Pre-purchase inspections

[superjackal]

Hi
Looking at buying a used bike this weekend. I had a look at it last night and it seemed pretty good.
Pre-purchase inspections worth it? What do they check?
Cheers
GNJ

[Glowerss]

Some are, some arent. It depends entirely on the shop and whose doing it. I would call around and ask them specifically what they check. Some charge you 90$ to do what amounts to a WOF check, which is to say, it's worthless.

RB wellytown, they charge 90$ but they spend an hour on the bike. It's pretty damn thorough and was an excellent use of money.

Really it comes down to how mechanically confident you are, how old/munted the bike looks and how much you're paying for the bike

[dogsnbikes]

This will depend on your mechanical knowledge and how confident you are with motorcycle mechanics..

If your not really a hands on person get and inspection done...

Take someone else too look at the bike with you,as 2 sets of eyes are often better than 1...

If you consider the purchase price to be alot of hard earn money to you, get an inspection done...

It may cost you $100 or $150 I really dont know but if don't know what your looking at it will be cheap insurance and piece of mind that the bike isn't a lemon...

Just ring the bike shops and ask what they look at and how much....

As for what I would expect to be covered in a prepurchase inspection..(as this is the minimun I do when buying a second hand bike)

Wheel and frame bearings,
Suspension,
Brakes,
Fluids(does the engine oil smell burnt),
Chain and sprockets,
Wheels and tyres ,
Lights,
Frame,
Hand controls,
Any engine noises that shouldn't be there,
Compression test,
Signs for accidents

[superjackal]

This will depend on your mechanical knowledge and how confident you are with motorcycle mechanics..

If your not really a hands on person get and inspection done...

Take someone else too look at the bike with you,as 2 sets of eyes are often better than 1...

If you consider the purchase price to be alot of hard earn money to you, get an inspection done...

It may cost you $100 or $150 I really dont know but if don't know what your looking at it will be cheap insurance and piece of mind that the bike isn't a lemon...

Just ring the bike shops and ask what they look at and how much....

As for what I would expect to be covered in a prepurchase inspection..(as this is the minimun I do when buying a second hand bike)

Wheel and frame bearings,
Suspension,
Brakes,
Fluids(does the engine oil smell burnt),
Chain and sprockets,
Wheels and tyres ,
Lights,
Frame,
Hand controls,
Any engine noises that shouldn't be there,
Compression test,
Signs for accidents

It’s mainly the engine and frame I’m concerned about. Pulled strong and didn’t make any strange noises, no leaks, good electrics, tyres etc.. It seemed and honest bike, but the rider had had an off which was repaired. I just want to know if the engines going to sh*t itself and there’s no severe damage.

[Glowerss]

It’s mainly the engine and frame I’m concerned about. Pulled strong and didn’t make any strange noises, no leaks, good electrics, tyres etc.. It seemed and honest bike, but the rider had had an off which was repaired. I just want to know if the engines going to sh*t itself and there’s no severe damage.

Almost no prepurchase inspection will have anything to do with the motor itself outside of real real cursory checks.

But to be honest with you, outside of real extreme neglect or extraordinarily high KMs, motors these days are fairly reliable. It's all the other shit on the bike you have to worry about. Bearings/chains/sprockets/brakes/elecrtrics ect. It's all the little shit that can go wrong and add up to a whole lot in a real big hurry.

[superjackal]

Almost no prepurchase inspection will have anything to do with the motor itself outside of real real cursory checks.

But to be honest with you, outside of real extreme neglect or extraordinarily high KMs, motors these days are fairly reliable. It's all the other shit on the bike you have to worry about. Bearings/chains/sprockets/brakes/elecrtrics ect. It's all the little shit that can go wrong and add up to a whole lot in a real big hurry.

That what I figure. Without opening it up it's difficult to know if anything's untoward.

[Paul in NZ]

Its a used vehicle - no mechanic has a crystal ball to fortell what 'might' happen... He can only saw - right here right now this bikes running good... Thats it. Even looking inside might not show a tiny flaw..

What sort of bike is it?