The Land of Broken Dreams:

An afternoon at the salvage yard.

By: Beemer Dan

Maybe you need a part, maybe you need a new project bike, maybe you just need to kill an afternoon playing hookey from work. We've all spent time wandering through the bike salvage yards, sometimes the main reason for going is just to wander around and look at the bikes that once were. I recently did this....several times....ok, I do it constantly, it's a sickness I have. I've got a few bikes in various stages of life and death in the garage,waiting for ressurection and restoration. Buying brand new parts on most of these projects can be rather cost prohibitive. So it's off to the salvage yards to find the wee little bits of aluminum, steel and plastic I desire. I've done this more times than I can count and I've gathered a bit of wisdom on the subject.

It always amazes me to see carcasses of rusted bikes piled up on eachother like snakes in a mating frenzy. Forks of one bike going through the rear wheel of another, a random tarnished exhaust pipe jutting through the open space where a motor should be. These bikes were once proud to roll off of an assembly line, shiny and clean. I look around and try to tell what the final killing blow was to take these steeds from the road for the final time. Some have telltale signs like huge gouges and scratches along one side, others have the whole front end smacked right through the frame and into the engine. You can see on alot of these where there are huge dents in the tank in the shape of the inside of someones knee. I feel pity for the machines that look like they were rear-ended, you know that more than likely the pilot was not at fault. The worst by far are the bikes that look like they only had a few things wrong till the owner let them rust to death in someones backyard. There are alot of these, bikes that look like even now would be just fine with a few hundred bux and whole lot of polishing. The sad part is, there are so many 197something kawahondsuzukyamahas in perfectly good condition for sale that nobody is willing to pick up one of these for a project.

Enough of the depressing crap tho, there are some really great project bikes to be had if you're willing to dig around for a few hours in a hot dark warehouse. The wonder of seeing over a dozen makes of bikes crammed against a wall that you've never actually seen on the street. Hodoka, Jawa, Puch, Sachs Maico and others. Sometimes the really rare stuff like a Lilac or Zundapp shows up, that's when you have to jump because you never know when another one will arrive. Recently I found a 1966 Zundapp KS100, 1,800 original miles, keys, original toolkit, wow! I got it for less than I feel at liberty to talk about, lets just say that anything you can trade web design work for is usually a pretty good deal. Of course my sweetheart Lis' fell in love with the bike instantly. The nice part about this is the endless hours we've been spending in the garage together lately getting the Zundapp road worthy, but I'm getting off of the subject at hand. Let's start with the layout of the salvage yard:

1) the entrance

This one is simple enough, it's the part just past the front door with the desk and the cash register, there are usually a couple of fans to cool things off a bit. Also note the Coke machine, it may not be at the entrance but you can usually see it from there, it will be important later.

2) The showroom

The showroom is the place with the used bikes and all the new parts in little baggies and shrinkwrap. There is a counter there too, don't bug the person behind it too much tho, if you are looking for a particular used part it's your obligation as a customer looking for parts to go look for parts. Essentially, they may have no clue where the part is either, but if it's a slow day or you're luck they'll help you find it. If you ask for a left hand clip-on bar for a 1996 Suzuki GSXR, they may promptly tell you where to find the bars and tell you good luck. the "good luck" isn't sarcasm, they really mean it, they just haven't seen one recently.

3) The shop

Most salvage yards are a little more realxed than most bike shops and will let you wander through the service area for a limited amount of time, more than a couple of minutes is pushing it tho.

4) The bins

The bins are usually rather centrally located off to the side in a room somwhere. This is where you'll find what you looking for if you are blessed by the part gods.

5) The shelves

The shelves are usually near the bins and surrounding area. This is where they keep wheels and forks and stuff too big for the bins.

6) The hooks aka the rafters

Looking for bodywork or big luggage racks? Look up, hanging from the ceiling. It is generally best to get someone who works there to get a particular part down for further inspection. You can get it down yourself but you may bring the roof down or knock yourself unconsious on accident.

7) The mourge

This is an indoor room that holds many thrashed bikes: some have siezed motors, some were whacked by cagers, some left to slowly rot and die. here is the best palce to find projects, generally these bikes are fairly new to the salvage yard and the closest to being complete.

8) The yard (the graveyard)

This is usually an outside sort of place filled with piles of bikes, stripped down or crashed beyond recognition. Any parts you find out here will have lots of rust and dirt. It's worth a look tho. You may find that chrome chopper frame or set of racing mags and all they need is a good cleaning. Stuff in the yard is usually pretty cheap, the owners of the place may actually be suprised to see you hauling something out of there. If it's your luck day you can get a whole bunch of bits for under 50 bux.

