Sunshine and melting snow this coming spring might prompt some of you to go shopping for a new motorcycle. If you’re like me, quite often this might mean looking for a used bike. There are several sources for used bikes; my favourite is the online classifieds. Even if I’m not in the market for a new bike, I can still spend hours perusing Auto Trader and Kijiji for that low-cost gem.
If you are looking to add to your collection in the garage, the beauty of using online classifieds is that you can set your own parameters and limit your search to machines that might interest you. You can set a range of years of manufacture, as well as a maximum price to match your budget. In your search, always add $500 to whatever you actually intend to spend; most of the time the advertised price is negotiable, so this will allow you to see bikes that might not appear if you fix your price limit too rigidly.
Before you make a call to that person with the 1982 CB750F, there are certain things you should look for, and one of them is how close the bike is to original condition. Motorcycles can handle high mileage, high speed and even some abuse – if they are well maintained. What really damages a machine is years of neglect, tampering, homemade repairs, and worst of all, modification. A high-mileage machine that is stock is a better bet than a low-mileage bike with ported heads, a chopped frame, custom paint and non-factory chrome. Use the Internet to search for possible known problems with a bike. Just Google the model name and peruse the countless web forums geared specifically to particular makes and types of motorcycles.
Once you’ve determined that a bike is worthy of further investigation, there are a couple of things you should bring with you when you go see the potential new family member. Bring a flashlight and a voltmeter. The flashlight will let you look into the nooks and crannies, even if you’re inspecting the bike in broad daylight. The voltmeter will allow you to perform a quick check of the charging system. Just place the voltmeter probes across the battery terminals and rev the engine. The voltage should at least rise as the revs pick up, to a maximum of 14.5 volts. If you don’t have a voltmeter, watch the headlight – it should get brighter as you rev the engine.
When the seller presents the bike to you, it’s actually preferable to see a bit of grime on it. A freshly washed bike might hide some important flaws, like oil leaks. And before the bike is even started, feel the engine. A hot or warm engine means the seller started the bike before you arrived, and this might be for a number of reasons. Is the seller trying to mask a problem by starting the bike ahead of time? Does the engine smoke on start-up, indicating that it has some wear? Is the starter on the verge of failing? A hot engine is easier to start than a cold one. When you call the seller to arrange a meeting, request that the bike not be started before you arrive and that it be cold when you get there. You are the one who’s going to be parting with some hard-earned cash, after all.
If the engine is cold, look at the tailpipe when the bike starts up. A puff of blue smoke is no real problem, but a constant stream means the bike is using oil. When it’s hot, this clue might disappear, which is why it’s important to watch a cold start-up. White smoke is not a problem, especially if the ambient temperature is cool; it’s just condensation that builds up in the exhaust system as the engine warms up. Excessive white smoke when the engine is warm means that engine coolant might be seeping into the cylinders, for any number of reasons. This will be accompanied by the smell of coolant, so it’s easy to catch.
In a perfect world, owners would keep detailed service records. In reality, it’s a crapshoot. Check the oil level with the engine cold; if it’s excessively low, it might mean the bike has been neglected. Darkened oil is fine, but it should be relatively thick when cold, and it should not smell like gas. If it’s almost black, thin and runny, it probably hasn’t been changed in a long time. Tires and brakes are easy to check, except drum brakes, which sometimes have external wear indicators, sometimes not.
Anything that doesn’t work on the bike is a bargaining chip in your favour, so even if the seller tells you it’s just a burnt bulb, it may be a cut wire or corroded socket. If a test ride isn’t possible (I’ve bought countless used bikes and have never taken a test ride), have the owner ride it up and down the street to reveal any major flaws.
Listen for unusual sounds. Any loud clatter, rattle or knocking sounds should be looked into. You must have some experience with motorcycles here, for if you’re looking at a used Ducati, a loud clatter might be entirely normal – it’s a trademark of the dry clutch. Sometimes the primary gear or chain might be noisy, and this is normal. To distinguish this from other engine sounds, pull the clutch as the engine runs; if the noise goes away, the engine is fine. Put the bike into a higher gear, rev the engine gently and let the clutch out slowly with the brakes on. Heavy knocking under load means major engine repairs aren’t far away.
If you’re uncertain of your bike-checking skills, bring along a knowledgeable friend. Buying a used motorcycle isn’t that complicated, but it pays to inspect it closely and to keep an open mind.
Technical articles are written purely as reference only and your motorcycle may require different procedures. You should be mechanically inclined to carry out your own maintenance and we recommend you contact your mechanic prior to performing any type of work on your bike.
