funny things happen when you look at a used bike...

I sold a wrecked (by me) FZR600 back when those were still being made. I had done a ton of engine and suspension work to the bike so when I wrecked it and tweaked the frame, I bought a Vance and Hines special edition to swap my engine and suspension onto, put all the stock parts on the bent frame, patched up the fairing and advertised it for $1000. I fully expected to take $500-600 since the engine and other mechanicals were worth at least that much and the bike ran and could be ridden.

Kid calls me at work and says he wants to see it... "sure, when?" "How about in 30 minutes?" He shows up, I tell him everything I know of that is wrong with it. He looks at it for 5 minutes, pulls out a WAD of $100's and counts off 10 and hands them to me. He tells me he doesnt have any tie downs and would it be ok to come back and buy the bike later. I tossed a set of tiedowns to him, helped him load the bike in his truck and sent him on his way.


Buying my current VFR750, I found it on CL, called the seller. He tells me about the bike, and I ask specifically if the R/R is original and does it need to be replaced. Nope, he says, its got the upgraded finned R/R and it charges just fine. I show up, sure enough its got the finned unit, looks crusty as hell and probably came off a junk bike but whatever. We negotiate a deal where I pay him 75% of his price for a test ride to be refunded if I don't like the bike. I take it on a 15-20 mile ride, like it, buy it, load it in my truck and leave. Get home, fucker wont start, battery is dead. Jump it off, grab my meter, not charging. Check the stator, it's fine. WTF??

The bike wasn't perfect when I bought it, and he told me everything else about it that was wrong. It had been on a battery tender (he insisted on keeping the connector for it) and he used it after every ride "because I just don't ride much anymore". Obviously he knew the R/R was junk. It wouldn't have been a deal breaker, I probably would have asked for $75 off max. Regardless, I got a nice new MOSFET unit, problem solved.

ninja 600 - $2500

said it slid once, a little rash.

bike looked good for its age. sure, some rash, tires were 40%, chain ok, lubed but not clean. battery was old but healthy. dash lights worked and it started fine.

wiggled and kicked things before I got on to try.

"2nd and 3rd don't catch real good" says he.

turned off bike, said thanks and went for a burger instead.

ninja 650 - $3500

sounded good in the ad, younger guy , only had it one summer.



found:
cracked frame typical of thed 2006's
knot in rear, very well worn tire
rusty chain
punched side case, jbweld
rattly bottom end
"custom acropovik exhaust" good for extra 20 hp (right)



nice kid, shitted up bike, got a burger instead

200something katana

found:
fresh oil wiped off ground, wet under engine with oil

asked about it "ya, I just changed it 10 minutes ago"
didn't want to start it for me, no test rides, cash only non negotiable

said he'd help me load it though.

ya, got a burger.

2004 drz
ad said it got used in hare scrambles, so I expected a cluster


bike was clean, quiet (for a drz) and new tires
went through the gears with my son on the tailgate waiting


found, when I got home:
bad stator, bad battery, bad tube

16000 miles later (22000 total), I'm happy

1972 honda cb350

basket case, free (AWWWESOMMMMEEE !!!)

found, original manual, title, oil?, and a small angry yellow jacket in the light bucket.

swapped for stuff later, worth several burgers and a set of tires

I only proceed with a bike conversation on phone or via email if it seems like the other party knows what they are doing and they seem to be in the right place. And only on the buy side.

I like happy scenes and actively enjoy talking with people, but not dealing with their confusion or weird situations. Getting a few hundred $ of a bargain is not worth slugging through a season's worth of potential transactions. Life is short and the right bike is only one more click away.

-I see the GS500e you posted on Craigslist has a new chrome muffler in the first picture. Is it a slip on or a full exhaust? Is that a Yoshimura badge?
-Huh?
-The exhaust.
-Exhaust?
-Yes the exhaust pipe and muffler. The shiny thing on the right side of the bike.
-I don't know. I bought the bike to ride it last autumn and now I am getting divorced so I am selling it. You can come look at it.
-OK thanks, I will call again if I am interested.

I never sell bikes myself. Local Yamaha dealer are really great people, and sell bikes on consignment. I drop off and watch with amusement as they talk to the retail public for me, which they enjoy doing. They are in the right business, based on their personalities and hobbies. They get good money for clean used bikes.

It's happening now... There's a "garage kept" 1971 BMW R75/5 listed on the local Craigslist for $6800. I know that's way too much, I've seen minty fresh ones listed for $5500 here on the island, but I'm curious, so I give the guy a call. Turns out the bike is owned by the friend of the guy whose garage it's in, and he's not happy that the friend put his phone number in the ad. He tells me the bike has been sitting for about 5 years, the mufflers rusted out and it has no battery or current registration. I ask if I can come and look at it when I'm in the area. He really doesn't want to, but says to call the owner and get the details from him beforehand. Two weeks later and 4-5 calls with messages left on the answering machine, still no response...

Cheap Bike,daily rider....

900SS? A Ducati of that vintage is going to cost you money regardless,a Suzuki/Honda/Kawasaki/Yamaha is a daily rider,an older Ducati is going to become a labor of love.

If you want cheap with full service records and matching paint and cherry bodywork you gotta look around a whole bunch.

I buy basket cases regular for my business,half bikes,blown up bikes,unused for years and years bikes. Probably 50 or 70 in the last 4 years,maybe more.

