I wrote this to a friend whom I had offered to help find a used bike. I ended
up basically writing what I considered a partial buyers guide, so I decided
to just publish it here. This is still and will probably always be a work in
progress. Of course not everyone will agree about how to go about finding and
checking out a used bike, but I believe it to be helpful none the less. Please
feel free to add to it or offer corrections. I have not worked at a motorcycle
dealership since 1992 so I am sure there some things I will have missed or just
plain forgotten. Keep in mind that I wrote this originally for one particular
person that was looking for a first bike and an entry level rider. She will
be taking a rider training course on a Buell I believe.
Much of this was also written in answer to specific questions about a 2004 Yamaha V-Star. Some of the specific information was from my mechanic friend George and one bike that had stripped the shaft drives ring gear output-to-rear wheel drive spline. I am pretty sure the warranty was refused. We believed this failure to be due to lack of grease from the factory as the bike was still very new and we had seen this failure and the warning many times before from lack of grease since the 1980's. If this failure was indeed from lack of grease on the ring gears' spline it is a problem or more correctly maintenance item common to probably almost all shaft drive motorcycles. This was such a huge issue back when Honda started producing many more shaft drive bikes, besides the Gold Wing, that a slip of paper came with almost every part you would get, I still get them sometimes, from Honda telling you to be sure and grease the spline every time you had the rear wheel off and to perform it on a regular basis too.
The oil leaks:
The dealers do know to fix the things that will drip before the ink on the sales
slip is dry. There is also the lemon law for some protection. That's why you
will see as-is on almost every used vehicle these days though. The shops I worked
at were pretty good about fixing what ever it needed within reason before we
would resell one. 99 percent, if not all, of the dealers used bikes come from
trade-in's
Looking for a used bike is a lot like looking for a car up to a point. I would say use the information from automobile buyers guides in combination with the following plus any other guides out there for motorcycles, I haven't even looked at this point for one for motorcycles.
1. Research. See if there is a common problem and be sure it's fix-able or already fixed. Like the rear wheel drive spline going bad on the Yamaha V-stars.
2. Of course everyone should know to look at the mileage, who owned it, how old they were, male or female and why they sold it if you can find out. Check the blue book prices to give you an idea of what you should pay and how the older models resale values are holding up. The resale values declining is often a good indicator of how happy the owners of the particular models were/are.
3. Scratches or grind marks on the mirrors, foot pegs, clutch levers. You can tell if it's been down and how hard. Just draw a line of sight across the bike, or use like a yard stick, as if it was laying down and see what would hit the ground, like the former items mentioned. Check out the Buell when you take your course. It's a perfect specimen. I guarantee you everyone will be interested when you ask about it and say "This bikes been crashed. See the bottom of the foot peg, it's got scratches and/or gravel/dirt/cement/asphalt stuck in it still. It's been down at 20mph on the left hand side on cement." An actual crowd will gather to listen. Some parts, especially on rider course bike, just wont be worth replacing or will be missed in the insurance estimate. After market parts do not add to the value, like exhaust systems. That just means they were a hot rod looking for more power or it to be louder, so they were probably ragging the motor for all it was worth, or revving it needlessly for the sound. Only things like a windshield you can take off and never tell it was on there, to me, add to the value, maybe. Personally the more stock the better. Even things like the mounts for the windshield and accessories will sometimes mar the handle bars or other parts of the bike. This is especially true of the paint and things like belt buckles or tank bags and bra's that may be hiding the damage.
4. Look to see if ANY of the nuts or bolts, especially the engine and it's mount bolts have even had a wrench on them. They should be perfect or I would suspect something big has been fixed. THEY ARE NEVER THE SAME AFTER THEY ARE TAKEN APART AFTER THE FACTORIES ORIGINAL ASSEMBLY. Cars too. Even though standard service checks call for checking the engine mount tightness, it's seldom done. Things like the clutch cover or altenator/dyno cover should have never been touched if the bike is fairly new.
