THanks for the info! But once you get a clean title it doesn't appear to ever go back to a salvage title, correct?

 

Although I have never done it with a bike, I have with a car. If you can get the clean title, it will stay that way.

 

I'm having second thoughts about trying to keep this bike titled as a harley. Do you guys think the bike would be worth considerably less if the title said "2014 Custom" instead of "2008 Harley"?

Also, since my frame is a 2008 softail and my motor is a 2011, I'm not sure having a "2008 Harley" is a good thing, considering the newer motor and other newer parts on the bike.

The easiest thing for me would be to just title it as a "2014 Custom" which is what the Illinois Secretary of State/DMV office told me they would do after an inspection.

What do you guys think?

 

Well, it could be worth less in resale as a 2008 HD but it would be harder to find an appraised value as a 2014 Custom. Also, insurance would be a lot higher on a new (2014) bike that is titled a "custom" than on a HD that is 8 years older. I'd go with the 2008 Softail on the title if it was my project. It would also depend on how many hoops the DMV was going to make me jump through and the cost difference. But, in the end, as long as I could get plates for it, I wouldn't really care what it said on the title if my intention was to ride it rather than sell it.

 

Every state is different but the VIN on the frame will come up in a history search that a prospective buyer would do, if you ever decide to sell it. I'm thinking about going through this process myself and would appreciate it if you could educate us on some of the costs that you have into this so far. Oh, and did you get the insurance appraisers report before you bought the frame? The seller said it was in a fire but you never know for sure.Thanks.

 

The insurance company sold the bike to a shop that stripped it, blasted the frame, and re-powdercoated the frame. He added some parts that he had in the shop (like a front end, fenders, wheels) from other bikes. For whatever reason, he sold it to another guy who owned a salvage yard and has rebuilt bikes in the past. He decided he had too many projects and sold it to me. The guy I bought it from thought the bike was stolen and parted out. After I bought the bike I did a VIN search and discovered the truth, that the bike was actually in a fire. I should have done the VIN search before I bought the frame but the guy I bought it from lived in B.F.E. and there was no internet service and I wasn't smart enough to ask for it ahead of time. No worries, the frame turned out to be straight and appeared to be ok. Inquiries to my good friend who is a weld inspector reassured me that it was probably ok.

Regarding costs...what are you looking for? Cost are all going to depend on where you buy your parts, how much of the mounting hardware you have or don't have, etc, etc.

D

 

Attached are some pictures of my progress:

 

The pics look good so far D. Just wondering how much you have into the project for frame, engine and trans. For anyone else following this thread, I've been looking around on the Copart site for a project bike to turn into a bobber/cafe racer and for anyone else thinking about using Copart,be aware of the following: As a regular guy without a dealer's license, there are only certain states where you can bid on bikes. For instance, I was looking at their NJ location and you have to be a dealer to bid. In Pa where I live, individuals can bid on bikes as well as dealers. More importantly, Copart will not release the insurance appraisers report until AFTER you have bought the bike which is a bunch of BS if you ask me. Because of this, I will not bid on a bike unless I have personally inspected the frame and engine. I don't care about anything else since I'll be stripping it. Copart's fees can be substantial so budget for that as well. Good luck D and keep us posted on your progress and good sources for parts.

 

I like it BEFORE you put all the HD crap on it <grin>. Looks real mean now... sprung seat, springer front end, 60's sportster tank, chopped rear fender... now you're gettin' somewhere! <grin>

Good job... maybe I will try to do the same thing for my next bike... it will be interesting to see if you go carbureted or FI... big cost in getting this thing electrified, too!

Keep posting your progress and thanks!

C#

 

Thanks! I think I paid too much for the "rolling frame" based on the auction sale price I found online. However, I paid about $1800 for it which included the frame, front end, front fender, rear fender, tank, front wheel, rear wheel, shocks, handle bars, and some other minor items. The rear wheel ended up being too small so I can't use it. I bought another wheel from the local speed shop. Bought new front and rear tire at the local HD dealer during Christmas when they had a 50% off tire and service sale. The rear belt sprocket was damaged so I couldn't use it. Everything else was good.

I found the engine on ebay. It was a brand new crate motor never installed. I got it for a hair over $3000. Considering that other brand new crate motors that I looked at were $5k to $6k, I think I did well.

I found a guy online that had a whole bunch of parts he'd taken off a wrecked 2009 softail. I got with him and purchased the whole lot for $1500. I got the inner/outer primary, compensator, clutch, all the hand and foot controls, voltage regulator, stator, transmission, oil tank, headers, pipes, crash bar, handle bars, another belt sprocket, speedo, belt, chain, and several other minor things. The worst part about this buy was that NONE of the mounting bolts/nuts were included. At the time I didn't think this was a big deal, but it was. Additionally, me and my buddy who went with me to look at the parts, did not notice that a couple of the parts had issues. For example, the compensator he sold me was missing one of the disk springs. The tensioner he sold me was missing the wedge, spring, and rod. Oh well, I bought the upgraded screaming eagle tensioner anyway, but on the compensator I had to buy the complete spring kit to replace the one missing spring. And the idiot had opened up the transmission case so I had to pay a guy to go all through it and put it back together. I also paid a shop to go through the clutch to make sure it wasn't burnt up. I paid a little more money to have the transmission, clutch, and compensator gone over, but in the long run I'll have peace-of-mind knowing those items are good.

I also have a buddy who upgraded a bunch of parts on his bike so he's going to let me use whatever I want from his box of parts. So far I spied some handlebars and hand controls that I might use from his stuff.

I recently went to a motorcycle swap meet and purchased an aftermarket strutless rear fender. It appears to be a Demons 9" for a 200mm tire. I had my stock fender strut with me when I bought the fender so I immediately noticed the bolt patterns were different, however, I was able to use this fact to get the price down. It appears this fender normally sells for $170...I bought it for $100. I'm not sure if the curve of the fender will line up with the curve of my wheel...worst case I sell it and get my money back if I can't use it.

Regarding carb versus EFI, I've had a couple guys suggest going carb but I already have the EFI induction module (which I purchased on ebay for $200). I'm not sure what the cost comparison would be for carb versus EFI. My feeling is that EFI would be better and less of a hassle. If the cost difference was several thousand dollars, then I'd be motivated to go carb but if it's less than a $1000, I'm thinking EFI is still the way to go. I dunno. I need to decide soon. I could always resell the EFI induction module if I go carb.

D