Is my bike street legal?!?

Question

I recently sold my 1990 Kawasaki Ninja 250. Now the guy I sold it to is claiming it is not street legal. I don't really know a lot about bikes so please forgive my untechnical terms. The front plastic fender? piece that keeps dirt, rocks, etc. from coming off is broken pretty much off. He is now saying that this makes my bike not street legal. He is also saying that it is illegal for me to sell him a vehicle that is not street legal.

I never claimed it was street legal or that it would even last 5 mins not to mention that a broken piece like that is pretty obvious at the time of sale. So does this really make my bike not legal for the streets? Please help!

I live in CO. I unfortunately did not write a contract. Of course in retrospect I should have. But I guess he could have asked for 1 as well. It does become a little more complicated 2. It was around 8:00 when he came to look at the bike (his schedule not mine). I told him he was more than welcome to come back during the day when there would be more light to look the bike over. He did not want to do this. He knows I do not know a lot about bikes and would not know if there were unobvious things wrong. He also claims to be a mechanic who has ridden his entire life. He also claims there is a leak in the Ybar? and it is effecting the breaks. This is a bike I have been riding and I had no intentions of selling him something dangerous or a lemon for that matter, again i told him i had limited knowlegde on bikes and had the bike in the shop not a month ago to have the carbs cleaned and they were suppose to have looked over the bike and should have said something if there was a problem.

Now he is threatening to take me to court but he is just a irresponsible as he is saying I am. He should have looked everything over in detail (in good light) and could even requested to have it looked at by a mechanic (which he claims to be).

ok not Ybar but fork seals...sorry but i don't know a lot

I truely don't belive he has anything that will stand up in court

I sold it for $900 and he wants $500 back or to just give the bike back....gosh i should have done a little more work before hand. Live and learn.

Answer 1

when you sell any thing privately with on written or spoken contract about what it is to be used for than the buyer has the responsibility to fix it to be road worthy not you it would be cheaper for him to repair the bike than to bring you to court and if he dose and asks the judge to have you fix it than the judge with just laugh and give you the bike back and you get to keep your money and his out the court costs and the bike money. So don't worry about him
if that is true than how can a dealer of used cars not have to pay for a car to get fixed if it dose not pass smog. that would be way to much money for then or if the turn signal dose not work or brakes fail after one week of driving. all of those things the buyer has to check after or be fore he buys and the dealer dose not have to tell them anything at all about the car.

this is called as-is no warranty
which is automatically the case any time unless like i said there is a written or spoken agreement between both parties
and even more if he has a bike license he should have known that a fender is a safety piece on a bike and is required.
next time he calls or stops by say its your bike talk to someone who cares. a fender is only at most 200 and that is for one paint matched fender. as for the fork seals that has noting to do with brakes. sure it might bounce alittle but the seals will not make it not pass inspection and most fork seals weep alittle those parts are only 20-50 for a whole kit and is easy to fix. even for a person with no skills
as for not beeing street legal bald tires are also not street legal does he want new tires from you also and a full tank of gas. if you do buy them just to get him to shut up you buy the fender from the cheapest place like bentbike for 20 and tell him to live with it. you can be nice but not to nice about people like him so if it was me i would get these or just print the ebay page and give it to him and tell him taht is all i can do on my end and say good luck on your!! new bike

kawasaki ninja 250 front forks US $39.99
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/kawasaki-ninja-250-front-forks_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34284QQihZ006QQitemZ160110422572QQrdZ1
OEM Kawasaki EX 250 KE 175 fork seal EX250 NINJA KE175 2.95
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OEM-Kawasaki-EX-250-KE-175-fork-seal-EX250-NINJA- KE175_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35592QQihZ007QQitemZ170104443391QQrdZ1
kawasaki ninja 250 head light US $19.99
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/kawasaki-ninja-250-head-light_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34284QQihZ006QQitemZ160110422590QQrdZ1
KAWASAKI EX 250 NINJA FRONT FENDER PLASTIC BODY WORK US $9.99
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/86-KAWASAKI-EX-250-NINJA-FRONT-FENDER-PLASTIC-BODY-WORK_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35584QQihZ003QQitemZ130105358706QQrdZ1

