Help needed with an article "Why 2nd hand is not 2nd best"

**Bob** · 8th September 2004, 00:28

Guys (and girls of course),

I'm just about to start putting together a feature for the bike magazine I write for. Subject is "Why 2nd hand is not 2nd best". Idea is obvious - it may not be brand new, but buying 2nd hand can often be as good an option as buying new.

Ideally, I would be looking at 10 reasons to buy 2nd hand - so far these are the ones I've got:

"1. Depreciation

2. Someone else gets all the recall letters

3. Previous owners has added expensive and highly desirable extras that do not add much to the actual value of the bike but improve it no end

4. You can use your skills (mechanical electrical, paint) to add value to a bike that's going for a song because of a fault/defect.hatever that you can easily rectify

5. Cash in hand gets you a bargain in private sales

6. Reliability established with previous ownner paying all those initial services charges.

7. With the money saved, it allows the new owner to do things like buy new kit"

Any (serious) ideas for three more?

What I also want to do is back up the ideas with 'anecdotal evidence' - or to put it another way, real-life examples.

So... anyone bought a bike off someone who reckoned "It was a real dog", only to find all it needed was a $1 washer replaced or thicker fork oil used to transform it into a top bike? Or how by waving cash in someone's face, they got a massive reduction in price? Or any other tales that back up the above?

If you do, then about 100 words on what you did/bought/improved would be fantastic (don't worry about being accurate with the word count - that is my job to sort out).

I have no idea when this will be used - I was only asked today to put this together! - but when it does appear, I'll find some way to scan it and show it in here somehow (I don't think you get Used Bike Guide over there).

One last thing - I'd need to use (real) names - don't worry, you'd not be identified in any other way! - to support the stories. So if you can let me know what name you want used (And I don't mind, I'll use whatever name anyone gives me!), that will be what appears.

Thanks in advance as always for any help you can give on this one - getting real-life stories always makes this kind of article work, so the more the merrier!

Cheers,

Bob.

**PeteThePom** · 8th September 2004, 00:37

Hey Bob,

How about this, my mate back in the UK, turned a chicken chaser (Honda C90) into a ZZR1100, without using any magic at all. It's a good illustration of how you can turn a pile of shite into something worth having. Basically he started out by buying a C90(£30 I think is what he paid for it), which needed work, selling it and using the money to buy something a bit better/bigger and over a two year period managed to trade up to buying a second hand ZZR1100 that needed a damn good service and a few bits and pieces plus about a weeks detailing work to turn it into £3500 resale. Admittedly he had the advantage of being a skilled bike mechanic with access to full workshop facilities but most of the work he carried out in his garage at home. So if your halfway handy with the spanners and have half a clue with a polishing cloth, anyone should be able to achieve something similar!!

**FROSTY:Me** · 8th September 2004, 00:55

It seems ya got it covered. an angle might be the bang for your buck
I reckon I got almost the fun guys on 15000 bikes do

**bgd** · 8th September 2004, 02:09

No VAT on 2nd hand (generally)

**clint640** · 8th September 2004, 09:14

A lot people buy bikes and don't ride them. 'Used' is a word that hardly applies to a bike that has only been ridden carefully for 3000 km, but ya pay a lot less.

Not that I can really comment, I got my bike new, with a few extras, for less than I had seen a 2nd hand, 1 yr older example advertised for

Big thanks to AFC in Palmy :spudwave:

Cheers
Clint

**Motu** · 8th September 2004, 10:27

I'm a bottom feeder,I've only had 3 new bikes in 34 yrs of riding,the last one was 26 yrs ago and I still have it.To me working on bikes is 50% of the experiance,it's what I do,fix em up and ride em.People often give me bikes because they know I will give them a good home,as payment for work done,or just plain give me a bike cause they don't need it anymore.I may buy a non runner,turn the slide in the carb around and get it running,sort out carbs,ign,brakes,whatever,spend weeks repairing lack of TLC,swap parts from other bikes.To others it may be their worst nightmare,to me bottom feeding is rich in nutrients to help me sustain life.

