...well..let me be clear I guess..you DO have to have half a brain when buying one of these....if you can't tell if a bike is hacked..then don't go into that world..but in Mass, they have to be put back together per the insurance appraisal, with traceable receipts for all the parts used...even salvaged parts have to have the VIN number of what they came off of, and there is this thing called "the test ride"...I know my business...it's not bad advice...lots of people do it...there's money to be made in it...and deals to be had...just have to know what you're doing...

 

My bike was a salvage title.I had to buy a throttle grip,mirrors,and battery to get to pass the PA safety insp. I put 3.5k miles on it so far no problems yet. Yeah it's not as pretty as one off dealers showroom but it runs great and someday I'll get all the cosmetic damage fixed. (Check the pics in my garage)I'm not sure if I would buy one thats already fixed like the one your looking at unless they have pics of the damage before they fixed it.But as far as buying a salvage title as long as you can see the damage don't be scared as long as you willing to do a little work on it. I have also bought 2 cars that had salvage titles the last 1 (96 chrysler sebring convertible) treated me good I had 180k miles before i got rid of it.The car i'm driving now (04 honda civic) is a flood recovery that had a salvage title it currently has 151k miles on it so far with no problems. You can save a lot of money with a salvage titled vehicle as long as you do your home work before you buy. Oh yeah I paid 6,500.00 for my bike with only 11,700 miles on it.For a 03 flhrci I think thats a pretty good deal. Good luck to you.

 

I would like that link also. I will by every bike you don't buy! I have been driving salvaged vehicles all my adult life, including cars, trucks, bikes, snowmobiles, and campers. In thirty five years of driving and owing vehicles, I have only owned a few that were not rebuilt. I know that there are many horror stories out there about rebuilt vehicles, but there are also many good deals to be had. Most rebuilders do a very thorough job of repairing these vehicles, but the few bad ones spoil it for the rest of us.I know that the ones I have rebuilt have been safe and reliable, and I have never had trouble selling any of my rebuilds, in fact I have many repeat customers. I would never have been able to afford to drive some of the bikes and cars I have owned if it were not for the savings of buying and repairing salvaged vehicles. Just wanted to tell the other side of the story, however, if you are worried about a rebuilt title, I would suggest you buy a different bike.

 

I have to back up JMcDonald5 here, and also cite Harleyheaven (think I got his handle right), as well as personal and professional experience. JMcdonald5 clearly knows what he's talking about, and is not blowing smoke just to make a point. He cites facts and figures to back up his position, and thoroughly rebutted 99%er's dismissal of his post.

We have had a lot of police bikes go down with just the type of damage I suspect the RK in question here sustained over the years (we ran RK's from '98-'08). It was pretty rare to have one "totalled", but our municipality is self insured. The bolt on parts are easily replaced, and frame damage is fairly rare.

I believe that the OP should carefully read JMcDonald5's post, as well as the other posts in this thread, do his homework and make an informed decision. I personally believe, especially after these last posts, that he will not go wrong if he gets this bike for a good price if everything checks out. In the end it is his decision, no matter what the rest of us think. Good luck, whatever you decide!

 

Sorry about the typo/screw up second paragraph. should have read- "RK in question here sustained. Over the years.."

 

most harley touring bikes that are totaled, are just totaled because the crash bar frame mount bends a litte = a new frame and 12-20 hours of labor to fix..or you could hold a hammer behind the tab and hit it once or twice with another hammer on the front to fix the frame. after that it is just some body work, fork tubes, and handle bars... i have seen so many $10k estimates that could be fixed better then new for less then $1500.. i ride a 01 EGC with a salvage title, i bought it 4 years ago wrecked for $4300 when bikes like it were selling for $10k.. there was and still is no chance of me coming up with 10k. so i would still be riding my shovelhead if it wasn't for that deal.. i had to straiten the crash bar tab, replace the fairing shell, bars, fork stantion tubes,and i through the busted tour pak out. then pay $50 to get it inspected.. four of the best vehicles i have ever owned had salvage titles.. after an inspection,it is a clear title with "rebuilt salvage" written in the corner. and it costs a whole lot less.

