new beginner and used bikes

Well guys, I hear a lot about staying away from used bikes. I bought 2 used Kawasaki 454ltd's and with 6-7 weeks of weekends and a buddy of mine we came up with a custom little ride with a 3in drop in the rear and a 1.5 inch drop in the front. Total cost not figured but somewhere between $1500.00 and $1700. Kudos to D2moto.com and Ebay.com. We also took it to a local bike shop to tweek it in at $278.00. bikes cost $650.00 , paint $600. will be posting pic's in the pictures as " Little Yellow Bike ". Just thought it would be nice to see what a little elbow grease can do to get a ride up and running with little investment other than time. Take care and God bless.