Wow that stinks! Back in college I bought a bike from some dude in NY, one of the larger financial mistakes I have made in my life. He had it posted on ebay and ended up not selling it, which should have been a clue. I was probably so awestruck and euphoric about actually buying a bike that things like that did not phase me. Even after driving 4 hours to get the bike I still agreed on the purchase. The next day after starting to take the bike apart to clean it and figure out what it needed, only then I realized the horror and mistake I made. I called the guy up and he said I could bring the bike back but would only give me a 1/3 of what I bought it off of him for. We went rounds a little and then said he would report the bike stolen if I did not complete the transaction (because I still owed him about 5-600, something like that).
Stupid and naive, I paid it and just decided I would fix it up and just enjoy it for what it was. Of course as I do all things, I went way over the top and ended up doing everything and anything to that bike. All said in done it was a "new" bike from front tire to rear, everything was replaced or adjusted, all bearings, fittings, I even replaced some of the farings, gas tank, rear sets. I still have most the receipts and think the total came out to a little over 14k (again young and stupid, it was probably more then that because I had everything on a credit card and it took me a couple years to pay it off). It was a 1995 ZX-9R that I had bought in 2003 just to give you an idea. I wish I would have bought a brand new bike lol, would have cost me less probably!
It never got completed and I ended up moving from the area so I wanted to take the bike with me. I loaded it up and was going to move it temporarily to a storage shed before my move, I accidentally dropped it from the truck when trying to unload it, it hit the ramp then flipped off the ramp onto the ground. There was so much frustration involved, so much money wasted. I ended up selling it to someone for about $4k if I remember correctly, that person got a steal! It did get banged up here and there but the engine was better then new (had a wiesco big bore kit in it that punched it to a 950), a stage-2 dynajet kit installed, full d&d exhaust, new intake (argh cannot remember the brand (would have to look at receipts)). Just to give you an idea as to the attention I had put into it, the rear hub was powder coated to match the bike, along with the bottom of the front forks. I even had a nickel-plated chain and used white grease so it was even nice and shiny. If a part didn't look new or couldn't be reconditioned to look new, I had it replaced.
Anyway, yeah so this isnt as bad as what happened to this guy but this came to mind and how frustrating it is dealing with dishonest people.
