HI all, just curious really but would anyone on here a buy a cat D bike?, looking at Moto hub in Stoke's website they have a Bimota SB6 (gsxr1100 motor) for sale its a cat D with full documentation and pictures of the damage and repairs carried out ,TBF it looks nice and you wouldn't know it had been dropped, price doesn't really reflect the cat D status though IMO, if it was a coupla grand cheaper i would possibly be interested, i always fancied one back in the day.
There is a certain stigma to them. However I believe insurance company’s are now more accepting. If you were buying it at the right price and intended to keep it yourself for a lengthy period I would seriously consider it. Just remember it may be slow to resell when you do, plus some dealers won’t part X . Some on here have rebuilt cat D bikes to a fantastic as new standard. Hopefully someone will be along soon!
I own 3 (cat N) but I bought them as damaged repairable and repaired them myself. Never had a single problem with any of them since the repairs but they are worth less than an undamaged bike ( I always reckon on about 20-30 %). Get it at the right price and it will be worth it but don’t pay non damaged prices. Also insurance is no different to any other bike I own.
Cat D (or N as its is now known) is just about the price for me. If I was looking for a bike project and looking to make upgrades and modifications, Cat N is perfect, provided the price is right. It effectively means you're not buying alot of the things you want to junk. Same for Cat N bikes and cars which are now fully repaired, I'd buy if the price is good. To me a good price for a Cat N is at least 30% off, but I have to really want it to cough up at that price, where as at 40% -and they are around- I'm much more open to the idea. Rebuilt at full retail? Unless its massively upgraded I wouldn't consider it at all. I am going to lose 30% as soon as I sell and it may take quite a while to find a buyer.
If the retailer is asking book price for the model year, I'd suggest they are trying to profit from the reappearance of Bimota in WSBK. You said it yourself, if it was a couple of grand cheaper. Andy
Or they bought it without realising/checking it was a cat D/N and are trying to get their money back.
Like @Zeus I have purchased a few Cat N bikes as damage repairables, and repaired them myself Money can be saved/made buying and repairing Cat N bikes, if you choose the right one I bought this one last year, 2019 Kawasaki Versys 650 GT, both sides were damaged, front fender, fog lamp brackets, and quite a few other parts As bought, before repair... After repair.... All replacement panels were genuine Kawasaki, bought from my local main dealer At the time of purchase, an identical 2018 model, with slightly lower mileage, was up for sale at the dealers for £6500 This one owes me £3800, which included a full service and MoT (which it did not require) at the main dealer This is another i have bought and rebuilt, a 2009 gsxr750... Stupidly, I traded it in, privately, for the 996 that I have, with cash his way, big mistake, the 996 was a real shitter, it looked great in the pics though
My Zed became a CAT something - i forget which, bought it back for about 3.5k once theyd wrote it off got 4k back which i threw back into it. Its better than ever now....10 years on - still dont want to sell it.
It’s a simple calculation for me- Is it dirt cheap? Do I plan to keep it forever? If the answer is yes to either then I would go for it. The reality is most buyers won’t touch them unless stupid cheap, and it seems buyers are few and far between at the moment, judging from some great bikes at low prices and still for sale.
Very low volume bikes are often written off because it can be impossible to get parts. A lot of early Castiglioni MV Agustas suffered from this when they factory was having financial troubles, or when they were flooded out. I would suspect Bimota are easily written off for the smallest of damage.
So do you mostly keep the bikes and use them for awhile (or longterm) or typically do this as an interest and income? I think you are the first person I've ever heard describe their 996 as a "shitter", though I'm sure you are remedying that!
Firstly, the black gsxr750 was a buy/sell purchase, but, started to love the bike The Kawasaki Versys 650, that was purchased as a keeper, I go on holiday with my van, use the van as a 'camper' with an awning attached to it, and i use the bike to get around on, do shopping trips, so that I don't have to take the van everywhere The blue/white gsxr750 in the following post to the one you quoted, that was purchased for my eldest son to fix and use once he has his full licence, but,the cockswallowing thundercunt got caught speeding 3 times in one week, on his way home from work, and no insurance company will quote him for it so, I have now bought it from him, still in the process of being fixed Secondly, regarding the term "shitter" for my 996, read it for yourself https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/996-tidy-up.98461/
Its a good thread, you are really on top of the details. But where is the ending? Or maybe a continuation?
More like, happy for now There are still a lot of things I want to get sorted, such as, the panel and screen fixings are wrong, the dzus fasteners are wrong, 3 out of the 4 side panels are aftermarket, need to get some replacements, then they will be off to the paint shop for a respray Now do you understand the "shitter" comment?
Harsh! You and I think in different terms when using that term. LOL. I think its a 26 year old mega bike thats beautiful. The "shitters" are the heretics who didn't look after it properly. OK so the overheating was a nuisance. But think of it as a puzzle that you enjoyed the challenge of solving.... I'm looking forward to the pics.
To be fair, I did say that my 996 "was a real shitter" It is no longer a real shitter, it's just a shitter now Given time, patience, and a lot of money, it will eventually be a nice bike
Yep bought a few normally to use as track bikes. As jez says, it’s about price. I paid about 25% less than non cat price for my 1299
