How did you find out about the last bike you bought?

[shrub]

I'm doing a bit of research into where people get the information about the bikes they buy for an article I'm writing on motorcycle marketing and would appreciate a bit of help.

Can you let me know where you found the last bike you bought, and what influenced you to choose that bike in particular. Do you like Trademe ads with plenty of photos? Do you like ads with plenty of blurb, or just the key stuff? Do you use the free advertising papers (Buy Sell & Exchange etc)? Do you prefer Tradme to Motorcycletrader, or vice versa? Did you just cruise around bike shops until you found what you were looking for?

I'm not looking for how you chose the make and model of bike or the research process behind your deciding to choose that make and model of bike, but how you ended up finding the specific bike you bought and what made you choose the one advertised. The purpose is to give me info on how people make their purchase decisions so I can get a handle on the most effective way of selling a bike.

[Hans]

You forgot the KB option. That's how I got mine.

[shrub]

Good point. Can people who bought off KB tick word of mouth/other and mention that they used KB in their post. Cheers.

[one fast tl1ooo]

Good old trade me . thats the last 2

[Jantar]

Two other options needed.

I have had the same type previously and just updated to a newer year.

I tried out one owned by another rider.

[shrub]

Two other options needed.

I have had the same type previously and just updated to a newer year.

I tried out one owned by another rider.

Maybe I wasn't clear enough, I'm interested in finding out where people found out about the specific bike they bought - did you find yours on Trademe, a dealer, Motorcycle trader etc?

[dogsnbikes]

Pillow talk with a young lass,she wanted a car and I was selling one so she suggested we do a swap her bike for my car deal done:yes:

I offered to pay cash her way as the bike was worth approx $1800 and the car only $600,she said no there are other ways too pay :shutup:

Now she is the Mrs and we are very happy

[sinned]

Walk into the shop but before that did heaps of research online. That option is missing on the poll. It was the test ride the shop offered that made the final choice easy.

[Woodman]

I got my KLR before I got on the internet. Had I got online earlier I would not have purchased a KLR due to all the opinions online. Bloody glad I got it.

The moral of the story is to take the internet with a large pinch of salt.

[shrub]

Walk into the shop but before that did heaps of research online. That option is missing on the poll. It was the test ride the shop offered that made the final choice easy.

I'm considering doing a seperate poll on how people research their decision, but that is a huge one and most people use many sources of data. I'm really only interested in how people find the specific bike they ended up buying.

[dipshit]

I offered to pay cash her way as the bike was worth approx $1800 and the car only $600,she said no there are other ways too pay

Now she is the Mrs and we are very happy

You got done. It would have been cheaper to settle the difference in cash.

:shifty:

[Ntoxcated]

Found mine on TradeMe but was looking on Motorcycle Trader and KB as well. For me, KB has the best search capabilities.

[sinned]

I got my KLR before I got on the internet. Had I got online earlier I would not have purchased a KLR due to all the opinions online. Bloody glad I got it.

The moral of the story is to take the internet with a large pinch of salt.

The large pinch of salt applies across all areas but the Internet comes with the bonus of being able to check out some of the sources of information. Where others rate the advice or opinion given that improves the reliability of the info. Anyone who believes anything and everything they read or are told is an idiot - plenty of them about.

On KB where advice is given you can check out the rating given to the member and what other advice they have given.

On balance the Internet provides information that with appropriate review and filtering is second to none.

[GOONR]

My bike found me really, got it from a guy I used to work with.

[dogsnbikes]

You got done. It would have been cheaper to settle the difference in cash.

:shifty:

most expensive h h h honda ever you think :doh:

[boman]

We had a guy around here, he is notoriously hard on bikes. The SV1000 took every thing he could do to it and never let him down. When I wanted a V twin, it was an obvious choice. And the fact that I could own a brand new Sv or a second hand Buell, sorta made sense. Do not regret the decision at all.

