Cape Town - We all know the standard things to look for when buying a used motorcycle - signs of crash damage, original registration documents (not photocopies!), cleanliness, evidence of bodged amateur repairs.
But here are seven checks you may not think of:
1. Always check the locks
This includes both ignition and fuel tank. If the plate around the key-slot looks as if it has been pushed in by inserting something bigger than the original key into the slot, that’s proof positive that somebody has forced the lock with a screwdriver
It’s doesn’t necessarily mean the bike is stolen - but it does mean the bike can be started without the key, making it very easy to steal. Depending where you live, that may be a deal-breaker.
2. Start it from cold
I was caught out by this one years ago when I went to look at a Yamaha RZ350R Power-Valve on behalf of a friend. It was very neat and tidy, started easily and went like a bomb - it never occurred to me to wonder why it was warmed up and waiting for me when I got there.
I recommended to my friend that he buy the bike, and was very embarrassed when he simply could not start it from cold. The answer was very simple - the choke on Yamaha two-stroke twins works on the left cylinder only, through a special drilling in the left-side float bowl.
The float bowls on this bike had been accidentally interchanged, so the choke didn't work; all I had to was swap them back again and the bike started perfectly, hot or cold - but it took me a whole weekend to figure that one out.
If the bike you're interested in is hot when you get there, tell the seller you'll come back when the bike is ice cold. If it's been warmed up for you the second time you get there, walk away, no matter how tempting the deal. It's not worth the frustration.
Moving to the next level
But now we move to the next level: buying a late model superbike. This is not a cheapie, we're talking anything from R50 000 to R100 000, and the deal is almost certainly going to have to be financed, so a whole new set of criteria applies here.
3. Keys and service book
Check all the obvious things, then ask to see both keys, the owner's manual and - most important - the service book. If the service manual in particular is missing (the usual story is “The previous owner forgot to bring it in / lost it.”), walk away.
The service book holds all sorts of evidence about how well the bike has been looked after - or not. The odometer reading written down at each service will tell you whether the previous owner brought it in promptly when it was due for service, or whether he let it slide for a few thousand kilometres, until he had the money to service the bike.
The dealer's stamp will tell you where the bike was serviced; and whether it was a franchised dealer or an independent. In either case, ask around among owners of similar bikes until you find a couple that have been regularly serviced by the same workshop, and ask them if they were happy with the results.
4. Speak to the previous owner
Ask the dealer to put you in touch with the previous owner; if he can't or won't, walk away, especially if the dealers’ stamps in the service manual stop at the end of the warranty period, which means the previous owner serviced the bike himself.
This is not necessarily a bad thing; knowledgeable owners are a lot more conscientious and careful when working on their own bike then any mechanic can afford to be. But you do need to confirm just how conscientious he was. Visit his home if you can - the state of his garage and the condition of his tools will tell you a lot about the bike's state of health.
5. Find out reason for sale
Ask him why he is selling the bike; what he says isn't important - what is important is how he says it and what he doesn't say.
6. Quality of oil used
Bearing in mind the old truism that “oil is cheaper than engines”, ask him what brand of oil he used to service the bike. If he shows you a container of one of the premium brands and insists that he won't use anything else, well and good.
It doesn't matter which make, it matters that he has a firm preference for quality oil and the protection it affords. If he says he uses whatever oil is cheapest at the local supermarket this week - or worse still, doesn't know, proceed with extreme caution.
7. Check the sump plug
Get down on the ground and eyeball the bike's sump plug. If it has a small hole drilled through it, that's proof that the bike has been raced, whatever the owner tells you. Those new-looking body panels will have been safely stored while the bike was raced with an aftermarket body kit and then put back on again, when the time came to sell the bike.
Underneath the fairings the bike may have been very badly crashed, the frame and suspension may be bent and the engine will certainly have been revved beyond its limits - often.
Walk away; buying a race bike for the street is never a good idea; racing by definition abuses engines and, unless it has been scrupulously and expensively maintained by an expert tuner, the bike won't last very long.