The bigger/longer/more detailed the story is about how the bike is a runner/will run/has run/will find the pink tomorrow,engine is rebuilt,the more sure a bet that it is blown to smithereens inside with near 0 useable engine parts. Its gotten pretty easy to spot the desperate ones who are grasping at any straw to get as much money as they can out of a bike they probably found on the roadside.

1 guy was crying while his brother held him tight,he was so broke up about selling his 200.00 XL350,bike is roached.

97 yz250........"it just lost spark,probably the plug cap"
Cases,wrecked,cylinder-wrecked. Stator beat in place with american screws hammered in,crank destroyed, bearings went through top end.
Yet they put a new piston on top of all this thinking that will fix it,obviously never ran with new piston as a big end bearing got sucked through the bore instantly.I didnt pay much for it.

So I guess Im saying,Buyer Beware. Used is used and anything can happen with no guarantees.


Having said that,the bikes Ive bought used to ride myself have almost all worked out great,lucky I guess.

Airhead owners are dreaming big these days,all the mawkish slobbering and worshipping these bikes get online has made people think they have a goldmine.

Usually one long ride after riding a new bike is enough to cure airhead want.

Well, this isn't about a motorcycle sale but the same idiocy applies.
I had a pristine Mercedes to sell. First buyer comes out and tells me he is going to buy it. He even says that he has a check in his pocket for $10,000. I tell him that if he will give me a $100 deposit, I'll write a receipt with the balance and give him a week to make his financial arrangements and pick it up.
He declines. So I say, just give me a $50 deposit. He declines again. But he insists that he still wants the car and is definitely going to buy it. I tell him I'll take a $20 deposit and he still declines. I finally get it down to a $5 deposit and he still declines. I tell him to get his *** off my property and stop wasting my time!
Next buyer comes along, takes the test drive and she is definitely going to buy it. She comes back a week later and again says she is going to buy it. She places her hand on the fender, looks to the sky and shouts, "I claim this Mercedes in the name of Jesus"! She left again and that was the last I saw of her. I guess Jesus just wasn't listening.

Great thread.

I find that I can get pretty good deals on craigslist. I scan ads daily, sometimes a few times/day. The best deals are usually the very short ads.

My most recent purchase was a second GS500 for my sons to ride. Bike is an '00 with 10k miles. It had one non running knock down (asshole neighbor from the sellers story). The guy was straight up about every flaw and pointed out everything he knew. It hadn't run in 3 years. It had a few modifications which can be undone, unlike the last GS500 we got which was literally show room perfect.

Asking price was $700. I don't use flaws as a method to talk them down. I poke at the bike from all angles, touch and examine things they haven't disclosed and see if they spark up with a story. After I'm done looking I either thank them for their time or make an offer. Nothing worth getting panties in a wad over. If they balk I usually tell them I understand, but math is math and the deal has to work for me. I'll leave it a standing offer. They can either get beat up by others and find out I'm right, or they can sell it to someone who didn't consider what it would take to sort the bike out.

To run the bike needed tires, a battery and a good fuel system cleaning (I've yet to find a bike that wouldn't benefit from that).
Seat is fine, chain is fine, all lights and horn work, tank has one ding in it.

I think I probably could have shanked the guy for $500 but in reality he had taken good care of the bike, was straight up and was sad to see it go.

In the end I told him it was worth what he was asking (his facial expression told me he'd already been beat up by others). I came the next day with a trailer. With the updates done the bike would fetch $1500 in sunny weather and I'm in it $900.

American screws hammered in?

That's worse than my worst, I brazed on a magneto when the threads at the end of the crank snapped off.

Was her name Janis?

Atchully, it were a Porsche 356...



...contrary to urban legend. :eek1:huh

--Bill

Damn, I think I need to sell my cb360 just so someone can post about it later.

i know its not the perfect bike for that purpose. but by daily rider i didn´t mean i would commute on it every day (i work on our family farm, my commute is 16 stairs down to first floor). i want a bike to go to the bars, grocery shopping, a short spin after work and so on. the old 900ss have a good reputaion, the engine is reliable and i can do the maintenace by self. and i´m not looking at a showroom bike, but the bike i was looking at had some issues and the seller couldn´t tell me where they came from. how can you not see a badly repaired plastics on a bike you owned for almost 20 years?
and the scratches he mentioned in the ad. thats a picture from the ad

you can see the scratches. he told me, his father did that. with a wheelbarrow. how is that possible?

So by "dailey rider" you did not mean a bke you would ride everyday???? :huh Put the bong down and slowly back away.........you should be happy that this is not JM or a hardy STFU would be in order....

Finally got a call back from the guy. Sounds young, repeats the ad to me "Collectors bike, a true classic, 1st owner was the service mechanic for bmw seattle, second owner a collector...a rare gem

Research shows this bike is the stamp/vin of the very last of the 1969 chassis, the dividing line between retro and modern BMW's. the last retro BMW!

when i call for parts, they say "you have one of those" so the price is pretty firm. it would sell for $10,000 anywhere but here. (supposedly... per the guy who sold it to me)" As it turns out, he doesn't know the mileage, says it's been "bored out" and "runs better without the mufflers"... and he finally got around to posting some photos. Anybody notice that the rear shocks are mounted upside down???: