do you allow test rides?

Message

nyrblue35 · #1 Unread post by **nyrblue35** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 2:13 am

if you are selling a bike that is. Im not crazy on the idea at all but when i bought my bike(first) last year the previous owner let my friend take it out while i stayed behind at his house. he rode next to him on his other bike which was very cool of him. He even followed my friend 30 miles to my house so he can take his plates off and take them back with him. guess i was lucky in that sense.

just curious what others here have done. take collateral like a license or something? make sure they have an M on their license? any thoughts?

Thanks

scan · #2 Unread post by **scan** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 2:58 am

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think the risk is very high as a seller. If the seller lets someone ride on his bike, he may not be protected by the insurance that is on the bike. You'd have to check your own insurance to be sure. Some will allow your bike to be covered by a properly licensed rider if you gave them the OK - but what about the deductable?

As a good faith issue, if your bike has insurance on it, and it covers any rider that you OK, then I'd make sure to get a deposit equal to that deductable. If they are seriously considering buying the bike, they should have a few hundred dollars to cover that - at the minimum. You could give them a receipt stating what it for, and then you are both covered.

But most important, no one here can tell you what your insurance will or will not cover and what the deductable would be, so call your agent before you let anyone ride your bike. Otherwise you might get sued by a guy who rides your bike into a ditch. It's a crazy world, cover your butt.

canuckerjay · Thu Mar 16, 2006 3:42 am

Yep, call and check your ins. coverage.

I read on another forum that this guy put in his ad that he would allow a test ride if the person brought his asking price in cash, to be held in trust while the bike was test ridden. Any accidents, and the bike's paid for.

Seems fair; if someone's ready to buy and not just kicking tires, they've got the cash. It would also deter those who don't trust thier abilities from getting on.

Aggroton · #4 Unread post by **Aggroton** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 12:52 pm

just keep his car keys...if your bike comes back damaged...take it out on his car.

axidjw · #5 Unread post by **axidjw** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:36 pm

canuckerjay wrote:Yep, call and check your ins. coverage.

I read on another forum that this guy put in his ad that he would allow a test ride if the person brought his asking price in cash, to be held in trust while the bike was test ridden. Any accidents, and the bike's paid for.

Seems fair; if someone's ready to buy and not just kicking tires, they've got the cash. It would also deter those who don't trust thier abilities from getting on.

thats what i did when i sold my cb750 back in the day..
i also felt better if they pulled up on a bike..

-john-

biker_rach · Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:49 pm

haha I got very lucky here too. I got a bike last year and the guy let my dad test drive it (everyone at all the bikes I looked at let him). I had to feel bad for the poor guy though when my dad went back to the car and pulled out his old scratced and banged up helmet that he happened to have with him. haha still makes me laugh. I found most sellers were very nice and trustworthy.. but then we were a 21 year old girl and her dad. I don't know if people would be as trusting if a couple 20 year old guys stopped by and wanted to test drive your bike... hahaha tough call

ps John: 2 things... 1. how the heck do you put a pic on here? when I tryied to upload one to the photo gallery it kept telling me it was either too large or corrupt (even after I edited it to lower than the max pixel size...) and 2. I just love the color of the seat on your bike. love love love it.
Rachael

axidjw · #7 Unread post by **axidjw** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 1:33 am

heres what i do..go to www.photobucket.com and open you an account..its free..Once in photobucket--->create a album-->upload pictures. I use a simple program called irfanview and it can be had at www.irfanview.com In irfanview you can open a picture and then go to the edit command at the top and click resize/resample..this will allow you to type in the size you want. I personally make all my forum pics at 450X350 or less--usaully end up being 450X337 becasue of the 4:3 picture format. When you go to save it-you will see a slider bar going from 0-----100(this is the "size" of the pic(resolution)..i usually make this 70 and it will make the picture size smaller in"kb" but not lose much resolution.

Then upload that pic to photobucket. When you click the thumbnail(small pic) in photobucket it opens up the picture(full size)-->right click the picture after its opened and choose properties and then swoosh with your mouse the "http:/photobucket.******/****.jpg" line(be sure to get all of it..sometimes it can be 2 lines or more) and then right click that and copy..this is the link to your picture.

In any forum, usually under "profile/preferences" there will be a signature box. This is what you do to add your pic

Start by typing in what ever you want your signature to say..name,little message,etc...
hit enter and the next line should start with this command--> [img]right%20click-->paste"paste-your%20link%20to%20your%20pic%20right%20here"[/img]-minus the quotation marks..
and thats it..click the apply/save button and your finished..these are called smart tags and there are quite a few of them..heres a couple more..same pricipal apply as the "image tag"
<---> internet link to a page(homepage,whatever..)
<---> changes the size of the letters within that

I hope this helps you out some
once you do it once or twice it becomes very easy
1st resize--->upload------>copy link--->paste link in profile

The seat came out pretty good..i thought the lighter tan would go good with the lighter brighter orange than the stock black..i wanted it to "blend" more than contrast--to give the bike continous flow(it actually gives the bike a lot of its long feel and look)..the black seat broke the bike up because it was so much of a contrast.. Was pretty cheap as well. I went to a local upholsterer and she had a sample book for marine leather(the stuff they cover sea-doos and watercraft with)..its much thicker than hondas pleather and they have a million colors..the tan section ahd 3 to 4 pages of samples from super light to super dark..mine has actually darkened up a little in the last year, i was really happy with the outcome..
She charged me $100 for a yard of it(enough to do the seat/sissybar and still have enough left over to make some hair things for my wife) and also to scoop out the bottom of the seat/insert a gel pad and recover and also recover the sissy bar..I couldnt believe how well it came out and the seat is super comfortable. She told me she had never done a motorcycle seat before but upholstry is upholstry....she did a great job and i have since sent her dozens upon dozens of bikers, here where i live(im basically cheap and didnt want to spend 500-600 on a corbin/mustang--and apparently most others are the same...hahaha)

-john-