How to inspect a used bike b4 buying?

[Detrich]

For those that have purchased used bikes via private party or via classifieds... How did you inspect a used bike b4 buying it to make sure it wasn't a lemon or abused?

Some private owners won't let u test ride. And, I did some Googling on Pre-purchase Motorcycle Inspection Services too.... But, how can u trust an inspection service that you aren't familiar with either? lol. Seems like a catch 22...

I bought my 6R used, but from a reputable dealership that stood behind it. So, for a private sale am a bit unsure- esp for a deal, which I feel is very reasonably good. :headscratch: Any advice? =\ Tnx in advance for everyone's feedback.

 

[MikeN02]

For those that have purchased used bikes via private party or via classifieds... How did you inspect a used bike b4 buying it to make sure it wasn't a lemon or abused?

Some private owners won't let u test ride. And, I did some Googling on Pre-purchase Motorcycle Inspection Services too.... But, how can u trust an inspection service that you aren't familiar with either? lol. Seems like a catch 22...

I bought my 6R used, but from a reputable dealership that stood behind it. So, for a private sale am a bit unsure- esp for a deal, which I feel is very reasonably good. :headscratch: Any advice? =\ Tnx in advance for everyone's feedback.

Finally buying an R6!?!?

There is a bunch of online guides to buying a used bike. Personally when I go to look at a used bike I check for damages and most importantly if their maintenance is up to date.

Checking for damage or abuse:

• Some signs of damage is rash,
• After market paint job,
• stickers that cover cracks/rash etc.
• look at the fairing stay (the thing that holds the gauges)
• The lower triple tree (see if the tabs are still there to stop the wheel from turning too far over)
• Any weird noises on start up, while riding.
• Fork seals, if they're leaking then he did a lot of wheelies and when the bike comes back down it slams down and breaks the seals.
• Rubber pieces on the rear area of the bike for burn-outs,
• All the electronics work
• thread on the tires (no patches),
• rash on exhaust/pegs/mirrors from being down

Maintenance List:

• teeth on the sprockets,
• oil levels
• free play on the clutch levers (to see if they actually lube it).
• Look in the gas tank for rust with a flash light.
• Check to see if the chain is clean, if it isn't kind of means he doesn't take care of his bike that much.
• Rust on the chain
• chain slack

Believe it or not, a lot of people are jerks and scammers in this world. Some people replace the gauges in an accident to make it seem like the bike has fewer miles than it actually does. Not sure how you would go about checking this but if the gauge doesn't look like it belongs on the bike then pressure/ask them about it. Of course try to avoid bikes that don't have the original title such as salvaged titles, lost titles, etc.

Also see if he has a maintenance list and date, I usually keep one in case people want proof that I did it at certain mileage and from who etc. It's extremely important for me if the bike I'm looking at is over 10k miles that they logged when they did major maintenance like valve adjustments or FI checked out etc.

Basically, I see if they take care of the bike, and everything is up to date.

My friend bought a bike by himself, it ran so hot for some reason and he finally took it to the mechanic's. Found out the previous owner didn't have an air filter in there, just a bug net. Another person I know of bought a bike and I rode it home. The steering/turning of it was so hard, I had no idea why but I'm guessing there isn't lube so it's stiff.

 

[Detrich]

Yah, I found a relatively new, 09 R6 that someone allegedly traded in at a used car dealership out of desperation in exchange for a car. lol Dealership claims that the bike is like-new, and it has less than 1,000 miles on it. But, they're a used car dealership and not a bike shop. So, they may not know anything about bikes, and/ or could be full of BS.

I just have no way of knowing... -_-

Still, I don't want to just write it off, cuz my 6R was used, and was a similar situation with it's first owner- ie bought it new, but then due to unforeseen reasons took it back after only a few hundred miles. Lotta impulse buyers in CA I guess... So, it could be a good opportunity... I'll have to go check it out first and see how much they're willing to negotiate on the price... I'd like to pay to have a mechanic go there and do a pre-buy inspection of the bike and make sure it's kosher.

