If they replaced every part with an OEM one, and the title wasn't branded, I'd do what he did, unless I could find a brand new one for very close to the insurance pay out.

Not too many dealers would turn down a fistful of dollars to get what is in reality a year old bike, off the sales floor. Some would, but the most important word in vehicle buying is "next." I don't get emotionally involved unless it's something that is in obtainable, e.g. a completely original Z1R with low miles, etc.

I would never take a new bike to a track day ffs. Not that I'd crash it, but there are lots of others who have dubious riding skill. YouTube is riddled with track day crash videos. Some almost make me cry.

I would never take a new bike to a track day ffs. Not that I'd crash it, but there are lots of others who have dubious riding skill. YouTube is riddled with track day crash videos. Some almost make me cry.

I'd much rather use a bike I knew I was expendable for track days, too. Ironically, I'd be more willing to wreck a brand new one than old one I've kept in pristine condition but I wouldn't want to crash a new one either. An old beater would be my choice for track riding, one you could patch together and salvage what you could if it goes down. Dan mentioned a day or two of track training which he's taking advantage of. I think it's going to be fairly safe as long as he doesn't push it too hard. ...there are all the other riders out there too though.

I had two track days on my old ZX-14. There was a guy in the expert class that crashed and spilled water all over on the first day. On the second track day I had, a young guy showed up late to our instruction meeting. He seemed all gung ho. Sure enough, his bike was laying on the side of the track well before the end of the day.

Yep. It would have to be a bike I could walk away from. I can't afford to take a new bike, insurance won't cover a crash if it's during any kind of "organized competition" and a track day would probably count.

I can see the adjusters eyes glaze over at the mention of "track day."

I don't have enough money to fight them in court. If I could hand pick a jury of gung ho bike guys....maybe.

My buddy Dan will learn as he will learn. He's bringing the bike to a tuner because the Kawasaki shop he had it fixed at told him the aftermarket exhuast is causing it to run lean. I started to tell him about maps but he said, "i'm not doing that." he doesn't want to bother with loading a map but he'll be getting a Power Commander anyway so it can be tuned. I'd be a little skeptical of any tuner around here. There aren't any sport bikes. Personally, I think he ought to close his wallet for a while and open his mind to all the info that's known about the bike. ...at least take what I have learned over the past 17 years into consideration. ...I mean I know a few basic things. Buy a used ECU and get it flashed by a reputable tuner. Cripe's sake the bike has been crashed already, do what you want with it.

* Last updated by: Rook on 4/26/2025 @ 6:27 AM *