How To Buy a Used Motorcycle?

Watch this before you decide to buy your next bike!

Most of us cannot afford to buy a brand new bike and we have to rely on the second-hand market. In this video, I will tell you some of the key points too look for when you buying a motorcycle. On my channel, I talked a lot about long trips, what bike, what luggage and so on but I missed the most important tip, what to look for when you decide to buy a motorcycle?
There are hundreds of bikes for sale and how we can be sure that we are not going to make a mistake. That the bike is in good condition and the owner is an honest person. The simple answer is we cannot! Before you click out, very disappointed from what I just said let me tell you something:
Most of the motorcycle owners are nice people but we cannot rely on this. Just because we share the same passion does not guarantee that you will get what you have been told.
With this, I don't want to say that all the sellers are liers no, but it is always to have this in mind or at least that they might decide to hide some important facts. Because I am coming from East Europe this is like a natural state, to doubt in people's honesty, but for most of you, especially for the westerns, this could be absolutely different.
A friend of mine, the car dealer told me once: the client wants to be cheated! Or at least this was his understanding of an honest deal! With this in mind, I will advise to stay away from dealers. It will be a way better to try it with a real owner of the, at least he will tell you the history of the bike.
As I said already just because the buyer looks like a nice guy is no guarantee that he will be 100% honest with you. A little doubt might be very helpful.
What I will suggest is to do your homework. Once you choose the brand and the model try to find as more as possible information about it. Year of production, variations, possible problems and many more. Now in the era of the internet, you can find so much information online. Dig into the forums or Facebook groups. Read or watch Youtube videos with video reviews, all of this will help you to have a basic knowledge of the model before you meet the seller. With a few words, you will be prepared. You will be ready with the questions you need to ask.
Number one and maybe the most important question, why he sell it? It is a good starting point. Base on the answer you can continue with your small personal investigation.
Here you can tell me that I am too serious about it and it is not that bad, of course, but I already told you that I am coming from East Europe and in the end the money I am going to spend a hard earned.
After you receive the answer you need finally you can check the bike's condition. I will use my motorcycle as an example and I will show you in practice what you have to look for, let's go out!

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[shoaibahmed]

10 seconds into the video I've already liked it because your videos are gold.

[themotomotion]

"The client wants to be cheated", sad but true, I used to sell timeshare in cancun (mexico) and any salesperson can tell you it is true, there is a psichological factor, we like to listen to stories and to believe that what is being told to us is true. As always great video, thanks for sharing this useful information Pavlin, cheers!

[jurgenschon]

Check oilleaking after the engine is off hot.
Nice Video 👍

[WolfDog]

Great advice as usual! Just remembered how someone was selling a Yamaha TT600 and said it was never ridden off road or in competitions, but you could see on the plastic traces of the decal numbers for enduro competitions :D

[The_Touring_Jedi]

I'm buying a Honda ST1300 with 160.000km. I know the owner and the bike is still in perfect technical condition. It has been riden in on along trips, it has some cosmetical damages, but underneath the heart is beating very strong, which is main to watch for.

[marvideo]

Perfect timing for this video. Many new biker will be buying their first motorcycle in the spring.
Great video !

[IdealBike]

Very usefull for someone who wants a second hand bike. I'm wondering how many people are checking before like this the bike. Myself I prefer a new bike, it's more confortable and for 2 years you are safe, then buy a new one, again 2 years safe guaranty. There are some dealers which are selling second hand bikes with one year guarantee, this is a good sign from them and you can buy it more relaxed. Thanks for sharing the video!

[johancarlbark]

Must also try all the the gears in full power so the gears not release and the clutch not slip 👍

[robertpeters]

Dealers who who sell new expensive fancy bikes often have crazy good trade-in bikes. Worth looking.

[PatriotNC]

I agree with you about oil changes. I am a fanatic about changing the oil on my bike. Oil is the life blood of the machine. If you change it often, you extend the life of the bike.

[petrihietanen]

Whoah! Again absolutely superb video. Pavlin, your content absolutely rocks! So down to earth like presentation, with tons of important information.

[mowler]

Great advice. If anyone is thinking about buying a vintage motorcycle from my 30 years of going to vintage meets buy a bike from someone that is respected that builds vintage bikes and has one for sale.

[NabilKarsheh]

Should be a mandatory video! I will share it in the biggest hungarian bike group on fb

[grhmnz]

Great great detailed video . It reminds us to do the proper checks because excitement in buying another bike can make you overlook important areas .It is easy to just buy a bike on it's looks alone without being thorough .I did this once with a kawasaki only to discover that when the front brakes were warm the calipers were lethal and almost seizing up .Very dangerous, and the front calipers needed rebuilding .

[ludovicpap]

Thank You for the tips . I have a motorcycle buyed last year from Germany but a friend help me . Again thank You for the informations . Drive safe in dry roads . 👍

[boseisgood]

Very thorough advice. Best video I’ve seen about buying a used bike. Thanks.

[click-once]

You are doing a very big favour to all the motorcycle lovers who watch your videos now and to those who will be lucky enough to find out about your useful information in the near future. How is your journey going? Get home safe Pavlin.

[rickanderson]

Great reminder video, so important to go through these checks. thx for sharing. Safe riding. Cheers from Canada.

[Isha]

I would add another question... you have 141000 km... when did you buy this bike? Then you can understand how many km he did during that time. If the bike has few years and so many km, it means that he rode it for a long time. If the bike has 10 years, then he didn't use it much (it's not your case at all 😁). But of course, everything depends... anyway you can have an idea. I bought a used BMW 1100GS that had 13000 km and it had two years, that means 6500 km/year (he didn't use it much), and it was in perfect conditions, not even a small scratch. However, thank you very much for your tips and for your videos always very interesting. A big hello from Tallinn, unfortunately without any bike... the life... 🙁

[setter]

Thanks Pavlin! I'm gonna watch this video again and again before going ti buy my used bike.