Bates121
B l a c k L e a d e r
One of our members and I apologize in advance because I do not remember who posted it so I cannot give credit to him, but he did this writeup about buying used bikes. I found it useful and so have my friends who I passed it onto who where looking at used bikes.
[FONT="]1) Avoid buying a used motorcycle from a dealer (the dealer either had to purchase the bike outright from an auction, insurance company, finance company, or the owner himself/herself), that means that in order to survive, the dealer MUST mark it up. So, buy a used bike from the owner.
2) Make sure that the owner has kept ALL of the service/maintenance records, and make sure they have the title "in-hand". If they have not, then pay them substantially less than they are asking for the bike. It is always helpful to try to judge the previous owner's attitude toward the bike & condition of it. Never buy a bike from someone who does not care for it. Peoples' attitudes toward their possesions reflect greatly on their "care & feeding" of them.
3) Spend at least 10 minutes carefully looking over the bike; bring a flashlight & expect to crawl around on the ground. Look in every dark nook & cranny. Look at the frame, exhaust headers, underside of engine, sidecases, forks, brakes, rear shock, grips, under the seat, tire wear,etc. Actually, I try to look at so much stuff that the owner begins to feel nervous. Here's a tip: the longer that it takes the owner to feel nervous, the higher likelihood that the bike is in top shape.
4) Test ride the motorcycle where you can get up to at least 40mph in a straight line & let go of the handlebar to see if the bike pulls to one side strangely; if it does, WALK AWAY Test condition of brakes, shocks, steering bearings, etc while riding.
5) Show up with cash & make them a cash offer for 10%-15% less than what you are willing to actually pay for the bike, but please remember that your cash offer should be reasonable & respectful (but, who knows, you just might get it for that). There is something very difficult about refusing a cash-in-hand offer. Please, please, please do not insult the seller with an offer that it substantially less than fair-market-value.
If you have done these things, you are very likely to get a fantastic deal on a great used bike.
As for me, I just picked up an 08 FZ6 with 5,600 miles on it that was immaculate for $3,700!! (It was sooo clean that I was willing to pay $4,000, but they accepted $3,700 which allowed me to purchase & mount a set of new Michelin Pilot Powers) AND I LOVE IT!
[/FONT]Anyway in my opinion I would not buy either of those personally I would keep looking. Bike A just seems way overpriced even with the gear which will probably not fit you correctly anyway. Bike B just seems sketchy my bulls**t radar is going off as I read about this. Seller says it was a low speed drop then later find out it was 40-50mph that is not low speed, low speed is 0-10 mph. He says he had a dealership look at it, get a copy of that paperwork or get him to have the bike reinspected after you have done your own inspection. I do not know how long you have been looking but It took me almost 4 months to find my bike. Many trips to random places to check out bikes and many trips to dealers to check out leftover 09's. Good luck with whatever diretion you decide to go, oh and :welcome:to the forum!!
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