Test rides when selling?

[gav]

Do you or don't you? If Mr Punter fronts up and wants to take the bike for a test ride, how do you handle it?
No F%$#@#$% way, mate!
Show me the money!!
Yeah sure, get on the back!

[k14]

I would say show me the money and if you can't then I will ride it up and down the street for you to look at, otherwise stiff bikkies matey.

[John]

hold the money, and then they can ride it.

Else fark off, I wouldnt even let them sit on it or rev it or anything, some people have a nack for fucking anything up... honest.

[gamgee]

no way, i'd take it for a ride and let them watch, or follow me in there car, the only exception to this would be if they pulled up on a very nice bike, seemed extremely competent, and could show me the money

[Jamiepo]

no way, i'd take it for a ride and let them watch, or follow me in there car, the only exception to this would be if they pulled up on a very nice bike, seemed extremely competent, and could show me the money


OOOORRRR was a KBer!!!!! :not: :not: :spudwave:

[gav]

OOOORRRR was a KBer!!!!! :not: :not: :spudwave:
Hang on, I've been on a few local KB rides.......... :psst: :mellow:

[Jamiepo]

First I would make them show me thier licence and leave it with me. Then I would let them do something similar to the Basic handling skills, low speed in an empty parking lot.

[2much]

Leave your girlfriend with me pal, if you fuck my bike then I'll.........

[DMNTD]

No money no honey baby! :blip:
No other way at all....100% down no more to pay :niceone:

[gav]

Cool, thanks guys, Got someone coming 10.00 Sat morning to have a look at the CBR. Its on Trade Me and seems to have plenty of interest, so no need to be too desperate! Actually I'm suprised how many guys from the North Island are keen on it, guys looking at flying from Auckland and Palmy North etc.
CBR600 on Trade Me (http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Sports-tourer/auction-37888285.htm)

[2much]

Very nice bike at a very reasonable price, so I'm not surprised.

Good luck with it.

[Dafe]

Depends on the bike.
If it's a 250 or lower, I wouldn't be too concerned.
If any bigger, it would pay to have the tester sign an agreement to cover any damages incurred. Test riding around the block only.
Trademe is good because I have always sold bikes to people from out of town who can't test ride it. But always have the agreement that it's sold subject to inspection on their arrival.

[Krayy]

...and what's te accepted distance and timeframe for a test ride? I'd like to at least do the Coro loop before making up my mind :devil2:

[Dafe]

...and what's te accepted distance and timeframe for a test ride? I'd like to at least do the Coro loop before making up my mind :devil2:

I thought I spelt it out plainly. Test ride, around the block only.
Well why not just take it to Phillip Island?
What if it's an RG150? You'll get your kicks on the Coro Loop then eh???

Sorry, Just noticed your a VT250 rider, so yes you would get your kicks on a RG150 2 Stroker!!!!!! But a thousand? I wouldn't let ya! So stop checking out all those thous on trademe, you won't be getting your weekly speed fixes there.

[Virago]

I've only bought one bike as a private sale - on that occasion I left my daughter as collateral.........

[gamgee]

I've only bought one bike as a private sale - on that occasion I left my daughter as collateral.........
haha fair trade, a virgin for a bike

[marty]

show me the money, but if they turned up on a litre bike with class 6, i'd probably let them go with at least a waiver of insurance signed. and i've got a busa as a chase bike.....

[SARGE]

All depends who/what/where .. If some bloke turned up at my place wanting to take the TL for a test ride I'll tell him theres two at Coleman's

If he bring da cash, then he can take it.. cash stays with me, till bike comes back. If he dont come back I guess it was sold.


yea right .. send me more tire kickers .. im getting low on them

[marty]

here's an insurance query - if they are riding and crash, could they claim on THEIR insurance?

[Zed]

Do you or don't you? If Mr Punter fronts up and wants to take the bike for a test ride, how do you handle it?
No F%$#@#$% way, mate!
Show me the money!!
Yeah sure, get on the back!Every vehicle I have ever sold has been test ridden/driven by the prospective buyer, I wouldn't expect him/her to buy it without a test ride. Of course I have and will always make sure they leave something of value with me and check out their licence first, etc...never been ripped off and have always had smooth sales doing it that way. :niceone:

[FEINT]

Almost everything I have sold has been test-riden by the buyer. Usually get them to leave something of value behind.

If I was a buyer, I wouldn't buy without a test ride.

If it is damaged during the test-ride, it is considered sold.

[justsomeguy]

Hmmm... I wouldn't buy without a test ride - so don't expect anyone who I sell to, to not do so.

RICHIE came around and left his cage and lady behind. But he seemed genuine, so I let him take it for a ride.

But in the end it all comes down to how much I trust the guy. Any wrong signals and I'd rather wait to sell to a good guy rather than give my vehicles to some idiot.

