Advice needed - re-vinning a bike

[aum108]

Hi all,

(my first post in kiwibiker.co.nz)

I live in Hamilton, and I'm trying to get my hands on a working 250cc road bike on the tightest budget imaginable.

One option is a damaged 2005 model Suzuki, which is coming up for sale and is being sold de-registered, with light to moderate damage.
The obvious repairs will cost me about $300 in parts, but I feel a bit nervous about this because:

I'm not a bike mechanic
I don't know any bike mechanics
I've never re-VINned a vehicle
There's a risk that the re-VINning could come up with a lot more expensive 'surprises'
The total cost of buying the bike, repair, re-VINning and rego could end up much more than a similar bike in good nick on TradeMe

One idea I've had is to arrange to borrow the bike and take it to VTNZ for a re-VIN attempt. For $150 I get a definite checklist of the repairs needed.

Can anyone suggest a better option? Is there a way I can get the bike expertly checked out for less than the $150?
Or should I just walk away and wait till I've got the cash to buy a bike with current WOF and rego?

Cheers
a

[Mrs Shrek]

Hi all,

(my first post in kiwibiker.co.nz)

I live in Hamilton, and I'm trying to get my hands on a working 250cc road bike on the tightest budget imaginable.

One option is a damaged 2005 model Suzuki, which is coming up for sale and is being sold de-registered, with light to moderate damage.
The obvious repairs will cost me about $300 in parts, but I feel a bit nervous about this because:

I'm not a bike mechanic
I don't know any bike mechanics
I've never re-VINned a vehicle
There's a risk that the re-VINning could come up with a lot more expensive 'surprises'
The total cost of buying the bike, repair, re-VINning and rego could end up much more than a similar bike in good nick on TradeMe

One idea I've had is to arrange to borrow the bike and take it to VTNZ for a re-VIN attempt. For $150 I get a definite checklist of the repairs needed.

Can anyone suggest a better option? Is there a way I can get the bike expertly checked out for less than the $150?
Or should I just walk away and wait till I've got the cash to buy a bike with current WOF and rego?

Cheers
a

Hey there
welcome to KB
How much have you got to spend?

[Warr]

Hi aum108,
Welcome to KB, darn about being stuck on your learners
There is a biker guy (Gil Tuffin) in Hams who is able to do the re-cert or is it the engineers report .. cant remember.
Try using the search function on here for the tales of woe from others who have tried what you are embarking on!
Else I could send you Gil's number in a private message :)

[aum108]

Hey there
welcome to KB
How much have you got to spend?

Struggling to get above 3 figures at this point. I could wait till a bit into the new year then I could pick up something clean from TradeMe I suppose. If you could send me Gil's number that would be great :)

Cheers
a

[NinjaNanna]

with that budget 1 small "unexpected" expense is going to leave you with a pile of crap lying around in the garage that you can't afford to finish.

[fastoyz]

if you have no mechanical experience i wouldnt recommend taking on a project with no money, the actual re vin / cert is very easy, but you will be looking at around $700 for cert/vin/rego. with 300 in repairs your over 3 figures without even buying the bike. to have it looked at you`d be better off taking it to someone who does wofs and pay them $25 to to a cash wof check, then just measure the discs and check the lights/signals/reflectors have dot markings. if no issues with those you would have no problem with the re vin (as long as the cert clears it straight)

[aum108]

I guess I'm better off with plan B - buying something decent on finance.
Thanks for the replies folks. You might have saved me a nightmare :)
Cheers
a

[NinjaNanna]

or wait and save a few more pingas.

[MyGSXF]

Definately better off trying to save some more money, or going through finance if you can & getting a better bike. (read the fine print! :shifty:) eg: that you are not penalised if you want to pay it off earlier, than the contract states.... Also buying from a recognised dealer, then you have the Consumers Guarantees Act to fall back on if anything should be amiss in the early stages. & you should also get good followup service from that shop.. because they want your repeat buisiness! Check/ask around on here to get feedback from others as to who has a good reputation in Hamilton & what sort of follow up sales/ service & experiences they have had dealing with the shops...

Once you have a bike & a licence, get in touch with Andrew at www.roadsafe.co.nz & find out when their next rider training course is happening in Hamilton (subsidised by the local Council & ACC).. they usually cost $20.00 for a full day! Extremely well worth doing!!!!!!!!! :first:

PS: if you don't have a licence yet.. give Andrew a call anyway & have a chat about the whole thing.. he may be able to take you through the BHS test on the day of the training course... not positive.. but potentially can be done, depending on numbers of people on the day.. etc.. :yes: