Hi All,
Just test drove my first K75s yesterday (which was freaking awesome), and I'm curious what people think about the "danger/deal" quotient is on this particular bike. It's my first bike, but I was pretty comfortable taking it around the city and in traffic, although I am also considering the merits of riding a lighter bike to make the learning curve a little less curvy.
It's a '94 with a salvaged title, being sold out of a shop here in San Francisco for $3k. Apparently, it was totaled after someone tried to steal the bike by drilling though the ignition, and the replacement part was more than the value of the bike. (Other damage was pretty superficial, small scuffs on the handles and the fairing, but nothing obviously repainted, so I trust the guy so far as that's concerned). As to the ignition, it seems like they hastily repaired it with an OEM part, although it's missing the top locking ring which keeps the cylinder from being easily pushed through the housing (doesn't bother me much, and seems like an easy fix for me later on).
More importantly, the ABS and Bulb Monitor lights never stopped blinking, and the mechanic didn't seem entirely sure why or how to fix either of them (or just didn't want to deal with it, and was waiting for someone else to buy it without asking). From reading up on this site (which is amazing, by the way), I now know that this could be either a type I or II fault, and I just won't know until I buy the thing or have another mechanic look at it. Otherwise, the breaks felt great and responsive. And I noticed that the left turn signal was in hyperflash, so that could also be what the Bulb Monitor was freaking out about.
My gut is to either ask the shop to get to the bottom of the ABS issue, or to knock $500 off to cover the risk I'm taking. I'm seeing prices on 94 K75S's all over the board in different states, from $2000-5000, and I'm trying to get a sense if this is a huge gamble or a small gamble on my part? I don't mind messing around with electrical quirks and troubleshooting, but I would love to avoid spending 3k on a bike only to find out that it'll need another 2k just to get up and running.
And then there's the issue of the salvaged title. Geico ran the VIN and said they'd offer me their regular rate, not higher on account of the distressed title, so that's less of an issue. But I am concerned that, in the event that this bike needs a lot more work, that I will have trouble off-loading it with the title issues. Or maybe that's not something people care about?
And So, oh wise and trusted motobrickers... what should I do?