[slofox]

I had seen this parsnickular bike lurking in the shop over a period of months. Decided one day it would do no harm to take it out for a wee pootle, despite dire warnings from the KB community at large. Did so next time I was waiting for a service on its predecessor...20 minutes later I had to have it...turns out all those KB'ers who warned me about said bike were dead right...

[hellokitty]

I looked at the bike specs on the internet. I wanted a cruiser that was under 1000cc and over 400cc, and one that wasn't too heavy (around 250kg as it turned out) . I didn't bother to read reviews.
It came down to Yamaha and Honda.
I called Cyclespot and the Yamaha place in Henderson.
Cyclespot were really friendly and helpful on the phone. Yamaha were not helpful or friendly at all.
Went to both shops sat on the bikes and moved them around to gauge weight etc.
Yamaha guy wouldn't even look at me.... bikes were ugly anyway.
Cyclespot were great, really positive and helpful.

My husband loved my bike so much that we went back and bought another one.

[neels]

The last bike I bought was word of mouth, doesn't really count though as it's pretty hard to say no to a mate asking if you want a complete XL250 in bits for $50.

The last actually going bike I bought was from trademe, not a lot of pictures and they probably made it look worse than it really was, so it was just the basic make, model, mileage and price that got me around to look at it.


I had seen this parsnickular bike lurking in the shop over a period of months. Decided one day it would do no harm to take it out for a wee pootle, despite dire warnings from the KB community at large. Did so next time I was waiting for a service on its predecessor...20 minutes later I had to have it...turns out all those KB'ers who warned me about said bike were dead right...
I now has the same problem, have taken a bike for a ride, now I want one. The advice about not window shopping unless you are in a position to be buying would appear to be correct.

[reemit]

Walked off the street, wasn't looking for a new bike, just bored.
No research, no idea what I was doing, 30 mins later after filling out forms getting cash from bank and trading ZRX1K, riding home on a RSV Mille. Mental.

[crazyhorse]

For me it was easy. A mate bought it - I rode it more than he did, and I told him when he wanted to sell it, I'd buy it - so when he moved to Oz, it was MINE!!!!! and I've loved it since :)

[tigertim20]

I'm doing a bit of research into where people get the information about the bikes they buy for an article I'm writing on motorcycle marketing and would appreciate a bit of help.

Can you let me know where you found the last bike you bought, and what influenced you to choose that bike in particular. Do you like Trademe ads with plenty of photos? Do you like ads with plenty of blurb, or just the key stuff? Do you use the free advertising papers (Buy Sell & Exchange etc)? Do you prefer Tradme to Motorcycletrader, or vice versa? Did you just cruise around bike shops until you found what you were looking for?

I'm not looking for how you chose the make and model of bike or the research process behind your deciding to choose that make and model of bike, but how you ended up finding the specific bike you bought and what made you choose the one advertised. The purpose is to give me info on how people make their purchase decisions so I can get a handle on the most effective way of selling a bike.

I had wanted a cbr ever since I knew what one was, didnt care what year, just wanted a big (ish) cbr. one day trolling TM, for no reason other than to pass time, I saw one in my area, well priced privately. went to see it, and made an offer which was accepted before I realised the words were even coming out of my mouth. never regretted it once.

[NinjaNanna]

4 bought on Trademe (95 ZXR-9, 91 ZR250 Balius, 04 R1, 92 ZR750 Zephyr)
2 sold on trademe (ZXR-9, R1)
1 sold on KB's Trader section (ZR250 Balius)


Things I look at are realistic market price, year, km's, enough pictures to gauge first impression and location. I don't care if its an auction or a classified (in fact I'm more likely to respond to a classified, despite what TM would have you beleive).

I like to know the rego number so I can do a quick check on carjam.

A bit of a write up is always good, but I'm not interested in whether you love this bike, sad to see it go, selling to buy a house, baby on the way... all I care about is whether it represents good value for money.

