Test ride on Monday advice needed

[ALEXXH558]

New to the forum hi guys. On Monday I am going to test ride and hopefully put a deposit on a Honda VFR 750 (RC36) it is advertised on Ebay at a dealer called Harrys Motorcycles for £1890. As this is the oldest car or bike I have ever bought I did a HPI report it cost me £8.99 I will be honest with you guys I have no experience of HPI checks and have no idea what I am looking at. Current reg' plate on the bike is N189 FBD

I have attached some pictures of the report below is this a good or bad report? Would really appreciate some advice guys.

[ALEXXH558]

Here is second picture below did not post in first post for some reason.

[Jazoli]

Its nothing to worry about, it just means the previous owner has transferred the number plate to his new VFR1200 which has finance on it, that's all.

[ALEXXH558]

Jazoli said:

Its nothing to worry about, it just means the previous owner has transferred the number plate to his new VFR1200 which has finance on it, that's all.

Thank you I just wanted to double check it would appear the first owner had the bike from 1995 to 2012 since 2012 it has had three owners... when I phoned Harrys Motorcycles they said it has no service history apart from one receipt by the previous owner which had "servicing" on it and bill for two new tires and chain and sprocket.

They said it has every MOT certificate from new included in the sale and V5. Guys what do you think about this bike opinions please...

Sadly I don't know how to attach a link to the ad on Ebay it is being sold for £1890 you cant miss it maybe someone could attach a link for me so you guys can take a look at the ad.

Being honest I have never bought a car or bike with such sparse history before but I could be really lucky... opinions please

[Gavia]

It’s a 23 year old bike, what are you expecting?

It might be great, it might be a disaster. Personally it seems like a lot of money for a bike that age, but I’m not experienced at that end of the market, so that may be the going rate.

[Jazoli]

Gavia said:

It’s a 23 year old bike, what are you expecting?

I agree with this also to an extent, my mate has just bought a 20 year old thundercat with 12k on the clock, when it failed its mot he brought it to me and it needed a lot of things despite being looked after by its one previous owner, head bearings, wheel bearings, suspension linkage bearings, the rear shock is fked, fork seals and bushings, the brake hoses are old and cracked etc etc, its a nice shiny old bike but a bit of a shed really.

You need to be very careful buying a bike of that age (I know I have bought dozens), you can get 10 year old bikes for similar money you are spending, and I have seen VFR800's for that money which means there is less of a chance that they are needing everything, although VFR's are very well made, if it needs a set of exhaust headers you are looking at a £500 bill if you can't diy it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Vfr750-750-sports...

It looks in very good condition that one, apart from the screen and the original brake hoses, and will probably give you years of use for very little outlay, they are good value bikes

Edited by Jazoli on Sunday 18th February 15:05

[ALEXXH558]

Thanks guys I agree with all your sentiments only a tiny percentage of RC36's will have full service history and like you say even then you have no guarantee of it being mechanically sound. I could be lucky and the first owner spent thousands on servicing over twelve year period and the second third of fourth owner lost or simply didn't care about retaining all of the receipts for future owner this happens all the time...

Or the bike might not have had oil change since 2012... I will let you know how I get on first thing I will be checking is the oil and coolant level wish me luck.

[ALEXXH558]

Bit of a clown act really went on Monday bike had no service history whatsoever just a receipt for two new tyres dealer would not give me a test ride as he did not have insurance cover himself said it would cost him £4000 a year. I suppose I could have got myself 24 hour insurance cover and done it that way but my gut feeling was not good with this bike.

At least part service history and test ride is essential for my peace of mind I will keep looking will update...

[pessimal]

doubt you'll get many test rides privately.

if i sell mine your not riding it unless you have documentation to show you have insurance to ride it, and i get the cash in my hand first

[ALEXXH558]

I agree I would be the same if I was selling my bike privately. The VFR I went to look at was at a dealer he had around twenty bikes in his inventory.

[orangefzr]

Jazoli said:

I agree with this also to an extent, my mate has just bought a 20 year old thundercat with 12k on the clock, when it failed its mot he brought it to me and it needed a lot of things despite being looked after by its one previous owner, head bearings, wheel bearings, suspension linkage bearings, the rear shock is fked, fork seals and bushings, the brake hoses are old and cracked etc etc, its a nice shiny old bike but a bit of a shed really.

You need to be very careful buying a bike of that age (I know I have bought dozens), you can get 10 year old bikes for similar money you are spending, and I have seen VFR800's for that money which means there is less of a chance that they are needing everything, although VFR's are very well made, if it needs a set of exhaust headers you are looking at a £500 bill if you can't diy it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Vfr750-750-sports...

It looks in very good condition that one, apart from the screen and the original brake hoses, and will probably give you years of use for very little outlay, they are good value bikes

Edited by Jazoli on Sunday 18th February 15:05

You want to tell your friend to get a shock adaptor from projection components, this enables the fitment of a r6 2co shock with minimal modifications and a fraction of the cost of a new one

Sorry to hijack the thread op

Edited by orangefzr on Tuesday 20th February 17:21