Featured 2003 Speed Triple Project

Purchased a crashed 2003 Speed Triple off craigslist this week. It had been run into a car in 2019 and has been sitting in a shipping container ever since. I've just about finished stripping the broken parts off of it and have the ignition cylinder at the locksmiths to get a key made. A set of junkyard forks are coming today and I need to order a wheel since that is bent as well.

 

Its alive - sorta. Added a new battery and the bike has no drains, powers up and cranks. Have a set of steering bearings coming today so that I can install the junkyard front end on the bike. Have another front wheel coming, the original one took such a hit that it bent the axle and the wheel before snapping the forks off.

Once that is done then I'll temporarily reinstall the fuel tank, change the oil/filter and make sure it runs before starting to order up the rest of the parts.

 

I keep making that mistake Fixed it. In any event it runs, so now I am just waiting for a bunch of parts to come in from junkyards across the country.

 

Straight front wheel and 1 straight front rotor Should be getting headlights, speed sensor and some trim stuff later today. Pretty much everything else important shows up on monday. Figure by Friday next week it might be rideable - just not pretty.

 

Whole front of the frame was checked carefully. No cracks in the tubes or welds. The triple trees and bearings have been replaced. Starting to look like a bike. Bunch of parts coming tomorrow, should be able to install exhaust and cooling system and then flush and fill fork oil.

 

Exhaust, cooling, fork oil replaced and front tire mounted. Likely get to the front brakes tonight and then spin it around and get the rear tire/brakes/sprockets/chain started.

 

Rear brakes done, new sprockets, chain. Next are the front brakes as long as the mailman brings me a lever.

 

Front fender showed up, as did the front levers. Front end is all done and bled out. Just waiting on the rear brake lever now - supposed to be here today.

 

Well, it is rideable. Still needs a back brake lever - if that ever shows up. Suspension needs a little tuning. The lockset that is showing up Monday will eliminate the need to carry a screwdriver to start it. And I guess I'm going to have to make it pretty, because this thing is awesome. The engine is so smooooooth and the clutch engagement is too. It will wheelie on demand, so you need to be careful with that. Not bad for 2 weeks of work.

 

It has a clean title on it. The whole salvage title thing is weird in MN.
If the person who crashed it had collision insurance, and the insurance declined to have it fixed then you get a salvage title.

If there is no insurance claim and it is sold to a private party there is a checkbox on the title that you need to check if vehicle has sustained more than 80% of value in damage. That of course all depends on a judgement call and if you would fix it with new or used parts. In this case, my total repair parts (not including maintenance and beauty stuff) was about 1500 worth of mostly used parts. Book says the bike is worth $2600-$4000, so not even close to 80%.

 

Have put a bit over 100 miles on it so far and it works perfectly. Rear brake lever showed up friday, as did some mirrors. New (used) ignition and lockset comes today so I can stop using the screwdriver. The exhaust gasket adapter and clamp also shows up for the high mount 2 Brothers exhaust I have for it. Tail section needs some touchup paint and it'll be good enough for now. Need to decide if I want a front "fairing" on it and if I will change the color of the bike this winter.

 

It was a lot easier than I figured. Typically when I get ahold of crashed bikes there is something mechanical wrong with them. This one has been a pure - remove and replace. The oddest thing has been that most bikes, front end parts are expensive and hard to get ahold of used. People must mostly flip these bikes over backwards or slide them. The front end stuff was very easy to find.

 

Decided to keep it, so now I have to make it pretty. First thing in that regard was to cover the ugly stock seats and add some foam to the front so that it actually holds you in place. Next thing is to add a flyscreen. I found a NOS kit in Iowa, but it is that ugly neon green. Before I paint it I need to decide if the bike stays black or gets painted British Racing Green (Aston Martin 1107). I'm torn between not really wanting to repaint everything and not being a huge fan of black bikes. I also have a front spring kit coming from traxxion to stiffen it up. Will need to figure out the back once I see how it feels with the upgrades in the front