Just want to rant for a minute

[NashGTI]

Given the current state of things I was looking at bikes for sale and found what looked like a good price on an SV650X. Figuring maybe they're itching to make deals at the moment, I decided that I'd ride over this morning and talk about trading my F4i in on it. The idea was that I would be able to trade my CBR in and kick them some cash to where they could make a little on the back end of the deal selling my Honda and I wouldn't dog them enough on the Suzuki to kill them.
I went in to talk (by appointment only right now) and even though the salesman was a nice chap, after looking at my bike and doing some figuring the amount of cash they wanted kicked in was......the exact same thing the bike has been advertised at for months now. Funny how that works, somehow my trade in was valued at the exact amount of BS markups they tried to tack on.
I wasn't expecting what I think was a crazy amount for my bike, about 75% of what is listed as average retail on a bike that requires nothing to be saleable seems fair to me and they cut that in roughly half. They added so much markup on top of the advertised price that it wouldn't have mattered. Poor sales guy asked if there was anything we could do to meet in the middle price wise, I apologized for wasting his time and left.
That stuff really irks me though, if you know you aren't going to sell something for the price you have advertised, the customer should be able to kick you in the balls while the police watch and cheer.

 

[Mailman]

Dealerships are turds. They never want to give you more than crumbs for your bike. When I had my Suzuki 650 V-Strom, it was low miles and spotless, I went to a Triumph dealership and test ride a new Bonneville. When we sat down and talked numbers it became clear they didn’t want to give me hardly anything for my bike so I said adios!
Thanks for a total waste of my time. Ah well....that moment turned into me spending more money on a nearly 50 year old motorcycle!

 

[member28833]

Well, funny in 1988 I bought my one and only motorcycle ever from a Honda dealership in Bend Oregon.
Used, A 1982 Yamaha XJ650RJ Seca. Under 8k miles and bone stock.
I did have my endorsement. The sales man told me I could test ride it down the street to that far stop light and come back. "What? That's not a test ride."
OR? , "We could take two bikes on a test ride together.." Yes, now were talkin. He got two helmets and started up his used bike, a CBR1000.
Now about 10 miles later East of the city we were doin well over 100 mph. That's a test ride !

I loved it.
I stubbornly wouldn't accept any of his payment options or counter offers. I just plain stood firm that I would give him on the spot all of my money in my checking account. $865 .. it was a pretty low offer. I told him I could wait until my next paycheck.
Back in the sales office I managed a used helmet too so I could ride it out right then.
I won big that day
-R

 

[gggGary]

Sorry Nash but with today's uncertainty them dealers want CASH not bikes.
Kinda figure I won't be selling any bikes this year.

 

[Mailman]

Kinda figure I won't be selling any bikes this year.

I’ve been looking at Craigslist a lot for the last couple of weeks, and I have noticed a big up tick on bike listings.
A lot of very nice , low mileage bikes showing up. People looking to free up cash in these un certain times.

 

[NashGTI]

Sorry Nash but with today's uncertainty them dealers want CASH not bikes.
Kinda figure I won't be selling any bikes this year.

I wasn't overly confident a deal would be struck going in. I told my wife there was probably a 25% chance of something happening. What gets me is that even had I brought enough cash to cover their add I STILL would have been almost two grand short on a deal. I get you can't really include tax in your advertisement because without a national standard sales tax you can't anticipate where the buyer will be from. Other stuff you can totally incorporate into the advertised price because they know full well they won't let the bike go without it being paid (200 dollars for "Lifetime battery replacement?) so refusing to state it up front is just a loop hole around false advertising in my book.

 

[MaxPete]

Yup - it’s all about the cash right now and while I am not generally a fan of dealers, I can’t blame them as they have families to feed too.

 

[NashGTI]

I’ve been looking at Craigslist a lot for the last couple of weeks, and I have noticed a big up tick on bike listings.
A lot of very nice , low mileage bikes showing up. People looking to free up cash in these un certain times.

If I wanted a cruiser now would be a fantastic time to buy off Craigslist. There is a Street Triple that popped up local here too that is somewhat interesting but lime green is an awful color on those and I'm not sure it's really the bike I'm looking for (though I'd take a Speed Triple in a heartbeat).

 

[gggGary]

Yes The hidden fees trap, we have a dealer like that in Wisconsin. I call and tell em' I want to know the OUT THE DOOR price before I'm coming to look. (get a name and date or confirming email before you travel.) If they won't do it, it ain't worth the trip. I have bought bikes, cars, trucks from dealers 'round the country, cuz sometimes they are more realistic about the market than owners, LOL 'specially a honda sitting at a harley dealer type thing.

