Thinking about buying a wrecked 97 VFR 750

I was looking at a wrecked and totaled 97 VFR 750, this bike has no title cause its been totaled by the insurance co.
It starts and runs good, 22K miles, the only damage is the right front turn signal is broken out with the fairing cracked above and below the lens and the top frame on the left side is scratched, a dent on top of the gas tank, and the right mirror is broken off. I rode it up to 50mph, rides perfect.
I can buy it for $800
Question: Since the bike has no title and wrecked, is it going to be a hassle to get it titled and legal for the street?
Or; would it be a good investment to buy this bike and part it out and sell the parts on E Bay?
Are used parts in high demand for this bike, or what parts of this bike are valuable?
I already own 2 bikes a Yamaha FZ6 and a Suzuki M50
maybe I might like the VFR better than what I own now.
I am asking you owners and experts for suggestions, would you buy it?

 

If I needed hard parts for a project I would buy it. With out a salvage title or standard title, I wouldn't touch it. In many states, it could NEVER be street legal. The engine could make a very cool SxS for off road use. You could find a titled frame and transfer the parts to it.

 

Check your local state DMV for details, some times they can be titled only after a state inspection shows it street worthy it can be titled via a lost title application, well here in WA. they can, I've done it. Only catch up here is you have to own it for 3 years before you can sell it. some kind of probation thing in making sure no previous legal owner has rights to it. so do your home work. on the matter of is it worth $800 Hell yes.

 

if you buy it to part out, and the left upper fairing is in good shape, i would buy it from you.

 

the main thing is, has the frame been damaged, but if she rides straight and feels right and shows no evidence she hit hard on the front wheel.......
at that price, it's a steal.
don't let the rules made by corrupt, stupid political appointees determine your future...there's always a way around.
as stated above, laws vary, but check your DMV for rules.
i bought my '97 in very similar circumstances and paid $150 for state inspection to get it back on road.
the bike has terrific potential, so go for it, and don't look back!!

 

I bought my current 96 wrecked (every body part damaged except tank) with good title and parted out all the unnecessary items during my conversion.

IF the rest of plastics are good or very lightly damaged, then you can easily part it out for some good bucks. Frame is worthless without title except for a track bike which 4gens aren't in demand (LOL). Figure about $2500+ or so if you can sell the motor/frame too.

 

the idea that bike is worthless without title is misleading.....you only need to check YOUR state regulations.
ask at any salvage yards or on your local bike websites.

 

yes, check your state regulations first. I bought my bike wrecked-2000 vfr-and I am so damm glad I did. I checked the basic stuff before I bought it, I was particularly concerned about the steering head and front forks but everything was ok, mine was basically remove bad parts replace with good parts and go. Believe me a VFR is really a very cool bike. And then if you bought it you would get to communicate with all us crazed VFR guys.
Anyway good luck eddie

 

I found out some more information. I have to take that bike to a licenced salvage dealer to have it inspected, when it passes, he starts the paperwork to get a new " R " Title. The state will research the VIN Number of the bike and make sure no liens and the bike isn't reported stolden.
Then the state will produce a new " R " Title for the bike.
In the meantime I sent the VIN Number to my insurance co for a quote on the cost to insure the bike, no responce from them yet.
Its a gamble cause I think my insurance co won't talk to me untill the bike has a title and I am at their mercy what the cost will be to insure it.
Another thing I found out is the left side of the frame was scratched cause the bike was picked up sideways by a forklift.
Thank You for your help, you people got me excited about buying it.

 

good work Mr. Moto...what state are u located??

those rules sound fairly easy to deal with.

BTW your price to buy that bike is VERY low, and many salvage bikes with similar damage go for twice that ....or more!