I do care about, tread left on the tyre's, condition of the chain and sprokets, disc thicknesses, amount of meat left on the brake pads, when valve clearances were last checked, any defects that the owner feels should be disclosed, rego and wof expiry dates, anythinig of significance that has already been replaced (regulator rectifiers, batteries, fork oil, timing chain)

[pzkpfw]

JamesDeuce showed me his bike, and I liked it; suited me well. Ended up getting one just like it - so I voted "word of mouth".

BUT: I still looked around, and the way the shops dealt with me is what confirmed my decision.
(
e.g. The guy at shop X would say things like "I think I might be able to get you one of those at that price" (when that was the price the thing was being advertised at).
The guy at the shop I bought my bike at was saying things like "and, I can throw in that pack rack you wanted...".
)

[Cayman911]

Walked into the shop. and it was love at first sight with some lionell richie music playing in my head the moment i saw it :P

[Jizah]

I got mine from here too.

[DarkLord]

Mine was on Trademe and KB. :)

[Usarka]

Found it parked in the garage on monday after a hard weekend on booze and benzos.

[Virago]

I was walking down the street (concentrating on trucking right).

Suddenly, out of nowhere, this bike came bounding up behind me. All excited it was, wagging its tail, and nudging my hand for some attention. I stopped to give it some lovin', and it started humping my leg adoringly. It followed me home, and then whimpered at the door until I let it in.

We've been together ever since...

[Smifffy]

Trademe/biketrader ad for a dealership. I forget which, but I knew the bike was in the showroom before I turned up.

[bogan]

KB, prev 3 were TM, one befotre that was T&E, 2 before that was from mates

[wysper]

Of the last two bikes I got, one was bought privately and one from a dealer. The dealer put me on to the guy selling privately.
I research online (kb and general interdweeb), kiwirider mag (now I am subscribed) and talking to mates who ride etc.
I like buying from motorcycle dealers. My DR is the first bike I have bought from Boyds. Nothing but good things to say about them so far.

[bones135]

The Duc was through Trade Me & the Honda well i guess right place at the right time.

[hellokitty]

The funny thing about my bike was that it had arrived an hour before I got there, and they had called a guy that wanted it, but I got there 5 minutes before he did.
I was talking to the salesman saying I would have it when he arrived and was all over the bike - I rushed out and told him not to touch my bike!

[scumdog]

Last four bikes were by word of mouth.

The T-Sport was a target bike and I happened to be speaking to somebody at a party about wanting one

The others were bought on a whim I guess - although one was an update as current bike was getting long in the tooth.

[warewolf]

Actually bought the last used one via KB - but I was watching most of the internet trading sites and buying the odd magazine. It had low mileage/hours, appeared to be well looked after and the price was sharp. I guess I was shopping on price & history. The ad had those key points which put it into the worthy-of-further-investigation category, and the rest of the information came in conversation with the seller. Didn't really use print buy/sell/swap papers etc as locally there just aren't enough bikes listed so chances of finding the right one is small.

I do like TM ads (or any I guess) with good photos, as they indicate how particular the owner is. Blurry, tiny, mis-oriented, crappy photos don't indicate a personality that pays attention to what they do, ie maintenance is likely to be ignored or incorrect. I hate dealer ads with a bare 6 words of information, so you have to contact them to find out the most basic info. I also hate inappropriate keywords so that searches find listings that are completely irrelevant.

The last new one I walked into a shop, there it was. Didn't know there were any available new, and even used they were rare... only 10 available over the 9 year model run, plus a couple of used imports. I'd been looking/interested for quite some time, then this one popped up. Forced my hand to buy now, since I'd missed out on the last one or two used ones I'd found. Probably not a very common scenario, though.

[Monkeynz]

My mate who lives in England used to work for Triumph in Hinckley. He came over for my wedding and was saying the Triumph test riders were raving about these new Street Triples, so while he was over he made me go down to our local Triumph dealer and sit on one. I went on my honeymoon/working holiday for 6 months and when I returned went back down to the Triumph dealer and took the Demo Street Triple out for a spin which had the Arrow exhaust fitted and from that I decided to buy one. A big thanks to my mate because this has been the best bike I have ever owned.

