Would you buy a Category "N" Write-off ?

[focced_off]

Hello guys,

So running a new Vehicle check and my 'accident damaged' Fazer now shows as a Cat N.
Category N is the new Category D - the LEAST serious category, cosmetic damage only, NOT structural.

I know reading the words "write-off" sends a shiver down your spine, plus 'bike looping through the air over a car several times', kind of visions.  :eek  :lol

It was nothing like that, plus am already sourcing the Parts to get the bike back on the road - to RIDE (not to sell on)... Only front forks got bent / headlight / nose fairing cracked.

What's the legal process with a Cat "N", and putting it back onto the road (legally) - can anyone in the Trade confirm please?
On a sports bike this would be just a few pieces of fairing and she's as good as new!

[Grahamm]

I'd not heard of this, but apparently the categories are now:

• A: Scrap
  
• B: Break
  
• S: Structurally damaged repairable
  
• N: Non-structurally damaged repairable
  

So really the only thing that has changed is the way the old A-D categories are referred to and they help you let you know what to expect if you were to buy one.

[John Silva]

As my bike has now got a Cat N to its name I am also in the process of putting her back on the road for me to keep.
I wasn't riding the bike at the time someone else was and they reported it on their insurance and got paid out.
I rang my insurance company as its renewal date was coming up and they knew nothing of the crash and were unaware of its Cat N status.  :eek They said I will have to get it MOTd to make sure it is roadworthy and then they will look at renewing my insurance.
Damage to bike was left headlight cracked, nose fairing cracked in several places and deep scrapes, broken front brake lever and ripped the standard exhaust can off the bike. Got to make a bracket to hold the clocks and other little things to tidy her up and she will be ready for her MOT.
I wouldn't like to buy a bike if its been in a crash I don't think anybody would but if it was cheap enough and you got the knowledge and experience to put things right again I don't see anything wrong in buying a Cat N for an everyday commute.

[BBROWN1664]

I wouldn't like to buy a bike if its been in a crash I don't think anybody would but if it was cheap enough and you got the knowledge and experience to put things right again I don't see anything wrong in buying a Cat N for an everyday commute.

The issue here is really finding out what caused the cat N in the first place.

If you have a pristine FZS600 worth (for example) £1200-1500 and it got dropped by you as you were wheeling it out of the garage (or some muppet knocks it off the stand in the company car park) and decide to claim, the cost of the new petrol tank and new fairing and a new mirror would write it off in the eyes of the insurance company. Most of us would replace the mirror and keep riding it but it is recorded as a Cat N now and when you go to sell it, you have to declare it. That's not a problem. The insurance company have paid out the full value to you so anything you sell it for is a bonus. Some of us would want to buy the bike cheaper as it is a Cat N but realistically, it only has (or had  if you did repair it all) minor cosmetic damage.
At the other end of the scale, you lend your bike to a mate who wraps it round the back of a parked car and bends the forks/breaks the mudguard. The insurance company again declare it a Cat N as the headstock may be damaged and decide its easier to pay you out then check it properly. Now as a buyer I wouldn't know if the bike was one of these semi-major damage jobs or a pure cosmetic job like the first example



To get the Cat-N back on the road, I believe it needs MOT done. For a Cat-S I believe it needs a Vosa check. Cat-A and Cat-B cannot go back on the road.

[5LV]

Bought my 1000 7 years ago as a cat c.
Tank,end can, fairing and forks were damaged.
R1 front end fitted and colours matched and never had a problem.
Common sense should dictate if a bike is safe to ride.
A kinked frame rail or a crack in the paint on the frame are all good indications.

[ptolemyx]

Insurance assessor will not have checked it thoroughly enough for headstock damage, which could easily be the case with bent forks. I've seen bikes where the headstock bearing location in the frame is oval after a "light" frontal and others with barely discernible cracks there.

[5LV]

With my patented headstock issue detector which has been used thoroughly in the last 7 years I can confirm there are no problems with my headstock?????

[focced_off]

Insurance assessor will not have checked it thoroughly enough for headstock damage, which could easily be the case with bent forks. I've seen bikes where the headstock bearing location in the frame is oval after a "light" frontal and others with barely discernible cracks there.

Are you in the salvage trade, or perhaps run a motorcycle store?

While measurements all add up (from headstock, measuring back both sides), until I get the front end off and can look at a "naked" headstock, with no Stem or even steering head bearings in situ, it's impossible to say 100% then. I still have my hopes up though.

What's to say all those bikes on EBay with 'USD' Front end / R1 Fork conversions, aren't all a result of a frontal impact. Just some didn't involve another vehicle (3rd party), so the incident wasn't reported to the insurance company, and they've had the bike repaired and back on the road (with no 'Category x' to it's name). Cheeky foccers. :eek

[BBROWN1664]

What's to say all those bikes on EBay with 'USD' Front end / R1 Fork conversions, aren't all a result of a frontal impact. Just some didn't involve another vehicle (3rd party), so the incident wasn't reported to the insurance company, and they've had the bike repaired and back on the road (with no 'Category x' to it's name). Cheeky foccers. :eek

Don't forget all those "street fightered" ones that were done "because I didn't like the fairing"

[focced_off]

[quote author=focced_off link=topic=23872.msg277156#msg277156 date=1521827511]
What's to say all those bikes on EBay with 'USD' Front end / R1 Fork conversions, aren't all a result of a frontal impact. Just some didn't involve another vehicle (3rd party), so the incident wasn't reported to the insurance company, and they've had the bike repaired and back on the road (with no 'Category x' to it's name). Cheeky foccers. :eek

Don't forget all those "street fightered" ones that were done "because I didn't like the fairing"
[/quote]

OK not all are going to have been in a "bump" - but that's generally the main reason you'll find an unfaired Sports bikes, because its slid down the road and trashed the fairing, which was not cost effective to replace. At least that's how the majority end up like that. 

I've owned a couple of Sports bikes before my current Fazer. Both were 2nd hand. While the fairings had the odd mark here and there, it would still have felt criminal to rip them off unnecessarily, and lose the original sports bike "design".