Selling a bike / how to handle test rides?

It is odd. That XS1100 was for sale for the better part of last summer. Put it back up for sale this Spring, and a guy drove 4 hours from Indiana, bought it and drove it all the way home. He was looking for an XS1100 to turn into a cafe racer and decided the bike was in too good of condition to molest it. He's still looking for one he can convert and we stay in touch. Best part of a sale is when you make new friends through the process.
 
been many years, a guy local to me had someone show up, took bike for a spin, left his family in car at persons house, she gets a call & takes off, it seemed he wrecked bike in a curve under 2 miles away, bike had dead tags, no insurance, & guy left scene, bike was impounded by police, and owner got into issues. he had no idea who was riding bike, it was a big mess, & bike was totaled, just a parts bike afterward.

I bought a bike over a decade ago, I showed up with truck & wife, guy took 1 look at me & said you need to test ride dont you? I said yep, it had been sleeting all day, & I had drove nearly 200 miles on slick stuff to go see the bike, but guy also said you rode all your life & used to ice, & I said yep, my hair nearly to my belt, my beard 18" long, & could tell I been in Harley scene for decades, hands me keys, I came back 15-20 min later, discussed issues i saw on bike, negotiated deal, loaded & drove home, & guy shaking his head, saying never in a million years would he believe let someone drive in ice, or that I would have actually drove to see bike in ice. but I rode for over 3 decades year round, & rode to & from work all winter for most of my life
 
Resurrecting this thread.

I like the method of cash at time of test ride and refund if they don’t want the bike for any reason. Don’t know how many buyers would agree to that though. Safest for the seller.
 
From a buyers point of view. How can you negotiate a price when you haven't felt/heard the engine, gearbox, clutch on ride If the owner insists full cash amount before a ride, leaving the full amount of cash with the seller means the buyer accepts the deal is done for that price, the seller is less likely to give a reduced price if the buyer points out some issues.

Then again that should be stated before the buyer comes to see the bike so they can decide if the situation/conditions suit them. It is all about communication.
 
Not only price but the kind of bike. Selling a plastic rocket is a different animal than selling an XS650 or other "classic".
I recall being REALLY nervous letting a ZX1400 out for a test ride. That thing was a starship in a velvet glove. It could slap you silly before you knew what had happened. It went well, first guy that showed up bought it with no haggling. And yeah his eyes were wide when he got back from the ride. Piped with a power commander cuz they are kinda gutless? WTF.
It's kinda odd how seldom the buyer does much if any inspection of the bike they are laying out a bunch of cash for.
A girlfriend, wife buddy in the car truck they arrive in is one bump in the ante that I want some assurance they'll come back with the bike.
My current problem is guys buying bikes and then not coming by to pick them up. I currently have 4 bikes that aren't mine in the SOIR.
 
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They bought the bikes left you the cash and never came back ?
At what point does the bike become yours again and up for sale again
That's strange
 
I always say in the ad If you want to test ride the bike bring a license with valid bike endorsement or bring someone who does
I don't want someone who's never driven a bike to take mine out for his first ride
And when they contact me I'll suggest they bring a helmet or they can use one of mine
 
Just bring cash
"Hey you give me the cash thank you"
"now if you would like to pickout the bike you won't be picking up that would be great"
I assume they all got the titles ?
 
When I was selling my 650’s , I just kinda figured I’d play it by ear. Try and get a feel for who they were. I had one guy , looked to be in his early 30’s, come over to look at my XS2. He drove up in this old beater car and proceeded to waste my time for 30 minutes telling about a couple of old sport bikes he had and how fast they were and how he had tricked them out. :cautious: (Yeah right)
His whole demeanor just screamed idiot. Then he wanted to hear it run, and I knew he was drooling to ride it.
Instead, I started the bike, and ran it up and down the street a couple times while he watched from the curb. I didn’t really care for him ( or trust him ) , but I would have been happy to take the guys cash. 😆 He left soon after that, telling me , he’d be back, he just needed to get a loan.
Thankfully I never heard from him again.

A couple of times, I went to go look at a bike for sale, in both instances the ad specifically said no free rides. And I never asked either of those guys to ride their bike. But in both instances, after talking for a while they just handed me the keys and said why don’t you take it for a spin. 😄
I really think a lot just depends on how people read you.
 
I might have to rethink letting someone borrow my helmet
Although I have a couple of older ones that wouldn't break my heart if stolen
 
A few years back a young kid came to look at my 1100 Triumph but my ad said endorsement etc. so his uncle rode it he bought it and before he got his MC endorsement he crashed it and never transfered the title
I only found out about it when tabs were due and the letter came to me
I called him up and he appoligized and finally did get it titled in his name
And I did contact the DMV to check also
But I should have used the website to let the DMV know that I sold the bike and to whom :banghead:
 
650Skull said:
If a buyer turned up without a helmet it tells me he isn't serious. No rides, gimmie the full amount. Definately won't lend a helmet.
Click to expand...

When I sold my V-Strom the guy seemed very trustworthy and I let him ride it, and he didn’t have a helmet, I loaned him mine. When he came back, he was all grins and said he’d buy the bike if I threw in the helmet. I did and he paid me cash on the spot and rode the bike home, leaving his pickup truck in front of my house. 😄 Gave me an excuse to buy a new helmet. 👍🏻
 
I have never purchased a running bike in person haha.

If it was a running bike they have all been from out of state, some sight unseen.

Lots of bikes in boxes in person but no chance to test ride those.

Every bike I’ve sold in person, I will drive it up the street for em but no rides without cash in my hand.

I’ve never been desperate to sell a bike, so sales are on my terms, not the potential buyers. Don’t like it, kick rocks.
 
I state in my ad bring a helmet, driver's license with motorcycle endorsement (which I hold), and the full asking price in cash if they want to test ride it. I let them know if they even scratch it, they bought it. When they return, I return their license and all of their money, then we negotiate the price. Otherwise, I will ride it with the buyer following, and I will perform the tests the buyer asks me to do. They can see and hear it run, see that it stops, turns, and shifts all 5 (or 6) gears. One or the other, no exceptions.
 
I think alot of the "boilerplate" in ads is a way to weed out sketchy buyers. Have a squid show up; Sure no problem, hand me my asking price in cash, and driver's license, LIKE I STATED IN THE AD and you're good to try it out.
 

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