How many owners is too many?
How many owners is too many?
Author
Discussion

clen666

Original Poster:

926 posts

153 months

Wednesday 10th April 2019
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I know bikes change hands relatively frequently with little miles on at times, so it’s not unusual to see a low mileage bike with a few owners.

How do people feel about relatively young bikes with multiple owners?

I have arranged to view a 1290 sdr that the seller has owned for just over a month and needs to sell due to a ‘change of circumstances’. Having done an HPI check there have been 5 owners before this one. Bike was registered at the start of 2015 so that’s 6 owners in 4 years.

Would this be an issue for anyone?

Ho Lee Kau

2,278 posts

156 months

Wednesday 10th April 2019
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Yeah, too many owners in too short a time. Could be coincidence of course, but I would steer clear.

Jazoli

9,690 posts

281 months

Wednesday 10th April 2019
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Bikes are bought as toys, some people have a few bikes which means that they can do very few miles and change them a lot, I had a 13 owner Daytona 955 once and it was absolutely immaculate, if the price is right and there is service history then buy it,

Pericoloso

44,044 posts

194 months

Wednesday 10th April 2019
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Assuming it's not 100s of miles away ,might as well take a look at it, walk away if unhappy.

FourWheelDrift

92,370 posts

315 months

Wednesday 10th April 2019
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1) Wants bike
2) Wife says no
3) Buys bike
4) Wife finds out
5) Sells bike

x5

BobSaunders

3,110 posts

186 months

Wednesday 10th April 2019
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Depends if there is anything wrong with it. Check with KTM/the dealership.

The SDR is a weapon. Quite possibly horse traded as the owner didn't like it, or changed hands through the dealer network.

neutral 3

8,666 posts

201 months

Wednesday 10th April 2019
quotequote all
Cars or Bikes, my preference has Always been a low owner example, if at all possible. High miles doesn't worry me, as long as it looks to have been maintained and hopefully has a paper trail. But my almost 30 year old dirt bike has had 11 owners, but it's a scarce bike, very original and so I couldn't be picky !

clen666

Original Poster:

926 posts

153 months

Wednesday 10th April 2019
quotequote all
FourWheelDrift said:
1) Wants bike
2) Wife says no
3) Buys bike
4) Wife finds out
5) Sells bike

x5
To be honest that’s probably exactly what will happen with me.

Seller claims full service history and he purchased the bike from Cubo Moto who I have never dealt with but I’ve seen plenty of their adverts and assumed a relatively trustworthy company.

SAS Tom

3,755 posts

205 months

Wednesday 10th April 2019
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My dad bought a fireblade from Cubo Moto which I had off him. It was exactly what they said it was and they seemed to have plenty of decent stock at the time. This was about 5 years ago though. I believe Tim85 from here had something to do with them but I haven’t seen him post for years.

neutral 3

8,666 posts

201 months

Wednesday 10th April 2019
quotequote all

Coincidence, as I am just looking at an S1000RR advert and Cubo Moto pops up !!

clen666

Original Poster:

926 posts

153 months

Wednesday 10th April 2019
quotequote all
Think they need a bigger stamp for me to really trust them

Speed addicted

6,335 posts

258 months

Thursday 11th April 2019
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There are two ways of looking at the multiple owner bike.
Option A - Most new owners go through a honeymoon period where the bike gets pampered and treated better than it normally would after it's been owned for a while, get's washed more frequently and treated to more goodies.
More owners means more time in the nice zone before it becomes just another bike.

Option B - It's a problem bike that everyone wants rid of quickly.

Of course it's down to luck to decide which one you get!

clen666

Original Poster:

926 posts

153 months

Thursday 11th April 2019
quotequote all
Speed addicted said:
There are two ways of looking at the multiple owner bike.
Option A - Most new owners go through a honeymoon period where the bike gets pampered and treated better than it normally would after it's been owned for a while, get's washed more frequently and treated to more goodies.
More owners means more time in the nice zone before it becomes just another bike.

Option B - It's a problem bike that everyone wants rid of quickly.

Of course it's down to luck to decide which one you get!
It does have a few goodies added to it that I would be tempted to add myself if I bought a more standard version.

The pessimist in me keeps thinking it’s option B but if he bought it from a reputable dealer surely he could have went back to them if there was an issue with it?

Didn’t manage to get to look at it tonight but going in the morning for a look as it’s not too far away

Rubin215

4,201 posts

187 months

Thursday 11th April 2019
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Speed addicted said:
There are two ways of looking at the multiple owner bike.
Option A - Most new owners go through a honeymoon period where the bike gets pampered and treated better than it normally would after it's been owned for a while, get's washed more frequently and treated to more goodies.
More owners means more time in the nice zone before it becomes just another bike.

Option B - It's a problem bike that everyone wants rid of quickly.

Of course it's down to luck to decide which one you get!
I'm a bit sceptical of the "problem bike" tag for anything built after about 2005, the step up in build quality and the advent of social media (and the rubbishing that any manufacturer would have to deal with on it) have meant that few bikes with issues remain un-sorted.

Option A is very true though; even an older bike that runs well but has had plenty of owners is worth looking at as the first thing most new owners do is to service it!
I've owned several 10 year+ bikes that come with receipts for dozens of oil and filter changes; I'm not too worried if it's missed air filters and plugs as long as the oil gets done!

Biker's Nemesis

41,461 posts

239 months

Thursday 11th April 2019
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Be good to catch up again if you get another bike Clen666.

clen666

Original Poster:

926 posts

153 months

Thursday 11th April 2019
quotequote all
Biker's Nemesis said:
Be good to catch up again if you get another bike Clen666.
Am I not allowed to catch up with you with the bike I already have like? weeping

Biker's Nemesis

41,461 posts

239 months

Friday 12th April 2019
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clen666 said:
Am I not allowed to catch up with you with the bike I already have like? weeping
No.