A guy I work with has a bike he got for parts, then sold his bike a few years ago. In the meantime, this bike took up residence in the back of his garage. It has some scrapes, but all the plastic is there. The frame is cracked though, on the right side. My father in law was a welder for a while, and is also an engineer, and he figures he can weld it back together without much fuss.
Problem is that there is no keys, and he doesn't think he ever got the title. So, I would have to buy an ignition just to see if it starts.

It's only $400 though, and that is definitely within the range that I would pay for it. I was actually thinking $300 when he told me $400.

Unknown miles, but the tires are fair, and the exhaust is intact. The fairing is in good shape, the seat isn't torn, overall it looks ok.

I have an old bike (71 Honda CL350) that seems to need to be fixed just about every ride. Sometimes I have to hitch home and retrieve it. It's getting to be kind of disappointing. I can see that the Kawasaki needs some work, but maybe it will be a bit more reliable.

Thoughts?

How much for the CL and do you have any pictures of it? (the CL that is.)

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Always wear a helmet, eye protection, and protective clothing. Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Personally I'm not sure about welding the frame. Not that I doubt your father in law, but because of the type of metal involved.
The metal is a kind of aluminum, which is hard to weld in the first place, but to make it lighter and such, they also added carbon and rubber. It apparently makes it almost impossible to weld well. As for the keys and title... Might wanna run the VIN to make sure it's not stolen...
As for the tires, if it's been sitting that long no one will recommend riding on them, you've gotta get new ones... They've lost all of their "stickyness"
You'd also be looking at carb rebuilds, possible rubber pieces (hoses, connections, etc), bearing replacements, brake jobs, fork rebuilds, shock rebuild, new chain and sprockets, and depending on how it was stored, an engine rebuild...

Quite honestly if you're going to make it roadworthy again you'd be looking at spending about 2-3K minimum in parts, plus labor and such...

So if you're willing to do that, it'd be awesome to rock a 97 Ninja!
Wrider

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Have owned - 2001 Suzuki Volusia
Current bike - 2005 Kawasaki Z750S
MMI Graduation date January 9th, 2009. Factory Certifications in Suzuki and Yamaha

Well, the CL isn't for sale yet. I am going to fix it, then decide for sure. Even if I don't want it, that decision is up for review by the other half, who doesn't have a bike of her own yet anyway, so she will probably want to keep it for herself, which means I will still have to keep fixing it.

I talked to him today, and he said if I wanted it, I could have it for #200, so I am going to run the VIN, see it the title is clear, then go from there.

Hell, for $200, I could sell the plastics and the wheels and be just about even. That leaves the motor for my lawnmower. Just kidding. It would be much more useful in a go kart.

I am hoping it's a clear title, or at least salvage. I could probably buy a frame for a few hundred, and tear it down and rebuild. It will be good experience and invaluable knowledge of bikes in general, even though I know it will be time consuming and frustrating at times. It will be pretty inexpensive overall if it doesn't need too much, but I guess I will see what shakes out.