Advice: So you want to buy a used motorcycle?

So, you’ve made the decision to go out and get a two-wheeler; the reasons are as unimportant as they are varied -- cheap ‘n’ easy transport, free parking, the fun factor, peer pressure, or simply because you want one.

However, as old man Swannee is constantly telling us, times are tough, so pennies are being watched and belts are being tightened.

This can only be good -- it means dealers are sharpening their pencils sharper than a rapier to do deals, and it means that there are a lot of used machines on the market at never-to-be-repeated prices.

So, do you go for a brand-new machine, or step into the murky depths of the used market?

By and large that depends upon how much you have to spend -- if money’s no object and you know exactly what you want, how much extra  you get out of the salesman is down to your own negotiating skills -- and there are a lot of extra incentives to be had.

However, if you’re on a budget, you’ll want to get as much for your hard-earned as possible. This might suggest that  instead of  taking on a brand-new 250, you could be looking at a low-mileage late-model 500 -- depending upon licence restrictions and prudent assessment of your own skill and experience, but to the newbie there are many reasons not to buy a used motorcycle.

People fear being ripped off in a transaction more than they do of getting mugged, bashed or beaten up, and many first-time buyers will be thinking that everyone selling a used vehicle is a crim who just hasn’t been caught yet.

While there certainly are dodgy sellers out there, you’re probably more likely to be swindled over the internet than you are buying from a registered dealer or local enthusiasts who have jobs, families and brick and mortar addresses.

Most dealers have a long history and reputation to defend, while private sellers are almost always just ordinary folk who have decided on a change -- to move on to something else, or to exit the bike scene because of work, family or financial circumstances.

In truth, making sure you don’t get lumbered with a lemon isn’t hard -- all it takes is a bit of commonsense, a few minutes with your eyes open and some very basic knowledge. Over the coming weeks, we’ll examine some of the more common machines and highlight their best -- and worst -- points.

In this feature, we’ll look at the tell-tale details which might suggest that a bike has had a harder life that it should have done.

Crash Damage: did it fall off the stand -- or a cliff?
Motorbikes fall over occasionally -- generally at low or zero speed, they don’t sustain more than the odd scratch, but if they’ve been flung into the scenery with any real velocity attached, it’s unlikely they’ll get away completely unscathed.

Insurance companies often decide that new bikes are beyond economical repair and replace them in some shape or form; this puts the crashed bike’s mortal remains up for sale.

They often end up being repaired and returned to active duty - done it myself on numerous occasions, both to bikes already in the family fleet and to bikes I’ve bought after their riders have failed to remain seated during the entire performance. Although most of the thoroughly crashed bikes I’ve rebuilt have stayed with us for years, one or two were moved along fairly swiftly; an Aprilia Futura is a thing of beauty, but the reality of a minimal inside seam measurement made the Fut just too tall for this short arse.

Undeniably, some crash-damaged bikes do get lashed together by back-yarders looking to make a quick buck, but they’re easy to spot; generally dealers and people who rebuild bikes to keep for themselves do a more thorough job.

So what do you look for when inspecting a used bike, and what are the sure signs that the machine you’re looking at is either a lashed-together lemon, or a lady once down on her luck, but now restored to her former glory?

Firstly, spend the time to download and print photos of what the bike should look like -- original brochures or magazine road tests are a good source of information; you’ll need the pictures to tell you if major parts have been replaced with after-market replicas.

When you get to see the machine that’s for sale, have a walk around the bike; give it a good, slow, thorough eye-balling. Is there anything that strikes you as odd, such as a part of the fairing that’s a different colour, or missing decals to match the other side? Are some decals under the clear-coat and others on top? A good painter will either match the paint or respray all the bodywork, and will almost always insist on putting a coat of clear over the decals to protect them.

And are there any odd stickers stuck on which might be covering damaged bodywork? Fox, Arai and Motul don’t pay me to use their products, so I wouldn’t put their advertising on my bike -- unless I’ve got something inconvenient to cover.

Rubbers: use once and then discard
Are the footpeg rubbers ripped up, or is one brand new and the other showing signs of boot abuse?  I always replace footpeg, brake and gearshift rubbers and handlebar grips in pairs.

Do the ends of the handlebars, levers, outside edges of the mirrors, indicators, front mudguard and front axle show signs of having been dragged across the ground?  If so, they’re sure signs of a sloppy rebuild -- they’re all parts I’d repair or replace as a matter of course, because they’re a dead-set giveaway of a slap-dash job -- and they look daggy to boot.

Fingered by the handlebars
The handlebars on a bike do little and say much; essentially, they’re a convenient mounting place for almost all the controls of the entire machine, and they’re a major component in the steering and stability of a machine; they’re often either one piece of neatly bent metal pipe or occasionally, slightly more complicated separate parts clamped to the left and right forks.

What is important is their symmetry: left and right sides must be mirror images of each other in all three directions -- if they aren’t, it’s a sure sign that at some time, the bike has fallen to earth.

Exhausted, but not tired
Using your printed pictures -- are the exhaust pipes standard, or have the original bulky, quiet, heavy and expensive originals been replaced with aftermarket pipes which are lighter, louder and cheaper? If they have, do the originals come with the bike? If not, why not? You might need them to get the bike roadworthy, or if you, the neighbours or the local copper objects to the noise.

Often the fitment of aftermarket pipes means that the centrestand is discarded too -- it’s an expensive thing to replace, hard to repair and easily damaged in a crash. If it’s not on the bike, is it available -- if not, why not?

