96 Kawi-zx6 - salvage title. advice needed

[McBiggity]

Someone local is selling a 96 kawi zx-6. It has a salvage title. He's owned it for 5 years since it's been totalled and rebuilt. Frame is straight and rides good. Some cracked plastics but nothing too bad.
He's asking $2500, comes with 2 helmets as well.

Good buy or stay away?

[Honclfibr]

6R or 6E? I paid 2750 for a 2000 ZX6E with 2k miles on it last spring. It also had a rebuilt/salvage title, it had been down but there were only minor scratches on the fairing, no cracks.

The 6E's depreciate pretty quickly from there 7k new MSRP, mostly because they're old tech that hasn't changed much since 93. The advantage of course being there are just assloads of replacement parts on ebay...

I just wrote a blurb on alt.motorcycle.sportbike comparing the 6E with the 6R for someone who was looking at both, it hasn't popped up on google yet but when it does I'll post a link here...

[McBiggity]

it's a 6E not a 6R. it's got a little over 5k miles on it.

[Honclfibr]

Ahh, ok. Well, like I said, the 6E has been around since 93 and basically unchanged since then. It's just shy of 500 pounds wet and I found it quite topheavy compared to my EX500 and now my ZX6R. Front suspension is much softer than the 6R or the EX, it soaks up the bumps but tends to dive under braking fairly quickly, probably not as stable in the turns either though I was never able to push mine to the limits where I'd see that...

6E's seat is soft, which is nice for a few miles but I find the hard cushion of the 6R more comfortable for a long trip, my ass would fall asleep on the 6E, it's mostly personal preference. 6E is according to my girlfriend muuch more comfortable than the 6R due to it's single seat so if you're looking for a 2-up bike the E will likely be more comfortable for your passenger than a modern sportbike.

Engine-wise the 6E felt quite peppy to me, it's got maybe a few ponies less than my 6R but I can't tell the difference. I can tell the weight difference though, 70 pounds less on the R makes it a whole lot easier to muscle around in the parking lots.

To give you an idea of plastic replacement costs, that upper fairing is going to run about $300 new from ronayers, each of those mid fairings are $50 and I think the lower is around $300 too. Scratched uppers run around $150 on ebay, with mids going for about $25 a pop, they can be found easily and fit across the model years.

If you do get the 6E, let me know, I have a repair manual and some plastics from my stolen 6E I'd like to get rid of if you're interested. But to answer your original question, I wouldn't pay $2500 for that bike given the condition you listed; if most of the fairings are in good condition and nothing seems wrong with the bike, I'd maybe pay 2k.

One thing to check for, the 6E's are notorious for acquiring problems with second gear, they tend to pop back into neutral as you accelerate in second. Check for any signs of this before purchasing the bike, and if you do, be gentle on your 1st-2nd transitions...

[McBiggity]

thanks for the info. One of my buddies is looking into buying it. I'm still enjoying my 500. He's a little guy so I'm not sure if the weight of the zx6e will be too much for him to handle being his first bike and all.

I'll pass on the info to him and see if he would still be interested.