Fag packet paint Vs modern era

Ok i know some of you have ties with "fastline" and some may or may not have used them in the past - however over the years i have seen a less positive side.
They present the bikes perfectly, and while at top dollar and then some, you cannot fault fastline for the presentation and offering the most desirable bikes to the masses - so long as your wallet can stomach it.

Often the bikes you see are enticers, get you into the showroom - but "ah sorry mate that's just been sold that one, but if you leave a deposit we have another on the way from japan and its even better" then quickly go and send all the panels unsold from the 90's to dream machine for a paint and the uninformed / foolhardy are easily fooled.
Fastline have been buying lots of private NSR's and 400's of late, clean them up, often a dream machine paintjob and passing them off as 100% original (even when asked) with a huge huge markup.
Ok that's business i appreciate that and can't knock anyone for doing the same (many traders do) but to state bikes are original when clearly not frankly wastes people's time and dashes hopes after a long journey to be greeted with something that's not all as it seems.

The NR750 for sale (one of them) sold years ago and they were just holding it for the buyer - c'mon, who the fuck buys a NR750 and doesnt collect for years ? and the bikes they take to stafford year after year - all sold apparently, but oddly seem to be at stafford the year after.
don't even get me started on their ebay sales and bikes that "sell" only to appear a month or two later again.

In their defence i have had some good quality and fairly priced parts from them over the years, knowledge is excellent, i just don't agree with the moral compass and wouldn't buy a bike that is being passed as genuine and original when it has a dream machine paintjob, wrong colour code on the subframe, and not all the correct parts. If paying 7 - 7.5k for a NSR SP thats fine, its better than money in the bank but just make sure you are buying a genuine one and not a tarted up SE wearing a SP party frock and without all the right SP parts

 

Garry, there was a stunning Z1 up there yesterday in burgundy.
It stuck me just how large the bike was, but then i saw a really nicely modded Z650 turbo up there too with astralite wheels, and while retaining the OE theme and colours, its was nicely modded. It also struck me just how pretty the Z650 was in green / yellow.


* scuttles off to ebay to scour for old Z's