When I purchased my 71 Bonneville I purchased it sight unseen as it was in another state. I had a third party look at the bike and based on their assessment I purchased the bike. They didn't ride it either. No regrets, it's a beautiful bike.
My question is, how do you handle the sale of your bike if someone asks to ride it before buying it? Do they put down a deposit up front to cover any possible damages?
In reply to triumphcorvair :
Full $ in my hand first. If they break it they bought it.
bigfranks84 said:In reply to triumphcorvair :
Full $ in my hand first. If they break it they bought it.
That's kind of my take on it too. I'm sure it helps separate the "tire kickers" from the serious buyers.
There is no test riding on the bike. You buy based on what you see. You can only start and watch me ride it if you want.
I have test ridden three bikes that I was interested in buying, two I bought the third I didn't. I think those guys were crazy letting me take their bike without knowing me or my riding ability. As a matter of fact they never checked my driver’s license to see if I had the endorsement.
This is my current situation, I've owned this bike since 2013. I've never ridden it. My best intentions were to start riding. It's a beautiful 71 Triumph Bonneville customized by the original owner. It's had a complete nut and bolt restoration. It has approximately 300 miles on an upgraded 750 with an electronic ignition. The problem for me is that it being a kick start, literally takes the wind out of me to kick it over. It usually kicks over the 1st time but if it takes more than 2 kicks I'm pretty much done. I had lymphoma and it really scarred up my lungs to the point I'm a candidate for a lung transplant. Since I don't ride I only run AvGas as it doesn't go bad, or so I've been told. Now I'm at the point that I'm thinking about selling but I really don't want to deal with tire kickers, etc. I'm just trying to figure out a good selling strategy without dealing with the drama so to speak. Thought about BAT but dealing with sarcastic wannabes isn't the game I'm wanting to play right now.
BAT is not a bad idea.
Ignore the noise and just answer the real questions.
I expect to ride a used bike if I'm buying. I'm okay with handing over money first.
Vintage bikes are different, IMO. In person start it and show them it runs, go through the gears while on the center stand and that would be sufficient for me. Take a video of it starting and running for internet buyers.
If it is that sweet bobber in your garage, I would get a friend to start it and film you riding it and include it in the ad. I would also NOT let anyone test ride without cash in hand and proof of insurance and license. Too much liability and too little reward. someone that buys that bike isn't going to not know how to work on and evaluate a bike.
If someone rode to my house on a motorcycle and wanted to test drive a bike I was selling, I would make sure their insurance was current and covered other bikes they were riding. If they couldn't show me that they knew how to ride, then they need to buy it first. I would ride it around for them.
Thanks for all the comments. I have a video of the original owner walking/talking through the finer points and modifications of this bike. It also includes him starting it and riding it. Here's the video. The bike has zero miles on it since I took ownership back in October 2013.
BTW, avgas can go bad just like any other fuel. It can also leave varnish deposits like other fuels. What it still has is lead additives unlike auto gas.
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