How picking up two unregistered motorcycles from an insurance auction, and one clever parts swap, resulted in a road-legal bike for free.
The objective: own a motorcycle for free, or as close to free as possible. One lesson from riding a Yamaha R15 in New Zealand is that motorway speeds demand something heavier and more aerodynamic; the wind is relentless. The NZ used-bike market has limited variety, so working within those constraints is part of the challenge.
Available skills
- Familiarity with motorcycle mechanics
- Good grasp of market prices
- Access to insurance auctions
- A car capable of towing a trailer
The gaps
- Budget for a decent-condition bike
- Willingness to spend serious money
The options
- If a good deal surfaces (often in remote areas), go and collect it.
- Buy a damaged bike and repair it over time, though that's not exactly free.
What actually happened
Both options were combined. A well-spec'd motorcycle was purchased from an insurance auction listed as stolen and recovered. It was cheap because it was de-registered, meaning getting it back on the road required significant inspection and paperwork.
A below-average condition bike was collected about two hours away, hauled back on a trailer, and a live (registered) frame was picked up from a wrecker on the way home. Next step: swap all the good components from the de-registered bike onto the live frame, yielding a registered motorcycle.
Like the WOF (Warrant of Fitness) system in New Zealand, every vehicle requires an annual safety inspection to be road legal. Neither bike had one. The good parts from the better bike were swapped over, and that one passed its WOF. The process was repeated for the second bike. Now both were warranted.
The average-condition bike was then sold at a fair price with full disclosure of its issues, and the sale covered the total cost of buying both bikes. The good bike: essentially free.