I’ve left a 50 quid deposit on it as it’s in great condition bar a few scratches here and there. However since seeing it a couple of things have been going round in my head.
First is the mileage, the odo says just under 6000 but that seems incredibly low for the age (it’s an 05 plate) and for having had 4 previous owners. Which I guess is the risk with a stolen/recovered bike. But the general condition of the bike doesn’t seem to indicate that it’s done a huge amount of miles, the rad looks almost new (barely any bent fins etc). However according to the HPI check it had a change of colour 12 months ago, the paintwork looks reasonable but doesn’t look like it was taken care of after the respray.
Secondly, the logbook and HPI check says it is an ABS model yet the bike itself doesn’t appear to be equipped with ABS. The VIN and engine numbers match the logbook. The HPI (provided by the seller, marked “for internal use only” from ASM Auto Recycling LTD and dated 14/08/2012 which he says was done when he got the bike) also says that the bike was a cat D for Damage, not Theft. Obviously I will do my own check before I do the deal, any advice on the best place to do this?
Yeah thanks Jaime, I left a deposit so he ended the ad
I really like the bike, and at that price it’s a real bargain. I’m not overly mechanically minded, mainly due to lack of experience really, but everything seemed ok and felt/looked right. As far as I can tell it all seems legit enough, just those couple of niggles really.
Right, I’ve just done an HPI check at carcheckuk.co.uk and it has come back as follows:
Model: SPRINT ST 1050 (ABS)
Colour: BLACK
This vehicle has not been reported stolen
This vehicle has not been scrapped
This vehicle is not on the high risk database
This vehicle has not had it’s plates changed
This vehicle has not changed colour
Last Keeper Change: 28/05/2012
Status: CAT D VEHICLE DAMAGED
So really the only thing that has me puzzled now is the ABS thing
“according to the HPI check it had a change of colour 12 months ago”
“This vehicle has not changed colour”
that’s worrying.
It smells to me like it was recovered from a crash and the person who repaired it removed the ABS. possibly because they bent the wheel and replaced it with a non-abs one. while he was there he resprayed it and put a new set of clocks on it too, hence the 6000 miles (in 1 year). does he have any of the old MOT certificates? ask him to get them.
The HPI check and V5 say it’s black and the bike is black so that doesn’t bother me too much.
That’s a good thought about the wheel and clocks I hadn’t considered that. I’ll see if he has any of the old MOT certs but I doubt he has what with it having been a write-off.
Anyone in the Dunstable/Hemel/Luton area fancy coming and giving me a second opinion on the bike? The guy’s holding the bike for me as long as I want so there’s no major rush.
agreed on £2500. Like I said it all seemed legit, the bike was at his house, dog, kids, partner etc were all there, he was chatting to the neighbours as they walked past etc…
I stopped off at my local triumph dealer this afternoon to ask about the ABS, the technicians weren’t in today but the salesman’s immediate reaction was that they’d probably changed the wheel. The brakes will still work the ABS just doesn’t kick in as there’s no sensor. I’ll be heading back to the dealership on monday to have a chat with one of their technicians though just to be sure
Cheap enough to potentially make it attractive then - if I were to buy it I’d want to strip the fairings off, check everything thoroughly and so on, maybe even take a mechanic with me. If it’s been down there could be lots of expensive hidden damage.
The fact that there’s no other interest and he’s willing to hold it for you says either he’s really nice or there’s something else going on.
He said he’d had a few emails and 50 odd views on the ad, he put the ad up on thursday night and I went and viewed it yesterday, he said it’s been sitting for a while so space isn’t really an issue either. I was going to offer him a bigger deposit but he said he was happy with 50 quid just to show that I was serious.
Ideally I need someone slightly more mechanically minded or at least with more experience than me to come and have a look before I hand over the ful amount.
I know of a guy up that way somewhere that might pop along for a small fee/few beers, very good mechanic so could be invaluable to prevent making a big mistake!