But, I also dunno who to call... LOL.

The price is not suicidal, but fair. They're asking $7400, but I'm hoping to talk it down to $7k so I can pay the $1,000 DMV & taxes to make it $8k even, tops... Although it's "possible" to get a new 09 R6 for $8k otd, a lotta dealerships add lots a BS fees. so its not easy... I may shop that price a bit as leverage and see if I can find a dealer willing to do it. That would definitely make life easier, but...

Any suggestions or opinions?

 

[MikeN02]

Yah, I found a relatively new, 09 R6 that someone allegedly traded in at a used car dealership out of desperation in exchange for a car. lol Dealership claims that the bike is like-new, and it has less than 1,000 miles on it. But, they're a used car dealership and not a bike shop. So, they may not know anything about bikes, and/ or could be full of BS.

I just have no way of knowing... -_-

Still, I don't want to just write it off, cuz my 6R was used, and was a similar situation with it's first owner- ie bought it new, but then due to unforeseen reasons took it back after only a few hundred miles. Lotta impulse buyers in CA I guess... So, it could be a good opportunity... I'll have to go check it out first and see how much they're willing to negotiate on the price... I'd like to pay to have a mechanic go there and do a pre-buy inspection of the bike and make sure it's kosher.

But, I also dunno who to call... LOL.

The price is not suicidal, but fair. They're asking $7400, but I'm hoping to talk it down to $7k so I can pay the $1,000 DMV & taxes to make it $8k even, tops... Although it's "possible" to get a new 09 R6 for $8k otd, a lotta dealerships add lots a BS fees. so its not easy... I may shop that price a bit as leverage and see if I can find a dealer willing to do it. That would definitely make life easier, but...

Any suggestions or opinions?

Could be a lot of reasons. They bought a bike, family member didn't think it was a good idea and so they traded it in for a car. Especially during the winter season. If it's a car dealership it might be in your favor, they would have just looked at the miles and see if the bike was running. You could thoroughly inspect it to see if there are any problems and tell them about it since they aren't knowledgeable about it and possibly lower the price.

Try posting at the R6-Forum to see if anyone in your area will take the time to come check out the bike with you. A lot of helpful people over there even if they don't seem like it. I would help a potential riding buddy shop for his bike if he was around my area.

I know what you mean about dealerships, but you should still shop around and compare then make a final decision. There's always a better price out there especially with improving technology, being slow during the winter time, and the current state of the economy. Some BS dealership fees would include the setup fee, crate, inspection fee, tax, etc. If anything you could talk them down to throw in a free Arai helmet or so.

 

[Detrich]

yah. i think i will go look at it first myself tomorrow to get an initial look over. i mean, i don't know much, but i can at least do a basic physical inspection and listen to how it sounds in neutral... lol and, i can get a feel for how willing to negotiate the dealership is on the price. if they seem like assholes outright, then at least i'll know not to waste any of my friends' time... i think they're a little pushy cuz i haven't even seen it yet and the guy asked me i'm going to pay with check or plastic? i was thinking... huh? plus they're 35 miles away, so i may need to arrange a way to transport the bike. i wonder if i can use my AAA towing service or not. xP

sigh, i forgot what a pain in the ass all this stuff is. easier just being satisfied and not have to shop... @_@

 

[anson650]

Reread the list, again. If there is any sign of repair, two shades of paint where here should be one, walk away. If the title is not there to look at or if it is a salvage title, walk away. If the dealer won't give you your price, walk away. Bring a friend who know bikes, at least bring a friend to help you walk away.
Good luck,
Anson650

 

[MikeN02]

yah. i think i will go look at it first myself tomorrow to get an initial look over. i mean, i don't know much, but i can at least do a basic physical inspection and listen to how it sounds in neutral... lol and, i can get a feel for how willing to negotiate the dealership is on the price. if they seem like assholes outright, then at least i'll know not to waste any of my friends' time... i think they're a little pushy cuz i haven't even seen it yet and the guy asked me i'm going to pay with check or plastic? i was thinking... huh? plus they're 35 miles away, so i may need to arrange a way to transport the bike. i wonder if i can use my AAA towing service or not. xP

sigh, i forgot what a pain in the ass all this stuff is. easier just being satisfied and not have to shop... @_@

If you do buy it from a dealer I imagine they'll give you a temporary tag no?

