Red Baron & the 7km test ride

[SPman]

its a load of crap, and i bet they also say it has an excess of $2k, lots of they say that shit but its just to scare people off who dont intend on buying a bike

Take one out, drop it and report back to us............

[Mully]

its a load of crap, and i bet they also say it has an excess of $2k, lots of they say that shit but its just to scare people off who dont intend on buying a bike

I don't doubt it. It must be frustrating to have people come in, ride dozens of bikes and then piss off never to be seen again. I guess that's a cost of doing business.

On the two bikes I've ridden from shops (AMPS and Henderson), I've never had any dramas about where to ride. Had to sign a form saying I'd pay for tickets and the excess if I binned it though, but don't mind that.

I had excellent customer experience from the young lady there

More information please.

[discotex]

I'm kinda in two minds about this.

Red Baron get truck loads of tyre kickers who are never going to buy so I can understand them not wanting to rack up milage on new/demo bikes.

I took an R6 and ZX-6R out from Red Baron and they didn't say shit about route. Just "don't be too long we've only got a couple of dealer plates". (was a busy saturday with non stop test riders)

I'm all for a short first test ride anyway. Up to waterview the back to port exit and up through the twisties in the domain should give you a good feel if you hate the bike or not. Certainly was enough for me to love the R6 and hate the ZX-6.

One you whittle down the options the 50km test comes into it and I'd walk away from a dealer who wouldn't let me do that (once I'm a serious buyer). I didn't find out if they'd do a long test but I'm sure they would have if the money was up for grabs.

[Edbear]

Well I wasn't intending a test ride, but when I took my bike into Bikesport in Helensville for its 6k service, Matthew wheeled out the pristine, white M109R and told me it was the loaner for me to get back home on...

Now, I suspect he had an ulterior motive for this, as I REALLY REALLY ENJOYED taking the long way home due to taking the wrong turn and getting lost....

[SVboy]

NORJO MTRs in ChCh have the test ride thing licked----they wont let you!!!. As if, "hey thats a pretty colour, I will take it!". Still, they are still in business.......

[jtzzr]

Was looking at buying a zzr11 from Red baron ,and they said take it where-ever , They gave me $20 for gas , took it down the North- western to glenfield , then back into town over the bridge , back to red b , went inside "Do you like the bike ?" No it`s crap I said , 4 days later I`m there took a Vtr1000 for a ride (around the &k circus), that too was crap, Spied a Blackbird , took that for a spin( around the 7k circus) and bought the bird the next day , What I`m trying to say they probably will let you take it for a longer test ride , but I reckon 7k is long enough to figure out if a bike suits ya.

[Rockbuddy]

Well I wasn't intending a test ride, but when I took my bike into Bikesport in Helensville for its 6k service, Matthew wheeled out the pristine, white M109R and told me it was the loaner for me to get back home on...

Now, I suspect he had an ulterior motive for this, as I REALLY REALLY ENJOYED taking the long way home due to taking the wrong turn and getting lost....

same sort of thing here, took the VN800 in for its 10000km service in the morning they gave me a demo VN900 and said have it back around 5pm Mt Eden motorcycles definatly get my business next time i buy another bike

[geoffm]

As a point of clarification, does this 7km limit apply just to brand-new bikes or to all bikes that they retail?

If it's the former, I can see a thin shaft of logic. Otherwise it sounds like a great way of driving business elsewhere.

It certainly applied a few years ago before I got the beemer - I was looking at a 2nd hand Kawasaki they had there, and it was the 7km GP at 5PM rush hour. This top way of testing a litre bike in it's natural environment, and may explain why I didn't buy it.

[quickbuck]

The VFR750 felt good within about... ooh... approximately 100m.
The VT750 felt weird within about... ooh... approximately 100m, and then got somewhat better, except for the very crappy 1-2 gearchange, so I did away with first gear altogether:

My thoughts exactly.
Every bike I have bought I have worked out it was the one for me in about that distance.
The rest was a play

[Ixion]

My thoughts exactly.
Every bike I have bought I have worked out it was the one for me in about that distance.
The rest was a play

I am a rather perverted soul. I try to buy bikes that I feel are *not* 'the one for me'. I feel that buying a bike that feels like 'the one for me', I am probably just getting another bike like my previous ones, and settling into a pattern. By buying bikes that I do not feel comfortable with, I force myself out of any incipient rut, and am forced to acquire new skills, new outlooks. It pushes me out of any comfort zone I may be developing. Which I think is a good thing.

And , interestingly, in every case , once I fight my way through the initial "I hate this bike, it's horrible' phase I end up thinking 'oh, yes, I guess this does suit me after all'.

But it makes the choosing between several bikes , neither of which is 'the one for me' more difficult.

[MaxB]

Was looking at buying a zzr11 from Red baron ,and they said take it where-ever , They gave me $20 for gas , took it down the North- western to glenfield , then back into town over the bridge , back to red b , went inside "Do you like the bike ?" No it`s crap I said , 4 days later I`m there took a Vtr1000 for a ride (around the &k circus), that too was crap, Spied a Blackbird , took that for a spin( around the 7k circus) and bought the bird the next day , What I`m trying to say they probably will let you take it for a longer test ride , but I reckon 7k is long enough to figure out if a bike suits ya.

ZZR is crap? or it was in crap condition or not the bike for you?

I've had probs with poorly prepped models on test rides. One Jap import BMW I test rode had not been set up for NZ roads. It was still covered in crap from storage. The mods take all of 10 mins and I had ridden a prepped version for comparison. I didn't buy the bike.

[Disco Dan]

ZZR is crap? or it was in crap condition or not the bike for you?

I've had probs with poorly prepped models on test rides. One Jap import BMW I test rode had not been set up for NZ roads. It was still covered in crap from storage. The mods take all of 10 mins and I had ridden a prepped version for comparison. I didn't buy the bike.

Mods for a ZX11 huh? .....ooooooh!!!!

[90s]

As a point of clarification, does this 7km limit apply just to brand-new bikes or to all bikes that they retail?

If it's the former, I can see a thin shaft of logic. Otherwise it sounds like a great way of driving business elsewhere.

Hmmm, I nearly found out about 2 yrs ago when I was in there. I was looking at a Ninja and talking with a sales guy about taking it for a ride. I was actually sitting on the bike in the showroom when another salesman came over and asked me to get off it as some people wanted to see it, and had cash, and he'd given them first dibs. They bought it.
Wasn't not impressed with their attitude virtually bustling me off the bike with the sight of $$ in their eyes. Ironically of course I had money to spend when I found a decent bike (which I did the following week) - but I made sure it was elsewhere.