Used Motorcycle Shop

Howdy, t Look, there's a million different ways to foul up when you're buying a used motorcycle. Hopefully at the end of t Now we've structured t So regardless of whether you found your used bike on Craigslist or on eBay, or maybe even in the classified section of your local paper, t Now that's not the only way of course to obtain a used motorcycle. You can always wander down to your local motorcycle shop and buy a pre-loved bike from those folks. That process is a little bit different though. Those bikes are almost certain to be road worthy and you're probably gonna be paying a little bit more for that privilege. Now that whole process really looks a lot So I would direct you to Spurgey's video here. He teaches you how to buy a new motorcycle. Now that video is just one in a mini series we have helping new riders navigate the process of obtaining their first motorcycle. So be sure you subscribe to us so you can catch all the videos in that series. Let's get back to the used bike t You've got some work to do before you ever even leave the house. Evaluate the seller and evaluate the buyer. Now when I talk about evaluating the seller, I mean examine the ad of the motorcycle you're interested in fairly carefully. We wanna see at a minim And you also wanna see a bike that's wit Regardless of what a bike is actually worth, you don't wanna spend your time arguing price with an unrealistic seller. It winds up just being a total waste of time for each of you. Now I also mentioned evaluating the buyer. And that means kind of looking inside yourself and what you expect and what you're gonna give up and what you're gonna get in return. Remember motorcycles take time, they take money, and they also take effort. So perhaps you're one of those folks who has more time than money. You can sit there and wait for the perfect cherry motorcycle to come along that you can scoop up for a great price. Then again, if you tend to have a couple extra bucks per and a hole in your wallet, you may wanna actually kick them in, employ them. So you get exactly the bike you want that's in great shape. All you lose is a few dollars in the bargain. Now of course, effort comes into play as well. You can pick up a bike if you're willing to put some sweat equity into it, especially if it'somet You can throw a little bit of labor at it and have yourself a motorcycle that's really worth riding around on. Then again, if you're all th Now it's time to get in contact with the seller. In addition to the when and where you're gonna be meeting the seller, you also need to cover some finer points as well. And the first one you wanna go over is a professional inspection. Anybody buying used motorcycle should have a pro check out their bike regardless of whether or not it's mandatory in your state or region. The reason for this is a professional mechanic is The next the reason is that a bike that starts easily and runs well when it's cold is Hearing that bike fire up easily when it's cold should be excellent reassurance that the bike's probably in very good shape. If you ask a seller to leave a bike cold and you get there and you touch the motor and the bike has been warmed up, you might wanna proceed with caution that could indicate a seller that's trying to The final t You don't wanna buy a stolen bike. That's a big problem for everybody, but most especially you. Now we found a great specimen. Let's go take a ride and check t Yep, I drove my truck because we might be buying a new motorcycle and you can't load a new motorcycle into the bed of another motorcycle. Now if you look around, we're here in suburbia because most used bike inspections are gonna take place somewhere Now I'm not buying a motorcycle. I have plenty of motorcycles. However, my colleague Chris has been looking for Chris, it's time to get in the game. Hey Pat. Hey Chris. How's it going? Pretty good. Bike looks really good. Yeah, it'll be a shame to see you go. Is that the title? You mind if I take a look? Absolutely, should be up to snuff. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. T Note that Chris isn't just verifying the title exists, but instead he's actually gonna check to make sure that the n I don't really care if the seller is the Pope. The Pope better have clean paper. When you consider how easy it is to come by beginner motorcycles, it doesn't make sense to saddle yourself with somebody else's titling error. Let's return to t Looks Let me take in t Yeah, knock yourself out. Can you fire it up for me? Absolutely. You might want to cover yours. She's a loud one. Hey, hey, hey, hey. Get out of here, get out of here. Turn t I got a little surprise for all of you out there in video land. We mechanical types, we're great with wrenches, but not so much with crystal balls. We can't really take apart the entire motorcycle to determine how the internals are. So a lot of times we're using external clues to figure out how the bike may have been taken care of. Generally speaking, fluids should be inside the motorcycle. If you see any type of drips or pooling fluid, that's usually not a very good t You may also seeps too. Seeps aren't as aggressive as leaks, but you'll typically see them manifested by oil or grease kind of mixed in with road dirt. It turns into a brownish goop. That's no good. Now, when you're underneath the motorcycle checking that may be indicative of a seller who's trying to cover somet Now, w Low engine oil, that's a really big problem. Dark brake fluid, that may indicate an owner who is stingy on the service dollars. Proceed with caution. Now, the next big item you want to cover is crash damage. There can be telltale signs all over a bike that it's been down before. There's all sorts of t I'm talking about things You want to examine the motorcycle for rash on places