In other countries with a worse climate than Spain, it is normal not to be able to enjoy riding a motorcycle during the winter. For this reason, bikers often look for a way to entertain themselves by means of a winter garage project.
A restoration, a thorough repair or even buying one crashed motorcycle To do a project yourself in the garage, they are common in these places. Now, if you want to face something like this, you must take into account several factors and the first is that in Spain a motorcycle, if it is not provisionally deregistered, must have insurance even if you do not use it. It is good that you take a look at a motorcycle insurance comparison site such as Rastreator, where you can see which is the cheapest insurance you can take out.
Once the legal aspects have been clarified, we would like to give you a series of guidelines to follow if you have decided to buy a damaged motorcycle. Whether it is to test your skills as a mechanic, or simply because you want to save a few euros on your “new” motorcycle, things must be done calmly and taking into account various factors.
Have you ever heard that cheap is expensive? Well, that is what can happen when you buy a damaged motorcycle and you have not been 100% sure of its condition. Whether it is mechanical or structural, we cannot ignore different issues related to these aspects.
What will be the use of the accidented motorcycle that we buy?
This is perhaps the first question we should ask ourselves if we are thinking of buying a motorcycle that has been damaged. It is not the same thing if we are thinking of buying a city scooter for daily travel, than a high-performance motorcycle with which to take to the road for long journeys.
In this context, it is not the same to repair a crashed motorcycle that is simple in technical terms, than any other loaded with electronic elements or cutting-edge technologies. That is why we must bear this initial question in mind, because undoubtedly the level of demand when it comes to repair will not be the same in both cases.
What are our technical and knowledge resources to carry out this work?
The second question we should ask ourselves in this regard is whether we have the necessary tools and technical knowledge to be able to undertake the repair of an accidented motorcycle. Because we must keep one thing in mind: what at first may seem like a simple bodywork and paint repair can turn out to be a laborious and tedious process in equal parts.
That is why, at this point, we will need a certain amount of knowledge of mechanics or bodywork repair to undertake the operation with a minimum guarantee of success. In addition, to be able to carry out these jobs we will also need to have all the tools and utensils that are needed in each part of the process.
Otherwise, we will have to resort to professionals in the sector to undertake these repairs, with all that this entails in economic terms. What may seem like a bargain at first glance can turn into a bottomless pit if we are not capable of carrying out these tasks ourselves.
Very important! What is the extent of the damage to our crashed motorcycle?
It is vitally important to know exactly what parts or repair tasks we will have to change or undertake on the damaged motorcycle we are thinking of buying. That is why checking the condition of the motorcycle before carrying out the operation becomes essential to avoid later problems.
In this section there are three key points to take into account and which we must take into account in order to calculate, approximately, how much it will cost us to repair the damaged motorcycle that we want to buy: Engine, chassis and electronics. This last section, if we are talking about a motorcycle that carries notable elements related to it, something, on the other hand, very common in new generation mounts.
To do this, we must carry out a thorough review of them, checking if the bike starts, if there is any significant structural damage or if the electronic systems it includes are working correctly. If necessary, we advise you to turn to a professional for approval before getting into a project of this type.
Legal status of our accidented motorcycle
Last but not least, there is the administrative issue. That is, the legal status of the damaged motorcycle we want to buy. It may still be registered with the traffic authorities or, on the contrary, it may have been temporarily deregistered. Even worse, for some reason its owner decided to deregister it permanently.
If we find a motorcycle that has had an accident and is administratively classified as one of the latter, we advise you to turn the page and look for something else. In addition, it is always a good idea to ask for a traffic report where we can check if the vehicle is up to date with the MOT, or if it has any specific charge or lien that prevents it from being transferred.
If you have come this far and you still have a clear idea that you want to get hold of a damaged motorcycle, for whatever reason, to start a personal project, go ahead. Of course, take things slowly, repair or replace all the damaged parts (it is vitally important for your safety!) and, above all, enjoy every step of the process. It will provide you with a series of knowledge and experiences that are worth experiencing if you are passionate about two wheels.