 

Lots of good points here that point out the benefits of buying salvage.
Matter of fact, I have put together quite a few bikes in my day and it always worked out OK.
Now just keep in mind the Original posters question.
Is it fair to assume he has the same skill set and resources you or I do?
I couldbe wrong but Im thinking he probably doesnt because he is looking to buy a salvage bike from a retail dealer not an auction or ins company.
No chance of him getting burned? Is that what you all are sayin?? I think that is the question he needs answered.

 

I agree with jmacdonald5. I also think - and this is just what I think based on almost 20 years as a dealer tech at Mercedes Benz dealers - that a HD dealer would not sell a salvage bike if it hadn't been thoroughly inspected and was unquestionably safe and sound. There's too much liability for them to do anything else. There's no way a HD dealer can afford to stay in business taking a risk like selling an unsafe bike. Whether it's a deal at $7K or not is another question, and I'm not offering an opinion on that, because I haven't really been paying attention to used bike prices. That's because I still ride my '02 Road King with 72K miles on it which I bought (lightly used) in '02 and have no intention of selling it. So for a guy like me, who keeps a bike for a long time, the resale value of a salvage title wouldn't be much of an issue.

While I am not offering an opinion on the value of the bike in question, I crashed my bike in the summer of '10, pretty hard, when it had ~65,000 miles on it. The initial insurance estimate was ~$5,500 with the total insurance payout (after a supplemental claim) coming to something like ~$6,900. This was all "cosmetic" damage, by the way, except for the already noted crash bar mounting tabs (front and rear) being bent. Every piece of sheet metal or fibrerglass was damaged except the right side cover and the rear fender, along with bars, headlight nacelle, etc, etc, etc. Since the bike was 8 years old at the time and had ~65K on it I was worried that the ins co would total it but they didn't. So that tells me that the value of my bike was at least $7,333, using the initial insurance estimate of $5,500 as 75% of the total value of the bike. So using that logic, it would seem to me that an '04 Road King Classic with ~25K on the clock might be worth the same, which is the dealer's asking price.

I'm not saying it's a guaranteed "good deal", but I would bet that it's a guaranteed safe bike. And it seems to me like it's at least not a bad deal, even at the asking price. And we all know that the asking price is just that. There is no doubt at all you could get $500 to $1,000 knocked off the price just by asking, especially if you were going to close the deal that day. As for cash or financed, the dealer isn't going to jump for joy at cash or give you a better deal for it. That only works if they're hiding money, and it's highly unlikely that a HD dealer is doing that. Again, too much risk. Besides that, the banks pay the dealer for their business; the dealer would rather that you finance the bike, they make more money. A cash deposit and good credit, as well as being ready to close the deal on the spot - that will get you a good deal just as fast as a cashier's check. So, do your homework, maybe bring a buddy to look it over, ask to have "your mechanic" come to the dealer and look at it on the lift, take it for a road test (the dealer close by here will let you road test any used bike you're looking at as long as you sign a waiver and have a mc license). Then, if you're comfortable, go ahead and buy it. That's what I'd do, anyhow.

 

Buy it....Bike has been fixed back to A condition....doesnt take much to total a bike these days...start pricing chrome and paint at the dealer...!! Let your Screamin' Eagle RK fall over and bend the floor board mount...call your insurance company....thats called a frame swap....and a hard bag, headlight nacelle etc....do the math.

26kmiles isn't sh&t....take it for a ride...I live in upstate NY and rk's with 20k miles or so are still selling for $10-12k easy...depending on the day....Salvage title doesnt mean anything....

Would you rather try and re-sell a bike you have $15k into or $7....? Tell me where it is ....I'll buy it tommorow.

You can have your $25k bikes.....I'll put a down payment on another house and ride my "SALVAGE" bike any day of the week.

 

I've been on both sides, learned a valuable lesson buying a repaired bike from someone I didn't know.... It all worked out in the end but some "tense" moments to say the least - I have an awesome mechanic, he saved me.

In saying this, I've bought 3 other bikes that I repaired. I have very little if any mechanical skills and no bodyshop skills.

I just bought a 2008 street glide for instance, no idea in the world why this bike was considered salvage. Both bags were scratched on the rear, throttle grip was ripped, and the tab on the crash bar was bent.

I received a clearance letter from the original dealer - owner spent over $4000 in extras - I paid less than 25% of initial cost and had to repair the above damage.

I will agree though - be careful as I've seen bikes that have no business being repaired. My advice is buy before it's repaired or at least see the bike first. It's the same as any other business, a few crooks people exploit everyone. Go figure....