Would you buy a bike without service history??
Discussion
Alright Fellas
I’m looking to buy a bike after a few years away from them and I’ve been to look over an ER6-F today and it looks pretty solid it’s in nice condition on a 56 plate and done 11000 miles and it’s on for £2300 and other bikes I’ve seen at that price have all done more miles. The catch for me is it doesn’t have the service book with it? I’ve been through previous MOTs to check the mileage out and I don’t think it’s been clocked.
Would you buy it or walk away?
I’m looking to buy a bike after a few years away from them and I’ve been to look over an ER6-F today and it looks pretty solid it’s in nice condition on a 56 plate and done 11000 miles and it’s on for £2300 and other bikes I’ve seen at that price have all done more miles. The catch for me is it doesn’t have the service book with it? I’ve been through previous MOTs to check the mileage out and I don’t think it’s been clocked.
Would you buy it or walk away?
Service book isnt the be all and end all, plenty of people friendly with their local dealers have had books "back" stamped
Any receipts for parts or work done on it?
End of the day, if the price reflects this and the rest of it is all good, I wouldnt rule it out, thats my take on it anyway.
Any receipts for parts or work done on it?
End of the day, if the price reflects this and the rest of it is all good, I wouldnt rule it out, thats my take on it anyway.
Never had a bike or car serviced at a dealer in my life except while under the warranty from new.
I would hope that seeing the condition of my vehicles and the garage they live in would speak volumes - personally I consider it a plus point. Anyone who tried to knock me down on price would on that basis would not be successful.
With bikes especially I think you can spot very quickly if they’ve been looked after.
I would hope that seeing the condition of my vehicles and the garage they live in would speak volumes - personally I consider it a plus point. Anyone who tried to knock me down on price would on that basis would not be successful.
With bikes especially I think you can spot very quickly if they’ve been looked after.
None of my bikes had dealer stamped service books when bought, but all were & have continued to be well looked after since I bought them.
Check the oil, chain, lubrication of cables, general condition, etc. Few people will keep a bike spotlessly cared for and negate to change the oil or lube the chain, etc.
If it’s rough, maybe find another.
Check the oil, chain, lubrication of cables, general condition, etc. Few people will keep a bike spotlessly cared for and negate to change the oil or lube the chain, etc.
If it’s rough, maybe find another.
Just looking at the schedule the first really big service is at 7k +.
Before that it’s really just a couple of oil and filter changes and a check over.
First valve clearance check isn’t till 15k so provided it’s has at least the oil and filters done I’d be happy at buying it.
Based on it looking as if it’s been cared for of course.
I have a 929 blade with 12.5k miles on it. It's a W-reg so is now 20 years old. It has one stamp in the book at about 4k miles. And a PDI from when i bought it at 12k miles.
It's absolutely MINT and clearly been looked after. I didn't hesitate to give top money for it.
It will be getting a full service by me shortly, and a new camchain tensioner as it's a liiiiiiittle bit rattly.
Buy on condition at that age/value.
It's absolutely MINT and clearly been looked after. I didn't hesitate to give top money for it.
It will be getting a full service by me shortly, and a new camchain tensioner as it's a liiiiiiittle bit rattly.
Buy on condition at that age/value.
Pughy29 said:
Alright Fellas
I’m looking to buy a bike after a few years away from them and I’ve been to look over an ER6-F today and it looks pretty solid it’s in nice condition on a 56 plate and done 11000 miles and it’s on for £2300 and other bikes I’ve seen at that price have all done more miles. The catch for me is it doesn’t have the service book with it? I’ve been through previous MOTs to check the mileage out and I don’t think it’s been clocked.
Would you buy it or walk away?
We used to have a business dealing in bikes,it was not unusual to buy bikes absent any papers. Sometimes traders deliberately removed them before auction for some reason, even where they apparently had nothing to hide by including them - and they'd probably have made more money having done so.I’m looking to buy a bike after a few years away from them and I’ve been to look over an ER6-F today and it looks pretty solid it’s in nice condition on a 56 plate and done 11000 miles and it’s on for £2300 and other bikes I’ve seen at that price have all done more miles. The catch for me is it doesn’t have the service book with it? I’ve been through previous MOTs to check the mileage out and I don’t think it’s been clocked.