8) The Secret room

If the shop owners like like you, and you buy alot of stuff, they'll show you the secret room. The secret room may be a room, a warehouse or someones personal garage. Regardless, this is where the best stuff is to be had. Don't ever ask to see the secret room, everyone will deny it's existence, it will be shown to you when the time is right young grasshopper.

That's the basic layout of your average salvage yard, I find it best if I usually have some sort of plan or strategy to it. I'll usually try to avoid going between 11 and 2 in the summer so I don't end up in a hot basement full of parts during the worst heat of the day. I try to first browse the new bikes in the showroom and the mourge to see if there is anything I can't live without, then I deduce what I can afford and what I'll buy if it's still there in next month or two. Next it's off to the shop to see if there is anything rare or groovy I've never seen before, you'd be suprised what you'll run into on the lifts. I've seen racers and antiques being worked on that I'd never get the chance to look at otherwise. I try to keep the search for parts as the last part of the mission, nothing like than wandering around for a couple of hours with an armful of parts. I have a set of mental rules for going to the salvage yard to help in the quest for parts:

1) If you are looking for a part you need to replace, always bring the part with you.

Sometimes a part in your garage looks very distinct and you know you could tell it from one a year newer. The fact of the matter is tho, once you get to the salvage yard you will be confronted with an infinite number of variations of the part you are looking for. After the initial vertigo of seeing all of the parts you'll be hard pressed to get home with a part that even resembles what you need.

2) If you are looking for a specific part, always be prepared to spend at least an hour finding the right one.

Most succsesful salvage yards have these big stacks of boxes, bins and cabinets overflowing with levers, mirrors, throttles, etc,etc. Other smaller yards will have these great big fucking piles of the parts. Generally parts are sorted by make and nothing more. Any time you can find a bunch of parts for a particular make and model in one room you are more than likely stripping a bike. So you need to set aside some time for digging through the throngs of metal and plastic to find that groovy little gem of a part that will make your bike better.

3) Never look for a left side cover for any 70's japanese bike.

Contrary to popular belief, Japanese manufacturers didn't produce a single bike with a left sidecover from 1971-1979, well, that's how it seems sometimes at least. Honestly, the left sidecover is a paradox in the bike world. It refers to when you are riding down the highway at an insane rate of speed and your left sidecover (or another of various parts) goes flying off of your bike, smashing onto the road, bouncing off of a cliff, falls into a ditch and is carried by the current to the same place that socks go. You then go to the local salvage yard to find a replacement part, only to find they don't have it. The problem here is that some parts aren't held on very well, maybe it was a lazy guy on the assembly line, or some adverse engineering, but the particular part in question has had the same fate with almost every bike it was put on. Bottom line here, the part may be impossible to find, or you may have to order it new, may the force be with you.

4) Whatever project you have at home is never as cool as the ones you will find.

I have come to the conlcusion that salvage yards have an endless supply of really cool bikes covered in dust and oil and crap. The shop owners have psychic abilities and can tell what you are looking for in a project. Upon pulling up to the salvage yard the shop owners will read your mind on what bikes you want and promptly move them into an obvious spot for you to find. It's cruel really and it happens alot. Most of us have limited funds and garage space which makes this whole process even more cruel.

5) Always bring a few bux in change for beverage purposes.

Every good bike shop or salvage yard has a lifesaving cola machine. Unfourtunately these things are ancient and don't ever take dollar bills. DO NOT TRY TO GO PARTS HUNTING WITHOUT ADEQUATE BEVERAGE. Like a motor, a the human body is only good as long as it has fluids, try to go into the parts yard without refreshment and you'll seize up just like that old CB 400 motor over there, it's brutal.

6) don't wear anything resembling clothes you like.

You will get covered in rust, oil, dirt, sweat and other nasty stuffs. If you like all of your clothes and don't want them to get ruined you may as well go naked....just kidding. Really, don't go naked, just wear some raggedy stuff you don't mind getting grungy.

7) Beware of groping more than you can screw.

You'll find alot of bits you can't live without, if you are like me and don't own a car you'll have a limit to what you can carry home. This is where the friend with the truck or a significant other can come in real handy. If you are single with no friends then bring bungie nets, saddlebags and a tarp. Following this rule will keep parts from rattling off the bike before you bolt them on.

That's about it for my yak on the subject, I'm off to go wrench on the Zundapp with the girlie and maybe even try to make some headway on the Yamaha YSR50 that's been the garage for a couple of years. Happy hunting on the parts and projects of your dreams.