 

[Detrich]

I think so... Aren't all dealers req'd to do that by law?

 

[MikeN02]

I think so... Aren't all dealers req'd to do that by law?

What else are they going to do? Let you ride off into the rainbow with no tag?

A guy had a similar problem when buying from a private seller, someone said he can pay $3 or something for a temporary tag you can print off the internet and then ride it home.

 

[Detrich]

lol... xP

ok, so i went down there today to look at the bike... overall, it's in 'pretty' good condition. it has 566 miles, paint is still shiny, levers felt good, shifter felt ok, engine sounds good, and tire tread look ok- tho the outer-most chicken strips are gone. i sat on it, and I'm really liking how the R6 feels more and more... (damn you mike and jay... hahahaha)

all jokes aside, there were a couple things wrong with it tho. the car dealer let it sit in the showroom for over a month without starting it or putting a battery tender on it. and the battery was completely dead and required a jump to fire up. there were cob webs on the chain, which clearly needs a lube and cleaning, as it was grimey and dirty. and, after i looked it over very closely, i could tell that the bike had been laid down softly on the left side before, as there were very mild scuff marks on the left bar end, left turn signal, left mirror, and also a small scuff on the left fairing. but, none of these were noticeable unless you actually looked at the bike very closely. also, there were some pinkish color dots freckled all over the chain- which felt like very faint specs of rust when i touched it to see what it was. the brake rotors also had just a tad of rust as well, but very minor.

all-in-all, it just looks like a bike that has been in the garage (or storage) too long and not seen enough sun and road time. the dealer obviously want to move it, but, the bike clearly would need an oil change, a new battery, and maybe have a yamaha dealer just look it over just to make sure it's in good order. replacing the mirror, bar end, and turn signal couldn't cost more than a couple hundred bucks i'm guessing. but, the mild rust on the chain and brake rotors bothered me...

For the price they're asking- mid $7k- they said they'd go much lower after i pointed out all the scratches etc. but, i'm almost thinking that it might be safer to look for a bike that's been better cared for. it just made my heart ache to see such a beautiful R6 that had been neglected in this way... i know any of us would've taken a million times better care of it and ridden it more. <lol> what a shame! it only has 566 miles...

what do you think mike? should i just keep looking? also, how does yamaha's warranty work again for private sales? is it the 1 year warranty start the day it leaves the yamaha dealership and then transferable to another owner within that time frame?

 

[MikeN02]

09 With 566 Miles? Pretty good. 600 miles is the "break in" period of the bike I'm sure you know. Question, is this the R6R or the R6s? (I'm a huge R6R fan).
A month of not firing up the battery is ok. My riding buddy left the country to do business out of town and forgot to leave it on a tender for a month, charged it and it's fine. Being a new bike with only 566 miles on it I imagine the battery is still good! Just needs a good charging.
Those scuffs are easily replaced if it bothers you that much. And only on 1 piece of the fairing then it's even better (fairings are the most expensive). Rust on the chain is fine, since it's "still new". I'm sure it's just surface rust on the side of the chain, what's important is the O-Rings inside of the chain where the sprocket goes into. That's where you need to lube.