that you wouldn't expect to see it, mirrors or perhaps side plastics. And that shouldn't necessarily preclude you from buying the motorcycle, but still, you should know that if you're uncomfortable assessing crash damage, buying a bike that's been heavily crashed can be a really expensive proposition. Now, having said t If they're forthright about the fact the bike has been down and they're honest about the repairs they made or didn't make, that's usually not too big a deal. However, if they try to cover up the fact the bike has been down before, they may being untruthful about other items on the motorcycle. Once you've got the big stuff vetted out on the bike, it's time to check out some of the smaller detail items. Stick your nose into the gas tank, see if it's all rusty in there. Similarly, you can look at the paint on the motorcycle. If you see deep glossy paint that's been well waxed, that's usually a good sign. You can also check out the seat cover as well. If that's in good shape, Odger Exxon of the Owner did their best to keep the bike protected from the elements. Another item you might wanna check out as well is the tires. Tires can give you a lot of information about the bike. If you see a matched set on there, Odger pretty good that the seller didn't mind spending bucks on the motorcycle. Similarly, also examine the tread life and condition on there. It turns out the tires cost a couple of bucks. If you're buying your first bike and you have to immediately slam a set of skins on it, you may be spending more than you initially planned on. Generally speaking, if you're paying careful attention to the outside of the bike, you'll get a good idea for what's going on the inside. Well, the bike sounds and looks great. When was the last time you had a service? Quite recently. I actually keep all the receipts in t Oh, excellent. Why are you selling the bike? I recently bought a new one. Congratulations. When was the last time you took t I actually rode it into work last week. Hey, sorry about that. So it might seem What he's actually doing is politely interrogating He's trying to find out a little bit more about the bike by keeping Pat talking about it. You should be doing the same t Ask the seller why they're getting rid of the bike or why they bought it in the first place. And maybe talk to Anyt You can also use non-verbal clues too. Does the place look That's probably not a good t If you remember, Pat mentioned that he had picked up a new motorcycle. It would seem reasonable then that he'd probably be selling a learner bike thereafter. Now, t Remember, Pat's not gonna need them anymore and he's probably willing to let them go for a song. Now, in a bit of terrible foreshadowing, I bet we have a test ride coming. Hey, I really You mind if I take a first spin? I don't know. What if you drop it or what if you run off? I'd rather you didn't. Fair point. I've got 2,500 bucks. If I wreck it, consider the bike bought. Seems fair. Do you have a helmet? Sure do. All right, w Now, if you have a license and you're comfortable j However, if you're uncomfortable, mechanically inept, or perhaps unlicensed, you may want to strongly consider bringing along a more experienced motorcyclist with you to stand in your place for the test ride. Now, one of the other t So one good way to encourage a seller to give you a test ride is to negotiate the price of the motorcycle and then put the cash into their hand. Then you can take your test ride and, Of course, tradition dictates that if you put the bike down, you're buying the bike whether you At t Now, t What you're doing instead now is making sure the bike's actually safe to ride. Some of these t Now, in your MSF class, you may have heard something These are the basic t You should make a habit of doing this is really when you j And I probably shouldn't have to say it, but I will You wanna pay as little as you can for your motorcycle. You're I love it. Let's do some paperwork. Great, pleasure doing business with you. I'm gonna grab some tie downs. And once the deal is done, you wanna crawl some T's and dot some I's, and that begins with making sure you get the paperwork knocked out. In just about all cases, the seller is gonna need to sign the title over. And in many places, you're gonna need a bill of sale as well. Now, there are some states that require some other stuff too, You wanna familiarize yourself with your state's requirements before you ever head out to check out a used motorcycle. Now, the final piece of the puzzle here is gonna be getting t Now, in a lot of places, it's not legal to just j And even if it is legal, you might not wanna do it, especially if you're unlicensed. You may wanna enlist the help of a friend who happens to have a truck. Alternatively too, you can also see if the seller is willing to work with you and how is the motorcycle for a w Don't forget too, again, to leave some money in reserve for what I would call unforeseen expenses. A lot of people forget that motorcycles typically have sales tax when they're transferred, even when they're used. And again, you may wind up needing parts or fluid changes. And don't forget about that all-important professional mechanics inspection. Just in case it wasn't obvious from the absolutely awful acting, that transaction was staged. Be assured though that the real deal will look very, very similar. Now, if you're wanting a little bit more education, head on over to Common Tread. We've got a couple articles that should be pretty helpful, including some tips on haggling, as well as an article on how to make sure the bike you're buying isn't stolen. Now don't forget too, t So check out those other videos and subscribe to us at RevZilla. com so you can catch all our content as we're rolling it out. I'm Lemmy, I'm outta here. Let's go. Thank you.