Parting out perfectly good trikes...what?

[kybishop]

Is it just me or does it bother anybody else when perfectly good trikes,bikes,vehicles are ripped a part and parted out. Is the only reason this is done is purely for personal gain. One of the most recent posts in the ATV classifieds is an 86 200x and 86 350x, both run excellent with "mint" frames and nothing wrong with them but the kill switch on the 200x. Why on earth would you rip these things apart other than money? To me it makes no sense and is ablolutely not worth the money, I would care if I could double or triple the money, I wouldn't rip a good bike apart.

[yamaha225dx]

I personally have not parted out a trike, but I see the reasoning behind it. Let's say you restore a trike and have say 3,000 or so into it. We'll unless it is in absolutley mint shape and everything is oem (at 3000 you can not restore to Oem unless you stole the trike, I am speaking 250r 85-86 here) So you know nobody is going to pay that much for the trike... How do you salvage a little money. Part the thing out. I had 2 200x's for sale and they didn't bring 1000. I could have parted them out and made more then that off of them but I didn't. Everybody complains when somebody parts something out but when they are the ones that need the parts they don't want to buy a 1500 parts trike. (to get good parts off of) But rather they will buy the part on ebay or here for a bargain. (bargain meaning not the whole trike).... Hope this helps ya.

[jdparsons1]

Everybody also complains that it is ruining a completely good trike but you also have to look at the fact that it is bringing to life probably many more. I've never parted one out but im thinking about parting this damn little atc 70 out. I have so much wrapped up into it and im just not happy with the way it runs.

[XDAWG]

The good part is, parting one trike out could bring 10 back to life.

XDAWG

[Wickedfinger]

I agree that to sacrifice a few to save many is always a good thing - unless there is a better solution - and with OEM prices the way they are, there isnt one. Just don't fool yourselves into thinking its not about money though - it ALWAYS is.

[84250r]

The way i see is more trikes are getting parted then being saved. Its good to see the parts going to good use though.

[200xalltheway]

The good part is, parting one trike out could bring 10 back to life.

XDAWG

i agree. just one trike parted out can give life back to several trikes, but the bad thing is you see those beautiful trikes being torn up. :(

[Howdy]

Which would be better?
#1 A trike getting into the hands of some fool who will trash the machine to bits ( FUBAR ).

Or

#2 It is parted out to help 5, 10 20 or more other machines still breath life or be restored.

I have parted ot a few good machines. While I do not like to do this all the time, where I am located it it hard to get Fair Market value for a good machine. TimSr once said "I am a Ebay prostitute." I can very well take claim of that title also.
90-95% of the machines We buy are parts machines at best. I feel a parts machine is one that would cost more to fix up than it would be worth. Those machines are parted out to help save other machines.

Just my 2 1/2 cents.
Howdy

[kybishop]

If you want to part one out just to try and get your money back, parting one out takes a whole lot of time and money in it self. Think about home much time you spend just with trying to make one sell, selling the bike whole. People that back out or don't show up. Okay, think about doing this for each and every part on your trike. Add to this physically dissassembling it. Then, think about time packing and shipping a large percentage of these parts. How much is your time worth? There is no good reason to part a good bike or auto out. Part the beaters and junkers out, sell the others and keep them out there. Some of us are restoring beaters and destroying original complete bikes. I just bought an ATC 70 not long ago for $100. The fellow gave me the receipt where he put $600 in it then parked it. I have done the same. If you have not parted anything out, be prepared for lots of time and trouble. If the thing is not any good whole, certainly the parts can help keep other trikes going.

Just to say you would rather part it than sell it and it get abused makes no sense. You could sell the parts and they could go on ten different bikes that get abused. Keep the good ones out there and the ten other bikes will more than likely still survive with other doners or original parts.

[Live4today]

I sent a PM to that guy who is parting the trikes out to see how much he wants for each of them whole. Time for a change!

[XFR_Dozer]

well it looks like im gonna make a trip to Celina , Ohio because i would like a good trike below fair market value. I can see some of each side of this issue. However , if you bought a trike below market value why expect to sell it at or above market value. Its just ashame that our little bit of history, which can never be replaced, has been infiltrated by profiteers.Business is business and we all wish that trikes were still produced so this would be a non-issue.This is just the world we live in. This is not a personal bash on any individual. I just callem like i see em.

[kybishop]

We can all agree on something...we all love trikes!!

[hondaatcvabeach]

I would have to vote on no parting out good trikes. I would much rather see them whole

[Groundworx]

Well, I agree that we shouldn't part out good bikes. I have wanted to start a thread about this matter for a while now. On the other hand, I always need parts and I can't afford to go to the dealer for everything I need. Plus a lot of these parts have been discontinued. I have a problem with people parting out good trikes though.

