"Ran When Parked" stories

[Northern Bill]

Not exactly a ran when parked story but close.  A few years ago I bought a 250 Bultaco Pusang that had been owned by a painter.  It truly was a beautiful bike in bright red fiberglass.  I tried to get that bike running for years.  I even had a few very good mechanics look at it with no luck.  In many ways I liked just looking at that bike because it had been finished so perfectly and I was never going to motocross it anyway. Eventually I decided to sell it at a rally.  Because it wasn't running I had to keep dropping the price.  Eventually near the end of the rally I lowered the price to' $250.  This guy came along, didn't ask any questions, and handed me the cash.  I was disappointed to see that beauty go, but 15 minutes later I was seriously depressed as the same guy came by riding that Pursang with the engine running like it was new!

Another bike I still have has an interesting story.  I saw this guy at a track day on a 1987 Honda CBX 250 passing everything in sight.  At the time I had a 650 Triumph and I couldn't even get close to the 250 so I decided it was time to put the Triumph back on the road and get a 250 as a track day only bike.  Eventually I found one advertised locally and it had 300 miles on it and it had been sitting in a basement for nearly 20 years.  As the story goes, the bike had been used at a learners school for a few months and then returned to the dealer.  At the time, the dealer had a baby daughter so he put the bike in his basement, saving it for the time when his daughter was ready to ride.  So the bike sat there for years until it was finally put into service as his daughter's first bike. I guess she was a quick learner because she only rode the bike for a couple of weeks before upgrading. When I bought the bike it looked like brand new from 50 feet but on closer inspection it had small dents and scratches everywhere.  A couple of months at school can do that to a bike. The engine, however, was perfect and has run at maximum revs with nothing more than oil changes for almost 10 years now.

[roadventure]

I owned a 1990 Suzuki DR350 (offroad model) and really liked it.  A friend told me about someone he knew who owned the same bike, but it looked new.  Mine had been ridden off road for two years at the time and had the expected wear showing.  My friend said that this guy had bought his bike second-hand and it would not start.  It has been setting for about six months and he wanted to sell. 

I went to look at the bike and the owner said that he just wanted to get sell it because it would not start.  I asked if he could produce a title and he said yes.  He went in the house to search for it.  While he was inside, I got on the bike, turned on the gas, dabbed the kick starter to place the engine at TDC.  I pulled the compression release lever to let the engine roll just past TDC.  Then I gave it a brisk kick.  The engine started right up!  I shut it off. 

A few minutes later the owner came out with the title and I asked if he really couldn't get it started.  He said yes, he had tried everything.  Then he described that he holds the throttle open, and kicks hard.  It just doesn't start.  He was thinking that the CDI box was probably "cooked".  I suggested that maybe he wasn't using the correct procedure to start the bike and he assured me that what he was doing was correct. I think his pride was getting in the way. Not wanting to make him feel bad by telling him that he might not be doing the right thing, I offered $500.00 for a bike that should have brought $3500.00.  He accepted and was glad to get rid of it. 

I rode that bike, and my original DR350 for another ten years and never had a bit of trouble with either one.

[swooshdave]

A few minutes later the owner came out with the title and I asked if he really couldn't get it started.  He said yes, he had tried everything.  Then he described that he holds the throttle open, and kicks hard.  It just doesn't start.  He was thinking that the CDI box was probably "cooked".  I suggested that maybe he wasn't using the correct procedure to start the bike and he assured me that what he was doing was correct. I think his pride was getting in the way. Not wanting to make him feel bad by telling him that he might not be doing the right thing, I offered $500.00 for a bike that should have brought $3500.00.  He accepted and was glad to get rid of it. 

I rode that bike, and my original DR350 for another ten years and never had a bit of trouble with either one.

Yeah, but did you start it up and ride it away? Because that would be mean. 

[JJ]

I too, am always amused by "Ran When I Parked It..." ads or my other favorite: "Barn Fresh"

My experience is that "Barn Fresh" usually equates to..."needs total nut and bolt restoration!" (LOL)   

Here's a beauty I saw today...   Yes, it COULD be restored...but Geeeeez!  (IMHO....a parts bike at best...)

Thanks for watching the latest episode of................. ..."BEATER-OF-THE-WEEK!" 

[nc43bsa]

That CB350F is probably worth $400 to someone who needs the parts for another bike, UNLESS this one has proper papers.  Then it could be worth more.

[jas67]

Eventually gave her away to a nice young stranger.

The CB450 or the red head?

[wymple]

A farmer I sit for lunch with has a pair of "barn" Hondas. From talking to him I think he has an old CL360, and a Cb77, but not sure. I'm afraid to go look because the last thing I need is another darn project.

[Testarossa]

My Triumph ran when parked, in 1975. Then it rusted for 15 years in a damp San Francisco cellar. It was given to me when the owner moved out of the building. I hauled it away in a van and it sat another couple of years because I hadn't the time or workspace to deal with it. Took it apart and packed it in boxes in 1993 for the move to Colorado and finally got to work on the revival (not restoration) in 2015, the year I retired. Bottom end needed no work but the one valve spring pair (these things come in concentric nested pairs) that had had been compressed all those years was broken. It runs well now but still needs work: need to rebuild the rusty wheels for instance, turn the drums and reline the shoes.

[Pop]

My favorite Craig's list ad for a "ran when parked" was a late model Chevy that was dashboard deep into a tree! " it obviously ran quite will before being "parked".

Pop

[azguzzirep]

I HAVE one.

I'm going to sell my wife's little Kawasaki 250. She hadn't ridden it for about two years. It has a new battery but needs tires.



I known it runs 'cause I got it going a couple months ago. But, I'm gonna say in the ad, ran when parked, just for shits and grins!

