9. Bike Shopping - Trip 2

Ok. As you all know, last week was officially bike shopping trip 1. Today, was trip 2 and I was fortunate enough one of the forum members offered to take me out shopping and help me inspect two bikes.

Bike 1:

The first bike was located about 20mins from where I live. It was a 2007 Honda VTR and appears to be in a very good condition.

A little bit of history, the bike was previously owned by a mechanic (who is the cousin of the seller). Based on conversation with the seller, he's looking to sell the bike as he no longer rides very much and would like to use the spare cash for his mortgage. A bit more probing however unveiled that he does not appear to know what he was selling. One instance - the website indicated the bike came with many spares including a different coloured tank, when asked what were the spares, his response was "not sure as it's all at my cousins place".

As for the bike condition, my first impression was that the bike appeared very well looked after. It looks pretty much brand new from my my set of inexperienced eyes and it even has its own blanket. There were some minor cosmetic damages - a couple of tiny chips on the tank which was expected of a naked bike and some scratches on the right handle bar weight, the front brake lever and the right oggy knobs.  However, as they were not replaced, it may suggest that the drop was fairly minor. In terms of storage, it had a very tiny compartment under the seat which may fit a puncture kit. The colour of the tank is red however, the cowl is black.

On the more mechanical side of things, the wear and tear on both tyres appears to be fairly consistent with the amount of ks (~8900km) on the bike. It would however be due for a replacement fairly soon. The brake pads usage appeared consistent with the ks. From my understanding, the feel of the brakes, clutch and suspension all seemed fine. The engine looks pretty good and the bike sounded very nice with the stay in tune carbon fibre exhaust. The steering on the bike also did not indicate any bearing issues.

Based on my research, I find that the asking price of the bike is slightly higher than what I would pay for and it was priced more inline with what you would expect to pay at a dealer. There is also no service history and it appears to me that all modifications and servicings had been done by the seller's mechanic cousin. I'm also slightly uncomfortable that the owner does not know his own bike as well as he should. On the plus, it looks like he has been taking care of his bike.

Conclusion: Very hesitant to buy as I'll be buying something at a fairly high price and no idea on it's service or crash history. It is attractive in the sense that it has been well looked after, it looked clean and has some nice modifications on it. However, at the asking price, I may as well buy a brand new baby Ninja.

Bike 2:

The second bike was located about 15minutes from the first bike. It was marketed as a 2006 Honda VTR but it was actually a 2005 model.

A bit of history on the bike, it was bought by the seller from a dealer in Parramatta. He went there with his Dad who is also a rider. The seller claims he was sold a 2006 model but the sticker on the bike suggest otherwise. He also appeared to me like a mechanical noob as I am but that's just my impression. His reason for selling were genuine as there is a for sale sign outside his parents house.

Based on first impression, the bike did not appeared to be well loved. It was not cleaned for the sale and has its fair share of wear and tear. In my ideal world, I would like to purchase something that has been looked after well as I'm a bit of a neat freak and a perfectionist (and yes, I am aware that statistically, there is a good chance of dropping the bike and/or crashing). I guess a good but not direct comparison might be kitchens. Just as much as my girlfriends and I love cooking, we all maintain out kitchen quite differently. GF 1 does not look after her kitchen at all and cleans/replace parts only when it has gotten to status "horrible", GF 2 looks after her kitchen but there is always some oil splatters. My kitchen is cleaned immediately after each use and would most likely only have your standard wear and tear. I certainly hope that this is how I would treat my bike too.

Enough of random blah... on the more mechanical side of things, the left hand rim of the front tyres suggest the bike has been drop a few times and may have skidded a little. There are also some scuff marks on the odometer. The muffler is also slightly dented at the end and there are a number of scratches on it. The radiator has also taken a hit on the right hand side. The tank has also been repainted as it no longer has the Honda and VTR stickers. The paint job was not all too well done and there is also a slight dent on the left hand side of the tank. The tyres appear to be the original tyres from 6 years ago and there are cracks in them which suggest replacement. The bike has 11,000kms and the wear and tear of the brake pads appear consistent. The chain on the bike will require some adjustment and the teeth is neither rounded or sharp... kind of in between. The rear brake would also require some adjustment as it requires a fairly hard press to get the brake lights to come on. The back indicators were aftermarket indicators. The wear and tear on the forks of the bike suggest the bike should have done significantly more ks than 11,000kms. It is likely that it has been replaced when the bike was brought into the dealership. It does not appear to have steering issues.

Conclusion: The bike is definitely a learners bike. It has its fair share if not plenty of wear, tears and a few hits. For the asking price, it is a definite no. At $1000 less, it might be worth considering if there is nothing else in the market however even then, that $1000 saved would be used to fixing up bits and pieces (e.g tyre replacement, adjustments of bits and pieces, maybe fork replacement etc).

Based on today's experience, it might be worth while looking around in the market a little more. Ideally, I would like to purchase a bike seller who is the first owner with full history and service logs. Also, being fresh on my Ls, I'd like to get a bike sooner rather than later to start practicing and have some fun. And more importantly, I don't leave too long of a gap otherwise I might forget how to start a bike and change gear.

PS thanks to Mr V (I thought I might keep his name private), I've learnt a little bit more about bikes today!