Was on another forum and someone in UK is planning on turning this into a scrambler....Trying to convince him not to.

yes its sad olaf

but hopefully he will entertain the idea that the fairings are worth little ...and you lot may benefit some from the throw out of the old unwanted

looks in good condition though ...

Send a heavy mob around and scramble his brains

Mike

We may have to start contributing to a fund to save these bikes!

I suggested he keep it as it is, he has been using it for 3 months and become converted and then get a less good one for the scrambler project. Having said that I also directed him to the forum as a means of disposing of whatever parts he does not need and for advice. The ABS and everything is working on it.

Let him strip her.  The more bikes they trash the more valuable the remaining ones become.

Tis a shame. I just began to read this post whilst listening to John Hiatt sing 'Perfectly Good Guitar'. It's not exactly the same theme but perty darn close.

I take pride in the fact that a majority of parts contributing to the K bike I'm building in my garage, all of them came from salvage yards or from bikes that had been pranged or disassembled due to age/damage. The rest  have been bought new. Not one shred of it came from stripping down a perfectly good motorbike.

"It breaks my heart to see those stars
smashing a perfectly good guitar
There ought to be a law with no bail,
smash your guitar, you go to jail
with no chance for early parole
you don't get out until you get some soul"

Damn. Six-seven months down the line and I'd have made him an offer for that. Mind you, I only want it to strip for a K-trike!

What are you trying to save it from? Why is customizing a bad thing, just because it isn't your style? 

I see at as another k-bike that will be on the road and loved by its rider.  Why does it need to be stock?  Isn't it good that a younger generation of people are picking up these old bikes and customizing them?  

My K75RT will remain stock, as it has been in the family since it was new.

My K100 however I bought in pieces.  It was scattered across 4 different out buildings in the sellers yard.  I took that bike and built it back up and then proceeded to customize it into something I am proud of. I really enjoyed the process, all I learned.

Just a thought.

I don't have anything at all against what he was planning to do, just that it seems a shame to be doing it to a K in such good order.

Anyway it seems someone has now approached with an offer to buy it and find him a different donor bike.

The way you built your own from parts is really good, plus it brings one back to life. Now if he took the same approach then I would be entirely in agreement.

And the great thing is there are lots of K-bikes still on the road as they are such a great and reliable bike, so finding a different doner bike should not be a problem.

That's exactly my thought.

Funny thing though, customising would be my style, but that's a bike for a different purpose. My RT is as I want it, its used for every day year round as well as time away and it does a lot of miles. I would like a fun K and that's likely to happen too. Have my LT in my shed [it got rear ended] plus a donor RS which I am planning to take apart.

Yes, like every good K-owner, you must have at least 2 or 3 bikes.  I have about 2 and 3/4 bikes.

It's about value, aesthetics, history, originality, to name a few reasons.

It's a bit like ugly buildings from the (name the decade/era) which replaced a variety of classic architecture in cities and towns the world over. When they were deemed not modern, no longer useful or in style they were pulled down, entire blocks were razed, and in their place many anonymous structures were built.

Once the originals are gone the replacement has, for obvious reasons, less value, but the old is gone forever.

It isn't a fear of change.

Architecturally speaking, I prefer a renovation of a classic take place, and that desire and appreciation carries through to other inanimate objects we have deep interest in as well.