Let me price out the replacement parts for you from the classified section of the R6-Forum:
OEM Mirrors $30~
Bar Ends $20
After Market Flush Mounts $20 from eBay or transfer your FZ6-R ones over
Fairings depending on which fairings it is (Upper, Lower, Midfairing (the slash))

Is the rust on the rear rotor? Something people are doing for the rear rotors over in the forums now is getting a custom "mill" on it where they cut out different designs on it to save weight and look great.

Lower than $7k is great, I paid about 6 for my used 07 with 3k miles on it.

My warranty for buying a used bike was 30 days unless I get the extended warranty. But I would ask them just to be on the safe side.

Honestly it all depends on you. I know I wanted the R6 so bad, but I still owed money on the FZ6-R so the dealer worked with me. You have the upper hand in this deal, shoot out prices! Obviously you're the only one interested in a while (being winter and all still so sales are a little bit slow) since it's sat there for a month. Not to mention you pointed out all of those mistakes on the bikes. Factor in on how "expensive" these things are going to be to replace (look up the actual price of them from bikebandit or something) and add that up to lower the price of the bike. Also ask them for the maintenance papers for it too since you have to or should do an oil change, say it's for the 600 mile service break in.

Also don't forget to talk about all the BS fees such as tax, title, registration, assembly, crate, etc. You don't need a crate fee because it's already set up, not to mention a check up at a car dealership?

Good luck!

 

[Detrich]

thanks for all your help mike =)

the yamaha tag on the bike said "R6C." judging from appearance it looks like an R6R and not the R6S "street model." (the exhaust looks like the short stubby one on the 09's. and handlebars in full lean. ) But, i'm not sure what the R6C means. i'm guessing C is for california cuz of our high emissions standards? <lol>

the fairing part that's scuffed is where the edge of the middle fairing is i think. (see attached picture, i circled it.)

yah, they're definitely willing to deal on it, cuz i can tell they want to get rid of it. lol they're a used car dealer not a bike dealer. they can't really warranty it, and they don't know how to warranty it. so i need to find out what yamaha's factory warranty is on a 2009... i'm just worried about getting a lemon, like bj's experience. =(

i'm also looking at other R6's too...

one dealer has a new 09 orange for $7.7k, which i know can be talked down for sure. just not crazy about orange. i also saw a 09 Rossi edition for $9.6k, and that thing is absolutely beautiful! but, what is a "fair otd price" on the Rossi anyways? the dealer i talked to was very cool and said they are not going to slap bs fees to jack the price way up.... it's still so expensive though... =( <lol>

god, this is why i hate bike shopping. >_< ugh!

 

[MikeN02]

R6C just means the color. It's odd I know, like my color is YZFR6BWC (Bluish White Cocktail) for charcoal silver. It's how they mix the colors etc. That's the R6R (or Race as I like to go by). There's an air vent in between the headlights and overall it's different than the S which has a rectangular passenger seat compared to the sharp passenger seat.

That fairing isn't that expensive at all. Shop around since a lot of people get rid of their street plastics since they're making it a race bike.

I would call or email (if you aren't in a hurry) Yamaha or something and ask about the warranty. It SHOULD be 30 days like mine (that sounds reasonable), new bikes with 0 miles are a year.

I would totally rock the orange or yellow. It just stands out so much (RICE!!!!!!!!!!!!).

I wouldn't go with Rossi, he's not in Yamaha anymore anywho and I just don't like too many stickers and logos, it's distracting.

Honestly, if I were you, I'd be more interested in the R6 you were looking at first. They can get it down below 7k, and you just need to throw out maybe a hundred bucks to fix it up if you really wanted to.

Also forgot to mention a friend of mine bought a used 09 R6 from a private seller with about 1.5k miles on it. Extended swing-arm, speakers in there etc etc for about 6.5k

So I have to say again, you have the upper hand. Post a thread about this on the R6-forum, I know a little bit about some of the stuff you could fix on the bike but others I'm sure know more, that's why forums exist!

