I am interested in buying a not soo god bike, like a junk, just to tinker around in my spare time. any ideas?

 

Are you looking for suggestions on what type of bike to look for, or suggestions on where to look?

 

actually any HD but where to go for such a deal, I would prefer a softail family

 

If you're looking for HD, you might be hard pressed to find one cheap. I've looked on and off over the last year or two, and even wrecked ones that I've seen are going for more than you'd expect.

Depending on what you're looking to do, you might be able to pick up an older used Buell (Sportster motor, trans, etc.) for fairly cheap. Other than that, you're best bet is probably looking for a Sportster...

 

what do they do with "totaled" bikes, I mean if the cost of repairs is more than the bike value, what does insurance or the repair shop do with these machines

 

I've seen them auctioned on ebay and a couple of websites like http://www.ridesafely.com/, but the prices seem to go higher than reasonable. For example, if you pick up a wrecked Dyna for $4 to $5k, and you have to put another $4 to $5k into it to fix, you're right around the cost of a decent used one. To that, add the fact that you're most likely going to end up with a salvage or rebuild title, and it just doesn't seem worth it.

Not trying to rain on your parade... There may be some options out there that I'm not aware of. If you find anything, let me know...

 

Might want to consider a rolling chassis.. Then you have complete choices in drivetrain.. You can pick up a piece here and there.. such as a new S&S engine, a good 6speed tranny, etc.. You'd definitely get some tinkering done with a project like that.. and have yourself a very nice custom when you're done. better yet, if you can get a very very very worthless clunker for a song and a dance with a Vin# that's clear, you could use that vin for your new scoot maybe, to bypass the "one in a lifetime" law on private folks registering a custom build.

 

Keep searching ebay. Theres all kinds of stuff on there and you can probably find one close to where you live. In late autumn and early winter the number of used bikes for sale goes way up.

 

http://www.crashedtoys.com/Inventory.asp?Location=s

There's quite a few crashed harleys here, but price seems high to me on most considering the amount of damage.