Dear Reader, this is an ongoing project, and as is – it is not finished yet. Please read what’s out there already, and if helpful – please leave a comment below – it will help me greatly to finish off this hopefully useful bit of information! Thanks!
– Tom @ Trailknights

Introduction

So you are looking for a used motorcycle, something cool, something nice, something powerful and crazy fast, right? I’m sure you will find something that will tick all the boxes, but how about making sure that you will not end up spending more time fixing it than riding?

When you meet the seller, do you trust what they say? Not abused, looked after, no change spared… mint or showroom condition, but is it?

Personally, I had a few bikes in the past, restored a few and sold a few and what I noticed is that very rarely does anyone check anything but obvious, does it start? Listen to the engine. Does it run? Does it stop? Do all gears work? Sold!

Unfortunately as a buyer, you should do your own checks, not only for your own safety if you are planning to ride it, but also to make sure that you are not overpaying on the bike you have picked. Establishing weak points and what work will need doing in the near future should also play a big part in the deal.

A) If you are not familiar with that specific motorcycle make or model, a good place to start is your own home, do your homework. The internet is full of useful information and it should not be a hard task to look for the most common problems for that specific motorcycle. Make a note of them!

B) Again if you are not familiar with motorcycles you want to purchase, book a few viewings/ appointments. Mainly what you want is to familiarise yourself with the sound of the healthy engine. After all, when you hear a few like for like engines, it will be easier to distinguish sounds that should and shouldn’t be there…

C) Do not buy it at the same meeting. I know it sounds a bit odd, and probably you have travelled quite the distance to see it but, sellers’ reactions will tell you a lot once you will tell them that you need a bit of time to think about it. They might get a bit pushy, and depending on which way you should ask yourself why the seller is so desperate. Seller might even lower the price too, and that’s never a bad thing!

Most importantly you will need a bit more time to look back at your notes, compare the bikes you have looked at, make a decision and do all the background number plate checks. If it’s possible to do that where you are, leave that till last, as checks are not for free, and you don’t want to waste your money on bikes you are not planning to buy in the first place.

Note: If you came to see a motorcycle and the engine is warm, that should be a red flag for you. When cold It might not start as easily as you would expect it to, or it might not perform as it should, and most importantly the owner knows that and tried to hide it – and that is not a good sign. Oh, and be careful not to burn yourself when checking if the engine is warm!

Meeting the seller.

Let’s say you have met with a seller, ask as many questions as you like, that will give you an idea how knowledgeable the seller is, and only then get stuck in checking it. Personally I am always very suspicious about the bike if the seller says that they know nothing about it, which sounds a bit odd when someone has had it for a year and hasn’t got a clue. Same applies when the seller points out all the good bits, ignoring all the ugly…

Overall checks:

So where do we start? First let’s go around and have a good look at everything that concerns the looks of it.

Can you see anything odd, out of place or misaligned / bent?

Any plastics / panels missing / damaged / scrapped / cracked ?

Any scrapes on handlebar weights?

Any scrapes on foot pegs/ footrests or pedals?

Have a good look at everything that is sticking out, and if any marks on any of it, or even worse you can see some new parts were fitted, don’t be afraid to ask the seller what’s the story behind it. These will indicate that the bike was dropped, and there is a chance that that drop caused more damage than just a scrape… so be aware.

Fixtures and fittings, screws, bolts and nuts, do they look like someone was working on the bike? Depending on the age of the bike, that might be normal, might be not but should be taken into consideration too.

All the checks in detail

Let’s start with a bit more technical stuff, and work our way front to back, bit by bit, one thing at a time as everything counts!

Note: You will need to get the bike on the center stand, and ask seller to push the rear end down, so front is up in the air and not touching the ground, if bike does not have one, it can be done on the side stand, but depends on the size of the bike, it might be extremely hard for the seller to balance it like that and should be done with a great care. To lift the front end of the ground simply rest the bike on the side stand and turn handlebars to the right to the full lock. By holding on to the right handle with your left hand, pull the bike back till it balances on the side stand, keep your right hand on the passengers handrail, or anything else sturdy so the bike will not tip over. And to make things worse, whoever holds it for you, once the front wheel is off the ground, they will have to keep their hands off the handlebars too.

Keep in mind that this should be done with great care.

Front wheel:

turn the wheel and see if there are any puncture repair plugs in the tire, those meant to be temporary fix. Check the thread and overall condition of it. When you have a good look at the rim itself, rims crack, so pay attention.

If it’s a wheel with spokes, tap every spoke with a pen or anything that will make spokes make a sound and listen, each and every one of them should sound more or less the same, if the spokes sounds dull and there is nothing attached to it (like balancing weight), it needs tightening.

