Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I'm about to buy my first bike in the next few weeks. I have a lot of questions here, I hope a lot of them can get answered, if you can give me any (any at all) input please please do.

99% of adds is cycletrader are 'or best offer' so how much should I should I lower my first offer? like $300?

Anyone have any links to articles on what to look for when buying/looking at or test riding a used motorcycle? any dead giveaways that it is a pos? Can you guys give me some good questions to ask the seller, and what a good answer would be?

One more... theres this 96' cbr600 with low miles for $2500. the add says it has $1100 worth of new stuff in it. Also says it is scratched up,(which I don't mind because I probably will lay it) I presume the reason it is so cheap is because it is banged up. what can I do to find out if it is ok or pos?

It's good to interview the owner to find out what kind of riding he does. Maybe shoot the dodo and try to find out if he's a racer or stunt rider, see where he stands on that kinda stuff. If he starts talking about 140mph passes on the freeway or pulling wheelies and crap, don't buy the bike, it's probably been bashed pretty good.

Find out the maintenance records, when he changed the oil, valve jobs etc. Can look at the chain to see how ana he is about keeping it clean and lubricated. Check the brake rotors make sure they're not warped, check the pads for wear. Have him start the engine when it's dead cold to make sure it's not a total POS near death engine. Check the tires for tread.

It's best to do a test ride, run through all the gears, make sure the tranny is still good. One thing you can do, pay to have the bike inspected at a dealership.

Also, for some good deals, goto www.craigslist.com , the bikes are usually a good 10-15% cheaper than cycle trader.

good info thanks