[webmost]

Ever seen the belt on a corvair? It is indeed considerable.

They called it the "serpentine belt". You learned to carry the right wrench, a spare belt, and a real big screwdriver to pry your spare on. Otherwise, you're screwed.

[webmost]

The CB450 or the red head?

Not the redhead. She talked me out of that, just by leaning up on my back while riding pillion and shoving her hands in my pockets.

She went by Cynthia back then. Earned the nickname "RedHead" first time she threw a coffee cup at my head. Earned the nickname "Bionic Freckle" when she had her first knee replaced. Earned the name "BearSwatter" when we hit papa bear, riding our R1200CLC. Earned the nickname "R2knee2" just last month, when she got her second knee replacement. So when I talk about Bearswatter or R2knee2, this is the gal.

[Lannis]

I HAVE one.

I'm going to sell my wife's little Kawasaki 250. She hadn't ridden it for about two years. It has a new battery but needs tires.



I known it runs 'cause I got it going a couple months ago. But, I'm gonna say in the ad, ran when parked, just for shits and grins!

Well, you're the one who can tell us how that'll work.    Will you have it in a state that when a buyer comes over to have a look, perhaps to pay for it and take it away, that when you punch the button it will start and run?    I'll bet you will .... there wouldn't be much point in letting the battery die or the fuel not flow and the bike not run just so you can get offered half the money you'd get if it were running .... !

Lannis

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

"Ran when parked!" "Barn find!"
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1977-Kawasaki-KZ1000-/252886099672?hash=item3ae12fa6d8:g:d48AAOSwRUhY-nUD&vxp=mtr

[azguzzirep]

Well, you're the one who can tell us how that'll work.    Will you have it in a state that when a buyer comes over to have a look, perhaps to pay for it and take it away, that when you punch the button it will start and run?    I'll bet you will .... there wouldn't be much point in letting the battery die or the fuel not flow and the bike not run just so you can get offered half the money you'd get if it were running .... !

Lannis

The "new" battery is also a couple years old. Seems to not want to take a charge. Anyway, I just need to get rid of it. If they want to hear it run, I'll  jump it from my car.

Hey. What do you want for 350 Euro???😁😁

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Here's a good one: https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/dak/rvs/6098984101.html

[Lannis]

Here's a good one: https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/dak/rvs/6098984101.html

Oi there Chuck ... if someone gave you this airplane and you were motivated to get it back in the air safely, assuming the description (such as it is) is accurate ... what kind of money would you be looking at based on what you know would have to be done?

Lannis

[Chuck in Indiana]

Oi there Chuck ... if someone gave you this airplane and you were motivated to get it back in the air safely, assuming the description (such as it is) is accurate ... what kind of money would you be looking at based on what you know would have to be done?

Lannis

Any where from practically nothing.. to free would be too much. Ceconite is "lifetime" fabric, but what is under the fabric isn't. 
Lycomings rust the cam/lifters sitting a long time. There is a good chance of that. It would be a pretty good project to just get it moved and not damage what is there.
If somebody *really* wanted a Tri Pacer, it *might* be a good deal, depending on what you find after a close look.. but nobody *really* wants a Tri Pacer.   

I went to Iowa one time to look at it's older brother, a Clipper. It was advertised as out of license, but always hangered, and in nice shape. I had visions of getting a ferry permit and flying it home. By the time I got within 50 feet of it, I thought, "Well, that was a wasted trip." It looked like the old guy shut it down by taxiing it into a tree.  There wasn't a round surface on the leading edges of the wings. What wasn't caked on oil and dust in the engine compartment was rust. I was *wanting* a Clipper, but didn't even make an offer.

[Lannis]

Never mind, not relevant.

:-)

Looked relevant to ME, while it was up.   Especially the $$ figures ...        

[Lannis]

After re-reading I figure that aircraft are so different in cost and procedure it was just not in the spirit of this discussion (which I have enjoyed).

I have recently discovered however that my old Pan is worth saving!

:-)

I have a long interesting story about buying my old Panhead which I'll save for a winter's night when we are all well fed and feeling lazy.

Suffice it to say that in 1974 brought home a 1954 50th Anniversary Hydra-Glide, 54FLE1814, which was stone stock but had been sitting at the edge of the woods for many years, and had trees 2" in diameter growing through the frame.

I was 20 years old, in school, with almost no income.   I had the small 8' x 14' shop at my mother's garage, with a workbench, one 100 watt light bulb, and a minimal set of tools.

Because (A) these bikes are stone-axe simple, (B) many of the same parts (like the clutch) fit any Big Twin from 1948 to 1984, (C) parts are available and cheap, I was able to get it on the road in about 3 months for an amount of money that wouldn't put a set of nice tires on my Stelvio today, and rode it happily for years.

I'll bet you'll be surprised how well the resuscitation of this one goes!

Lannis

[JJ]

Another classic in the ongoing series...."It Ran When I Parked It!"     (But that was a long, long, LONG time ago!!) 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Suurrrre it did..

[nc43bsa]

Another classic in the ongoing series...."It Ran When I Parked It!"     (But that was a long, long, LONG time ago!!) 

That one is so far gone I can't even tell what brand it is.   

[Chuck in Indiana]

I think it might..... be an old Yamaha.

[jas67]

Nope, looks like a 1968 CL175 (K0) Honda Scrambler that was a fire victim.

The 1965-1967 CB160 were nearly identical styled, but didn't have turn signals, so, the sign signal stems on either side of the headlight give it away as the CL175 K0.

The blue bike on the left in this pic is what an unburnt one looks like:
1968 CL175, 1976 CB400F by jay_snyder67, on Flickr