Move on to the hub, and again check carefully, rarely, but they do crack too – especially closer to the fork leg, where wheel bearings are accommodated.

One more turn of the wheel and let it free spin, how many full turns did it make with moderate push of the wheel? Anything less than 1 or 1 and a half turns would mean binding brakes.

Brake pads rubbing against the brake disc is normal, as there is absolutely nothing to help them to retract, but if they get stuck and bind there must be a problem somewhere (most common – rust on brake pad retaining pins, but it also can be bent brake calliper brackets or twisted or slightly bent forks.

Now grab the wheel at 6 and 12 o’clock, and wiggled it forwards and backwards (top away from yourself and bottom towards you, and vice versa), can any movement be felt? If yes, bearings are shot.

Brake disc can be bent, but as far as i am concerned, the only way to tell that without special tools is to take the bike for a ride and if while breaking pulsating sensation comes thru the brake lever – bent.

Also pay attention to the state of the brake discs, worn would have deep grooves and the slight lip on the outer circumference. And the “life” of the discs will be written on the discs themselves, normally its 4 or 4.5mm thickness, and can be checked with vernier callipers.

Forks:

It doesn’t really matter what kind of forks, upside down or the right side down, with the front wheel up in the air, grab both forks by the lower part, and push forward to the bike and backwards – obviously not going monkeys on it. If any play is felt, might be worn or loose headstock bearings or worn fork bushings. To confirm, grab forks above the area where all the seals are, and check it again, if play is there again – head stock bearings, no play means worn fork leg bushings.

Move handlebars left to right and back – lock to lock, if there are any areas where steering gets stuck, most of the time that area is when steering is pointed straight, headstock bearings are worn, if nothing can be felt, and play in the bearings is still felt, it might indicate loose or not properly tightened headstock nut.

Sit on the bike, grab on to the front brake, and push the front down and up a few times, check all the fork oil seals, if any oil can be seen around them, or fork stanchion seems a bit oily, shot seals. Also while compressing and decompressing the front suspension, it should be firm and smooth, and when compressed and released the bike should go back up and stay in there, if the bike is bouncing up and down, feels spongy or isn’t smooth – something wrong with fork internals.

Steering and dash:

Now have a look at the handlebar, turn it lock to lock and twist the throttle all the way, should be smooth and it should return in an instant once released at one position or the other. Not smooth or not returning back – worn or binding cables.

Front brake lever, press it a few times, should feel firm and fairly solid, if spongy – attention will be needed. A spongy front (or rear) brake lever/pedal might indicate air bubbles in the system at best. Check the colour of the brake fluid level and colour, depends on what was used, anything but dark colour is a good sign, but confirm when it was changed with the seller, as that should be done every 2 years, and don’t forget to have a look at the master cylinders dust cover (between lever and fluid container) – make sure its not covered in brake fluid or perished.

Clutch lever (if its hydraulic clutch, check it the same way as brakes, the only difference – it won’t be hard once pulled in, but should be smooth) if its pull cable – pull the rubber boot of it, see what condition cable is – shouldn’t be a hard job to understand if its worn. Snapped or partially snapped will not let the clutch lever to travel easily or smoothly.

Dash, buttons, switches and lights all work as should?

Have a look at the cables, make sure none of them are stretching or binding when handlebars moved from lock to lock, also make sure that handlebars are not getting any closer then two finger width from the tank, anything less than that might cause you troubles – especially if you will get caught in a tank slapper at worst. Not sure how MOT testers would evaluate that, but advisory as a minimum.

One more thing to mention, if front brake pressed, and if a clicking sound comes out from the front while bike is moved backwards and forwards, and you have checked everything before and didn’t find anything, most likely it’s just brake pads moving in between, but it also can be a slight play on the front brake bobbins.

To check that you need someone to do that for you, and place the finger over the brake disc and the bobbin, if play is felt, most likely you will have to replace discs. Floating brake discs should have a bit of play, but not that much that it is felt.

Fuel tank:

this one is easy, open the tank filler cap, have a peek inside, if its a metal tank and you can’t see any rust – it’s a good sign! Rusty tank means the bike was stored with no or very little fuel in it for some time, and most likely will need a bit more attention…

To be continued….

Explore More!

A list of posts about Bike Maintenance and General Modifications that might be Interesting to know!

How To Buy Used Motorcycle

Introduction

Meeting the seller.

Overall checks:

All the checks in detail

Front wheel:

Forks:

Steering and dash:

Fuel tank:

Explore More!

General Modifications:

Bike Maintenance:

How To Buy Used Motorcycle

Introduction

Meeting the seller.

Overall checks:

All the checks in detail

Front wheel:

Forks:

Steering and dash:

Fuel tank:

Explore More!

General Modifications:

Bike Maintenance:

Recommend this article on:

Related Posts