 

[JSP]

There is no going back now :thumbup:

I would def work on the price a little since its obviously been dropped if its what you really want. Everything else seems good. Change the oil, lube everything really good, go over the bolts, etc. And yeah, that is the R6R like mine and Mikes.

The R6s is basically just a new 03-05 body style continued. Was popular so they made it its own model and separated them from the current gens.

R6R: (shameless pic of my bike, I know, but I cant help myself )

R6s:

 

[Detrich]

Thanks guys. I'll see what I can find out, I guess... 30 day warranty seems like no warranty at all for all that $ =(

I also need to re-read a thread I saw on the R6 forum where someone said he kept eating thru batteries... Hopefully this case is just a dead battery and not some bigger issue like that one..,

Mmm... I wanted to post on the R6 forum, but then decided not to right away... (a) I don't really know anyone there besides u two guys <lol>, and (b) its kind of a catch 22 situation- ie, it'd be nice to get their input and help- but, if it does turn out to be a good deal, I didn't want to create buyer competition for myself by openly talking about it. Hahsha well, a lotta ppl on that forum are in the LA area too. And, I wanted to at least see the bike first then evaluate and decide how to proceed xP

 

[Detrich]

mike, jay> would u guys happen to know if the front oem turn signals for the R6 the same part as for the 6R? i looked at the one oyesterday and it felt & looked identical to mine... it even wiggled like ours does... <lol>

 

[anson650]

I am suspicious because of the battery. Why did it go dead in just a month of sitting?

 

[JSP]

I think they may be the same signal...? I know the flush mount signals work, so i dont see why the stocks wouldnt interchange as well.

 

[JSP]

I am suspicious because of the battery. Why did it go dead in just a month of sitting?

My battery on my 09 R6 went dead barely sitting a month. It was in an unheated garage, so the cold may have zapped it. Jump started right up and has been fine since.

 

[MikeN02]

Thanks guys. I'll see what I can find out, I guess... 30 day warranty seems like no warranty at all for all that $ =(

I also need to re-read a thread I saw on the R6 forum where someone said he kept eating thru batteries... Hopefully this case is just a dead battery and not some bigger issue like that one..,

Mmm... I wanted to post on the R6 forum, but then decided not to right away... (a) I don't really know anyone there besides u two guys <lol>, and (b) its kind of a catch 22 situation- ie, it'd be nice to get their input and help- but, if it does turn out to be a good deal, I didn't want to create buyer competition for myself by openly talking about it. Hahsha well, a lotta ppl on that forum are in the LA area too. And, I wanted to at least see the bike first then evaluate and decide how to proceed xP

Personally I don't really believe in warranties. I'm more of a find out and fix it myself but IF the bike explodes on me then I'll use the warranty. If the bike IS eating through the battery, you have 30 days (if you have the warranty) to take it back to them. Even then, I assume it would be an easy fix of replacing the stator (alternator).

That forum is pretty welcoming, unlike the Gixxer forums. People would give you advice etc. The majority of people on there already have R6's, planning on picking it up, or sold it. So I don't think anyone will go to every used car dealership place to see the bike you're talking about and buy it.

mike, jay> would u guys happen to know if the front oem turn signals for the R6 the same part as for the 6R? i looked at the one oyesterday and it felt & looked identical to mine... it even wiggled like ours does... <lol>

Yep, the front turn signals are the same for the R1, R6, R6s, YZF 600, FZ6-R. Originally my flush mounts I bought off eBay for my FZ6-R said that it was for those I listed above + my FZ6-R.

I am suspicious because of the battery. Why did it go dead in just a month of sitting?

Happens to bikes and cars. My friend's mom is a stay at home mom and has her own car. Barely takes it out and so the battery kept dying because she never started it. My cousin also has a 350z for about 4 years now that he left in his carport without ever turning it on. It has dust and dirt all over it because he got a truck. Imagine the battery is completely dead.

That's why people say to take your battery out, put your bike on stands, empty your gas tank and new oil change when they put their bike away for the winter.