Would you buy it or walk away?
It wouldn't put me off as long as it was a bike I was planning on keeping a while. If a short term ownership is planned it'll make it harder to get out of ownership.
If you're keeping it a while and keep all of the receipts etc. it'll have some history when you sell so you won't need to discount like the current owner is. That makes it a good buy now if you're sure it's been looked after......
If you're keeping it a while and keep all of the receipts etc. it'll have some history when you sell so you won't need to discount like the current owner is. That makes it a good buy now if you're sure it's been looked after......
I've started looking for something to learn on and as the 125 market is filled with stuff that could have some issues through lack of maintenance I've been checking the MOT history, I may well hijack this thread a little with some newbie questions below but I have found it to be a useful indicator, one bike had failed it's last 5 MOTs for various problems so that was a bit of a red flag.
So, on to the hijack. There are a few I have looked at online, some of the MOT history has flagged up the following, each issue for different bikes;
Bike 1 - 2019 failure for excessive wear or free play on steering headbearing, advisory in for the head bearing in the passed retest
Bike 2 - 2016 fail, drive chain excessively loose, retest and 2017 pass, 2018 fail for drive chain and sprocket worn to excess with retest passed, 2019 fail for drivechain loose and rear pads with no retest or mileage change to 2020, same failure in 2020 but retest passed. Is this likely to be from a consistent lack of chain adjustment and care from previous owners?
Bike 3 - Not able to check MOT but seller has said that the fork seals are leaking, how much is this likely to cost for labour or is it an OK job to do at home? I am quite comfortable spannering cars and have been for years but bikes are pretty new to me.
I am keeping an eye on the usual places to see what else comes up.
Being new to this I've done a bit of research so is there anything other than checking tyres, brakes, chain, sprockets, suspension (fork seals) general signs of a drop, oil and brake fluid levels? I've been looking at the normal manufacturers like Honda, Yamaha, Aprilia and KTM for a bit better build quality and better depreciation. It does seem that once the bigger hit of depreciation has gone the 125s float around the same price and don't really drop much further. Mod 1/2 and theory tests aren't likely to be coming back soon and I would like to learn to ride rather than how to take a test so hopping on a 125 for a while seems like a reasonable idea, relatively cheap fun and should make me better prepared for when it's time to get on a big bike.It's purely for my own enjoyment so no miserable commute to contend with, just some evenings and early morning weekend rides.
So, on to the hijack. There are a few I have looked at online, some of the MOT history has flagged up the following, each issue for different bikes;
Bike 1 - 2019 failure for excessive wear or free play on steering headbearing, advisory in for the head bearing in the passed retest
Bike 2 - 2016 fail, drive chain excessively loose, retest and 2017 pass, 2018 fail for drive chain and sprocket worn to excess with retest passed, 2019 fail for drivechain loose and rear pads with no retest or mileage change to 2020, same failure in 2020 but retest passed. Is this likely to be from a consistent lack of chain adjustment and care from previous owners?
Bike 3 - Not able to check MOT but seller has said that the fork seals are leaking, how much is this likely to cost for labour or is it an OK job to do at home? I am quite comfortable spannering cars and have been for years but bikes are pretty new to me.
I am keeping an eye on the usual places to see what else comes up.
Being new to this I've done a bit of research so is there anything other than checking tyres, brakes, chain, sprockets, suspension (fork seals) general signs of a drop, oil and brake fluid levels? I've been looking at the normal manufacturers like Honda, Yamaha, Aprilia and KTM for a bit better build quality and better depreciation. It does seem that once the bigger hit of depreciation has gone the 125s float around the same price and don't really drop much further. Mod 1/2 and theory tests aren't likely to be coming back soon and I would like to learn to ride rather than how to take a test so hopping on a 125 for a while seems like a reasonable idea, relatively cheap fun and should make me better prepared for when it's time to get on a big bike.It's purely for my own enjoyment so no miserable commute to contend with, just some evenings and early morning weekend rides.