Look at the TRI-Zs and Tecate 3s. Parts are harder to find for these than the 250Rs. I own one of each of these. I am building the Tecate from the frame up and it is a slow process just because of the availablility of the parts. I bought the TRI-Z in running condition about a month ago. The bottom end of my TRI-Z just went. I considered parting it out to get the money I paid for the bike back, but I can't replace it for what I paid for it. So I started tearing it down and while I wait on a bottom end, I am repainting the frame and basically rebuilding all of it. I am also building the 250R from the frame up. I am building these for myself. I am not looking to sell these and try to make money and I damn sure wouldn't part them out.

We really should start looking more into keeping the good ones around and only part out the junkers. Before you know it, our machines could just be a memory. I don't want to see that happen. Especailly because you have people parting out bikes just because they can't get what they want out of it as a whole bike....

[StangLX302]

The good part is, parting one trike out could bring 10 back to life.

XDAWG

I couldn't have said it better. If it wasn't for all of these parted out trikes, mine would have been junked a long time ago, by the previous owner. I bought it for $100, not running, and very ugly looking. I fixed it all up and now have a very nice trike. If it wasn't for all of the used parts available, I could have never done it. I've put about $500 into it, but, it's practically in mint shape now. Even other riders have commented on "What nice shape that old 3-wheeler is in". So, when one trike 'dies', 10 more might be 'born' again just from those parts.

[Howdy]

I feel the need to explain things from my view point after reading one of the post:


If you want to part one out just to try and get your money back, parting one out takes a whole lot of time and money in it self. Think about home much time you spend just with trying to make one sell, selling the bike whole. People that back out or don't show up. Okay, think about doing this for each and every part on your trike. Add to this physically dissassembling it. Then, think about time packing and shipping a large percentage of these parts. How much is your time worth? There is no good reason to part a good bike or auto out.

A few years ago I sold a real nice 350x locally. I had it for sale for 3-4 months. I was asking $1100 for it. I ended up selling it for $875. Since then I bought another one ( to sell ). I tried to sell it for $1000, the best offer I got was $700 ( in 3 months ). I had more than that in it. So I parted most of the trike out on Ebay. It brought a little over $1500 ( after Ebay fees ) and I didn't sell every part ( I kept a few for spares for mine ). All but 2 people paid within 10 days. Those parts were relisted and the next time sold for a little more. Those bidders paid right away.

Sure it took some time but not nearly as much as it took trying to sell it whole. Lets do the math here: I had probably 75 people that looked at the machine ( 20 + special trips ). It takes me 10 minutes to drive each way ( I live 3 miles from where the machines are stored ). Then you have at least 15 minutes to over a hour ( some people make you wait ) every time you show it. Say the average waiting / showing time was 30 minutes. Add in the 20 minutes travel time each showing ( Total 50 minutes each trip ). 50 x 20 = 1000 minutes ( 16.6 hours ). Then there was the times when I was there trying to work on something else and people stopped by to look at it. Lets say 40 times at 15 minute each. 40 x 15 = 10 hrs. 16.6 + 10 = 26.6 hours estimated time spent trying to sell it and no one would make a fair offer on it. If that isn't a hassle I don't know what is.

I ended up parting the machine out on Ebay. I took 1 day to go take it apart and get pictures ( 5 hours ). Then it took me 2 days to do up the listings ( total of 6-7 hours ). I probably had 50 emails asking questions about the parts ( say 2 minutes a email ) or 100 minutes ( Rounded to 2 hrs ). The packaging of the parts took about 2 hours. Shipping the packages took say 3 hours. 5 + 7 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 18 hours to list and sell on Ebay. Being as I ended up with over $1500 after everything ( including Ebay fees ) was paid I came out a lot father ahead.

Lets review that: The machine brought more money, It took the same or less amount of time to sell it, I had a lot less hassles, and I was able to keep some of the parts for my machine. Sure, If I was trying to part it out here on the web site it would be a lot more hassle. Some parts would sell easy and some won't. To get the best selling results I sell mainly via Ebay and localy. Once listed on Ebay people know they have a limited amount of time to decide if they want it or not. If I offer it to someone from the site my offer is good for 10 days. After that I will sell it else where or to others unless other arraingements have been made.

Yea, I would have preffered to sell it whole ( I tried ). But in the end I was father ahead to do it like I did. Yea, I could have sold it on Ebay as a whole, I did that 2 times ( different models ) . Both machines sold cheap ( 60% of the average Ebay going rate ) . Why? Because No one near me wanted them. To ship the machines would have been costly. Thus whole machines on Ebay for me is not a option. On the 2 I did sell: Both buyers drove over 400 miles ( each ) to get the machines. Then after Ebay fees on the 2 whole machines I lost money. I do not buy these machines to loose money or waste my time. Thus if it doesn't sell locally then I do what I need to do to sell it ( and not loose money ).