Cleanliness: next to Godliness
While you’re down there checking out the exhausts, have a look around under the bike. Is it filthy dirty, greasy and covered in grey road munge, or can you see the complicated nuts, bolts, springs and linkages? If you can’t, even if the bike hasn’t been crashed, it probably hasn’t been loved either. Washing a bike properly can take hours -- but it’s a great time to look for anything that’s loose or needs adjusting.

Similarly, wipe a finger on the rims of both wheels -- are they coated in black dust? A little is normal residue from the brake pads, but more than a trace is an indication of poor hygiene or hard braking -- neither is desirable.

Chain gang
Bikes can have a variety of ways of making the rear wheel go around -- most use a chain like a bicycle but much stouter, some will have a toothed belt (some Harleys), a few will have no obvious moving parts but are said to be “shaft-driven” (some BMWs, most Guzzis, some Japanese tourers and cruisers) and some will have a chain which is entirely encased in a metal or plastic shroud. Many scooters have the engine directly connected to the back wheel, so this bit doesn’t concern them.

Shafts are said to be maintenance-free, which isn’t entirely true -- they may go for many thousands of kilometres, but without care at regular intervals a shaft-drive failure may cost thousands to rectify. Belts are lighter, quieter and cheaper to replace but need to be changed at regular intervals.

However, if the bike of your dreams has a chain, have a good look at both it and the toothed rear cog on the back wheel. If either is clagged with solidified black gloop and the only shiny parts are the little round bits in the middle of the chain -- factor in spending at least a couple of hundred bucks in your very near future.

Some sticky grease or visible oil is fine, as these fast-moving parts do need a bit of lubrication -- but grease that has collected sand, grit and rubbish will become a grinding paste, doing for moving parts what the Enola Gay did for Hiroshima.

Similarly, if the cog (technically it’s a sprocket) has anything other than perfectly symmetrical round valleys between each tooth, or if the ends of the teeth are anything other than straight -- it needs replacing. And if it does, so will the chain and the much smaller (but usually only slightly cheaper) front sprocket too.

With the toe of your boot -- or preferably someone else’s -- gently raise the lower run of the chain while the bike is parked - it should move up and down about 3cm; less and it’s too tight, a sign that “someone” is trying to conceal a knackered chain, while more movement suggests sloppy maintenance -- and probably a knackered chain. Any side to side movement suggests a knackered chain -- and being able to pull the chain away from the rear half of the back sprocket indicates - you guessed it, a knackered chain.

Get the seller to lift the bike on its sidestand and front wheel (if it hasn’t got a centrestand) to get the back wheel off the ground; spin it and listen for whizzing sounds (too dry), clicking (hooked sprocket teeth) or signs of stiffness between links -- all are signs of … you got it, a knackered chain.

Tyres: a window into the recent past
Have a look at the state of the tyres too -- if they’re brand-new they won’t tell you much beyond whether the seller is prepared to invest big dollars on quality rubber, or whether he’s just  flung on a pair of SuperCheap DitchFinders to make the bike legal, Brand names that get a tick are, in no particular order: Metzeler, Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Michelin, Avon and Pirelli. Avoid brands that might reflect life in rural China, like Golden Boy or Fong Du.

If the tyres aren’t brand spankers, look at the depth of the grooves in the tread -- anything less than 1.5mm and you’ll be spending more money very soon; it’s those groves that squirt water out from under the tyre if you get caught out in the rain.

Pay attention to where and how the tyres are worn -- if the very edges of the rubber look like they’ve never touched the ground, that’s fine -- but if there are rough, wrinkled and rolled up bits right to the very edge, it’s a sure sign that your prospective new mount has been given a real Vindaloo-curry of a thrashing, either on a race track ride day or in some serious street riding. Tyres that have been soundly thrashed also often have a blue metallic tinge to them.

If this is okay by you, by all means carry on -- a good flailing around a track occasionally is good for bike, body and soul, but generally I prefer to be the first, last and only one to do it.

Now have a good look up under the rear mudguard -- if all is squeaky clean, well, there’s not much to be said; what you don’t want to see are balls of melted rubber stuck under the seat -- a sure sign that Mr “I only ever used it to get to Uni” is a purveyor of porky pies and that the rear tyre has been deliberately spun against the asphalt -- usually to create neat black tribal designs on the road, huge clouds of noxious smoke and lots of noise. For a variety of reasons, doing burnouts is not good for almost all the components on the entire motorcycle.

A rear tyre will generally wear out in the middle of the tread first and will get progressively more square -- but watch that the centre of the tread’s grooves aren’t under that 1.5mm. A good way to measure it is with a matchstick, or the edge of a coin.

Front tyres last very much longer than rears, so after you’ve looked at the tread, look all around both sides of the tyres -- the sidewalls. If there are any cracks, splits, unusual ballooning bits or signs of being scraped or bumped against anything that has caused material damage, we suggest you thank the seller for his time and move swiftly on to the next bike.

Anyone who rides any bike on anything other than quality rubber in first-rate condition probably also does things involving masking tape to small animals, licks the windows on the train and has ‘AN Other’ in the “Father” column of their birth certificate.

All done?  Sold!
If, after ticking all the boxes above to your own satisfaction, it’s time to pay up, load up and head out. First thing most people do when they get a new bike home is give it a thorough wash and then call up all their mates…

Next time, we’ll start looking at specific parts and bikes in more detail -- but in the meantime, enjoy your new ride!