Used Bikes - Ever Buy One? Look Inside...
I need the collective wisdom of this fine forum to help out a buddy. We went and looked at several used bikes this past weekend. We saw an 07 R6, 05 R6, 06 GSX-R600, 04 CBR600RR and 06 ZX-6R. I was always apprehensive of buying used bikes, particularly sportbikes, because there’s no way of knowing how it was treated or maintained prior to looking at it. However, I have bought a few used bikes a number of years ago before I could afford to buy new. My 1986 Kawi ZX-1000R was a money pit, but the other ones seemed to be OK. Although I didn’t keep them for more than a year or so. When I decide to get another bike, I’ll most likely buy new because I tend to keep bikes for a long time. My last bike was over 7 years old when I sold it. Anyway, back to my buddy.
I know there are the usual things to look for:
-obvious body and engine damage/scrapes (checking for stuff hidden underneath plastics),
-maintenance records,
-how easily does the bike start,
-how does it sound,
-does it idle smoothly,
-does it rev freely,
-how does the rest of the owner’s garage look (does it look like he takes care of his stuff or not?)
-how many previous owners has the bike had (my preference would be for a single owner, not a bike that’s been passed around and around).
However, most of the bikes we looked at seemed to be in good running shape. Some were obviously well cared for, or the owner spent a lot of time detailing it to make it look nice to sell – no way of knowing which. One or two looked like they’ve never seen a wash, they were filthy. The ZX looked like it had been ridden a lot, which it had been. However, it was a one owner bike and the owner had every single receipt from flushmounts to tires to oil changes. Very impressive. Most of the bikes were on their 2nd or 3rd owners and had little in the way of maintenance records.
They all started up and revved freely. The GSX-R needed a few tries to start, but it was obvious it hadn’t been ridden in a while due to the dust build up on the bike. On the surface most of the bikes seemed to be OK but how can you tell that the engine wasn’t revved within an inch of its life on a daily basis? How can you tell that the bike wasn’t the wheelie machine of the block? How can you tell that stoppies weren’t what the owner did day in and day out? How do you know that the bike wasn’t ridden at 13,000 rpm all day, every day (being a bit facetious) Any good way to tell that it wasn’t ridden hard on the track and put away wet?
I guess it all comes down to gut feel then doesn’t it? By the way, maybe it’s what we’re going to find simply because of the bikes he’s looking at, 600 race replicas, but just about all of the owners were kids (20-25 years old). Some of them didn’t look like they knew which end of the screwdriver to hold. A couple of them were (in their minds) the ‘Numma Wun Stunna’. Only one kid seemed to be on the ball and serious about bikes. He was selling a CBR600RR in order to move up to a ZX-10R.
So, all that being said, if you’ve purchased a used bike before, what went through your mind as you were looking at it? Anything in particular to look for that I didn’t mention? Any signs to look for regarding any engine, transmission, or clutch troubles? I don’t want to recommend a bike to him, only to have it be someone else’s problem they are looking to get rid of.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Scott
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