Completely original?

The pipe doesn't look like an original.

 

It does, i have one in my shed.

 

Is the shed original?

 

I built it, so yes it sure as **** is

 

I'm not so sure.

TOG - any chance you could give it the once over?

 

The 'Not Known' on the log book is fairly common on imports so the
only real question is if the engine number is ropey.
Tog said "Engine number - didn't look like it had been stamped,
but etched in with a tiny drill." and I thought thats how new engine
numbers were , to try and prevent ringers.
Otherwise it sounds like a good buy , well cared for , one owner
for 10 years etc.....

 

Indeed. When the importer fills in the V55/5, they don't always put the
engine number down. Some foreign documentation doesn't carry it, and they
can't always be arsed to actually check.

Yes, I am speaking from experience here...

 

Still begs the question: why bother buying something with iffy
documentation and potential (if unlikely) hassle?

 

Might not be iffy though and if you were planning to keep it
Oh , as you were...

 

(The Older Gentleman) gurgled happily,
sounding much like they were saying:

It's hardly "iffy". If it bothers you, write the engine number on the
V5C, and send it back to Swansea. Wait a couple of weeks, and you'll get
one back with engine number on it.

 

Which is what the seller should have done 10 years ago.

I don't really care - there are plenty of other bikes out there. I'm
just not going to buy one that has a blot on the paperwork.

 

Are you selling it?

 

No it doesn't. That doesn't mean what you think it means![1]

[1] And I can never remember what it means either, but it's not the
same as "raises the question".

 

<mode=TOG>

Well, there are signs that that the padlock is not the original, and
there are scratch marks around the door hinges, so I think they've been
changed. Of course, it could just be that the crappy OEM 6-screw
Tokico hinges have been changed to better 4-screw Brembo ones.

The concrete floor has defintely been repaired, and I thought that I
could see a half-decomposed hand sticking out of it. In the hand was
an old piece of paper, looked like it was a printout of an eBay auction
for a Mazda MX-5.

Avoid, avoid, avoid.

</mode>

 

`Begging the question' is assuming what you are trying to prove.

 

<VBG>

You silly sod.

 

I've polished a couple of undamaged frames coz the owners are into their
bling look.