**Blakamin** · 8th September 2004, 10:34

Originally Posted by Motu

I'm a bottom feeder,I've only had 3 new bikes in 34 yrs of riding,the last one was 26 yrs ago and I still have it.To me working on bikes is 50% of the experiance,it's what I do,fix em up and ride em.People often give me bikes because they know I will give them a good home,as payment for work done,or just plain give me a bike cause they don't need it anymore.I may buy a non runner,turn the slide in the carb around and get it running,sort out carbs,ign,brakes,whatever,spend weeks repairing lack of TLC,swap parts from other bikes.To others it may be their worst nightmare,to me bottom feeding is rich in nutrients to help me sustain life.

The perfect life.... and you get to know every little piece of your bike well...

If i've had it more than half an hour without pulling bits off "for a look", its too long!
I could never own a new bike... what would I do at nights? cant clean whats already clean (and new), cant fix whats not broken (and new). riding is just 60% of the fun. playing and TLC is the other 40%

**Dodgyiti** · 8th September 2004, 10:42

Second hand is not second best because by the time you buy a second hand bike, all the problems and recalls have been sorted, plus any faults that happen in the first ..oh say 50,000 km, you will know about from other owners, and be prepared for. This might also steer you towards a bike, or away from one depending. Plus when a new bike sells heaps of units in your country, and you buy one second hand, you know that there will be plenty of spares around.

**Posh Tourer :P** · 8th September 2004, 10:58

It has already been run in by the first careful owner.....

**scumdog** · 8th September 2004, 11:07

Quote:"If i've had it more than half an hour without pulling bits off "for a look", its too long!
I could never own a new bike... what would I do at nights? cant clean whats already clean (and new), cant fix whats not broken (and new). riding is just 60% of the fun. playing and TLC is the other 40%"

I agree with the mr Blakaman above, part of the joy of owning a bike is the therapy of cleaning/polishing it and adding those 'extras' to make it 'MY bike'

It's a good way to relax - polishing your scoot while supping a bourbon and listening to the radio/stereo while reflecting on the last/next trip on the beast.

**Blakamin** · 8th September 2004, 11:32

Originally Posted by scumdog

It's a good way to relax - polishing your scoot while supping a bourbon and listening to the radio/stereo while reflecting on the last/next trip on the beast.

OOohhh yeah... and only having had this bike for a week, the mrs is spewing on the amount of bourbon!!!!!

**scumdog** · 8th September 2004, 11:38

Originally Posted by Blakamin

OOohhh yeah... and only having had this bike for a week, the mrs is spewing on the amount of bourbon!!!!!

Ah well, such is life, we all have our burdens (bourbons) to bear

Hopefully she is part of the bourbon consumtion equation?

**Posh Tourer :P** · 8th September 2004, 11:41

Originally Posted by scumdog

Hopefully she is part of the bourbon consumtion equation?

Hence the spewing.....

**trevf** · 8th September 2004, 12:37

I was at a motorcycle club meeting on monday night and the guest speakers were one very knowlagable suspension expert and one of New Zealands top road racers. They said motorcycles are basically built by accontants-meaning any little bit of money saved by skimping on cheap parts is all good for the company.
So my theory is a well maintaind second hand bike is probably a better buy as most of these cheep parts have been replaced and put back on by a human rather than some bloody robot.
And if new bikes are so good why do racers strip there brand new bikes and rebuild them .

**VivaVee** · 8th September 2004, 12:38

Originally Posted by Dodgyiti

Second hand is not second best because by the time you buy a second hand bike, all the problems and recalls have been sorted, plus any faults that happen in the first ..oh say 50,000 km, you will know about from other owners, and be prepared for ...:

I rate this as the biggest plus. I bought my 'old' VFR750 because a good mate recommended it and I could trawl the web for info on what the bike was really like. I bought it when it was already ten years old - everything that will ever go wrong with this bike is well known and all figured out. You CANNOT say that about ANY new bike.