Blimey. 1968 was the year I got my first bike at the age of 17. It was a Yamaha DS5 250cc twin. The bike was only a few months old but I got it dirt cheap because the previous owner came off it and was killed. He hit his head on a pole but there was bugger-all damage to the bike. It was cheap because buyers were put off by the bad mojo of it having killed a bloke, but I wasn't superstitious so it didn't bother me. About 6 weeks after I got the bike a car turned in front of me and I slammed into it. The bike was written off and I got a smashed knee joint. I hobbled around on that crook knee for about 40 years until I got an artificial knee (mentioned a little while ago in another thread).
In early 2001 I asked a friend who dealt in vehicle salvage, to look out for a decent, potential race bike for me. Either Honda or Kawasaki.
I needed a bike to prepare for that years' MGP. You could run a 600 in both Junior
and Senior classes, so I was on the lookout for one.
Anyway he phoned me to come down, and have a look at a bike he'd collected that he thought might do .
It was a 2yr old, low-mileage ZX6, with high front end damage. The top fairing, mounting bracket, frame lugs and headlamp all damaged.
There were some cosmetic marks on the left side also. The rest of the bike was mint, and it ran perfectly.
His asking price was more than fair, especially considering he included most of another bike for spares.
However, before he shook my hand, he said "Something I need to tell you Steve". Well you can probably guess what was coming.
He told me that sadly, the previous owner had lost his life in the accident, and he fully understood, if I chose not to have it.
I thanked him for his honesty. After all, if he had stayed silent, I would never have known.
Didn't make it to the IOM MGP, but then again, neither did anyone else. The 2001 'GP
and the TT were cancelled that year due to the
foot and mouth epidemic.
I did make it the following year, and once again in '04. And yes, I bought the aforementioned bike. Used it both years, finishing all races entered.
Quite understand why some would not, but I had no bad feelings about it, and no 'bad karma' either.
Nor, more importantly to me at the time, did It feel disrespectful to the guy. Quite the opposite, in fact, I hope.
The bike was great. It never missed a beat.
N.B. When I eventually sold the bike some years later, I did two things.
Firstly, I told the buyer the full story.
Second, I withheld the bikes' registration details, so it couldn't be put back on the road.
