Motormabikey Madness

[miaowkytten]

Who knows anything about motorbikes and engines?

Who can/will help me in perusing/investigating/evaluating second hand bikes that are up for private sale?

Who's going to be my rawkgawdlurv who helps me attain my lil bikey dreamy goodness!?

Comments

[gevauden]

A few pointers:
Ask to see a service history, if they have one.
Check the chain. Make sure it's lubricated, not covered in dirt or rust. Check the tension in the chain, make sure it's even all the way around when you rotate the wheel.
Make sure the tyres are in decent condition and evenly worn. If they're worn in just one spot the bike has been sitting for a while, which can be a bad sign.
Check of signs of crash damage, like repainted panels, scuffed bars or pipes, check for signs of repair.
Check for oil leaks and make sure oil levels are correct.
Make sure all the lights and instruments work.
Make sure the wheels turn freely and the steering is nice and smooth.
Start it up, look for smoke or dodgy idling, both bad.
Make sure the milage on the odometer is realistic, for example, a 10 year old bike should really have done more that 2000km.
Ask if you can go for a ride on the thing. Make sure you're comfortable on the bike when it's actually moving.

There's no really "quick" way to do this, you really want to be as thorough as possible. Check out as many bikes as you can to get a good idea of what you want. Once you've picked the one you want have a mechanic look over it (if you're not buying from a dealer) just to be sure.

Of course, in my case I only paid $200 so I got a dogdgy zombie bike. heh.

Hope all that helps :)

[gevauden]

Oh! And if you're looking at a CB250, be double sure to check this stuff out. They're pretty popular learner bikes and can often go through numerous owners who upgrade once they're on their full licence. This can sometimes mean they've been thrashed by people who have had no intention of keeping them long-term.

[gevauden]

One more thing: NEVER let the seller know just how keen you are. You wanna get the best price you can and if they think you'll sell your mother to get the bike then they'll charge you accordingly ;)

[miaowkytten]

Me? Supress my exuberance and excitement over a bike? Er.. tall order. *puts on poker face*

[gevauden]

Yeah, I know it can be tough, but if you do things like point ourt what's not perfect about the bike that can help give the impression that you may go elsewhere, thus driving the price down :)

[miaowkytten]

There's a difficulty in this particular one in terms of bargaining power. I have to go to Manjimup to see it. I think making the trip out there would, in itself, suggest I'm pretty keen.
Hence, me trying to arm myself with as much knowledge as possible before I decide to take up the mission.

[gevauden]

Ergh! That sure is a trek.
In that case, if I were you, I'd check out a few bikes locally first.
There are 2 reasons for this.
One: You don't want to make a trip all the way out there for nothing. You may find something good locally before you go.
Two: you REALLY don't want to go out there, fall in love, buy the bike and THEN get it home only to discover there's something seriously screwed up.

[miaowkytten]

So very true.

But it's considerably more affordable than anything I've found locally in my recent scouting. Which makes it either a bargain or a little impending trap of explodey doom.

[miaowkytten]

Marvellously helpful! Thank you!

I've found one particular second hand Honda CB250 that I'm investigating. It's affordable (YAY!) but I know nothing of engines and it will be my baby-first-bike.