Dan in IL wrote:The thing that gripes me is there are people running around buying up perfectly good bikes just to part them out on Ebay. Everytime a good deal comes up on a old Airhead in my area, a guy in Paducah KY beats me to it then sells the pieces on there!!
Yes, I have been seeing and/or suspecting this has been going on for a few years now. Lately on US eBay, it seems to have hit critical mass... It is pretty sick when the most affordable "deal" on the US eBay website appeared to be an entire frame the other day. I am still blown away with the drop in volume of listings, how many of these same people write descriptions like I noted above. 750cc BMW engine in great condition, will need new top and bottom end, and left piston hanging out of head... What the Heck? lol
Certainly there is a time to part this or that out; especially when it is something that you've already replaced with an alternate part, new or used and the item removed might still be serviceable to someone (AT REASONABLE COSTS - SOMETHING I AM NOT SEEING) but, to just pull a bike out of an old man's shop, pull the sheet off of a nice bike that just needs servicing, washed and a light carnuba wax and passed on to an eager new owner - to instead part it out down to the screws - is aggravating and non-intuitive for everyone. Maybe if they are organ donors, the medical community will take the same sort of care and attention to parting out their organs and such on the black market.
All I can do is not support these types.