Ah, this one. I love that whole series of ads. 
Ah, this one. I love that whole series of ads.
Ah, they’re 2010’s-style “Death Rides”.
I was a cop a generation ago. I respectfully disagree.
This isn’t even the whole first page of Google responses.
The internet makes instant and widespread communication so much easier than in olden-times, say, 1980. Bad guys used to have to stalk and seek and research victims. Now, they just make an appointment and we go to them!
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120604/BREAKING/120609851
http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=18659620
http://www.11alive.com/rss/article/239687/40/Victim-takes-cell-phone-video-of-Craigslist-robbery
Common sense isn’t, but at least we can pay attention:
This applies when you’re selling ipads or buying gas.
Let’s be careful out there!
Me too, they’re funny and creative. I like that bike test ride one. We have a dog and this one is exactly what she would do if robbers broke in with a meat-filled bone.
Plenty of info and some handy links and info for selling a BMW bike here.
I’m selling two bikes right now, an 86 Goldwing and an 82 GS750. I gauge the buyer and then hold the full purchase price while they ride. If they drop it, I sign the title and hand it to them.
Fingers crossed both will sell today.
How much are you asking for the RT? Have you advertised it on ADVrider.com? Probably the best Bimmer centric site out there.
I bought a Kawasaki new a few years back and the dealer said absolutely no way would they offer test rides of any bike. I didn’t particularly like buying a motorcycle I’d never ridden, but there wasn’t much choice if I wanted a new bike.
I don’t ride along on car test drives either. They way I see it, either nothing bad will happen, and I won’t need to be there, or something bad will happen, and I don’t want to be there.
Do you really want to be sitting in the passenger seat if someone crashes your car? I’d rather be nowhere near it. Do you really want to be in the passenger seat if someone’s planning to steal your car? I guess you can hope that they’re willing to steal the car if you’re not there, but they’re not willing to hurt you to steal the car. That seems like a pretty narrow range where being there is a good idea.
Cool, good resource and info. That was a good article. Thanks.
I haven’t gotten that far yet, and I’m not 100% convinced I will sell. Right now I’m planning on it, thinking on it, and getting all my ducks in line (even though it’s a BMW, not a Ducati :D).
And thanks for the reminder about ADVRider. I’m a member there, and hadn’t thought about posting it there. It’s still very early in the process for me.
Good luck with your Goldwing and GS750 sales, I hope they move quickly and fairly for you.
I had a different experience. My very first bike was a 1983 Yamaha 650 Special bought new in 1985 from the long-gone San Bruno Cycles on El Camino Real (in case anyone is local and remembers). When buying it, I negotiated the price, had payment ready to go, and filled out all the paperwork except for the very end - my signature on the proverbial bottom line. I then asked to take it for a test ride, right before officially taking ownership. I wanted to avoid the situation where the bike is legally mine and I ride away and then there’s some (any) obvious problem. At that point I’ve lost all leverage with the dealer and would have to rely on their good graces to help me resolve the problem. Most dealers probably would help, but still, I’ve lost any leverage at that point. The sales guy hesitated, but then agreed with my rationale and let me take it around the block. There wasn’t any problem and I was back in 10 minutes and finalized the sale.
Since then I’ve bought 3 other bikes in total, all BMWs. 1 was used and 2 were new. Every time, I test rode before finalizing the sale. But as someone mentioned here, BMW allows for test rides of new bikes.
5 bikes in 27 years and 250,000 miles of riding. I’m guessing that’s a low turnover rate?
I have had a lot of motorcycles, and unless it’s new, I don’t buy it unless I ride it first. On the other hand, though, I generally won’t allow anybody that I don’t know to ride one that I am selling. Sometimes, but not most times. If they come on a motorcycle, they’ll be much more likely to ride mine.
One option is to sell the bike, and offer to follow them for X number of miles and give their money back if they don’t crash it, but don’t like it for whatever legitimate reason.
This has been a helpful thread. I think about selling mine every once in a while and this has been a sticking point for me. I was thinking about having the potential buyer follow/drive beside me as I rode it to demonstrate that everything works, no funny noises, no blowing smoke, etc.
Have you actually done that while selling a bike? Any problems doing so?
I’ve offered to do that, but never had anybody actually want me to do it.
You know how some folks you feel comfortable with and others you don’t? I personally think that’s important. Trust your instincts.
Yep, totally agree with you.