Pete-mojsh said:
I've started looking for something to learn on and as the 125 market is filled with stuff that could have some issues through lack of maintenance I've been checking the MOT history, I may well hijack this thread a little with some newbie questions below but I have found it to be a useful indicator, one bike had failed it's last 5 MOTs for various problems so that was a bit of a red flag.
So, on to the hijack. There are a few I have looked at online, some of the MOT history has flagged up the following, each issue for different bikes;
Bike 1 - 2019 failure for excessive wear or free play on steering headbearing, advisory in for the head bearing in the passed retest
Bike 2 - 2016 fail, drive chain excessively loose, retest and 2017 pass, 2018 fail for drive chain and sprocket worn to excess with retest passed, 2019 fail for drivechain loose and rear pads with no retest or mileage change to 2020, same failure in 2020 but retest passed. Is this likely to be from a consistent lack of chain adjustment and care from previous owners?
Bike 3 - Not able to check MOT but seller has said that the fork seals are leaking, how much is this likely to cost for labour or is it an OK job to do at home? I am quite comfortable spannering cars and have been for years but bikes are pretty new to me.
I am keeping an eye on the usual places to see what else comes up.
Being new to this I've done a bit of research so is there anything other than checking tyres, brakes, chain, sprockets, suspension (fork seals) general signs of a drop, oil and brake fluid levels? I've been looking at the normal manufacturers like Honda, Yamaha, Aprilia and KTM for a bit better build quality and better depreciation. It does seem that once the bigger hit of depreciation has gone the 125s float around the same price and don't really drop much further. Mod 1/2 and theory tests aren't likely to be coming back soon and I would like to learn to ride rather than how to take a test so hopping on a 125 for a while seems like a reasonable idea, relatively cheap fun and should make me better prepared for when it's time to get on a big bike.It's purely for my own enjoyment so no miserable commute to contend with, just some evenings and early morning weekend rides.
Bike 1 is the best of those. Bike 2 suggests they either don't know or don't care about looking after the chain...so what else haven't they done regularly?So, on to the hijack. There are a few I have looked at online, some of the MOT history has flagged up the following, each issue for different bikes;
Bike 1 - 2019 failure for excessive wear or free play on steering headbearing, advisory in for the head bearing in the passed retest
Bike 2 - 2016 fail, drive chain excessively loose, retest and 2017 pass, 2018 fail for drive chain and sprocket worn to excess with retest passed, 2019 fail for drivechain loose and rear pads with no retest or mileage change to 2020, same failure in 2020 but retest passed. Is this likely to be from a consistent lack of chain adjustment and care from previous owners?
Bike 3 - Not able to check MOT but seller has said that the fork seals are leaking, how much is this likely to cost for labour or is it an OK job to do at home? I am quite comfortable spannering cars and have been for years but bikes are pretty new to me.
I am keeping an eye on the usual places to see what else comes up.
Being new to this I've done a bit of research so is there anything other than checking tyres, brakes, chain, sprockets, suspension (fork seals) general signs of a drop, oil and brake fluid levels? I've been looking at the normal manufacturers like Honda, Yamaha, Aprilia and KTM for a bit better build quality and better depreciation. It does seem that once the bigger hit of depreciation has gone the 125s float around the same price and don't really drop much further. Mod 1/2 and theory tests aren't likely to be coming back soon and I would like to learn to ride rather than how to take a test so hopping on a 125 for a while seems like a reasonable idea, relatively cheap fun and should make me better prepared for when it's time to get on a big bike.It's purely for my own enjoyment so no miserable commute to contend with, just some evenings and early morning weekend rides.
Bennetts have put together quite a comprehensive list:
https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-vie...
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