There is no good reason to part a good bike or auto out.
More Money, less hassle, and less time. Not to mention the other machines that you help keep running or be restored. There are 4 Good reasons.


If you have not parted anything out, be prepared for lots of time and trouble. If the thing is not any good whole, certainly the parts can help keep other trikes going.

Just to say you would rather part it than sell it and it get abused makes no sense. You could sell the parts and they could go on ten different bikes that get abused. Keep the good ones out there and the ten other bikes will more than likely still survive with other doners or original parts.

I didn't mean every machine would be trash upon. But surely some of them would get trashed. I could be wrong, but parting out and selling the parts on Ebay does not mean every machine they go on will get trashed. If your paying Premium $$ for a part are you going to go trash it? Only people with more money than sence would do that.


I sent a PM to that guy who is parting the trikes out to see how much he wants for each of them whole. Time for a change!
Did you send a PM? If you did it must have been to someone else. I never got anything.

Bottom line is this: If you complain about a machine being parted out then stick with New Parts. 99.999% of used parts come from parted out machines. I will take my parts and sell them to people that are more than Happy to find good used parts. Normally for a lot less than a dealer would want for them ( New or Used ). Then when you try to buy a discontinued part from the dealer then you will apreciate the person that did part out a machine so you could find that needed part. Been there done that!!

Just my 2 1/2 cents.
Howdy

[Sqirtster]

My two-cents is, it's much more shame on the people that bought them nice and beat them into the ground than someone trying to make a buck parting them. Case in point, my 1985 200x was bought last year by some kid from an old man that kept it mint. It was run until the axle bearings were grinding into the swingarm, and the chain kept "falling off" and finally wound up wrapping up on the front sprocket and breaking the case. Thank God for people parting them out, as it was otherwise a "total loss" as it would have cost more to fix than it was worth. This thing was perfect, and as I was fixing it, all the bolts were shiny anodise under the mud. I can't wait to find those "Sweet" parts on ebay, and I love that people are willing to part them out. If there weren't so many idiots beating them into the ground, than we all wouldn't need parts would we? Because at one time all atc's were new....

[MTS]

MONEY TALKS **** WALKS and that is that now let this thred die haha

[88 Turbo Coupe]

I've seen more Tigers parted out than complete ones. And I don't believe there are more than 10 running ones out there.

[hedge1988]

I agree with Howdy partly because for a guy like me if it wasnt for used parts on ebay I couldnt afford or couldnt find parts for my bike. It is ok to sacrafice a few for the greater good

[Hornetpowerspor]

I have to admit, I hate to see a good trike parted out, but I dont dissagree with it. If it wasnt for people parting perfectly good trikes, how would you find a nice RT shroud for the tecate, stock grab bar ,seat, and toolbox for the 250R, headlight shrouds for the TRI-Z ect........?

[Lomax]

First off, i dont do it all the time, but i do part out machines, Not very good ones but I still do it. Look at it this way, lets say you have a 200X, its nice and super clean, your out riding loose control and hit a tree. Your ok but your rear axle is trashed, now sure you could just go get a durablue but your trying to keep this one original. Dont think that you can just go to the dealer and pick this item up either, its long gone, so your only other alternative is, Someone like Howdy or Me or whoever else parting one out to keep yours nice. Howdy Hit the nail on the head with the whole explination of Who, How, What, and Why when it comes to parting one out. My .02

[350Xhilaration]

I've got two machines plus boxes of parts that I have been trying to sell complete as opposed to parted out through message boards as I do not have time to either fix or sell locally. No serious bites yet.

Any of you "Save the trikes" guys that want a decent pair of 84 T3's, let me know. Here are links to pics of them.


Classified ad 1 (http://www.350xriders.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=sale_board;action=display;num=111120 8728)
Classified ad 2 (http://www.350xriders.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=parts_board;action=display;num=11115 98745)

[CodyRx7]

Anyone ever think that maybe the seller is just stretching the truth? Saying "parting out a perfectly running trike" will probably sell more parts than "Complete lump of crap , buy a piece of it".

[88 Turbo Coupe]

I've seen bikes described that way on ebay then when you see the pics of the parts you just start laughing.

[Troll 2]

I like finding cheap trikes and fix them up the way I like. Most start in poor condition and are basicly a "parts trike".
Some may consider a hammered three-wheeler a oppertunity to make some money by parting . Others may dissasemble it, then spread it to others to help them revive needy trikes. Not me, I see a year's worth of tinkering, learning, searching, sanding, polishing, painting, fabbing, designing and reviving.
Too much fun to mail away in pieces. Yes the replacement parts will be aftermarket when applicable, but thats the price.
I'm glad theres folks who have trike parts for sale, we would have a hard time keeping our sport going without them. I just couldnt part one ........................ :D