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Test rides questions (dealer + private sales)

3K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  Sikorsky 
#1 ·
Have few questions regarding test rides.

What do you bring with you when you go for a test ride gear wise? i will be driving a car to them once I start looking in few months, so do I bring just a helmet, or full gear, or just some pieces?

What do you need to do in order for a dealer let you test ride a bike? I am guessing there are forms and such that need to be signed.

How do you deal with no test rides or cash in hand only private sales. I see a lot of adds saying no test rides, or test rides only with cash in had. I am not going to buy a bike without testing it 1st, and I am not going to give someone 3K or whatever while I take the bike out for a quick test. I would also rather not carry that much cash around. Any way around this?

How long would you say is a good length of a test ride? When I drove cars, it was about 15-20 minutes, but owner was there with me.

Finally, how do you negotiate with private seller to take the bike in for an inspection. Are they open to it?
 
#2 · (Edited)
It is pretty difficult to get a test ride out of a private seller, esp if you are a new rider.

Here are some tips

- bring an experienced rider to test ride the bike for you
- put cash in the seller's hand before you test ride the bike. Some want a deposit, others full amount
- ask if you can be a passenger while the seller operates the bike
- go for a bike that the seller won't mind you dropping ... Dual-sport or maybe supermoto
- have the bike inspected by a shop to see if it is sound and safe

If you aren't comfortable handling cash, you can get a certified cheque, or bring a friend.

If you want to test ride at a dealer, there are demo days held in the spring where you can demo lots of diff bikes on an escorted group ride. They will take down your lic info an may require minimum riding exp. For non demo days, you can often still take out a bike, diff dealerships have diff policies, and in general it is not taken as lightly as test driving a car. A Holeshot salesman told me that 'every day is a demo day', so you could try there.

There are two main reasons to want to test a bike - to see if it's mechanically sound, and to see if it's for you. In neither case is a new rider particularly qualified to evaluate these things from a test ride. Things like is the bike too tall for me, too uncomfortable, can be established by simply sitting on the bike.
 
#3 ·
I can only tell you about my personal experience.

I just sold my bike, and the way i did it was, he gave me the cash and he got to test drive the bike. There is just one simple rule, you drop it, you have just bought it. I dont know this would work if the value of the bike was exceeding couple of grand.

When buying a bike, i need to be able to test drive it and have it inspected by a reputable shop. If the owner wont allow me to do those two things, i wont even look at the bike.
 
#4 ·
As Shannon said, having an experienced rider with you will make the whole process way smoother, both dealer and private. Use a certified cheque, the nominal fee is worth the piece of mind. They aren't gonna run away with your money when you have their full name and a traceable cheque.

When I sold my last bike, I let the guy come check it out, start it, etc. He came back later with a certified cheque and we both went on a test ride (me on my new bike).

And ya, you drop it, you bought it. So be prepared for that.
 
#5 ·
Shannon offered up some solid advice. Although, I do believe that most dealerships only let people with their full class 6 do test rides but, as said by Shannon it may vary from place to place.

Another point about not carrying that much cash around (very understandable) is, talk to the seller ahead of time about just bringing a deposit and, your willingness to sign a contract saying that if you break it, you're committed to buying it and, definitely bring a friend and/or experienced rider with any bike you check out.

When I bought my first bike the seller was very cool, he offered to let me ride it without any concerns. Best of luck on the search.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the info so far. I do have my full class 6 for last 3 years, but I never got around to buying a bike and gear. Gear is almost done (gloves remaining) so bike will be next on the list in next several months. I will be taking refresher through PRS (most likely) before buying a bike, since I didnt sit on one since I did my road test. Good ideas on bringing experienced rider to test ride it. I would have not thought of that. I will definitely take it to the shop to get all checked out once I find a bike that I would potentially buy.
 
#7 ·
I've done quite a few private sales. If I don't know the person, then if they want a test ride, have the full asking amount in cash ready. $5 to $6k in an envelope doesn't take much room, and the bank can easily help with that. It's not that much of a risk after you've potentially selected a bike. You could sign all the agreements with me until the cows come home, but if you bin a bike and total it, how long am I going to wait for you to cough up the money? Remember, I don't know if you are a good guy or not. Most people *will* be like this. Be prepared for it.

Good luck in your search.
 
#8 ·
Still one wee problem with that plan: if the Rossi wannabe takes out a 3rd party; you have him permission to ride your bike on your insurance so you may be liable. Even his mother/wife/child might get a piece of you!
 
#9 ·
UGGGGHHHH !

THE "EXPERT" BUDDY test rider

My answer to that "YOU Fuck off ! ".

Reason is I've seen just over 12 times where expert buddy gets on bike and crashes it . Why ? because they have nothing to lose and most likely they show off there Alpha qualities to make sure everyone knows they are "Expert Buddy ". Let them Bang your new girl friend first if you must . But keep them the hell off your bike.
 
#11 ·
Easiest way just meet at a shop . It's usually a $40 charge . Bike doesn't need a complete rip apart. But any mechanic can look at a bike pretty quick and say it's garbage . $40 to $80 investment work it into the price ? Imperial , Burnaby , Pacific ... all will do it. No mechanic with any experience will rape ride the bike.
 
#15 ·
Best advise so far.

We had numerous parties bring in a bike, the seller and the buyer both come. We look it over, the buy pays for it if he's buying the bike, if it's a roach, the seller pays the bill. The machanic rides the bike, and gives his opinion on the transmission, does it run well, clutch engages properly, no brake pulse under braking, is the driveline sloppy or noisey etc etc....lot's to check over. All done on the shops demo plate insurnace. And more like $100, either way, money well spent.

If you buy a bike, lets say you got an old R6. No offence to the non branded dealers, but take it to a YAMAHA dealership. They can run the VIN for outstanding recalls, the techs there serviced them for years and know exactly what to look for as far as problems with that model and that year. ie: second gear is hooped. Then again, a lot of that is common knowledge for people with more than 5/10 years in the business. This is just more important for the complete NOOB buying a bike, anyone with a few seasons under their belt and has seen the issues on chat forums about shitty bikes (Aprilia SXV) knows not to even entertain the thought of buying one now.
 
#12 ·
That was the plan all along, to get the seller to take the bike to the shop for a checkup by someone who knows what they are doing. But before I get to that stage I would still like to see/ride the bike. It would be a waste of time and money if I got a seller to bring in every potential bike to get checked over. Once the test ride and basic checks are done, and if it seems like a bike I would want to buy, then I would bring it in to the shop for a checkup by a pro.
 
#13 ·
A friend of mine was selling an older, but super mint red and orange Fireblade some years ago. Man, it was so clean, the gauges looked like they just came out of the factory.

2 minutes after he sold it, 'expert' buddy crashed it at the end of the block. I laughed soooo fucking hard. Hell I'm laughing at my desk just remembering it!




But story aside, when I sell my bikes I offer two options:

1.) Cash in hand for a test ride
2.) I ride it up and down the block with a couple of hard pulls and hard stops
 
#14 ·
if a person wants cash in hand for a test drive you could always take a friend along. give the money to the owner while your friend stands there with them. this way they are not going to run away with your money. if that's what you are worried about. no point in taking an expert buddy cause you see the guy ride up and down the street which the owner can do for you like CanaganD said.
 
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#18 ·
I know of one ex-BCSB member who has been bragging on various forums he has been test riding just about everything in the Holeshot used fleet. It seems he forgets to mention he is without a valid Class 6 and they aren't checking.

Kind of a pretty stupid thing to do since you are gonna be on the hook for everything if you have to "lay 'er down" to avoid an accident! :)
 
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