Sometimes buying a used motorcycle can be a very good bargain. But sometimes not at all… To prevent you from losing your money on a bike that isn’t worth it, I’ll give you some tips about what you should look at while buying a used bike.
First of all there is a difference if you buy from a private person or a dealer. The dealer has to provide you with guarantee but the private person doesn’t. So you should always look twice and ask for proof when you are not buying from a dealer.
How should you prepare?
As motorcycles aren’t always perfectly clean you should take gloves, towels and also a torch to brighten up spaces that you usually can’t see. Always take your motorcycle gear with you, because you want to make a test drive! You might also check the VIN-number to make sure if there is everything okay with that bike. Personally I use this site: Click Here!
First Impression
This is very important, especially for old bikes. What can you tell you about the bike when you first look at it? Is it cleaned? Has it got scratches? Was it standing ouside for a long time? All these first impressions tell you if the owner took good care of his bike or not.
After Market Parts
Usually all after market parts have to be allowed for your motorcycle. Ask the owner if all there are any mods on the bike. If yes which are those parts and do you have do register these parts? And ask if they are registered and ask for a proof! You can also check the part itself and if it has (in Europe) an E-number, you don’t have to register them.
All parts fixed
Always check if all the parts are fixed on the motorcycle. To do this just use your fingers and tap against all the parts. Clearly if they move, they are not fixed and might cause disturbing noises while riding.
Crashes
Often the seller tells you that the bike has never had a crash and sometimes they just tell you that the bike did just fall over in the garage. Don’t believe them, remember, always check! So you want to search for scratches or any other signs for a crash on the motorcycle. You should always check the clutch- and brakelevers, the handlebar and of course the coverpanels. Those are the parts that tend to be damaged first during a crash.
Chain
Nowadays most of the bikes have a chain to lead the power from the engine to the wheel. Check if the chain has been maintained properly. If this has not been the case the chain traps the dirt inside and won’t be able to work properly anymore. The sprocket and the chain will also wear off much faster. How can you check if the chain still fits the sprocket properly? Well you try to move the chain away from the back sprocket. This should not be possible or maybe just a little bit.
Also check the chains clearance! You should be able to move the chain upwards and downwards by about 1cm or half an inch.
Engine
Start the engine and let it run for a bit. Here you want to check if the bike starts immediately, if it runs smoothly, if there are no strange noises and how well it responds to the throttle. Then check if there are any oil leaks, missing parts or cracks in the engine block. If it is a liquid cooled engine, check the condition of the watertubes. Always repeat the engine check after your test drive to check again if there are no leaks.
Oillevel
Always check the oillevel in your bike. Put the bike in an upright position an check if the oil reaches the marked point.
Electronics
Very easy and fast. Check if all lights, turnings signal and horns are working.
Steering Head
Put the bike inbetween your legs and push several times on the handlebar so that the bike springs in and out several times. The should be no major noise. If there is some rattling it can mean that your steering head is not fixed properly or is maybe damaged. You should also move the handlebars form left to right and back to check if the handlebar is easy to move and if there are no spots where it is harder to move it. To do this just lean the bike on its kickstand so that the frontwheel gets off the ground.
Shocks
Control if there are any oil leaks on the shocks. You can use a towel and just wipe up and down the shocks. Of course you want your towel to be absolutely dry after that, otherwise there is an oilleak on the schocks.
Tank
Check if there is any dirt trapped under the the tank cap. If that’s the case it might be possible that some of that dirt went into the tank aswell. Next you can take your torch and check inside the tank for rust. This is mor specific for older bikes with metal tanks because nowadays most of the bikes use plastic tanks.
Brakes
First control the discs, if they are free from scratches. Then check if the brake pads are still thick enough. In the next step you control the braketubes if they are still in a perfect condition. And don’t forget to check the braking fluids. Usually the braking fluids should be changed every two years. If there is a transparent brakefluid contender, you can easliy check the age of the fluid by looking at its color. The darker it is, the older the fluid is.
Tires
The tires should not be older than 5 years. Because with time tires get harder and don’t provide the grip they used to. Search for a DOT-number (department of transport) which is followed by 4 numbers. For example 1310 would be the 13 week in the year 2010. Of course you want to check if there is some profile rest.
Test Drive
The test drive always comes in the last place after you made sure that the bike is in a proper driving condition.
Here are some links of useful stuff during a checkup like this:
Tire Checkup Tool Box: http://amzn.to/2wdbhEA
Flashlight: http://amzn.to/2xsRQGy
Black Bikes 