[SPP]

"walked into a shop" - I'm a shocker. I took >4 months to choose a bike, researched it to death!

* read 600cc shootouts over and over
* dropped in on bike forums to check out owner reported “character flaws”
* checked Trademe daily and Motorcycle Trader every other day to be sure I hadn’t missed one

I finally made up my mind on a ‘08 ZX6R kwaka green at Mt Eden :yes: and was headed up to Auckland with a mate to get one. Dropped into Boyds Hamilton on the way through and rode out an hour later on a CBR.

… the best laid plans eh :blink:

[Neshi]

Went to the shop for a cruiser, got out on the CBF250.
The guy that helped me convinced me to do a testride on it and I just fell in love with it.

[SPP]

yeah a mate says "you don't buy a bike with your head..."

Actually... the same mate who rode me to Boyd's <_< hmmmm

[CHOPPA]

World Superbikes!

[Vgygrwr]

Last two bikes found the one I bought on Trademe but knew what I was looking for from magazines, internet and word of mouth. Then became a wait for one to turn up at age, mileage and price I was happy to pay.

[quickbuck]

Well, there is a bit of a story behind my last bike purchase.

See, I already had one of the same model, but I bent the front rim.
So, I ended up finding a guy on here who was selling one suitable for wrecking.... or doing up, my choice.

So a deal was done!
Bike is still in a few pieces, but will see the track some time in the summer....
Oh, it bought me some time to actually fix the rim I bent on my other bike.

[AllanB]

E-mail & Telephone.

Did the internet research, test rode, talked trade to the (then only) Honda dealer in CHCH. E-mailed Honda dealer in Dunedin (who sold me the bike I was trading), great trade price and reduced new bike price. Phoned and deal done. Delivered to my door in Christchurch the next week.

[DEATH_INC.]

Good 'ol TardMe. And as for why this particular one, dunno, it just fitted the sort of thing I was after and I've always liked Kwakka's.

[Corse1]

Trademe yep good photos sold me. Was in a bidding war by auction and decided that was it and walked away. Ironically that was one more bid than the other guy was prepared to pay.

[Stormer]

Internet site for me.
I was home off work on crutches after nearly snapping my ankle arsing off a skateboard on our ramp.
Surfing (safer than skating???) the net, and spotted an advert for a GSXR 1000 K7 at the local Suzuki dealers site.
A few days later, it was "see you" to the trusty VTR 1000 and "ye ha!!" to the Gixxer.

[Little Miss Trouble]

I'd spotted the bike on trademe, but thought the km's were a bit high, then I happened to mention it to someone at the pub. Turns out he knew all the previous owners and told me what great condition she was in and convinced me to go take a look.

[Gremlin]

heaps of fact finding, checked her over in the shop a few times, and once one was available, I rode in on one bike and rode out on another. Best one yet!

[HenryDorsetCase]

Tardme. It was reasonably priced, had decent photos and away we went.

[Blinkwing]

Friend had a VL250 and after looking on trademe, was either a mint looking VL250 that was well maintained or one of the several GN250s available.

[Conquiztador]

I was in middle of doing a custom job on a bike (two actually...) and needed something to keep me on the road. Did not want to pay much. $2K I reconned would get me something for a few months... I went on TM. Did not want to travel far to pick something up. There was this old K100 in PN. I bussed down with the folding and rode her home.

Over a year later she just keeps going, and have done nothing to the customs since... Tomorrow. (Shit it's gonna be a busy day that tomorrow...)

[ExpertoCrede]

Walked into a few shops knowing what I need the bike for - considered my budget (limitation) - shortlisted a few - made a choice - paid what I had to and rode off into the rain (not sunset).

[zahria]

Getting back into riding, visited bike shops to figure out what I wanted. turned into a tossup between a TL1000 and the VTR1000. The only TL for sale was a dog, and I bought one of 3 VTR's at the shop. I wish there had been a better TL, but the Honda has done me well.