Test Rides for Prospective Buyers

[RobP]

For those of you who have sold your bikes, do you allow test rides?   I've seen CL ads that say "test rides only with cash in hand"  or something similar.  What is the standard practice?  I suppose it depends based on the value of the bike.

Not planning on selling, but just curious.  I have only bought new at the dealer or cheap bikes with no test ride, so I don't have any experience buying or selling a good used bike.

[johnny]

my insurance only covers me and my passenger...

if they wanna test ride my moto they are gonna have to ride bitch... bitch...

j o

[K75RT Keith]

I think the idea is to weed out the joy riders and thieves.   

If I were to let someone test ride my bike, I'd want to see their license with endorsement, insurance coverage and want.cash money or collateral like their car's title before they put the key in the ignition.

When I sold my boat, I required $100 non-refundable deposit for a test ride.  It weeded out the weekend go for ride at the expense of someone else.

[Billk]

Every situation is different. I let a guy test ride once and he went for a 45  minute ride. I thought that was too long. BTW he didn't buy it. Sometimes I draw up an agreement that reads that he's responsible for any damage. Sometimes I tell them you pay for it and if you don't like it return it within 20 minutes and I'll refund the money. Sometimes I'll let the person go down the block and back. My friend sold a bike to a guy who nearly totaled the bike a short distance from his garage. The bike was in excellent nearly new condition. He was glad he didn't give this guy a test ride. The guy blipped the throttle going down a steep hill and lost it. Before you give a test ride ask a million questions as to their motorcycling experience and let them know how uncomfortable you are with test rides. After doing that I've had guys say to me, it looks clean, I'll take it. Every situation is different.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I don't ask for test rides and I don't give them.  If they want to see it run, I'll take them for a ride or maybe do a drive by. 

What else does someone need to see beyond a cold start, a run through the gears and maybe a couple of stops?

[Motorhobo]

I don't ask for test rides and I don't give them.  If they want to see it run, I'll take them for a ride or maybe do a drive by. 

What else does someone need to see beyond a cold start, a run through the gears and maybe a couple of stops?

+1 -- I've bought 4 K75s and have never ridden one first, and never been burned. If it runs, the brakes have pressure, shifts thru all gears, the lights all work and it's not spewing fluids...I think that's all a serious buyer would need to know.

[WayneDW]

Last time I handed over the keys and had some joy riders, but so what?  Didn't hurt a thing and I met some MN nice guys.
But some would say i am too trusting.  Which is how I prefer to be, BTW.

[Glacial]

Sold my last bike through the Honda Deauville forum. Guy rode his bike 120 miles to come and see mine. I had no problem with a forum member riding my bike while he left his in my drive. He was back in 10 minutes and we made a deal. It was an easy decision to let him ride because he was a competent rider, he was traceable through the forum and I had his bike. Different circumstances and I would have been more wary.

[rbm]

On another forum I frequent, advice for private sales and test rides is to receive the asking price in cash from the prospective buyer up front and hold it while the buyer takes the test ride.  If they damage the bike, they essentially have bought the bike from the seller for the seller's asking price (no refund or partial refund).  If the test ride is eventless, the price negotiations begin.

When I bought my K100, I bought it without a test ride.  Thirteen years no problems with the bike so maybe I was lucky (the seller was a bit slimey being a used car salesman).  When I bought the K75, I left my K100 in the driveway and took the K75 up and down the seller's residential street.

[dougrs]

I think the "cash in hand" deal is fairly standard. When I bought my K75, I gave the guy the cash and rode the bike for ten minutes, I really didn't learn anything on the ride that I hadn't already figured out about the bike. When I bought my FJ1200 I did not test ride it, I looked it over, did a cold start, ran it through the gears, etc. When I sold my GS850 I did not offer test rides and it sold to the first person that looked at it. If someone really wanted a test ride on a bike I was selling, I would require the cash, ask a lot of questions of the rider, and probably follow them on my other bike with the gopro recording.

[JED]

Of the 4 I've bought, the only one I got a test ride on was a KZ650 - I knew the owner & the bike well (he was my boss at the time), which was the only reason I got the test ride. He'd turned it into a cruiser with a full Vetter fairing, a king/queen seat with bags & a trunk, etc. Seems the bike just got slower & slower as he & his wife put on a combined weight that matched the bike's.

He threw in all the goodies required to turn it into a KZ650C, knew that it would be a good bike for my then 160lb frame, & he wanted me to buy it, so ...

What's typical around here is a buy-back offer, but I've never allowed anybody to ride away on a bike that I hadn't signed over & pocketed the cash for, & I've never expected that as a buyer. Signing the title makes a buy-back a little sketchy, but I'd rather do that than deal with the decedent's lawyers.

[Tuco]

Cash in hand I say after letting a guy ride my Honda XR600 on a test ride. The goofball proceeded to ride wheelies up and down the street I live at about 60mph, no helmet, shorts, tank top. He looked me straight in the eye and told me he was just going to putt up the street and and back once.Never again.

[F14CRAZY]

When I bought my K75C I let him know that I had the cash and asked to take it for a ride. He asked to see my endorsement though. My fiancee stayed while I went out. Thankfully it went well considering that was my first time on a bike after endorsement class to be honest

[harper]

I watched a guy get on my buddy's bike, go round and round in the parking lot where we met, and then go into orbit on the main highway never to be seen again. I guess each situation is different, so you're taking a chance regardless how neat the person looks and what was said before you let him take the bike for a ride............

[Elipten]

Cash in hand before ride.  I expect nothing less as a buyer or seller.  Period.  If I have the cash I could careless if they ride off without the title. 

[JED]

... I could careless if they ride off without the title.

I guess you have yet to meet the lawyer that makes his by obscuring reality, reason, & any rational application of personal responsibility. In a courtroom the truth is only the first casualty of a system that was designed to empty any available pocket by any means - ethical or otherwise.

I take the cash, prepare two bills of sale (one for each, buyer & seller), & sign but don't date the title. Not dating the title is the sketchy little dodge around the DMV's requirement that, once signed, the title must be processed. I also require proof of insurance on something as the law requires whoever's covering your F150 to also cover whatever you buy for 72 hours, or long enough to get a Friday evening purchase home & covered by COB Monday.

This approach does more than document the intent of both parties, it effectively concludes the transfer. It might seem silly to be so cautious, but I'm not planning to sacrifice everything I've achieved in 40 yrs to some fool that loses control of a 600 lb missile that's still in my name.

[Elipten]

That makes good sense.  Thanks for the info.