This is a really hard question to answer without a lot more information. How much of the rebuild can you do yourself? Do you have good access to whatever parts you will need? Do you have any experience in the rebuilt vehicle market? I rebuilt my first totaled bike in 1985, and have done several more over the years since. My current ride is an '07 Ultra that I purchased as a total in December of 2007. I have put over 100,000 miles on it since the rebuild, but this route is not for everyone. As far as insurance companies go, once a vehicle is repaired in accordance with the state guidelines and properly licensed for highway use, it is no different than any other vehicle on the road. Banks are a different story. I do not know of any that will loan money on a vehicle with a salvage title, but several of our local banks will loan money against them after they are finished and licensed for use on the road. However, as pointed out earlier, each state is different and I can only speak about the way things work in Indiana. As appoint of clarification, in Indiana, if a vehicle is declared a total loss by an insurance company, it gets a "salvage" title attached to it. After said vehicle is repaired, inspected and all the appropriate paperwork is completed, the state will then issue a "rebuilt" title that will allow the vehicle to be licensed and insured for highway use. One more point to consider, there is no legal way of removing the "rebuilt" designation from the title, and as a rebuilt vehicle it will never bring top dollar when you are ready to sell. Furthermore, many dealers will not accept them as trades. All that being said, I have enjoyed good success with my rebuilds. I am not saying I made a lot of money on them, but I have been able to ride much newer bikes with higher levels of customization than I would have otherwise.