[marty]

checked my insurance - my bike is only insured when i'm riding it, so unless you had a full class 6, turned up on 750cc or more, or settled for a a pillion ride only, full $$$ deposit would have to be left.

[Macktheknife]

I have only ever once bought a bike without riding it first, it was a complete munter and I hated it till I sold it. I will never buy another bike without riding it first and I wouldnt expect anyone else to either. BUT, you break, it you bought rule does apply, and collateral must be left behind, preferably cash but virgins would be considered on a case by case basis! lol

[Beemer]

I'm selling my bike at the moment and have had two people take it for a test ride. One is Hitcher's wife and as both of them were sort of known to me and both gave off good vibes, I was more than happy for her to test ride it. The second one was also someone we know, the wife is keen on the bike so the husband took her for a ride on the back and then let her ride it on her own for a bit without asking me first. I know she has been riding for years but never had a licence and currently has a few months still to go on her restricted, so I wouldn't have been happy if she'd crashed it because I doubt she'd be covered under my insurance.

I wouldn't be keen to buy a bike I hadn't test ridden first, but I'd take all the usual precautions with someone I didn't know - see their licence, make them leave something of value behind, or follow them on another bike or in a car. And a reasonable test ride only - not down to Wellington over the Paekak Hill and back over the Rimutakas and the Pahiatua Track! We live in the country so I'd probably be wary of letting anyone I didn't know come to the house, we'd probably arrange to meet them somewhere in town.

[jimdaworm]

I bought my first bike without a test ride (My RG) but I did get it checked out mechanically.

My cbr 600, I would not have bought without a test ride the guy wanted me to leave him my license but I said no as I could be fined for not carrying it.

He then asked me if he could follow me on the rg, I said ok but shortly after we got on the motorway I lost him :whistle:

Then I waited for him but apparently the rg went on to reserve and he didn´t know what to do :devil2:

[Toast]

Leave your girlfriend with me pal, if you fuck my bike then I'll.........

hahaha....


Seriously though...I'd rather have the keys to his/her car...I can withold those without getting in to trouble if the dude bins it...but I'd feel a bit stink cuffing his gf to my arm...unless she was up for it :devil2:

[gav]

Well, he seemed OK, so said yeah, off ya go. He was only going around the block, and one advantage of a loud exhaust, just about heard him the whole way! He left me his car keys and wallet, though.

[TLDV8]

Well, he seemed OK, so said yeah, off ya go. He was only going around the block, and one advantage of a loud exhaust, just about heard him the whole way! He left me his car keys and wallet, though.

Glad it went OK......i heard once,one ploy is to turn up in a stolen car with a old wallet to leave behind :spudwave:

[VasalineWarrior]

Whats the point of buying at the shop if you dont get a free thrash? Take your $ down the road if they wont let ya!

[slopster]

Today I had someone come around for a look at my zxr 250. He showed up in stubbie shorts and a singlet with a dirt bike helmet for a test ride. I offered to let him use my leathers but he said shorts were more comfortable. He took off for a quick blat and decided to stop off at his mates place for 30mins and finally came back 45min later. Jackass. In all fairness though I think he was a serious and not just wasting my time but thats still not what you do on a test ride!

[Zed]

Today I had someone come around for a look at my zxr 250. He showed up in stubbie shorts and a singlet with a dirt bike helmet for a test ride. I offered to let him use my leathers but he said shorts were more comfortable. He took off for a quick blat and decided to stop off at his mates place for 30mins and finally came back 45min later. Jackass. In all fairness though I think he was a serious and not just wasting my time but thats still not what you do on a test ride!Strange? How did you now he stopped at his mates house for 30mins, did he tell you that or did you track him thru GPS or summat?? :wacko:

I wouldn't have let him test ride my bike without some reasonable gears, and quite frankly, just a motorcross helmet doesn't cut it...gives bikers a bad, irresponsible name. Twit.

[slopster]

How did I know he stopped at his mates place for 30min - I asked him and he said "I stopped off at my mates place for half and hour!" It didn't seem to him like an unusual thing to do.

[Zed]

How did I know he stopped at his mates place for 30min - I asked him and he said "I stopped off at my mates place for half and hour!" It didn't seem to him like an unusual thing to do.Why did you ask him? Did you think that 45mins was too long for a test ride?

Thinking about that, this twerp can't have been serious surely? No gears and only a 15 min test, stopping off at his mates house for 1/2 an hour!!

If this isn't a 'pt' you really should be more careful with who you let ride your bikes slopster. There's plenty of good advice in this thread, take heed. :cool:

[rabidnz]

You are one trusting person! anyone coming in shorts would not even be pillion on any of my bikes. I usually use personal discression and a couple questions about riding history, combined with the price of the bike to decide if a test ride is on the cards.