 

[NashGTI]

When Cthulu closes one door he opens a window, or something like that.

I sold my CBR today, and I'm going this weekend to buy a Speed Triple. It's a used 2006, but it's a Speed Triple and I've wanted one of those for nearly twenty years now. I used to keep the Triumph sales brochure from 2006 above my bedroom door back in the day before I got married and the bike I'm going after is nearly identical to that look. Super pumped and can't wait for the weekend.

 

[motormike]

Our local R/Enfield dealer sells bike as advertised.....doesn't tack on dealer blah blah blah.. set up blah blah blah....

 

[Mailman]

I used to keep the Triumph sales brochure from 2006 above my bedroom door back in the day before I got married and the bike I'm going after is nearly identical to that look.

That’s what’s known as a vision quest! Good for you for catching your dream bike!

 

[NashGTI]

And now we in Tennessee are supposed to stay at home pretty please with a cherry on top. They've taken the order from being mandatory in the central counties of the major cities to state wide. Right now I'm not sure what any of it means as far as getting the Triumph goes. My plans as of right now are to continue with the trip to get the bike Saturday as I don't think I'm running afoul of any directives by doing so. My chief concern at the moment is whether or not I'll be able to title and register the thing once I get it without having to wait the weeks or months for things to all open back up.

 

[fredintoon]

And now we in Tennessee are supposed to stay at home pretty please with a cherry on top. They've taken the order from being mandatory in the central counties of the major cities to state wide. Right now I'm not sure what any of it means as far as getting the Triumph goes. My plans as of right now are to continue with the trip to get the bike Saturday as I don't think I'm running afoul of any directives by doing so. My chief concern at the moment is whether or not I'll be able to title and register the thing once I get it without having to wait the weeks or months for things to all open back up.

Hi Nash,
go get the thing while you still can, eh?
And save your concern for covid-19 avoidance.

 

[NashGTI]

Got the bike and got home. Down and back in about 5 hours. Needs a front tire, front brakes, and rear turn signals. Also the horn and tail light don't work so I'll have to see what's going on there. I'm still super excited.

 

[Mailman]

Congratulations! She’s a beauty! Good luck with your new bike.

 

[Mailman]

I always liked the two round headlights versus the updated angular ones.

 

[NashGTI]

I always liked the two round headlights versus the updated angular ones.

Absolutely, the newer bikes are undoubtedly better bikes, but the round headlights just look RIGHT to me. The older ones are just sort of the mantra of everything you need to have fun and nothing you don't. Actually trying to style the bike sort of took away from that in my opinion.

 

[NashGTI]

Hurray for emotional purchases. I've got the tail light working, there was a broken wire from the ignition switch up next to the steering neck plus another wire that was starting to break. I cut both sections out and soldered in new lengths of wire. I ordered a KN air filter last night just assuming it needed a new air filter and taking the airbox out today to fix the wiring I discovered it already has a nearly new looking KN air filter so that was 50 dollars poorly spent. I didn't bother to look into the horn issue, but the relay doesn't click either so I feel it's a pretty safe assumption there is a broken wire there too. The lack of a horn doesn't bother me in the least though as I don't think I've used a horn on purpose since 2007, even though I accidentally hit the one on my CBR at least once a month.

More bothersome and more difficult to fix however is the reset button for the trip computer functions doesn't appear to work. I can't get the trip meters to reset or the clock to set and that kinda sucks. There is a peak speed function in the cluster though and apparently someone has had the thing to 101mph so good on them.

In other news this thing is nucking futs and a half. It's been a long time since I've ridden anything this powerful and the way this thing builds speed around town is a shock to the system. They closed the county clerks offices a couple hours after I got home and got the bike unloaded yesterday, what they've done is said that if you keep the properly signed title or notarized bill of sale in the vehicle you can use that as your registration until June 15. I suppose given the way that's worded I'm cool to ride it, I'll stick to going to work and back for now though to try to avoid getting hassled. The front tire is dry and hard too and I'm not sure how much I trust it.

 

[Mailman]

the way this thing builds speed around town is a shock to the system.

I was at a test ride event years ago and took a Honda 919 out. It was the same experience, as fast as you could blip the throttle, you covered half the length of a football field. It was an absolute bullet, and the riding position had you leaning out over the front wheel, so when you were riding, the bike wasn’t even visible below you. It honestly felt like you were flying. I imaging that’s pretty similar to your Triumph.