Answer 2

It depends on your local laws. In many locations, if a motorcycle is designated from the factory as "Off Road Use Only", it can not be made street legal no matter what you do. In many locations, if it has a 2 stroke motor, it can not be made street legal because of emissions requirements. In areas where they can be made street legal, you will need to add a headlight, tail light, brake light, turn signals, street tires, speedometer, mirrors, and a horn. You may also need to change your muffler. You may also want to change your sprockets so your bike can better handle sustained highway speeds. Even if your bike can achieve highway speed, how long will it be able to maintain it. You really need to contact your local DMV before making these modifications so you don't waste a lot of money on a bike that will not be street legal. You may also have a problem because a dirt bike electrical system may not have the capacity to handle these additional electrical requirements. If you need a street / trail bike, you would be better off selling your dirt bike and put the money from the sale towards a motorcycle that is already street legal.

Answer 3

What you neglected to say is what does this buyer want? A broken fender does not make a bike illegal to sell. it probably was "open and obvious". You should have noted your sale invoice "as is where is - no warranty". if you didn't - too bad. the dam thing is 17 years old for heavens sake. Does he have "proof" that the DMV (or whatever you call it) will not issue a license? Maybe he is just having "buyer's remorse" and it is simpler for you to take back the bike and sell it to someone else - so this guy doesn't come after you with a chain saw some dark night.

Answer 4

In my home state of New Hampshire, it is ok to sell a vehicle as is. In the neighboring state of Massachusetts, a vehicle does need to pass inspection, or the new buyer can ask for the money for any needed repairs to get a sticker. What is your home state? I don't know the laws of every state. I expect that most states allow you to sell vehicles as is. Did you write "as is, no warranty" on the bill of sale? You should have unless you wanted to give the buyer a warranty. If you don't want to buy the bike back, you could offer to pay for a new fender. I would also make this offer in court if he does take you to court. Unless you gave him a "30 day trial period" or something, then it is unrealistic for him to expect you to take the bike back. For all you know he could have damaged the bike (accidentally or on purpose). I wouldn't take it back.

Answer 5

Laws do vary from state to state. As a general rule, Such a bike was factory built for the road with all legal equipment. If the bike hasn't been modified or such equipment removed, then it would still be street legal. Damaged items such as fenders may need to be replaced for inspection purposes. But such damage would not change the eligibility of the bike to be registered for the road. Nor should it make it illegal to sell.

Answer 6

LACK OF INTEGRITY!
He's a mechanic, he has ridden all his life....
This buyer just had a bad case of remorse. Probably found something not expected by you or by him. Re-negotiation with you might have been a better avenue. You sound like a reasonable person.
As you mentioned; hard lesson learned.
Unfortunately; there are many out there who will not own up to their mistakes.
Still don't understand his arguement for "Not street legal"? He's a mechanic, this problem he encountered is not repairable?

Answer 7

He has eyes - a missing front fender isn't something he could have missed. With full knowledge of the broken fender, he still decided the bike was a good buy. That's his fault not yours. Legally, he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Answer 8

personally I would tell him." you looked at it & bought it as is,the bike was sold as is,any repairs are your responsibility,if your a mechanic like you said you were you should have know what was wrong when you bought it, but if by law the bike has to be street legal & you need a front fender I will purchase one for you from the local bike shop/Wrecking yard & have it delivered to your house"..

hes a mechanic ...he can fit it himself....after all its his bike now not yours...
& as for the fork seal.....tell him it was OK when you sold the bike so he must have done something to it to make it leak...
that makes it his fault & he has to fix it himself...

Answer 9

I would tell him to take a hike. It's $900, and VERY unlikely that he'll hire a lawyer (at a minimum $1000) to take you to court for $900. He looked at, he bought it. Done deal.

Sounds like he's trying to scam you for $500...

Answer 10

Buyer figured to resell it next day and now finds out potential buyer won't pay him a profit--so now after you for price break or complete backout of sale. Call local police and call his bluff- maybe he is a known scammer and has police warrants on him for driving or fail to pay state taxes as unlicensed dealer.