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How to Buy a Motorcycle Online

69K views 159 replies 34 participants last post by  acecycleins 
#1 ·
I have run into 3 people so far who have been victimized by online vehicle sales. I see the scammers on just about every bulletin board, classified and auction site. Too bad we can't come up with a way to send an electrical charge down the lines to zap them out of existence.



BTW, did you realize your address and phone # are on the article?
 
#2 ·
Another interesting thought: When you see such a bike, with a really low price, ask the seller why they are selling... You usually get the wierdest answers, and they try to encourage you to bite, including offering to end the auction early for you or other things like that. If nothing else, it makes for interesting reading when you get their response.
 
#3 ·
It looks like Ebay recently changed their buyer protection program to include motorcycles. Previous to March 12th 2004 motorcycles weren't covered under their free "Vehicle Purchase Protection" plan.

"While the vast majority of vehicle transactions on eBay Motors go smoothly, Vehicle Purchase Protection protects buyers against the few cases of fraud and material vehicle misrepresentation that do occur. Coverage maximum is the vehicle purchase price, up to $20,000, with a $100 buyer co-pay. This program is provided for FREE on all eligible eBay Motors passenger vehicle transactions."

Click on the link

http://pages.ebay.com/ebaymotors/services/purchase-protection.html

Read it carefully before purchasing.
 
#6 ·
Having bought four motorcycles on ebay, and sold 3, I've seen a lot of scams as well. Another good thing to do to protect yourself (and make sure the seller actually has the bike) is to ask for an odd picture...say one of the owner with 3 fingers on his left hand showing in front of the bike.

Also never pay with Western Union money orders, that's always how the scammers seem to want to get paid. It must be easy to pick up funds under a false name or something. Go fly out and ride the bike home! Then you won't get scammed, at least for not more than the deposit.



 
#9 ·
Re: Ebay is gambling.

Yeah, but the odds are mostly in your favor. I've bought one bike and sold one on ebay. The vast majority of people are very honest. And most of the scammers are so obvious, and spectactularly dumb, that it's pretty easy to spot them.

If you know anything about motorcycles, or whatever your buying there, you probably won't get burned.
 
#13 ·
I wouldn't buy a used bike off e-bay. A new one from a dealer might work if there was a significant savings, or some other reason why I couldn't find one locally. I can be just about anywhere on the west coast and back home with my truck in a few days so I'd save shipping

I'd just have to pay the Peoples Republic of Washington's sales tax, license tax, Sound Transit tax, Paul Allen Stadium tax, Large Insuance Company Field tax, and Keep Large Chicago Based Aircraft Co. in Washington tax.

At least it would be a fun drive to pick the bike up.
 
#15 ·
While I couldn't personally imagine buying a bike without giving it a thorough sniffing over in person first, I know that Jack Cofano (one of our contributors) recently purchased a Road Star over Ebay and couldn't be happier with the results. The owners even trucked it up from FLA to NC personally to drop it off. So apparently there are some good deals to be had along with the scams.





EBass
 
#17 ·
my co-worker just bought a '94 FXR from a guy in FLA. for quite a bit less than market value here in the NW, he paid for the local HD dealer to inspect it and replace the tires, tune-up/oil change and store it for him.

He and his wife are flying down next month to do the Carribbean, then they're going to ride the bike back to Seattle. He feels pretty comfortable with the whole deal so I hope it works out.
 
#19 ·
Re: Duh: A V-Road is God's gift to motorcycling

I've never ridden a "V-Road," but I have ridden a V-Rod (a few times) and was mighty impressed. One of my riding buddies has a 2003.

I'm still not crazy about the "Vegas *****" riding position or the mile-and-a-half long shifter throw, or the fact that the rear brake pedal is in an awkward position (for me). But, overall, it was a really nice handling bike (for being raked out) with pretty respectable ground clearance and a great motor. And it's about time HD offered a bike with some more contemporary styling. (And very attractive, to boot.)

However, God's gift to motorcycling it is not. Especially for $20 grand.

Now, perhaps you were too caught up in your Harley Davidson-induced inferiority complex to deduce that I was poking fun at a scammer's dead-giveaway spelling error and not your beloved all-knowing, all-seeing "Motor Company."
 
#23 ·
Couldn't be happier with the bike I bought there, either. It was near immaculate and serviced properly. When I brought it to my local Kawi dealer for a jet kit, I had them do a looksee. They said it was in excellent mechanical condition. And I paid about $1000 less than the most of the dealers were asking for it. (And I got a Muzzy titanium can, too.)



The key is to try to read the tea leaves, examine pictures closely and ask plenty of questions if you have any doubts about the honesty of the seller.



That being said you're still taking a chance when you can't see the bike in person. You are protected to a large degree by ebay now, but it's still a risk. A risk I'm glad I took.
 
#24 ·
Thanks for your support

"Keep Large Chicago Based Aircraft Co" Thanks for your support .$Billions for a couple of thousand jobs that remain here is quite a deal for the company. The rest of production and engineering jobs are being offshored to India, Japan, Italy, and South Korea. Not only is it the U.S. largest exporter of airplanes but now its the largest exporter of jobs.
 
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