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Difference between revisions of "Used Motorcycle Evaluation"
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* Bring riding gear in case the seller will let you test ride the bike. (If you're new to motorcycling and don't have any gear yet, perhaps the bike-savvy friend accompanying you will be kind enough to bring his/her gear, and do a test ride for you.) | * Bring riding gear in case the seller will let you test ride the bike. (If you're new to motorcycling and don't have any gear yet, perhaps the bike-savvy friend accompanying you will be kind enough to bring his/her gear, and do a test ride for you.) | ||
* You'll have to go through and carefully inspect used bikes being sold by dealerships, too, since many dealerships take used bikes as trade-ins, make minimal (if any) repairs, and mark the bikes up way over "blue book" value. It's up to you to find defects (and to know what the used bike's real value is!!) to get these vultures back down to a reasonable price. Think of it as a treasure hunt -- you're looking for the hidden secrets that will save you money. | * You'll have to go through and carefully inspect used bikes being sold by dealerships, too, since many dealerships take used bikes as trade-ins, make minimal (if any) repairs, and mark the bikes up way over "blue book" value. It's up to you to find defects (and to know what the used bike's real value is!!) to get these vultures back down to a reasonable price. Think of it as a treasure hunt -- you're looking for the hidden secrets that will save you money. | ||
* As a general rule of thumb, when work needs to be done to repair a problem with the bike, most dealerships charge around $50/hour for labor, possibly more for European | * As a general rule of thumb, when work needs to be done to repair a problem with the bike, most dealerships charge around $50/hour for labor, possibly more for European [[marque]]s ([[Ducati]], [[BMW]], [[Triumph]], etc.) | ||
* In the text below, "left" and "right" refer to the rider's left and right sides when sitting on the bike. | * In the text below, "left" and "right" refer to the rider's left and right sides when sitting on the bike. | ||
* If you aren't really experienced with bikes, do some practice inspections! Find a couple of friends with bikes, and, pretending that you're at a seller's house inspecting a used bike, go over a couple of bikes in minute detail. You'll learn a lot about how bikes are put together, and you might even find some things that your friends missed. Take notes while you're doing the inspections, and go over your findings with your friends after each inspection. | * If you aren't really experienced with bikes, do some practice inspections! Find a couple of friends with bikes, and, pretending that you're at a seller's house inspecting a used bike, go over a couple of bikes in minute detail. You'll learn a lot about how bikes are put together, and you might even find some things that your friends missed. Take notes while you're doing the inspections, and go over your findings with your friends after each inspection. | ||
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* Ask the owner if the bike has been serviced according the manufacturer's specifications, and, if so, for service receipts as verification. | * Ask the owner if the bike has been serviced according the manufacturer's specifications, and, if so, for service receipts as verification. | ||
* If you feel uncertain about the bike's condition, it's not unreasonable to request that the seller take the bike to a mechanic of your choosing for inspection -- at your expense. It's also not unreasonable to expect that the seller might to try to sell to someone who won't make him go through the added hassle of doing this. | * If you feel uncertain about the bike's condition, it's not unreasonable to request that the seller take the bike to a mechanic of your choosing for inspection -- at your expense. It's also not unreasonable to expect that the seller might to try to sell to someone who won't make him go through the added hassle of doing this. | ||
* As noted in the [[#FIRST THINGS FIRST]] section, labor rates are typically around $50/hour, though factory-trained mechanics for European | * As noted in the [[#FIRST THINGS FIRST]] section, labor rates are typically around $50/hour, though factory-trained mechanics for European [[marque]]s ([[BMW]], [[Ducati]], [[Triumph]], etc.) might charge a little more. | ||
==Dirt Bikes== | ==Dirt Bikes== | ||