How to Buy a Motorcycle Online

It would seem the upside is obvious. Case in point. I just sold a 2002 KLR on Ebay. I live in South Louisiana. The bike I sold is a dual purpose motorcycle that by most accounts is a decent street bike that can go down a few fire roads now and then, or a gravel road, dirt road no problem, camping is great, off to Alaska if you can get the time off, great, problem is down here off road means SWAMP. Cycletrader does me no good when I want to sell a KLR in South Louisiana. How about a dual purpose bike 75% swamp, 25% water? I need to get to buyers who live someplace where off road looks like a John Denver song. Cha Ching, ebay baby. Just the facts ma'am................2466462860.......check out what my '02' KLR sold for on ebay. Ok , it had a few extras, worth $600 retail. I sold that sucker for $3800, with 7K miles no less. Subtract the used value of the bags/seat/tank bag and I figure I got $3400 for it. That bike in South Louisiana would sell for $2800 max, and yet the buyer drove over 800 miles to get this bike so I am guessing he was happy too. Sure, your local bike trader has a bazillion bikes, and if you could care less what you buy, have at it, come to think of it my local paper has a bazillion Harleys, CBR600F2s, Moto Guzzi Convertibles, BMW R50/5s, Suzuki Marduras, Kawasaki Specters, Honda Pacific Coasts, on and on and on. On the other hand if you just have to have a very nice KLR with luggage, Corbin seat, Dual Star tank bag (the best by the way) and ebay has it right now, go for it because it ain't gonna be in the cycle trader any time soon.

Re: Resale

Polishing does not weaken the frame. I pass on bikes with polished frames for a couple of reasons. Most importantly I hate the way they look. Secondly I have the impression (right or wrong) that the odds are greater of the owner being a squid. Nothing against squids mind you, but there is no law saying I have to give them my money. We are talking sport bikes here, so when I am buying used I look for signs that the motorcycle has been cared for like the owner planned on keeping it for life. I want it unmolested, the way it came from the factory. I am not interested in somebody else's idea as to how it should look. I have seen people put 5 to 8 grand of aftermarket crap in a sport bike and in the end they sell if for less than a nice perfectly stock motorcycle with that fresh from the factory look. Having said all that I do understand the urge to personalize a stamped out sportbike that looks just like all the other stamped out sport bikes going down the road. The problem is every one personalizes their bike the same way, fender eliminator, pipe, flush mount signals, carbon fiber, polish frame, so you end up looking like everyone else anyway.

Posished Frame

I posed this in the middle of previous thread in response to someone questioning why I pass on bikes with a polished frame when I am buying used. I decided to repost here to possibly get more responses on how others feel.

Polishing does not weaken the frame. I pass on bikes with polished frames for a couple of reasons. Most importantly I hate the way they look. Secondly I have the impression (right or wrong) that the odds are greater of the owner being a squid. Nothing against squids mind you, but there is no law saying I have to give them my money. We are talking sport bikes here, so when I am buying used I look for signs that the motorcycle has been cared for like the owner planned on keeping it for life. I want it unmolested, the way it came from the factory. I am not interested in somebody else's idea as to how it should look. I have seen people put 5 to 8 grand of aftermarket crap in a sport bike and in the end they sell if for less than a nice perfectly stock motorcycle with that fresh from the factory look. Having said all that I do understand the urge to personalize a stamped out sportbike that looks just like all the other stamped out sport bikes going down the road. The problem is every one personalizes their bike the same way, fender eliminator, pipe, flush mount signals, carbon fiber, polish frame, so you end up looking like everyone else anyway.