Test-riding a shop's bikes: is intended immediate purchase morally necessary?

[BMWST?]

No it's not. I brought my first GSX-R750 after test riding it just out of curiosity. Wasn't looking to buy a new bike, but the ride made me decide to change bikes.

thats what test rides can do..........and of course they know it

[pritch]

There's an obvious difference between a test ride and a joy ride.
Riding with no intention to buy is the latter.

If you establish a relationship with a dealer, or even dealers, they will tend to make bikes available. If you prefer to hunt endlessly for bargains, never visiting the same shop twice in months, good luck with that.

[pritch]

We're talking a $35 bottle of whisky here, not a case of Laphroaig. They weren't about to make a mint on it. But he still poured me a shot.

And, yes, I bought the bottle. It wasn't too bad.

So what was quaffable bargain?

[NZsarge]

Usually I don't bother taking a bike for a ride if it doesn't at least interest me as in on my radar for future possible purchase but on occasion I have ridden a demo bike which I have no real intension of purchasing.
While in at AFC Motorcycles in Palmerston North recently I found they had the new 2011 Kawasaki ZX10 in stock and it was a demo bike, it's a bike which I found interesting and while talking to the salesman about it and another new Kawasaki out at the moment (Z1000SX) he offered a test ride on the 10 and I thought why the hell not. I've been curious for a while now as to how well a modern (read new) litre sports bike goes with all the hype around the BMW S1000RR and the new 10 the offer of test riding one of them appealed so i took him up on the offer all the while exclaiming that I wouldn't be buying one.
Thanks to AFC by the way, the new 10 is indeed a very nice bike but i'm not trading my beloved 14 in on one, in the 14 I think I have just about the perfect bike for me but I do like looking 'coz ya never know....

[hellokitty]

Any salesman worth his oats has long, medium and short term prospects.

He should properly qualify you for your purchasing ability and time frames first - and then make appropriate investment in cultivating you as a future client.

Part of that investment is making vehicles available to test ride. It's a service that may eventuate in a sale.

yep, one night when the shop was closed, my husband and I had out faces pressed against the window of Cyclespot eyeing the Fury, the owner drove in to drop something off and let us (insisted) in the shop. He made me sit on the Shadow to get an idea of how light it was. Because of his great attitude I went back a few months later to buy the Shadow... We have bought 3 bikes off them in the last year.

[NZsarge]

There's an obvious difference between a test ride and a joy ride.
Riding with no intention to buy is the latter.

When I first test rode a ZX14 I only thought it might be something I could be interested in and had no intention of buying one right then at least after all i'm a Yamaha man through and through, still am but Kawasaki's i've always considered good machines and the one and only Kawasaki i've owned has only confirmed my thoughts on that.
Point is the first ride on a 14 peaked enough interest in me to later look at one seriously and purchase. Sometimes a seed gets planted....
When I can't be arsed riding two wheeled Can Am Spyder's will be getting my full attention after riding TSS's demo.

[jrandom]

So what was quaffable bargain?

You know what, I'm buggered if I can remember the name of it. Google's no help; I'll have to go back to the shop and check.

NZ brand. Blended in the South Island from a mix of local distillation and imported Scotch product. Bottled at 37%. Rough strong sort of taste, with distinct notes of bird shit and diesel smoke.

[AllanB]

Letting customers try before buying is good business.

Unless you are running a knocking shop Please come again later sir ......


Back to your question.

Yes to new demo models

And fair point made re used or traded bikes on the shop floor - you'd hope your customer was pretty keen first.

Another point was made re riders using a dealers demo then purchasing elsewhere. - I am guilty of that but it was not intentional. I test rode a Hornet twice then sat down to talk a deal and I was not happy with the trade price offered as it was significantly less than I'd be told it was worth from other local dealers. I contacted the Dunedin dealer I'd purchased my tradable ride from as they were a Honda dealer and got the trade I wanted and a grand of my new Hornets already lowered price.

Shit happens and a inability to meet me halfway at the local lost a deal.

[wysper]

I test ride under two personal conditions.

I am looking to buy
And I have an interest in the bike I want to test ride.

I don't test ride, just for fun, I wont put k's on a new bike unless i am really really keen to buy.

If I have no way of buying a bike, I wont test ride.

But as others have said, sometimes a test ride leads to an unexpected purchase.

[DEATH_INC.]

I won't ride any other bike as a rule, because it may make me realize mine is a pos.
Unless I'm seriously interested in buying it.

[Crasherfromwayback]

I did go and ride a demo Buell from AMPS once - cos Mrs Mully wanted the free backpack that they were offering (which the fuckers never sent, come to think of it!)

Bad buzz! Whilst I don't have any Buell backpacks, I'll happily send you up the same HD backpack if you'd still like one?

[Bassmatt]

Asked to test rise a bike at a Suzuki dealer which I was very interested in buying. They didint say no but made it very obvious they didnt want me to test ride it. Went round to the Kawasaki dealer that same day asked to test one of their bikes, " yep no problem", went back with a bank cheque a couple of hours later and rode it home.
Laughed my arse off as i rode past the Suzuki shop.

[Mully]

Bad buzz! Whilst I don't have any Buell backpacks, I'll happily send you up the same HD backpack if you'd still like one?

Mate, you're a champ.

That'd be awesome.

[Crasherfromwayback]

No sweat mate

[Kendog]

I have test ridden 20 odd bikes, most of the time with no intention to buy. One turned into a sale that I was not expecting, just like Spank it was the K7 750.