that money

as long as all the paper work is ok ect ect then make it your own hope you sort it out

if your good with the spanner its a lot of fun also if not then time to start

[cab1 0]

AAArrrggghhh!
Tammy, I can't believe it, I feel so stupid that I didn't do a text check for you when we got there to pick it up. I'm not so sure now that she didn't know it's history. Would you let me talk to her for you? I can be quite persuasive sometimes. I feel really annoyed too now.

[pusycatz 0]

@lee wrote:

As long as the bike is in fairly decent nick then I wouldn't be put off by a cat c

lets face it £800 or so for your first big bike aint bad theres not much else about for that money

as long as all the paper work is ok ect ect then make it your own hope you sort it out

@mdhillug03 wrote:

Never mind! I'm sure everyone on here will help out as much as they can with advice etc when you are doing it up to whatever standard you are happy with.

@Stue11 wrote:

Cant really add much as to whats allready been said apart from put it down to experiance for the future

@madsod wrote:

@lee wrote:

As long as the bike is in fairly decent nick then I wouldn't be put off by a cat c

lets face it £800 or so for your first big bike aint bad theres not much else about for that money

as long as all the paper work is ok ect ect then make it your own hope you sort it out

if your good with the spanner its a lot of fun also if not then time to start

Thank you for all the replies......I'm in the garage now with the engine in pieces lol
The whole situation is resolved now with an added bonus......2 engines ;-)

[pusycatz 0]

@cab wrote:

AAArrrggghhh!
Tammy, I can't believe it, I feel so stupid that I didn't do a text check for you when we got there to pick it up. I'm not so sure now that she didn't know it's history. Would you let me talk to her for you? I can be quite persuasive sometimes. I feel really annoyed too now.

Ooooh Cab your so masterful x
give us a ring and I'll let you know how things got settled :-)

[trebor4460 0]

Sry to hear you got short changed on this, as said cat c ain't a total disaster, am glad you are getting it sorted and hope you get back on the road whilst the sun lasts,

[madcarper 0]

don't worry to much about it being a cat c, i have seen bikes written off for next to nothing damage wise, if it sounds and rides ok and passes an mot it probably is ok .

[mdhillug03 0]

2 engines? How you wangle that

[pusycatz 0]

We threatened to burn her house down



lol.........seriously.....she still had the original (matched with frame number) tucked away in her garage (her brother was going to make it into a go-cart.......but judging by the job he's done on the bike....he's as much use as a chocolate tea pot!

He has decided to let his sister give it to us as we could make more use of it......also the fact it is the ORIGINAL engine.

[dick65 0]

result? happy fettling

[pusycatz 0]

@dick65 wrote:

result? happy fettling

Engine one is back together.....just got a little adjustment to make and engine two will be picked up on Tuesday :-)

[mdhillug03 0]

is right girl!

[Fallen Angel 0]

Thanks guys for all the support and advice you've given to Tammy. I felt that I'd really let her down as I should have been on the more on the ball. All I can say is that I'm not at my best first thing in the morning. The bike itself seems pretty straight although I haven't ridden it more than a couple of hundred yards.

I'm pretty annoyed that it seemed to have 'slipped' mind of the woman who sold it that her chimp of a brother dropped a used motor in 6 months ago but she still made a big deal about the MoT's proving the bikes mileage, cow! The standard of the work is very poor and we've spent today cleaning out the carbs and repairing the throttle cable bracket (which was hanging off). The bike has recently had new throttle cables fitted... badly and as Tammy has only just passed her test I don't want sticking throttles etc. I'll show her how to balance them tomorrow and we'll do a decent service as, even though the woman selling it says it has been serviced I think she just means her incompetent brother has changed the oil as the back brake reservoir is below the minimum level. The oil level in the engine sight glass is only 2/3 of the way up so think we'll go through the bike with a fine tooth comb.

Just a bit gutted that her first experience of owning a big bike has been a bit soured by the dishonesty. Caveat emptor I suppose, especially with fleabay.

[ptolemyx 0]

Firstly, I wouldn't worry too much about a category C (uneconomical to repair) as nowadays just scratch a side panel and the assessor is likely to give a catC assessment.

However, points to ponder.....
Why didn't the seller say it'd had an insurance claim resulting in catC assessment?
Why did the bike have a replacement engine? Though you've now got the original motor also.
Why was the bike sold by "an innocent looking lady" instead of her thug/moron/criminal brother?

Anyways good luck with the Bandit

Old and Disgraceful

[cab1 0]

@Fallen Angel wrote:

Thanks guys for all the support and advice you've given to Tammy. I felt that I'd really let her down as I should have been on the more on the ball. All I can say is that I'm not at my best first thing in the morning. The bike itself seems pretty straight although I haven't ridden it more than a couple of hundred yards.

I'm pretty annoyed that it seemed to have 'slipped' mind of the woman who sold it that her chimp of a brother dropped a used motor in 6 months ago but she still made a big deal about the MoT's proving the bikes mileage, cow! The standard of the work is very poor and we've spent today cleaning out the carbs and repairing the throttle cable bracket (which was hanging off). The bike has recently had new throttle cables fitted... badly and as Tammy has only just passed her test I don't want sticking throttles etc. I'll show her how to balance them tomorrow and we'll do a decent service as, even though the woman selling it says it has been serviced I think she just means her incompetent brother has changed the oil as the back brake reservoir is below the minimum level. The oil level in the engine sight glass is only 2/3 of the way up so think we'll go through the bike with a fine tooth comb.

Just a bit gutted that her first experience of owning a big bike has been a bit soured by the dishonesty. Caveat emptor I suppose, especially with fleabay.

I feel a bit stupid as well to be honest, but there again I'm not always thinking straight when I'm in the company of you two anyway, lol.
If you need any help unloading the engine give me a shout, that's assuming you'll get monkey boy brother to load it in the trailer for you at her end?

[oslin06 0]

If she did not know it was a Cat C then you have no redress, but you could phone DVLA for the numbers and see if they match the paperwork,
It is easy done I went to buy a pan and did an hpi check on it and it came up Cat D the owner did not know and the guy next door who he bought it off did not know either but the owner before those two who lived a few doors down did know and explained how it got the Cat D he lost it going down his very steep drive and the insurance wrote it off but he bought it back and sent it to Honda to be repaired,
But I think your problem is a little different it might be worth doing some homework on it with dvla re last owners addresses etc as well, to find out who did what and why, and I am sure dvla will want to know if the numbers do not match,
Also if any part comes back stolen there will be a case for the Police, that would be very bad news for you as you could loose your money, lets hope not.
Keith.