 

Be careful with that title!!! I have known people who have rebuilt bikes only to have the DMV pull the plug at the last minute AFTER the bike is complete. Go by what the STATE says, not what this guy or that guy said. Lots of people give advise when they know less about it than you do. I just had a title issue, pain in the a$$.
I had to change the frame on my '03 Honda ACE (don't ask why, long story). The new frame (from Honda) came in with no VIN number, so I had to get the state to issue a VIN number for a bike which I already owned!! It took 5 months and a ton of paperwork, but finally got it all done.

 

Squirrely,

I said the FRAME is worthless (streetwise) without a title not the bike. Folks will pay for a frame, sans title, for trackbike use but that's usually for "track weapons" and not 10 year old 4th gens.

I've bought, owned, transferred, converted, and sold several salvage title bikes.

 

much as i LOVE VFRs, it aint the best track bike!!

so fotomoto is exactly right!

 

If you buy the bike, get the title and set off on this awesome crusade, make SURE and get the thing Computrack'd - then and only then will you truly know just how straight it really is. Either that or you can tell me to get F'd and wonder why your tires are wearing so funny after a 100 miles................

 

Computrack is a great way for folks with tons of money to confirm that their shit is straight.....or not.

for the rest of us, who buy salvage -title bargans drastically discounted, we look to see if the front wheel has taken a hit and if the bike tracks straight and can be ridden hands-off with no wobble. call it an empirical computrack!

the steps to check for tight front end should, of course, always be followed before purchase, most especially on a "wrecked" bike. Is it tight??

picture: junk yard bike, tracks straight, affordable!

 

Like I said, you can just tell me to get F'd. Anybody got a cigarette?

 

I am in Pennsylvania
Its hard getting anybody on the phone for information cause everybody is off for the holiday.
The Interceptor was always my dream bike but the price of them was outta my price range and all the local Honda Dealers in my area are crooks and rip-offs.
Its almost impossible to find a used one cause its understandable the people that own them keep them.
I wanted a newer model with the 800cc engine and EFI, but will settle for the 97.
I want a sport-tour bike to take on long road trips, the guys I ride with own the Honda VTX1800, Triumph Tiger, and the V Strom 1000, and i believe the Interceptor would be a better match with those bikes.

 

I decided not to buy it cause its going to be a hassle to get it on the road.
Now I am looking at used ones, I found a 2001 with 8000 miles for $4900, and a new 07 leftover w/o abs with the blue and white color for $8700.
I need to sell my FZ6 girly bike and I figure I can get at least $3500 for it.
I'm dragging my feet right now cause its the middle of winter and I have taxes to pay, but I want one soooo bad, im now dreaming of a long touring road trip and the Interceptor is the right bike to do it.
Some people, even dealers tell me the Interceptor's engine is expensive to maintain, and dealer mechanics lack any skill how to repair one cause so few were sold in my area. Its a bike that not many Honda dealers stock cause they can't sell them. I don't know if thats true or not, but why would a Honda Dealer try to talk me out of a Interceptor??
One of the major reasons I want one is because nobody else owns one.
Don't it bug you guys when you see some poser owning and riding the same bike you own? It bothers me, I mean I concider myself a long term biker that owned a bike when bikes were not popular, then when I see some loser that never rode a bike before owning a top of the line bike and he shows off like he's Joe Cool and Mr Bike Expert, I wanta grab him by the neck and rip him off that bike! maybe its just me, but thats the way I feel.
sorry I lost it, I didn't mean any disrespect to anybody in this forum.

 

Is this the same poster who posted up on the SCPMC forum about buying a wrecked VFR? At any rate, it was a good move not to buy it especially with PA's reconstruction regs. I was going to try that route with an '01 VTR a few years back but decided against it. The surest way to ressurrect a wrecked bike in PA that has been totaled by the ins. co. is to do a frame swap with a clear titled frame. Then there are few if any questions from the state and as far as the state of PA knows you bought a complete bike and ot just a frame when the title work is all said and done. That's how I pulled it off with the '01. On the other hand I have a '99 VFR that is wrecked and by anyone considered a totaled bike. BUT I still own it with a clear title and was paid a settlement by insurance for my loss, all in PA.