Once i let a 15 test ride an rg250 because he had the cash in my hand, showed up two hours later looking sheepish and teary eyed with his dad standing next to him wanting the money back :P

[Swoop]

That is a fucking epic thread dredge!:facepalm:

[Owl]

That is a fucking epic thread dredge!:facepalm:

Fuck yeah.........Last post more than 2 years before I joined KB:laugh:

[rabidnz]

haha shit thats my best yet! love the search features relevance function and my inability to read :D

[JK12]

few months ago a dude came on his scooter to view my ninja250r and told me he had the same bike and it was total-ed as he was hit by a car.

he's looking for the same bike and then asked me "can i test drive it, is it 1 down, 2 up?"

I was :eek5:

[Owl]

"can i test drive it, is it 1 down, 2 up?"

I was :eek5:

I hope you said "Fuck off shit-for-brains".

[Blackshear]

Guy I bought my bandit off must've been in so much shock at me not having ANY gear that he didn't even ask for cash in hand, I had to slap him with it so he'd take it :shutup:

[rustyrobot]

Hate to let a good thread dredge go to waste...

Problem I have is that I don't HAVE the cash yet. I have a pre-approved loan, but they aren't going to give me the money until I have a bike to spend it on (because it's their security). I'm not going to buy a bike without having a test ride, but I don't think I'd let someone take my $8000 bike for a ride if al they had was an email promising a loan.

Also - wondering how many times I can go into a bike shop and pretend to be interested in a bike before they realise I'm just getting a feel for bikes I want to buy privately. I'm a terrible liar too, so it's going to take me a bit to work up the story to b/s them in the first place. I briefly thought about buying off a dealer but the price is so much higher and they only offered a 3 month warranty

Have any of you bought from a distance and got a bike shop to do the once-over on the bike? Seems like if I test a similar bike and it feels right, and the bike shop gives the okay to the actual one, I can consider that an alright measure of suitability. (Oh, and how much does that sort of thing generally cost?) More than happy to fly somewhere and ride it back, but not worth it just to give it the once over!

[DR650gary]

Hate to let a good thread dredge go to waste...

Have any of you bought from a distance and got a bike shop to do the once-over on the bike? Seems like if I test a similar bike and it feels right, and the bike shop gives the okay to the actual one, I can consider that an alright measure of suitability. (Oh, and how much does that sort of thing generally cost?) More than happy to fly somewhere and ride it back, but not worth it just to give it the once over!

My riding family, myself, wife, and three sons have bought approx 10 bikes in the last year or so. A few change of minds and a few upgrades in there. All have been bought remotely but we have gone and collected them in the family. Either one of my sons or I have made the collection trip. We have bought them all, paid a deposit but made the sale subject to visual and confirmation that the bike is as described. No duds have been bought and we have sold most of them the same way.

Some of the bikes have been bought without a test ride but we do have a close look at the condition of the bike and use our judgement on condition of the bike and the owner. Admittedly we are in the $6,000 plus bracket so we are not looking at old crappers but trusting the seller is part of the process. We are all fairly competent in the mechanical area but are certainly not mechanics. We always do a reg check for finance etc.

I would also have no problem asking a KB member to have a wee peak for us if I though that was sensible, and would be happy to look locally for another member.

Just my thoughts but what really are you going to learn on a short test ride, unless you are checking the bike for fit.

[D3ALN]

I personally wouldnt buy a bike unless I got to test ride it. I have never owned nor sold a road bike but when I have had cars I have had the tester leave their vehicle with me. on a test drive I will normally go for a drive in a 50kph area and a 100kph area then take to my mechanic to check out if local. normally takes 25mins.

[2Seat_Terror]

Bought my first bike without even seeing it first (first 'in the flesh' look when it came off the truck). Being that is was my first bike, there wouldn't have been much point anyway.

Ran great. For 4 days. :gob:

Luckily it was an FXR, so easy to fix, and good experience besides. :rolleyes:

Next one will certainly be a different story, however.

[Taz]

That is a fucking epic thread dredge!:facepalm:

Yeah but then you get the dicks that say you should have used the search function..... When is a thread too old to revive?

There's no option on this poll for sure here's the keys see you when you get back. Have sold most my bikes this way.

[DR650gary]

I personally wouldnt buy a bike unless I got to test ride it. I have never owned nor sold a road bike but when I have had cars I have had the tester leave their vehicle with me. on a test drive I will normally go for a drive in a 50kph area and a 100kph area then take to my mechanic to check out if local. normally takes 25mins.

You can't just fall off a car.

Unless you are lucky most mechanics will only spot things wrong on a bike/car that you would with a cursory look over.

Maybe we are just lucky but after 40 years of bikes, I trust my own judgement.

And yes, I have let guys take my bike for a test ride, but maybe I've just been lucky. I did say "guys", not dipshits.