No, you’re riding solo.
Hm, that’s even more interesting. Does the risk of the buyer disappearing with the motorcycle enter into it?
This can very from dealership to dealership within a city and is typically due to issues surrounding their insurance costs.
When personally selling a motorcycle I have to have cash in hand and an agreement to buy if it is wrecked during a test ride. I learned this the hard way when a guy and his buddies talked up his experience but does predate riding tests for endorsements. It was a tiny 40cc Honda from the late 70’s and he didn’t even make it 3 feet on the motorcycle but sent it ~50’ on one wheel into a tree.
I have test ridden BMWs, Triumphs, Hondas and KTM motorcycles without an issue but also been denied a test ride by some dealers. It does help if you arrive to the dealership on a motorcycle but they can’t tell if you even took a MSF course on a bike with a clutch and as most of the people buying motorcycles need financing to buy it doesn’t take many crashed bikes to kick their insurance costs into the stratosphere.
Theft is less of an issue because there are legal remedies, but the financial risks are very high. Some manufactures will subsidize insurance which does explain the ability to test ride from some manufactures.
I missed the edit window but 400cc, it would be hard to accomplish the same result with 40cc.
That said I am sure someone has.
For a test drive on a car they xerox your license so the same would apply to a bike. So if you don’t come back they know who you are.
To expand on the key point of my earlier post: the business of selling motorcycles in the US is not a particularly stable or lucrative thing for most dealers. We view motorcycles as toys and not legitimate transportation, so at the first sign of anything, sales crash.
So for any particular dealer to offer test rides, they have to take a new bike off the floor, prep it, and send it out. Comes back from the test ride a used bike, with the associated hit on sales price. If it were a car, the one car they use as a demo might facilitate the sales of a hundred cars or more. At a motorcycle shop, that demo bike might only lead to the sale of a handful of bikes, and so a much bigger hit percentage wise. Plus they’re paying the flooring costs on those demo bikes all the while. Most dealers just aren’t going to mess with this unless they get some sort of factory encouragement to build a demo fleet.
I suppose insurance could be an issue, but on every test ride I’ve ever taken, I’ve signed a form saying that all the damage was on my and my insurance.
Again, in my experience, Ducati and BMW are the only two manufacturers I’ve had experience with that almost always have demos. Maybe not every model, but at least a good cross section.
I once spent a memorable day test riding every bike in the Ducati lineup. As I would pull into their garage, the next bike on the list would already be sitting waiting for me with the key in the ignition. I ended on the Panigale. That was the day that I realized that sport bikes were a thing of the past for me. I rode it, and damn I had fun, but I felt uncomfortable the whole time.
And a lifestyle really is what it is, and there’s nothing wrong with that, I totally get it. Just go look at the Harley Rallys every summer, come to Milwaukee for the big ones every 5 or 10 years, look at Sturgis. I get it. But talk to a die hard HD guy and ask him about a Goldwing and see if he drools over it. I’ve seen a few HD guys finally make the switch to a Goldwing and love it.
Ducati and BMW(at least in the past) usually helped of their dealers by allowing them to have demo models without the initial capitol outlay, adjust the warrantee to start at the sales milage, and/or provide some insurance coverage. The fact that Ducati calls out their test ride program on the US site is a good indication of that.
Your insurance does nothing to cover the dealers potential losses outside of your Liability coverage. Your collision/comp will is issued on the particular bike and the general liability insurance that the dealership will have will not cover the losses from the damaged bike. Even if they can cover it under their general liability policy they will be dropped with just a few claims.
Branding, a science Harley-Davidson has perfected. Instant badass, just add throttle. At least you can get a test ride though. They even give you a free tee shirt with every purchase! I got mine in a large:D
Seems to me that, for a thief, a fake driver’s license would be a lot cheaper than a motorcycle. In my experience, when you test drive a car, the salesman goes with you. But apparently there’s not even that deterrent on a motorcycle test drive.
The big recession of 2008 wiped out at least 3 dealers in my area so I agree that sales go downhill fast when the economy is bad.
Sounds like the no test ride policy is pretty standard for Japanese bikes all over not just around here. I suppose most buyers are used to that whether or not they like it. I found a guy selling a used bike the same model I was looking at so I rode that yesterday . I gave him my car keys to hold to prove I was coming back after my ride.
That’s mostly true for cars, although I was surprised a few years back when car shopping and a few dealerships were perfectly happy to let me take the cars out by myself. I guess they do a little bit of informal profiling?
OnStar, BMW assist etc… greatly reduce the risk and I also bet that the massive drop in auto thefts over the years probably reduced their insurances costs to the point where it a higher risk to have a a salesman off the floor and missing a sale more expensive than the risk of a driver theft.
Plus they scan, verify and store your drivers license information, so a bit more than informal profiling for some dealers.
Years ago I worked with a very charismatic guy who, as an unlicensed college student, talked a dealership into letting him test ride a Yamaha V-Max (for those unfamiliar with bikes, one known for its very impressive horsepower and straight-line acceleration stats) - needless to say, he immediately wrecked it.
All of the cycle dealerships I’ve dealt with allow test rides and most have demo models of their more popular models.
Around here it’s common practice for private sellers to require the asking price be held for a test ride. Don’t wreck the bike you get your deposit back. When I went out with my son to look at used bikes we took along cashiers checks made out to various amounts. Every seller we encountered asked for a deposit before they’d allow a test ride. I’ve never had any problems with that system.
A friend of mine bought his first-ever bike 12 years ago when he turned 50 as a gift to himself. He’d never been on a motorcycle, yet he wanted a top-of-the-line Harley.
The salesman was a little uncomfortable doing the sale without a test drive. The buyer returned a week later with an experienced friend who drove the bike to my friend’s home.
I guess Ducatis don’t sell well here. The local dealer has 2013 and 2014 models for sale and they are listed as still being in new condition.
Ducatis are pricey, maintenance-intensive, and thanks to their desmodromic valvetrains, expensive to maintain. seriously, they need valve lash checks/adjustments every 7500 miles. bring a bottle of wine and some good cheeses.
Back about 20 years ago a guy took a new Harley out for a test drive from a dealership here. Pulled out of the dealer parking lot right into the path of an oncoming car. He died.
Nah, they’ve gone to 9,000 miles for the oil service and 18,000 mi. for the valve check for my last two bikes with the Testastretta motors, a Hyperstrada and a Multistrada. The rest of the line up is getting close to that.
[QUOTE=Ducati.com]
We have spread out services to intervals of 24,000 km (15,000 miles) and on some models the main Desmo Service is not necessary until 30,000 km (18,000 miles). Even the simplest services, the Oil Service, have been spaced out to 12,000 km (7,500 miles) or 15,000 km (9,000 miles), values that represent an absolute reference for high performance engines.
[/QUOTE]