Thanks to the guys who pm'd me with words of encouragement. 99% of the people on here are super people and only too happy to help with positive and constructive comments, and in some cases even helping me obtain parts where the seller won't ship outside Europe ( Thanks again “Tony IOM” ). I'll try not to let the others get to me in future, but I draw the line at comments about the lenghts' I'm going to to do this right, I mean we're not talking about 250cc Honda’s here are we? If the standard of maintenance and upkeep of the previous owners’ were as high as mine, the bike wouldn’t be in the mess it is, and I’ll be buggered if I’m going to lower my standards for anyone. I'll keep going with the rebuild, but only because I've got too much $$$$ tied up in it not to. I'm very fortunate to have a mate here in Perth who is right up with the play on how these bikes should be right down to which way the slot in the screw heads should face, so I'll be picking his brains some more late on when I get to that stage.
eight8eight wroteJafa
I've just read this thread, pretty sad reading. From the message above it appears this was bought from Made In Italy M/C's. I really think you have a case, even now, to go back to them and get some money off, especially given what you have documented here. I bought a Ducati bevel from them three years ago and that wasn't right either. To be fair, on complaining and detailing the faults (which were nothing like your bike's issues), they did give me pretty much what I asked for off the buy price. Obviously this would be better done at the time of purchase, but most of it has come to light after buying it of course.
On a positive note, I don't think for one minute that, in years to come, you'll regret buying it at all. It's an iconic bike, and yours will be mint when you've finished. Also, when you have finished, the riding experience will be worth the wait. I've ridden Jimmy's and have an 888 SP(4)S myself. You have something special. All that should have happened is that you were charged the going rate for a mistreated bike needing pretty full restoration, which I'm guessing wasn't the case. I'd chase them up on that, just a thought. If you do, I would hope they'd want to consider their reputation and offer some compensation, especially if you show them this thread!
John
Hi John. Sorry to hear about the problems with your bevel. Unfortunately I can't hit up John Fallon / Made in Italy, as although the bike was sourced from them, I didn't buy it from them. Maurice Rissman / Raider Motorsport in Coffs Harbour Australia bought the bike for MII, and I bought the bike from Maurice / Raider Motorsport. I wrote a letter to Maurice pretty soon after receiving the bike, outlining the issues with the bike, and my dis-satifaction with what I received versus what I was sold. The reply I got was a bit of lip service, and when I read between the lines, it was "shame about that, but I've got my money so tough luck". He actually said he was more disappointed that I wasn't happy with the bike, than he was with the condition of the bike and the issues I had discovered. That's because he can obviously work out that I won't be spending any more money with him, and wont be recommending him to anyone else.
Maurice said he sent my letter over to John Fallon, and apparently John’s reply was that it was nothing much for a 20+ year old bike, and of how much nicer it was than the other bike he had on the floor at the same time which sold quickly and that the customer has since become a regular buyer. Apart from nothing, what's the other bike and buyer got to do with me and this sale?
Maurice said he was a little disappointed that John didn’t have a little more empathy, but guess' it’s all business to him, he presents a bike and if the customers are happy they buy. Maurice said he was certainly happy with how the bike presented ( obviously didn't looked too closely at it ), especially compared to the other one John had, and more so in comparison to his own SP3. Again, what's the condition of his own SP3 got to do with this sale? Maurice went on to say it would be entirely different if I had been told the bike was show-room original, but I wasn’t, and most of what I’ve discovered is the sort of things they have to contend with day in and day out when restoring bikes old bikes. He is quite correct that I wasn’t told it was in showroom condition, but I also wasn't told that the bike had been crashed and poorly repaired, and had other non crash-related defects that had been very poorly covered up either. I didn't want a bike to restore because I don't have the time or suitable workplace to do a full rebuild, which is why I chose this one over another one he had ( also from John Fallon ) because he said it was in better condition!!! The other one must be diabolical.
He padded his reply out with some guff about the market will moving upwards in the coming years and the bikes will only increase in value and one bike sold for x amount blah blah blah. He then finished up saying he's not sure what he can do to assist, other than help me get the parts required and he’ll ship them home for me FOB, if I give me a list of the parts I want he will send the list over to their German office and do their best to get them from European eBay. Seeing as he thinks the bike was fine anyway and presented well, his standards are obviously nowhere near mine, so I couldn't imagine him spending much time or effort to find me the correct parts in decent condition. So that was pretty much the end of that, and being on the other side of the country it’s not like I can hop in the car and go and pay him a visit either. I've since heard of a couple of other people that have also been less than impressed with their purchases from Raider Motorsport.
As for when it's finished, yes it will be mint, but I don't know about the riding experience. It's always going to be the bike that was a total disaster from the word go and cost me a fortune to get right, so it's tainted before I've even started the engine. I'll finish it, take some nice photos of it, and probably park it in the garage on stands under a cover until someone buys it. My heart is not in it, since I got it it's been a chore and a drain on what precious little time I have at home ( 70 days per year, 7 days at a time ). Like I said before, I bought it over the other one because I was told it was the better one of the two, and I didn't want a project bike, and instead I got sold a lemon and now I'm trying to do a full rebuild in a rental garage at a storage place with no power 20 km away from where I live. So do your homework, about both the bike and whoever is selling it, and talk to other people who have dealt with that particular seller to see if everything was honky dory for them, and even then, hope like hell and cross everything you've got.
So anyway it's back off to work I go for another month, and trolling eBay etc every night looking for parts.