5. Look and smell the oil. If it looks like an old cars dipstick, you've had those, it went too far between oil changes. If it smells like when you drive off and forget to release the parking brake in your car, then the clutch has probably been abused. Brakes and clutch material getting too hot smell a lot the same, it's just most motorcycles have a wet-clutch, it's bathed in the same oil that lubricates the entire engine unless you have something like a Big Twin Harley in which case the engine and transmission are separate. Metal particles, too much is just plain bad news. A few ferrous and non-ferrous particles are normal for about the first three oil changes or 2000-3000 miles, then even less for normal wear and tear on the transmission and such. You will always see some though. If you see copper looking particles it's usually crankshaft or rod bearings. That is a deal breaker for sure. Crank bearings in the oil is probably the worst possible thing cost and repair wise. The oil in a used bike at dealership will probably be new and maybe not even run on yet. Check it after the test drive.
6. Go to a new bike and see how smooth all the controls are. Compare it to the Buell and whatever your looking to buy. Get a feel for how it should feel. Turn the handlebars all the way and do it again, it should be the same. I can't count the bikes I have seen with sticky clutch and brake levers from simple lack of grease in the pivot or cable areas of the levers. The number one cause of the cable failing on a motorcycle is from lack of grease where the cable goes into the lever or throttle pipe. It's real easy to fix and even easier to inspect. The clutch cable for instance will fray right at where the inner cable ends in the cables barrel (the round thing that goes into the lever) It needs to be able to pivot as the levers angle changes and without grease it breaks the end (barrel) off the cable.
7. This is the first thing anyone does when bouncing on new or used bike at the dealership. If the key is in it the will try turning it on. Then they will open the gas cap and look inside. We used to bet on if and how long it would take a bike browsers to do it. What I never saw them do is take their finger and stick it in the tank and try and feel the inside top of the tank. If it's too rusty you are going to have carburetor problems in the form of fuel overflowing from the float needle and seats. On fuel injection bikes you will probably be buying new injectors and having to repair or replace the fuel tank.
8. For my friend Donna when she says "I do so hate spots on my drive way". If you do buy a Harley there is no reason to have anything oil spots from your bike :) This was mainly the older ones that were hard to get to stay sealed up, pre 199?. Possibly, if you have a chain drive model and you are lubing the chain according to the manual about every 300 miles, after riding in water or going to the carwash, maybe a drop or two of chain lube. While I'm on the subject of chains. Do not ever use the high pressure carwash to try and clean your sealed (o-ring) chain, which most all street bikes have these days. It is the number one killer of sealed chains. People go nuts trying to get that sticky ugly looking lube that has flung off or is still on the chain. Even be careful while spraying the parts around the chain not to hit the chain. I know it's an eyesore, but it ain't worth it. You must clean the area by hand and it's a mess. Back to oil leaks, the next thing to leak would probably be a blown fork seal. I consider a fork seal going out every once and a while maintenance. Usually from bugs hitting the inner tube, the shiny part, and sticking. They then get in the seal when the forks compress. It's easy enough to fix, albeit a bit what I consider expensive, probably and hours labor plus $25 or so in parts. Any shop, non-dealer too, should be able to do a good job.
I still need to go into tires, drive systems... and I'm sure a lot of other things I look at when I checkout a bike. When I think of it I'll come here and add to this post when I do.
Happy Hunting and if you're a new
rider please try and remember
It doesn't matter who's fault it is if you get in a accident. Please never have
to say "It wasn't my fault". While some people have gone there
whole lives without ever falling off and others crash weekly. You're going to
get the short end of the stick if your on a bike and they are in a car. You
can't get away with taking it for granted that everyone, hell anyone, obeys
the traffic laws or even sees you. It's cliche' but pretty much you are invisible
and even if they do see you normally the crasher will say "I never
saw them" anyway. You can continue to have fun on your bike if you
and it are still in one piece. I highly recommend some off-road riding where
you get a chance to hone your skills without the distraction of the 10 other
things you have to think about when your on the street. You can get a feel for
the limits of sliding, braking and accelerating hard. These things are usually
not done on the street, in normal driving, until you are about to have a wreck.
Practice what you'll do "if" and there millions of if's. Constantly
look at intersections and areas where someone could have been coming and think
how to avoid that danger next time. If you feel the need to raise hell, we all
do sometimes, there are race tracks, parking lots and deserted roads where at
least you can only blame yourself and hurt no one else. Remember like Tony Sinclair
says "Moderation"