Pre-sale inspection/getting a bike checked over

[gamgee]

Hey, just wondering roughly how much I should expect to pay to get a motorbike store to do a pre sale inspection for a bike I'm looking at privately? do they even do this sort of thing?

[The Pastor]

Depends, you can get a quick 30 min check right up to the 4hr extensive checks, you get what you pay for. (hopefully)

[jtzzr]

Mate there are alot of people on this site who would look at a bike for you,and probably charge you alot of beers, there are guys here who know more about the bikes than the guys that built them.:shutup:


ALOT of Beers

Where the F@$K is Dunnas , is that in the Sth Island somewhere?

[gamgee]

yeah somewhere down there :dodge:

[mynameis]

Hey, just wondering roughly how much I should expect to pay to get a motorbike store to do a pre sale inspection for a bike I'm looking at privately? do they even do this sort of thing?


G'day bud,

Well a very good point that you've raised and yes it's very important to check thoroughly before buying. In terms of charge amount, well sometimes it depends on how good relationship you have build with your dealers and bike shops. Last bike I bought the owner of one of the best/largest/popular dealers in Auckland did a 20 minute bike check for free for me which included a test ride as well.

As said before one of the other things you could do is perhaps get someone who knows a bit about bikes to go with you and check it out. I would also recommend running a Lemon Check on bikes before buying to make sure there aren't any outstanding finance on it and this will give you ownership and mileage history as well. Again this can be vital information when purchasing second hand bikes.

If you want me to post some of the few things to look out for when buying a bike let me know and I will put up a detailed post here which should hopefully help you :)

Good Luck.

[Sniper]

Place I know does them for around $60 dude.

[Ghost Lemur]

Mine cost me $30, including compression test, test ride, and going over it with such a fine tooth comb that all he could find wrong was ONE loose spoke.

Damn great value for money. Big ups to Phil at Dirt Action Services.

[gamgee]

Place I know does them for around $60 dude.

hehe you know what bike it is :shutup:
i can get a compression test done free, dads a mechanic, he's just not to clued up on all the ins and outs of bikes, but yeah mynameis, if you post some stuff up that'd be great and i'm sure dad would be able to understand it a bit better than me, it's mainly engine related stuff i'm interested in, it's a vfr400

[insane1]

is it the one in at colemans .

[gamgee]

haha no, i'm in dunedin... and it's a private sale

[Sniper]

hehe you know what bike it is :shutup:
I know NUSHING!! :p



Mine cost me $30, including compression test, test ride, and going over it with such a fine tooth comb that all he could find wrong was ONE loose spoke.

Damn great value for money. Big ups to Phil at Dirt Action Services.

Was that for your CRM though?

[Lias]

www.vir.co.nz

Can be worth doing one of those VIR reports as well, shows you if the bikes ever been stolen, written off etc.

[mynameis]

hehe you know what bike it is :shutup:
i can get a compression test done free, dads a mechanic, he's just not to clued up on all the ins and outs of bikes, but yeah mynameis, if you post some stuff up that'd be great and i'm sure dad would be able to understand it a bit better than me, it's mainly engine related stuff i'm interested in, it's a vfr400

Hey Mate,

Good on you for getting that awesome bike and I am sure you will enjoy it but before that, step through a few of these below and hopefully it will help you.

I am sure you know more than enough about VFR400 from your previous threads/posts so no need to cover that again, but on this topic I've got the following for you:

Bike Checks

History/Owner Checks
Mileage/VIN/WOF/Rego/Service History
Accidents/Drops

Can be done at either www.vir.co.nz or www.lemoncheck.co.nz

Owners Manual
Speed Restrictions/De-Restricting
Bike Tool Kit
Chain (Oil)
Sprockets
Front And Rear Discs
Brake
Brake Pads
Brake Fluid
Brake hose replacement (More Than 5 Years Old)
Calliper (Nuts Bolts)
Clutch
Clutch plates
Clutch Cables
Battery (Corrosion)
Tyres Wear Out (Air Pressure)
Exhaust (Pressure Pulse)
Body Work (Fairing)
Wheel Alignment
Handle Bar Alignment
Steering Head Lock
Swing Arm Bearings
Head Bearings
Radiator
Engine oil
Speedo Meter
Handgrips/Foot Pegs/Stands
Gas Tank Rust (Recoating)
Missing hardware (Nuts bolts)
Suspension
Fork Oil Replacement
Front Forks Move Back to Front Side To Side
Spark Plugs
Head Lights/Low Beams/Indicators
Cold Start/Kill Switch Restarts
Horn
Shocks
Gearing (Pop Outs)
Starting Up (Rectifier)

That's my 2 c worth hopefully it will help you make a good buy decision and I am sure there are other more experienced and knowledgeable guys on here who will post more about it :)

[gamgee]

so if i was gonna get one of those lemon reports/ vir etc. which is the best one to get, as i don't want to waste a whole lot of money

[Lias]

Here's the VIR on my GN 250, gives you some idea of what it shows.

http://www.vir.co.nz/reference/364bfbf2

[gamgee]

yeah i was more wanting ways to check that the engine isn't a lemon, i can fix everything else but getting a vfr400 engine would be a bitch, i'll do a compression test, what sort of results should I be getting?

[pritch]

A coupla weeks ago I was contemplating bidding on an NS 250 that was on Trade Me. I mentioned this to Craig at Energy Honda, he suggested a Lemon Check, and ran it there and then (I paid of course). He also suggested that if I wanted he would come out with me one evening to look at the bike.

OK, since it was a Honda he could have anticipated work at some time in the future but by my definition that's damned fine service.

And no I didn't get it, somebody paid the "buy now" price...

[gamgee]

just had a look at the samples and i think those vir reports look a bit more detailed and better structured - easier to read, i'll grab one when dads credit card gets home lol... i'll pay him back of course

[mynameis]

Either check will query the same Database from my understanding and knowledge and they are $25 each. Go with the one which you like.

In terms of engine how would you do a check before buying unless you open it up to check and see how the cams are or carbs are or other details of it?

[gamgee]

just got a VIR report done, and it all came through clean, no money owing etc. all checks out fine, there was one thing tho, from when it was imported in 93 to 97 it had one numberplate, then it changes to a different one, which it currently has, would it have been deregoed or something? or rego lapsed?

[mynameis]

Could be the reasons you mentioned and could also have been in an accident where the number plate was damaged hence a new one?